3 Days In Vancouver/Burnaby: 2024 JETAA Canada National Conference

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On the weekend of August 9th-11th, representatives from JETAA Prairies and representatives from all Canadian JETAA chapters, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago as well as country reps from JETAA USA and JETAA International converged to Vancouver to attend the 2024 JETAA Canada National Conference at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC.

JETAA Prairies President, Rigor Maglaya, and JETAA Prairies Secretary, Hyewon Park, at the 2024 JETAA Canada National Conference.
JETAA Prairies President, Rigor Maglaya, and JETAA Prairies Secretary, Hyewon Park, at the 2024 JETAA Canada National Conference.

On the first night, MOFA hosted a reception on campus to welcome all of the delegates with speeches given by the Deputy Consul General Satomi Okagaki on behalf of the of the Consulate General of Japan in Vancouver, JETAA Canada representative Alena Seinboold, and JETAABC President Danielle Markewicz. The delegates mingled while light food and refreshments were served. There were a mix of old faces with new faces.

Deputy Consul General, Satomi Okagaki, gives a speech at the Welcome Reception as part of the JETAA Canada National Conference 2024 held at Simon Fraser University.
Deputy Consul General, Satomi Okagaki, gives a speech at the Welcome Reception as part of the JETAA Canada National Conference 2024 held at Simon Fraser University.

The next day, the chapter reps held their annual presentations regarding their respective chapter’s activities. The delegates also exchanged ideas about their success stories and challenges that each chapter faces. It was a great reminder that no matter how large a chapter is: each chapter faces the same challenges as a smaller chapter.

JETAA Canada National Conference 2024 at Simon Fraser University.
JETAA Canada National Conference 2024 at Simon Fraser University.

After the delegates finished their agenda for the day, the delegates travelled to Downtown Vancouver to a local Japanese restaurant for a dinner hosted by CLAIR. Afterward, a few of the delegates enjoyed some sightseeing.

On the last day, the delegates voted that the next host city for the national conference is Halifax. Later, the delegates brainstormed about creating more inter-chapter events. One of the potential ideas conjured up is having a fantasy sumo league tournament where alumni predict who would win in the sumo tournament circuit and the winner of the fantasy league gets awarded a physical trophy.

In a more casual setting, the delegates enjoyed a nice dinner at a Japanese restaurant in Downtown Vancouver on the Saturday night. On the Sunday afternoon, the delegates toured the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre where they were holding a festival consisting of local Japanese/Japanese-Canadian merchants and artisans. The delegates toured the facility and learned about the struggles of Japanese immigrants in Canada.

JETAA delegates at the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre, August 2024.

JETAA Prairies would like to give its sincerest thanks to MOFA, CLAIR, JETAA BC, and Simon Fraser University for hosting the 2024 JETAA Canada National Conference. In addition, JETAA Prairies would like to thank all the delegates who attended. See you all next year!

JETAA Ottawa’s FREE Movie Night: Restaurant From The Sky

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JETAA Ottawa in collaboration with The Japan Foundation is holding a FREE moving night. The dates/times are below as follows.

Friday, November 3, 6:59 PM (Atlantic) to Monday, November 6, 12:59AM (Atlantic).
Friday, November 3, 5:59 PM (Eastern) to Sunday, November 5, 11:59PM (Eastern).
Friday, November 3, 4:59 PM (Central) to Sunday, November 5, 10:59PM (Central).
Friday, November 3, 3:59 PM (Mountain) to Sunday, November 5, 9:59PM (Mountain).
Friday, November 3, 2:59 PM (Pacific) to Sunday, November 5, 8:59PM (Pacific).

You have register to the get the free movie pass for these times. Registration and the movie screening link can found here: https://watch.eventive.org/restaurantfromthesky/play/6532db3fc0efb900d91cbed7

JETAA Ottawa’s event page for this event: https://www.jetaaottawa.ca/japanese-movie-weekend-free-nov-3-to-nov-6/

ストーリー
今日も食卓に、明るい声が響く。ここは道南・せたな町。海が見える牧場で酪農を営む亘
理は、 妻のこと絵、一人娘の潮莉とのしあわせな家族 3 人暮らし。自然に寄り添った食
を追求する仲間たちに囲まれ、厳しくも美しい大地で楽しい日々を送っている。亘理の夢
は、自分の牧場の牛乳で、この地でしか食べられないチーズを作ること。でも師匠のチー
ズ職人・大谷にはまだ追いつけず、落ち込んだり奮起したりの繰り返しだ。ある時、札幌
から訪れた有名シェフ・朝田に自分たちの食材を激賞され、亘理は一つのアイデアを思い
つく。それは、せたなの おいしいもの を広く届けるため、一日限定のレストランを開く
ことだった。だが、納得ゆくチーズが完成せず思い悩んでいたある日、突然大谷が倒れ…
…。

