JETs AD Newsletter #9

#9 August 29, 2015

NEWSLETTER May 2016

Exclusive with

Joel Hadley

aka AsiaTravelGuy P.3-5

Recipe Corner: Baked Apple Chips P.5

JET Adventures: 10 Places to Visit in Taiwan

Upcoming Events, Movie Releases & Concerts

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Table of Contents • Traveling While Vegetarian: Being a Vegetarian in Japan… 3-5

• Recipe Corner…………….. 5 • JET Adventures: 10 Places

to Visit in Taiwan………….. 6 • Quotes of the Month…..…. 7 • Brain Challenge…………… 8 • Upcoming Group Events… 9 • Events in Japan……………. 10 • JETs AD Opportunities…… 11

Announcements •Happy birthday to all of the May

babies!

•If you haven’t already, be sure to

check out last month’s Members of the Week and our two new Life After JET posts on our webpage! Looking forward to getting to know more members and hearing the experiences and wisdom of more sempais!

•Congratulations to the April

Giveaway winners: Bonnie, Paul Kimmisha and Bianca! They decided to pay it forward to the following organizations: *Second Harvest Kumamoto Relief (Bonnie) *African American Youth Travel Program (Paul) *Japanese Association for Refugees (Kimmisha) *Japan Red Cross Kumamoto Relief (Bianca)

•Application period for the

Business Japanese Proficiency Test on June 26 ends to May 20.

•CLAIR is now offering 5,500 yen

grants to JETs towards the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). However, the grant will not be available to JETs in their 4th or 5th year.

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Traveling While Vegetarian: Being a Vegetarian in Japan Born and raised in Chicago, Joel Hadley, Jr., began exploring the world working as an English teacher in various countries. His journey has consisted of traveling and working in mostly China for two years but he has also spent time in Malaysia and Thailand. Currently, he is working in Japan. He speaks two languages including Mandarin and is currently working on a third language.

As an avid travel advocate, he aims to encourage others to see the world. “I just want to help inspire people who want to travel and just tell them that they can do it,” Joel said, “ You know, whatever hardships that they’re facing now it’s not going to be forever and that they can do it if they really want to.” He documents his various travel experiences on his YouTube channel, AsiaTravelGuy. This month we had the pleasure of interviewing him about a different side of his travel journey—his experience as a vegetarian in Japan.

Q & A with Joel 1. How do you identify as far as your diet is concern?

I’m a vegetarian. I’m not extremely, extremely strict but I try to stay away from eggs and dairy products.

2. What does “being vegetarian” mean to you?

It just means to be in good health. To really embrace everything that’s natural here. Everything that’s around us that we don’t really notice or take time to care about.

You know, everything is nature. It’s here for us for a reason. I think being vegetarian connects you more to that because I see the value in plant life, animal life and just life in general and how it all needs to be respected and how we are all truly connected.

3. Were you raised a vegetarian or did you transition into it?

I transitioned into it. I’ve been a vegetarian only for 2 years. It happened while I was in China at the end of my first year there. A big reason I went vegetarian in China was because the meat in China is not really safe all the time. And I really got sick once so I just decided to try out

the lifestyle and I liked it. So after that, I got into the science of what vegetarianism is and how it benefits.

4. How do people in Japan generally react when you tell them your vegetarian?

Oh, man it’s always a shock reaction. So most people, at least around here, the whole thing with the only way to get protein is with meat I kind of debunk that because I exercise every day and I try to stay in shape as much as I can. I do have to workout a little bit more because I’m not eating meat. But, I can still have the same muscle tone as someone who does eat meat. So when I do see Japanese people and I tell them that I’m vegetarian they get shocked because I’m not super skinny.

5. Japanese food may often include ingredients that aren’t vegetarian or vegan friendly. How have you handled such situations?

Yeah, I had a problem with this when I was going to an udon restaurant because udon has a fish base. And um…

When I asked for no meat they said ok there’s no physical

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JETs AD Newsletter meat in here but it’s fish based. So the way I cope with that is just cooking by myself at home; learning a whole bunch of vegetarian recipes. And when I go out with friends I would usually just eat before I go out. And then when I do go out, I’ll buy something that’s strictly all vegetable, maybe a salad or something, so that I can eat and not make them feel, you know, bad or nothing. You know, that’s it.

6. What do you find most challenging about being vegetarian in Japan?

I would say the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, not really Japan but just abroad I guess, is just finding recipes that don’t get boring…the joke that people use is being vegetarian is cool and you know how to cook but eating carrots all day gets real boring, real fast. You know so. It’s all good though.

