Building community one JET at a time.

**Page will be updated as new events are created**

We welcome corrections or omissions! Email us at contact@usjetaa.org!

Links to events in private/closed Facebook groups may not be available unless you are in the group.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

JETAANY Members ONLY – Land a Job Through the JETAANY Linkedin Premium Subsidy Program!
September to November
Details: (We have updated the link for those who may have had trouble accessing the form in the prior newsletter) For all JET participants who are going to return to New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania: We’re excited to help you land a job or transition into a different career field in the States. With the subsidy program, we’ll reimburse up to $60 per person for your LinkedIn Premium account. You can get access to 15,000+ expert-led courses and see sample interview questions and answers contributed by professionals, along with many other features. We’ll also be working with you personally to set up career goals and achieve milestones. A total of 20 recent returnees (in the past 5 years) will be selected for this program.
RSVP: Sign up using this form.
Questions: Contact Cara via email.

JETAADC Members ONLY – Mentorship Program

Mentee Applications open September 6, 2021! 
Interested mentees should apply by September 30, 2021 at 11:59 PM EDT at: https://forms.gle/u8cUBuw48tLRvbFi9. Spots are limited and applications will be carefully considered on a rolling basis. Please send any questions to mentorship@jetaadc.org.

Those interested in becoming a potential mentor on the program should send an email to mentorship@jetaadc.org for more information.

Are you a recent JET alum wrestling with how to utilize your JET experience and planning a career in US-Japan relations? Do you currently reside or have plans to live in the DMV area? You would make a great mentee!

JETAADC is pleased to announce its 2021-2022 Mentorship Program, supported by the U.S. JET Program Alumni Association (USJETAA) and Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA (Sasakawa USA). This five-month mentorship program, now entering its second year, serves to bring the JET alumni community together by creating meaningful professional development relationships between recent returnees and mid-to-senior career professionals. This program is designed to provide mentees with the tools, resources, and networks that they can use to advance their careers in U.S.-Japan relations and to assist them during an uncertain job market. JETAADC hopes to support recent returnees and strengthen the U.S.-Japan pipeline by building upon a previous grant project that JETAADC held through the USJETAA/SPFUSA mini-grant program on “Maintaining the JET Momentum: The Post-Exchange Pipeline to Successful U.S.-Japan Leadership”.

Read more about the program and its requirements here: https://jetaadc.org/mentorship/ 

Those eligible to apply to the program as mentees must be:

• JET Alumni. Preference will be for those alumni who have returned from the program in the last two years (since 2019). Special consideration will be given to 2021 JET returnees;
• Alumni who currently reside in the DMV metropolitan area (D.C., Maryland, Virginia) or have concrete plans to relocate to this area by mid-October 2021

JETAA Rocky Mountain Members Only – Free Career Counseling

JETAARM is excited to announce that we are again offering complimentary career counseling sessions with fellow JET Alum Emily Frank!

Emily has been a professional career counselor for nearly 15 years and specializes in helping JET alumni figure out their next steps in their professional lives. She knows how to contextualize your JET experiences and help you assess your interests and abilities. Whether you’ve just returned from Japan or want to explore the direction of your current career, Emily has the resources and experience to guide you.

JETAARM and Emily Frank have teamed up to offer a 1-hour career counseling session to 10 different alumni. In order to be eligible for these career counseling sessions, you must:

• Have completed the JET program.
• Currently live in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, or Wyoming.
• Be subscribed to our monthly newsletter.  (Subscribe here)

Sessions are on a first come, first serve basis, so we encourage everyone who is interested to apply right away. We especially encourage newly returned JETs to take advantage of this great opportunity!

Sign up here for career counseling with Emily Frank.

WEEKLY/MONTHLY VIRTUAL EVENTS

JETAANY Nihongo Dake Conversation Hour

Dates: Monday, August 30 and (tentatively) September 13, 20, 27
Time: 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. EDT
Details: Join us virtually Mondays on Zoom to keep your Japanese language skills sharp. This chat is for Japanese speakers at the intermediate level or higher. Come join in on the fun! There’s no fee to participate.

For upcoming events check out the JETAANY Facebook Events Page.

RSVP & Questions: contact Ashley via email 

JETAA Southern California: Water Cooler – Every Tuesday at 12:00 PM PST via Zoom (passcode: 018586)

WFH blues got you down? Not being productive anyway? Just need a place to eat lunch? Take a break at the JETAASC Water Cooler!

