Catalysta.org, Observations Article 1

After a rocky start, I got my first article for Catalysta.org published on February 25th. Take a look at it here!

Retaking Perception - Media Shapes Our World by Lana Kitcher

Next article to be published in April, under the "Trailblazer" category. I'll keep you posted!

-Lana

Last AJET Connect Article for me!

In May I submitted my last Rosie article to the AJET Connect Magazine.
Here is the link!

May AJET Connect 

AJET Connect Homepage

censorship, fashion, and role models OH MY

Two things from BBC news today:

First is the wikimedia 24-hour blackout in protest to proposed US piracy laws.  We definitely have a problem with piracy, but the way the laws are written here is inappropriate.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16590585  Let's do something about this before it's passed and becomes a huge problem.

Second, an article about an 11 year old named Tavi Gevinson who started a blog called "Style Rookie" which gained a large number of followers and recognition.  Now at age 15, she has launched her new online blog/magazine called Rookie at rookiemag.com, geared towards teenage girls.  Editor and chief at 15, managing 4 editors and 40 writers, I think this girl was meant to make it big.  I may not be overwhelmingly interested in fashion, but I respect her drive and initiative.  Is it ok to have a role model 9 years my junior?  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16588790

Finally, I'm currently working on an article for the next AJET CONNECT e-magazine which should be out by mid February.  I'll be sure to post the link here once it's published.

The End of NaNoWriMo 2011

NaNoWriMo has officially ended in Japan!  How did you all do?  Did you finish?  Will you try to edit and publish your new masterpiece?

To all of those who participated; whether you made the 50,000 words or not, congratulations on such an incredible accomplishment! I'm proud of everyone who took part, and I hope you'll join me again next year! Good job and good luck!  To those of you who didn't participate but are considering it for the future, perhaps you'll join us in 2012?

-Lana

P.S. Happy December 1st!

Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY (slightly belated) THANKSGIVING! I hope it was a good one. Although we didn't have the day off here, I was able to have a large Thanksgiving-style dinner last Sunday evening with a bunch of other English teachers in the area. Also, we had the day off on Wednesday due to a Japanese national holiday so it was a good week all in all.

To top it all off, I finished my NaNoWriMo novel last night at 50,121 words! I've updated my "NaNoWriMo 2011 participant" badges to the "2011 NaNoWriMo winner" ones. Anyone who crosses the 50,000 word finish line is a winner. Towards the middle of the month I was feeling less motivated, but I got a final burst of motivation triggered by comptetive spirit and I finished. The novel needs a lot of work, but perhaps someday it will turn into a published short story. For now, it is just a rough draft and will probably stay that way for some time. I think I'd like to do some planning throughout the next year and write another novel next November. Hopefully I'll have time to think up a fun plot-line and some interesting characters before then.

Here is a very short blub from my 2011 NaNoWriMo novel:

H&F

Sometimes I wonder if I could change things still. Even now.

There are light-brown stains on the index and middle fingers of my right hand. My hair is brittle from dye. I try to tease it for volume but it’s pretty useless. The cheap cloth of the uniform I’m wearing is wrinkled and discolored from overuse. It hangs loosely on my frame. Cigarette burns, beer stains, and oil marks from the dirty men who grope me as I walk through the isles form a visible pattern on the blue fabric, like they’re part of the design. God I hate this job. I hate those men. I hate their smoke and their money and their crude language, and everything about them. The people who come before the doors even open and stay until we kick them out are the absolute worst. Where do they get the money to gamble all day? Every day the same people come. They’re as addicted to pachinko as I am to not coming to work.

------------------

All for now. Good night!

ほぼ日手帳 2012 - My Personal Planner for 2012

ほぼ日手帳 2012

Pictures of the planner I bought for 2012.

I am slightly obsessed with books, notebooks, writing utensils, and other tools used for organization.  Last year I wrote a post about ほぼ日手帳, or Daily Planner.  You can review the blog entry by clicking the following link.