STORY
Wataru lives happily with his wife, Kotoe, and daughter, Shiori, in Setana,
Hokkaido. He runs a cheese factory and raises cattle on a ranch with a view
of the ocean that he inherited from his father. His cheese-making skills are still mediocre, so he is constantly getting scolded by his strict master. But Wataru enjoys a good life with a group of like-minded friends that are always there for each other. Then Kanbe, a young shepherd from Tokyo, joins their circle, and the friends find pleasure in “good food” that they produce themselves and share with one another. Then one day, a chef from a famous restaurant in Sapporo, who is attracted by their food, pays them a visit. They are ecstatic that their products are made even more delicious by this chef, and together they start planning a one -day- only restaurant to spread their joy to other people.

Wanna Go to Japan?! Calling All Submissions: JET Video Contest is Here!

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JET Video Contest. Deadline is January 17, 2024. The Prize: A trip to Tokyo. Videos are to be about your JET experience and to use one of the three themes: "Once-in-a-lifetime chance"; "Trying as hard as one can"; "The beauties of nature"
We know you wanna….

Yes, you read that right! Current and former JETs are eligible to enter!

The video is to be about your experience in Japan with one of the following themes:

  • 一期一会: “Ichigo ichie” or once in a life time experience
  • 一生懸命: “Ishyokenmei” or giving it your best
  • 花鳥風月: “Kachyofugetsu” or the beautify of nature

Submission Period: 1 October 2023 – 17 January 2024 17:00 JST

Terms and Conditions

  • Length: 1-5 minutes
  • Format: mp4, wmv, or mov
  • Background for each video must include: Name, home country, contracting organization, ALT / CIR, where you lived in Japan, when you went on JET
  • The video needs to either be in English with Japanese subtitles, or Japanese with English subtitles. If that’s difficult we can contact the contest office contest@clair.or.jp
  • It has to be an original video that you have not published previously
  • If you have a third party in the video, make sure you get the proper rights and permissions from them.
  • You can submit more than one video.

You need to have a public Youtube account. If yours is private, you’ll need to make it public in order to take part in the contest.

When uploading to Youtube, make sure to add the hashtag #JETVideoContest2024. After uploading it please enter the following info and e-mail it to the above mentioned address:

  • Name
  • Current Country of Residence (or prefecture in Japan)
  • Job type (ALT or CIR)
  • Contracting Organization
  • Years on JET
  • Title of Video
  • Theme (selected from one of the 3 mentioned above)
  • Link to Video
  • Contact e-mail address

Winners will be contacted by e-mail. Be sure to have a scan of your passport ready for travel arrangements to be made.

If your video wins, your Contracting Organization will be notified and it will also be used for JET PR afterwards.

Read the full 2024 JET Programme Video Contest Terms and Conditions here.

Meeting the New JETs and Aikon 2023

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Long time no see! We are still here! We had two significant events this past month alone. On July 8th, a few of us JET alumni met with the new JETs for some Japanese food. We all ate at Naru Sushi in Osborne Village.

A couple of the new JETs met with JET alumni for some Japanese food at Naru Sushi in Winnipeg, July 8th,2023.
A couple of the new JETs met with JET alumni for some Japanese food at Naru Sushi in Winnipeg, July 8th, 2023.

In the following weekend, JET alumni attended Aikon 2023 held at the RBC Convention Centre and worked our outreach table. Aikon is Winnipeg’s largest anime convention. It was fun and a couple of us cosplayed but wasn’t enough to outshine the bonsai trees from the Bonsai Winnipeg table next door. We will bring our own bonsai trees next time.

JETAA Prairies alumni at Aikon 2023.
JETAA Prairies alumni at Aikon 2023.

We wish safe travels and good luck to all the new JETs in this next chapter of their lives.

Virtual Shinnenkai! Saturday, January 28th, 2023, 7pm!

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Hi, everyone!

Happy New Year to all of you! 

Are you craving to socialize with JET alumni and reminisce about your times in Japan? Do you want to play Japanese-themed games? We are holding our Virtual Shinnenkai on Saturday, January 28th, 2023 at 7pm on Cisco WebEx!