This is a casual drop-in type hang out where you can say hi, stick around for some lunchtime conversation, or just tune in to some ambient social interaction we’ve all been missing away from the office. Bring your favorite drink or a full meal, pop in for a few minutes or an hour. We’re continuing to make this a weekly event to start your week off right.

JETAA Great Lakes Netflix Watch Party – Every Wednesday at 6:00 PM PST. Join Facebook group for details.

Every Wednesday at 8 we’ll be hosting a watch party! See the posts for specific details on what is currently being viewed, and how to join. We hope to see you there! We will still use teleparty due to size limitations on Hulu’s watch party service. Please remember that the teleparty app will need to be installed into your browser ahead of time and can be found at netflixparty.com ! In addition, you will need an account with Hulu to be able to join. The first watch party link will be posted at 8 and the video will begin playing at 8:30. We will watch four episodes per week so if you miss this week, you can always watch them in your own time before next week! Register by Email

JETAA Radio Taiso – Every Friday morning at 8:30 AM PT/11:30 AM ET

Registration link:
https://tinyurl.com/y55o4rzl

Fill out this quick Zoom registration once to get access to Radio Taiso that will work for every week you are able to join. Join your fellow JET alumni for Radio Taiso every Friday morning! It’s a 3-6 min stretch followed by a quick social check-in if you have time to chat. Join the virtual stretch via zoom:
11:30am EDT (New York); 10:30am CDT (Kansas City); 9:30am MDT (Denver), 8:30am PST (Los Angeles)

JETAA Washington DC Japanese Script Reading Club – Every Sunday at 2:00PM to 3:00PM ET. Sign up form

Join your fellow Japanese language learners and read through a Japanese short play script! The first read-through is for language study, the second read-through is for putting emotion into your Japanese. There will be three language levels available (easy, medium, hard), and a native-speaking Japanese Pronunciation Coach in every zoom breakout room. Email jetambassador@jetaadc.org with any questions. To sign up : https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScl3pMd4reYVdHdyo_iqkjKubOKrL2m_ejc_KEKJFjBl1lzMg/viewform

September 4 at 7:30 PM HST – JETAA Hawaii Open Board Meeting

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAtd-yqpz8uGtVIrsY62UukAG6TGpeUNGNn

Open Board Meetings are a chance for non-board members to share ideas, get involved in JETAA Hawaii activities, and make connections in the alumni community. We hope to see you there!

September 7 from 6:30 PM – 8 PM CT – JETAA Chicago September Open Board Meeting

At our September meeting, we will be discussing plans for future events and other opportunities in the virtual space! Interested in taking part in the conversation? Join us for our September Open Board Meeting!

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MEETING IS ONLINE ONLY!

Tuesday, September 7th, 2021
6:30 pm – 8 pm CST
Online – In the Comfort of Your Own Home
RSVP FOR THE SEPTEMBER OPEN BOARD MEETING

What is an Open Board Meeting?

Previously known as Monthly Member Meetings, Open Board Meetings are where we get together to discuss events from the past month, any upcoming events in the near future, and news relevant to JETAA.

Meetings are also a chance for non-board members to share ideas, get involved in JETAA Chicago activities, and make connections in the alumni community.

Who can attend?
Meetings are open to all members of JETAA Chicago! For RSVPs, in the interest of including those that do not use Facebook and other social media platforms, a Guestlist event will be made for each open board meeting. All alumni interested in attending are required to RSVP through that event. Facebook event pages will still be posted to promote the monthly open board meeting in the JETAA Chicago Facebook group, and questions can still be e-mailed to info@jetaachicago.com.

When are they?
Open Board Meetings are held on the first Monday of every month unless it falls on a holiday. A full schedule for the year will be posted on our website.

What if I can’t make it in person?
For those unable to attend in person (EVERYONE FOR NOW!), but still interested in being involved in the discussion, simply register through Guestlist. There are conference details to dial in and they will be shared with you automatically once you have RSVP’d. Otherwise, email info@jetaachicago.com and we can work on another way to make sure you can participate!

Note that there are still positions open on the JETAA Chicago Board:

Junior Treasurer
Please email us if you’re interested in learning more or applying for a position. Details about the open positions can be found here.

JETAAMN Apple Picking at Aamodt’s Apples (In Person)

September 11 from 10 AM – 1 PM.