-ほぼ日手帳 2011-

I plan to keep everything organized using this one book.  By keeping everything in one place it makes it easier to see what needs to be done.  It also has a monthly and a weekly section, making projects easy to plan out and upcoming deadlines easy to see.

For those who hate organizing and planning, there are ways to make manageable goals over a period of time.  Different methods work for different people regarding how to accomplish them.  If you would like any ideas or advice regarding organization, please contact me by e-mail via the About Me: Contact tab.

Here are some other pictures:

http://www.1101.com/store/techo/2006/concept/images/p_open.jpg

http://art20.photozou.jp/pub/87/209087/photo/29643993.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnNgR5SqJbLq1XR3Th6wy_wB7ULdye4R5hY0uB1EcTHoEZRfdlxREg0cIBCuzLIjUjDAIr9Vah3Bz1X5vhRjjHHevJEy_ZO59C11Uv3YYM1JqjD7JFHU082Kws0pg-nq0a3i9WAqMPeBk/s1600/IMG_0480.JPG

Happy planning!

And while we're on it, the New Year is coming up very soon!  What are your 2012 New Year's Resolutions?

My current count for NaNoWriMo is 33,055 words.  More than half way there!

November Articles

The November issue of AJET Connect magazine is now out!  In this issue I have two articles featured.  One is a full two-page article, and the other is a one-page column by "Rosie."  I have also  submitted a photo for the November photo contest.  I hope you will enjoy reading this month's articles!  They aren't perfect, but I'm happy to be writing and getting my work out there!


Screenshots:

"The No Impact Experiment" -LRK, PDF pg 15

 

"A Word to the Wise" -Rosie, PDF pg 54

"At Home in Serenity" -LRK, PDF pg 57

Here is the link for the direct download, and here is the link to access the section on the AJET website http://ajet.net/ajet-connect/.

And on a different note, I'm up to 9,451 words on my NaNoWriMo story.  Although I know it isn't a very good story, as in this case quantity as more important than quality, I am still tempted to post it on lulu.com when I'm finished.  If not for anyone else, I think I'd like to own a hard-copy of the story at least for myself.  It can be a reminder of this accomplishment of November 2011.  Also, if I ever do National Novel Writing Month again, it would probably good to have a physical copy of all of he work I've done from the past to keep track.

A day mostly well spent I think.
Good night Tokyo!

Off to a good start!

Well!  The first day of NaNoWriMo and I'm off to a decent start!  I've written 2,255 words for my story today, which is 589 words more than I needed.  It really doesn't matter how many words I write a day, as long as I write an average of 1,666 to accomplish the 50,000 word goal by the end.  I bet it will be difficult to find time to write on some days due to whatever, so writing over the daily goal is probably a good thing.  I'd love to write more tonight, but after my English lesson with a co-worker and getting ready for work related things for tomorrow I don't think I'll have enough time.  It's already near 9 and I tend to be in bed by 10.  I wish I was (were? I can never remember this rule...) the type that could run on no sleep. Then I could probably get everything accomplished!  Perhaps my real problem is that I have too many interests and there simply aren't enough hours in the day to support them all. ^_^
So far on the first day, I've found that my friends' progress in NaNoWriMo is a big motivator to write more.  On the website there is an option to befriend other people also involved in the project, and if they update their status you can see how many words they've written and what percentage they have finished.  The competitive side of me wants to stay ahead, so as long as my friends are writing and updating, I'll probably be able to get motivation and inspiration from them as well as from myself.

As of now I don't think it's good enough to post any of the 2,255 words that I've written, but I'd like to post a short sample here sometime this month so keep a look out!

Hello November!

Happy Halloween 2012

http://dailycontributor.com/happy-halloween/8236/

Happy Halloween!

Halloween isn't a very well celebrated holiday in Japan.  Some people decide to have parties, but in general it's not a big to-do.  Tomorrow my three English club students will be making some Halloween sweets with me after school, but I don't have a costume or any fun party gifts.  They may be a bit disappointed, but it's hard to decorate for such a thing with no budget and no materials available within a reasonable distance of my house.