7. What do you find most rewarding about being vegetarian in Japan or abroad in general?

I guess it’s the lifestyle. I just know a lot. I feel lighter. I feel more calm. I don’t really get angry. Still get pissed off but I just don't get angry though. [laughing] I will say it’s a very uplifting lifestyle and again it goes back to what I said where you see the value in life, you become more in tune with the nature around you I guess um because all you’re doing is implanting nature into your body…It just makes me more creative in the food that I eat. One thing I’ve also learned is how to grow food for myself. That’s a good thin. With these prices of fruits and vegetables going up every single month…

8. What is your favorite dish to make?

Mixed vegetable curry. Outside of my own cooking, my favorite food is Indian curry, specifically spinach and vegetable curry. I found that out when I traveled to Malaysia because they have a huge Indian population and their curry is amazing down there. So I make my own now and, basically, all it is is I chop up and dice a whole bunch of vegetables. Put it in the blender, put some curry paste in it and fry it up until it turns that creamy texture.

And then toast some bread up or you know find, or boil some vegetables and dip it in there. So it’s good.

9. What would be the easiest and simplest vegetarian dish that anyone can make, even the busiest person here in Japan?

The easiest? Eat a carrot. [laughing] I’m joking. I’m joking. If you want to cook something… The easiest thing to do, honestly, I would prefer sandwiches. There’s this fried vegetable dish called tempura and tempura is usually used for udon noodles. But what I found out is that if you buy it from the store, you toast it (it gets really crispy, really hot), you put it between two pieces of bread (you know that would be your patty), and then you just toss some tomatoes, some lettuce, top it off with some basil, maybe a little bit of nutmeg, some black pepper and maybe a little bit of salt and it’s delicious! It’s wonderful.

May 2016 And it’s not like a regular sandwich. It’s all vegetables.

The whole thing is vegetables but it doesn’t taste like it though so it’s really good.

10. What would be your advice to a vegetarian coming to Japan?

Get ready. No, I’m joking. (laughter) You know, I’m joking. No, I would say, there’s always going to be people to this day, or just always, who will disagree with your lifestyle choice. If you want to be a vegetarian, then be a vegetarian… A reason why vegetarians are vegetarians for so long is because there’s a purpose that we want, or that we have in order to make us continue to make us want to do it. For me, it’s just loving animals, loving plants, loving nature itself; that’s why I’m a vegetarian.

I would just say meet people who will support you, even if they don’t agree with you they’ll support you. You will still get your friends who will talk a lot of that smack to you—and that’s cool— but make sure that they’re people who just support you in the end. And it will be lonely. It will be more difficult because you may have to cook at home a lot more. But if you really want to do it, then you can do it…

Oh, and one more piece of advice [pause] If you go to a place called Costco, they have vegetarian patties, or actually vegan patties, and these things are delicious. If you want to cook them, all you got to do is put them in the pot, fry them up and flip them over. That’s it. Buy a whole bunch of spices that you never had before that aren’t meat based, put them in some vegetables, fry them up, you know, see what tastes good to you because you never know what you like until you do it. Just have fun with the cooking. That’s it. Just have fun with it. That’s my advice.

11. Anything else you’d like to mention that I didn’t ask? …When it comes to traveling, the best way to see the world is through your own eyes. You can read all the books you want. You can see all the videos you want.I put out a lot of videos but my videos cannot compare to the actual experience. So do it because you want to. Do it because you desire to do it. Don’t do it because, well, somebody said you should. Do it because you want to.

Anything you want in life you can have. It’s already yours; you just got to know it’s yours. One thing I learned about this way the universe worked, I guess, in my opinion, it’s just if you desire something, if you focus on something that you really desire, it will come to you.

That’s just the way it is. That’s really all I got to say.

Focus on what you want. Focus on what you need and forget all the negativity. Forget everybody who doesn’t care about you, who doesn’t believe in you because if you believe in yourself, others will believe in you. Others will follow you, if you lead them the right way. And that’s all I got to say.

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JOEL’S KITCHEN Check out some of the vegetarian dishes Joel makes at home

Veggie patties topped with pineapple, basil, tomatoes, garlic, mushrooms and honey

Breakfast Plate: Blueberry, granola, banana and chia seeds

Brown rice, peas, carrots, almond milk, basil, garlic, black pepper and chia seeds

Fried veggie mix on rice.