Join JETAAMN at Aamodt’s Apples in Stillwater MN on September 11th, 10am – 1pm for a morning at the apple orchard socializing with other JETs. Families are encouraged to join with their kids. There is space to safely social distance and play.

Aomori is known for apples! Come listen to JET alumni who lived in Aomori talk about their experience in the prefecture.

JETAAMN will provide apple cider, apples, and apple donuts. Other concessions including apple brats and hard cider will be available for purchase. Hope to see you there!

September 13th from 10 AM PT | 12 PM CT | 1 PM ET – USJETAA Japanese Reading Group The goal of the USJETAA Japanese Reading Group is to help advanced beginner and intermediate level students improve their reading skills. Each month we will look at a short reading. Participants should attempt to do the reading on their own and come to the meeting with any questions. We will spend the meeting each month reading the assignment sentence by sentence to understand how the Japanese is working. This event is facilitated by Daniel Morales of How to Japanese. Sessions are not recorded.

Join the Facebook Group to share resources and ask questions.

RSVP via Facebook or join by Zoom Link (no registration required)

In September, we will be reading a short essay titled “On Shiitake Mushrooms” by artist and epicure Kitaoji Rosanjin (https://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/001403/files/49979_37673.html). Rosanjin was a multifaceted artist who had his works displayed at MOMA in New York City. He also opened a popular restaurant. Read about his life on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosanjin).

September 17 aT 6:00 PM Pacific Time – JETAA Southern California and Arizona Craft Night

Get your craft supplies ready for a “JETAASC Crafty Get-together!” on Zoom. Feel free to work on any project, new or interesting idea, or just hang! I’ll be working on putting together a lego set, playing with my ever-growing collection of washi tape, and bullet journaling. Hope to see you there!

JETAASC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: JETAASC Crafty Get-Together

Time: Sep 17, 2021 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83446543779?pwd=TDRER1lDMFdMTGRsbC9Hb0loTUlXZz09

Meeting ID: 834 4654 3779
Passcode: 102308

• Tuna Tar Tar Don includes Marinated Tuna, Tuna Chunk, Tororo (JET $10, original price $16)
• Maguro Luxury Don includes Tuna, Seared Tuna, Tuna Chunk, Spicy Tuna (JET $10, original price $15)
• Three Amigos includes Tuna, Salmon, Hamachi, Spicy Tuna, Yaki Salmon (JET $10, original price $17)

September 19 from 3:00-5:30 p.m. EST – Great Lakes JETAA Dogs Days of Summer Kayaking Event (In Person)

Location:
Kensington Metropark
4570 Huron River Pkwy,
Milford, MI 48380

FOJ (Friends of JETs) are welcome to attend!

Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kayaking-event-tickets-168970779149

Please join us for an afternoon of boating and/or kayaking in Kensington Metropark! Feel free to bring any snacks! Also don’t forget to bring drinking water.

We will notify anyone in case the weather becomes a problem. We will meet around 3pm, but you are not required to stay until any certain time.

JETAANY Sempai/Kohai Outing: Coffee Chat (In Person)
Sunday, September 19
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Location: Greeley Square Park (Between 32nd and 33rd Streets, Broadway and 6th Ave, New York, NY 10001)
Details: Welcome (back) to New York City! JETAANY wants to reach out to you and extend their assistance as you transition back to the United States. Come join us for an informal discussion on how to adjust to life after JET. Kohai can enjoy a coffee courtesy of JETAANY.
Let others know you are going on Facebook: Event Page.
Questions: Contact Ryan via email

September 23 from 6:30-8:30 pm CST – JETAA Chicago Survival Series Send Off Happy Hour!

September 24 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. EST – JETAA Great Lakes Nintendo Game Night

Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nintendo-switch-game-night-tickets-168970171331

FOJ (Friends of JETs) are welcome to attend!

Got a Nintendo Switch? Want to engage in a little friendly online competition? Join us for a fun evening of Mario Kart and Super Smash Brothers. We will be using Discord for voice chatting.

September 29 from 5-7 PM ET – JETAADC JET Networking Happy Hour

“The Harimaya Bridge”: Special Virtual Screening and Q&A
SEP 24 AT 9 PM EDT – SEP 30 AT 10:30 PM EDT
JETAA Northern California Film Club

Leveraging LinkedIn
September 25 at 11 AM ET
Host: JETAA Toronto

Nihongo Dake 11
September 27 at 7 PM ET
Host: JETAA New York