Last year, teachers asked me to do special Halloween lesson plans during the month of October, but this year there were too many events happening at our school and no one had time to deviate from the textbook curriculum.  Let's hope they don't suddenly ask me to have something ready in class tomorrow, since I don't have anything to bring and not enough time to make something on the spot.

----------

As tomorrow is the last day of October, NaNoWriMo will be starting the day after on November 1st!  Here is a short video from the creators of NaNoWriMo.

I was told the following: "Warn your friends, family, neighbors, and pets about the upcoming challenge. The more people who know what you're working on, the more accountable you'll feel and the likelier you are to hit the 50,000-word goal."

I agree that having friends and family know about my projects, as well as supporters cheering me on for whatever goal, helps keep me focused as well as holds me accountable for my actions.

So wish me luck!  I haven't quite decided on a storyline yet, so maybe I'll be day-dreaming all throughout tomorrow about a possible story plot.  Any inspirational ideas?  It is supposed to be easy and fun to write, to the goal is to stick to fiction.

Stay warm, and have a very wonderful and happy Halloween!  It finally feels like fall.  My favorite season.

NaNoWriMo

Good morning!  Even on non-work days I find it difficult to wake up late.

My hopes for this fall/winter are to stay inside, read as many books as possible, study for the JLPT, and figure out what I want to do with my life once I leave Japan in approximately nine or ten months.  I have the study and leisure books already prepared, but I don’t really have enough information on job hunting.

Last night I met up with a friend in Kofu.  She is also in the process of trying to make a career change, so I asked her to bring along the books she has regarding employment.  We talked a lot about our interests, and what kind of markets cater to them.  She has been talking to various career coaches and had a lot of useful information to share with me.  The main book that she’s been using is called Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 3.0.  I’m also interested in learning a little about this on my own, so I looked online only to discover that there are about 20 different versions of this book, all geared towards different needs and occupations.  For example there are some that focus on using technology, some for using social media, for entrepreneurs, writers, and the list goes on.  There are a few that I’m really interested in reading, but I was unable to find any copies that were cheap enough to be worth my while.  I also checked the e-libraries and couldn’t find them for free for the kindle.  I’ll either have to suck it up and buy some of the ones I’m interested in, or find equally useful information for free on the Internet.  I’ll consider this a little longer before I make a decision.  At this point, I'm trying to avoid buying anything new because I’ll have to spend a lot of money to bring it back with me to the US.

Lately I’ve been trying to expand my writing ability, so I’ve been doing some volunteer writing.  I mentioned this in my last entry about the AJET online magazine.  For those of you who guessed that my nom de plum is “Rosie - the advice columnist,” you’re right! I’ll be writing the advice column monthly, as long as there is an interest from the editing staff and readers.

In addition to article writing, I found out about this event in November called NaNoWriMo.  It stands for Nation Novel Writing Month.  From midnight on November first to midnight on December first, a group of individuals from all over the world will make a pledge to dedicate the month of November to writing a novel.  Each person will attempt to write 50,000 words, or approximately 175 pages, in 30 days.  The purpose is not necessarily to walk away with something you can publish on December 1^st, but to write for the sake of writing.  Many people who want to write often let doubts get in their way of ever sitting down to the task.  “I’m not good enough, I don’t have enough time, and I don’t know what to write.”  The deadline constraints of this event force people to write as much as possible, creating a writing flow that is important for practice and idea generation.  The point is to get people away from using excuses, and simply WRITE.