You will need to download Cisco WebEx. Please RSVP to jetaambsk@gmail.com if you are attending and help calculate cost-sharing.

What: JETAA Prairies’ Virtual Shinnenkai

When: Saturday, January 28th, 2023 from 7pm-9pm.

Where: Online (Cisco WebEx). Once you RSVP, we will email you the room number/password.

Aikon 2022 and Meeting the New JETs

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For the last two weekends, JETAA Prairies alumni have been busy promoting the JET Programme at Winnpeg’s premier anime/manga conveniton and finally, meeting the new JETs in person two weeks before their departure. These two events mark the first time in over two years for the alumni chapter to hold events in person since the pandemic began.

Aikon 2022

On the weekend of July 22nd-24th, 2022, Over a hundred people stopped by at the JETAA Prairies table and chatted about the JET Programme (the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme). Alumni dressed up for the occasion to blend in with the crowd and even participated in some late night karaoke at the convention. It was a very busy three days indeed!

JETAA Prairies alumni at Aikon which is Winnipeg's premier anime/manga convention and expo. Alumni were present to promote the JET Programme.
JETAA Prairies alumni at Aikon on the weekend of July 22nd-24th, 2022. Aikon is Winnipeg’s premier anime/manga convention and expo. Alumni were present to promote the JET Programme.

Meet the New JETs 2022

On July 31st, 2022, the new JETs finally met up with current/former JETs in person at Shark Club in downtown Winnipeg for lunch. While this event was a non-official JETAA Prairies event, it was a good opportunity for the new JETs to finally meet each other and ask last minute questions to current/former JETs before departing.

On behalf of all alumni at JETAA Prairies, we wish all new and current JETs best of luck and wish them safe journeys to the Land of the Rising Sun.

The newly selected JETs meet current and former JETs at Shark Club for lunch on July 31st two weeks before their departure.
The newly selected JETs meet current and former JETs at Shark Club for lunch on July 31st two weeks before their departure.

Pre-Departure Orientation 2022

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JETAA Prairies held a virtual Pre-Departure Orientation for the new JETs (short-listed and alternates) on June 18th, 2022.
JETAA Prairies held a virtual Pre-Departure Orientation for the new JETs (short-listed and alternates) on June 18th, 2022.

On Saturday, June 18th, 2022, JETAA Prairies held the 2022 edition of the Pre-Departure Orientation. The new JETs (both short-listed and alternates) came from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The one-day included opening remarks from Consul Mr. Riki Kishimoto of the Consulate-General of Japan in Calgary.

A current JET held a 30-minute session/Q&A where she talked about her situation in Japan. Alumni of JETAA Prairies presented on a variety of topics: Getting Involved With Your School, Lesson Planning/English Team-Teaching, Learning Japanese, Living In The Inaka, and Getting Involved With Your Community. Some alumni also shared materials via email.

Everybody at JETAA Prairies wish all candidates good luck!

Pre-Departure Orientation, June 18, 2022

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When our powers combine…

The new JETs have been selected and we are currently looking for volunteers to present at this year’s Pre-Departure Orientation (PDOT) this year. The tentative date is Saturday, June 18th, 2022.  If you are interested, please reply to jetaambsk@gmail.com or fill out our Contact Us form.


What:  2022 Pre-Departure Orientation

When:  June 18, 2022 (Saturday)

Where:  TBA (In-person/virtually)

There will be honorariums/lunch set aside for those who volunteer.  Spots are limited.  First come, first serve basis.  

Manitoba/Saskwatchewan JET Programme Info Sessions

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JET Programme Info Session, University of Winnipeg, October 3rd, 2018. Pre-Pandemic.
JET Programme Info Session, University of Winnipeg, October 3rd, 2018.

Hello, all! I know this website has been bare for months. We had moved web server providers and our alumni had been busy with other events, particularly the Canada National Conference which was held virtually.

It’s that time again. If you or anyone you know are interested in applying for next year’s JET Programme, here are the dates for the info sessions at various institutions. Our alumni will be sharing their experiences:

  • October 6th, 2021, 12pm-1pm: University of Winnipeg
  • October 8th, 2021, 1pm-2pm: Canadian Mennonite University
  • October 12th, 2021, 12pm-1pm: University of Regina
  • October 22nd, 2021, 10am-11am: University of Manitoba.

The room numbers/passwords for Zoom and full schedule for other dates can be found here at https://www.calgary.ca.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/00_000167.html.

Special thanks to the alumni who have volunteered their time to share their experiences on JET.