Green onions, red bell peppers, carrots, white string mushrooms, lettuce, eggplant and tomato seasoned with basil, nutmeg, onion powder, and black pepper

RECIPE CORNER Baked Apple Chips Ingredients •

1-2 apples

•

cinnamon

•

Optional: Sugar or other similar sweetener

Other •

parchment paper (クッキングシート)

•

ziplock bag (or a container or bowl)

1. Preheat oven to 110 degrees C. 2. Core the apples.If you don’t have a corer, remove the seeds as you go along in the Step 3.

3. Cut the apples into thin slices using a knife or mandolin.

4. Put the apples in a bag and cover the apples with cinnamon (and sugar or sweetener).

5. Toss to coat evenly.

6. Put the slices on a pan lined with parchment paper 7. Bake for about 1 hour.

8. Flip the slices over and back for about another 1 hour.

9. Let the chips cool a bit.

10.Enjoy!!!!!

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JET ADVENTURES: 10 Places to Visit in Taiwan Tiantan Tiangong Temple in Tainan

Here are a few places to consider adding to your itinerary if you’re planning a trip to Taiwan:

1. Night Markets

2. Taipei Eye

3. Yehliu Geo Park

Going to a night market is a must for shoppers and foodies alike. A few night markets in Taiwan are Shilin Market, Liu He Tourist Market in Kaohsiung and Zhiqiang Night Market (small) in Hualien.

an entertainment show that has English explanation.

See and explore this park filled with rocks of various formation. Take pics with the cute little mascot statues in the park.

6. Taroko Gorge

7. God of War Temple

8. Pier 2 Center

9. Lotus Pond

This spot is located in

A very famous tourist spot filled with colorful mythical statues surrounded by water.

The trails and sights here are beautiful! If you’re limited on time, check out the Baiying Trail, Buluowan & Swallow Grotto Trail, Eternal Springs Trail

See and explore this park filled with rocks of various formation. Take pics with the cute little mascot statues in the park.

Kaohsiung. Here, you can get your fill of art and live entertainment.

4. Houtong Cat Village This is a must for any cat lovers. Enjoy seeing cats freely roam (and hide in) various places and trying out the cute cat themed desserts.

5. Shifen Falls a beautiful waterfall. While you’re in this area you may say people floating wish lanterns in the sky.

10. Buddha Memorial Centre A very large center located in Kaohsiung, dedicated to the buddhist culture. You can try some vegetarian dishes here.

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Quotes of the Month

“When you think about it, you think yourself out of it. So I don’t think about it. I just say, ‘Jennifer, get up and go!’”

- Jennifer Hudson

s

Japanese Proverb: 明日は明日の風が吹く Romaji: Ashita wa ashita no kaze ga fuku Translation: Tomorrow’s a new day.

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BRAIN CHALLENGE

Japanese Tongue Twister: Hiragana:李も桃も桃のうち Romaji: Sumomo mo momo mo momo no uchi

Puzzle

What do these hiragana have in common?

う

さ

り

ね

と

こ

ち

ぬ

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JETs AD Newsletter

May May 2016 2016

Upcoming JETs AD Events •Block 4 JETs AD Meetup ✦

When: May 14-15th

✦

Where: Tokyo

“Block 4 has one of the highest concentrations of JETs, so I *KNOW* we outchea. Let’s make this meetup something to brag about!”

For more details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1548744118753460/

•2016 Q & A Session for New JETs ✦

When: June 24-26th

✦

Where: Online

We’ll be having an online Q & A session to help answer any pre-departure questions or any other questions about life in Japan as a JET of African Descent.

•2016 Tokyo Meet-up & Cookout ✦

When: July 16-18 (National Holiday)

✦

Where: Tokyo

It’s time to spread the JETs AD love to Tokyo!

From sightseeing to enjoying some good BBQ, we will be able to enjoy the wonders of Tokyo!

The cookout will be an opportunity for us to fundraise for a charity.