I will be participating in next months NaNoWriMo.  Anyone can join (as long as they have access to the Internet), and there are various communities within the event to help motivate one another with the task at hand.  Although my schedule is busy and  I may not pass the 50,000 word finish line, I figured it was still a good chance and opportunity, so I'll give it a try.  Ultimately, anyone could make this a project for themselves at any time of the year, but having a community going along through the same process at the same time as you is integral to getting the job done I think.  Getting inspiration and motivation from others is often important when trying to push yourself toward a seemingly unachievable goal.  Every year people “pass the finish line,” so perhaps I will join them either this year or next!  Also, maybe the work I produce this month will eventually be turned into a novel.  You never know!  Check out the website if you’re interesting in the program, and please let me know if you decide to join in!  I have put a “participant’s badge” at the bottom of my website.  I’d love to share this experience with you!  We can share ideas, story lines, and encourage one another along the way!  I will try to keep my word-count up on my blog during November to let you all know if I’m making any progress or not.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/about/whatisnano

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/about/hownanoworks

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/dashboard

http://blog.lettersandlight.org/

February Project

Here is an article I wrote for the local JET monthly publication called the Yamanashi Panache.  It won't be printed until March, so you have a head-start to read it!  It may not be very interesting to non-English teachers, but I'm posting it here so that you can see what kinds of things I've been working on.

Happy reading!

-Lana

Yamanashi Panache

Active Participation in the JET Program ; Making your experience mean something to you.

By Lana Kitcher

I would like to begin by saying that I am not much of a writer, and I do not intend to sound preachy or forceful in the following article.  My passion is helping people accomplish their goals by providing them with the tools and resources they need to do so.  That being said, I hope you are able to find something useful here today!

              Have you become bored with your daily routine at your school(s) or office?  Did you decide to stay with your current job not because you love it, but because there is a decent pay-check and well, you are not really sure what is next anyway so why not?  I will shamefully admit that a large part of my decision to re-contract was financially motivated.  I already have everything set up, I am able to pay all of my bills on time as well as my loans in America, and I can even afford to travel from time to time.  Several of my friends back in the U.S. still do not have decent jobs nine months after graduation.
In deciding to stay for another year I was able to postpone any serious ideas of what I would like to do after JET. Having a “type A personality” however, I decided that applying for an AJET chair position or “block representative” might help with any skills or credentials needed for future employment.  While doing research into AJET, the Association for Japan Exchange and Teaching, I rediscovered the mission of JET, which over time I seem to have forgotten.  Many ALTs, CIRs, and SEAs are making an enormous impact in their local communities and with the JET Program at large during their time spent working in Japan.  As the Tokyo Orientation booklet states, “Make a deeper impact at local and international levels while here on JET.”
              While I delved further into the interconnected organizations such as JET, AJET, JETAA (JET Alumni Association), YETI (Yamanashi English Teachers International) and other sponsored links within these institutions, I was reminded of the JET application process and what kind of people they were looking for when they hired us.
              As taken directly from the JET Program official website, (http://www.jetprogramme.org/e/introduction/index.html) the JET Program “is aimed at promoting grass-roots international exchange between Japan and other nations.”  Not only are the majority of us expected to teach English in schools, but we are also expected to further this exchange by participating in local community events and “international exchange activities.”  The website says that they are looking for “enthusiastic, motivated, and dedicated individuals.”  How many of us remain all of these things past the application and orientation processes?  In their 2010-2011 Informational Pamphlet (http://www.jetprogramme.org/e/current/pubs/pamphlet.html) they list nineteen points under criteria for eligibility.  Below I have listed five of these points.

“All applicants must:
1) Be interested in Japan, and be willing to deepen their knowledge and appreciation of Japan after their arrival. Make an effort to study or continue studying the Japanese language prior to and after arriving in Japan. Be motivated to participate in and initiate international exchange activities in the local community.

3) Have the ability to adapt to living and work in Japan.

15) Be interested in the Japanese educational system and particularly in the Japanese way of teaching foreign languages.

16) Be interested in working actively with students.