For more details see the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1548034948824963/

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Events in Japan MAY Sunday

Tuesday Wednesday Thursday

Monday 1

2 Golden Week 3 Golden Week 4

Cinco de Mayo Fest (Osaka)

*Cinco de Mayo Fest (Tokyo) *Kite Fighting Festival (Shizuoka) *Machi Asobi Anime Fest (Tokushima)

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*Cinco de Mayo Fest (Tokyo) *Kite Fighting Festival (Shizuoka) *Machi Asobi Anime Fest (Tokushima)

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Hobby Show 2016 begins (Shizuoka)

Music Circus (Osaka) JETs AD Block 4

*Aoi Festival (Kyoto) *Design Festa (Tokyo) *Kobe Festival (Kobe)

*Thai Festival 22

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Kanda Matsuri (Tokyo)

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17 *Iwase Hikiyama Festival (Toyama) *Kanda Matsuri (Tokyo) *Grand Festival of Spring (Nikko, Tochigi)

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Iwase Hikiyama Festival (Toyama)

Sakata Matsuri (Yamagata)

Grand Festival of Spring (Nikko, Tochigi)

Mikuni Matsuri starts (Fukui)

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(Osaka) *Okinawa Festival (Tokyo) *Kawawatari Festival (Fukuoka) *Sumo ends (Tokyo)

Jamaica One Love Festival (Tokyo)

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Art Fair Tokyo begins (Tokyo)

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Saturday 7

*Cinco de Mayo Fest (Tokyo) *Kite Fighting Festival (Shizuoka) *Machi Asobi Anime Fest (Tokushima)

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Grand Sumo Tournament starts (Tokyo)

Meet-up (Tokyo)

Golden Week 5

Friday

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JETs AD Block 4

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Sanja Matsuri Meet-up (Tokyo) *Sendai Aoba Festival (Miyagi) *Design Festa (Tokyo) Thai Festival 21 (Osaka) *Okinawa Festival (Tokyo) *Bonfire Noh (Nara) *Kawawatari Festival (Fukuoka)

Jamaica One 28 Love Festival (Tokyo) Spring Masquerade Ball (Osaka) Iris Flower Festival begins (Ibaraki)

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BWIJ Kanto Plain Book Club (tentative date)

Movie Releases: • Victoria (05/07/2016 in Shibuya and Umeda) • The Huntsman: Winter’s War (05/27/2016) Concerts: • King (5/2 Tokyo & 5/4 Osaka) • Victor Wooten (5/2-Osaka & 5/3- Tokyo) • Chaka Khan (5/16-17- Osaka & 5/14, 19-20-Tokyo) • Chronixx (5/28- Tokyo) • Esperanza Spalding (05/30- Osaka & 05/31-Tokyo) • Hot 97 Summer Jams is coming to Tokyo July 29 Other: Cirque de Soleil Tokyo performances (2/3 - 6/26)

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Share With Us! Got some amazing classroom tricks, amusing comics, hair tips, delicious recipes, great teaching resource or information on an amazing festival in your town? Want to share an experience you had? Whatever it is you have, we would like to hear about it! You can write about anything your heart desires, with only a few exceptions. If you have something you would like to share with the JETsAD community or would like more information, send an email to JETsAD@ajet.net with the subject header “Newsletter Contribution.”

Exceptions: Posts about political, religious or commercial activities, posts from businesses looking for clients or employees and anything deemed inappropriate by the editor.

***Get Involved*** ✦

Open Positions: • Block Coordinators for the following blocks: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 • Newsletter Editor • Website Coordinator(Webmaster)

✦

If you are interested in any of these positions, send an email to JETsAD@ajet.net.

The Block Coordinator application is located in the “Files” section of the JETsAD Facebook page.

✦

Be apart of Sempai Connect, a buddy system linking current JETsAD & former JETs AD. If you are interested, send an email to JETsAD@ajet.net. To help the pairing process, fill out and send the questionnaire. Questionnaire is also located in the “Files” section of the JETsAD Facebook page.

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What is JETs AD? 


JETs AD (JETs of African Descent) is a group that is open to all and focuses on topics related to JETs of African Descent. This group serves as a platform for discussion, support, and announcements relating to the JET community at-large. We aim to provide useful information and share resources on hard-to-find hair and beauty products, foreign foods, events, ways to stay connected, and other topics relevant to our demographic. We also plan nationwide and region-specific events.

We are affiliated with The JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Programme.

Join us on Facebook to stay up-to-date on all the happenings in the JETs AD community. For more information, email us at jetsad@ajet.net.

JETs AD Newsletter is newsletter for current and former JETs to share information, tips and any other information that may be deemed useful. The views expressed by contributors to this newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of the JETs AD Special Interest Group nor the JET Programme and its affiliates All contents retain their copyright to the respective contributor(s) and are printed by JETsAD Newsletter under special permission. Š2016 JETs AD Newsletter. All rights reserved.

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Thank you for reading!

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