17) Be qualified as a language teacher or be strongly motivated to take part in the teaching of foreign languages.”
              Do you remember how long the application process was?  I recall writing all sorts of essays, getting recommendations, and sending in various forms and copies of forms to the government offices and Japanese consulates.  Then after all of the writing and sending was finished, the waiting began!  We had to wait before hearing whether or not there would be an interview, then go to a far-off city just to take the interview, wait again to hear if you had gotten into the program, wait to be told exactly where you would be placed, just to wait again to hear about what kind of school you would be working at or where you would be living.  For putting yourself through all of this simply to sit at a school and settle for teaching a few English classes sounds like a waste of talent.  Anyone here can make a difference in effectively teaching and communicating about our home countries.  There are a number of ways that I have recently discovered to get involved, and I hope that you can find at least one of the following interesting or inspiring.  Why be satisfied with mediocrity when you can make your experience in Japan a great one?  Also, do not forget to consider what you would like to do after your time as a JET.  There are plenty of things you can do in addition to being in the classroom that will build your experience and skill sets.  I hope that you are able to look back with pride and see how much you were able to accomplish in such a short amount of time.   Here are some ideas I have found or thought up.

Ways you can get involved with YETI Japan:
http://www.yetijapan.com
-Help write articles for the YETI Spaghetti.
-Participate in YETI events.
-Run for a YETI Council position.
-Help plan, organize, sponsor, or host events.
-Keep up with the YETI Forum.  There are often events and opportunities posted there by fellow English teachers!  Many people in the prefecture advertise social and international events that are being held locally.  This can range from international day at a local library or school, to a photography exhibition.  Also, it is a good chance to communicate with the other English teachers and foreign community members within the prefecture!

Ways you can get involved with the Yamanashi Panache:
David McCarthey <alt-fzyk@pref.yamanashi.jp>
-Anyone can contribute to the Panache.  Simply send an e-mail to David McCarthey our Prefectural Advisor, and discuss your ideas with him.  He is a great listener and is prompt in responding to e-mails or inquiries.
-If you do not want to write a full article, you can submit school games and ideas, information about local events, shorter articles, or even propose a new idea to David.

Ways you can get involved with AJET and JET directly:
http://ajet.net
http://www.jetprogramme.org/
-Join a special interest group.  If there is nothing there that you relate to, you can create your own group!
-Run for a block or council position.
-Send ideas to the council for e-bulletin topics and events.
-Nominate a JTE that you think is doing a fantastic job to receive national recognition.
-Prove to the council that we are doing a fantastic job in Yamanashi, and our prefecture can receive national recognition.
-Participate in the returning JET conference, opinion exchange conference, or volunteer for the various orientations.  You can even lead some of the workshops!
-Vote!  Make sure the people representing the entire JET body to the Japanese government deserve to be there.
-Ask your PA and CIRs how you can get involved.  There are often international events taking place that need volunteers and participants.  Put your name out there so that they are likely to contact you when they are in need of a helping hand.  If you think you are not being informed of events or are being informed too late, tell your supervisor, JTE, co-workers and BOE that you would like to be involved if something comes up.
-Take a look at “The JET Effect.”  Every month it features one JET that has taken the JET mission statement above and beyond, and has made a huge impact in their community.  Maybe we can all be inspired by them to work for something that we are equally passionate about.  Maybe you can be the next JET in the spotlight of “The JET Effect.”  Maybe we could work together as a group of individuals, not as JETs but as English teachers and community members in the prefecture aiming for a common goal and producing something truly great and influential.
-Have any ideas concerning JET on a large scale?  Consider sending your ideas to executive council members or specific liaisons within the council to have your ideas or concerns heard.

Ways you can get involved with JETAA:
http://www.jetalumni.org
-Find your home country/city JETAA group, or join the group belonging to your future residence.  Connect with past JETs there, and learn how you can get involved with JET back at home as well while you are still in Japan.  Maybe someone needs a connection you happen to have.  Maybe you could do an event simultaneously across the globe.  Maybe you could update them about how JET is going now and bounce fresh ideas off of one another.
-There are even more publications offered from these various groups!  Writing to them, or at least getting ideas from people who have already tried different events might get you working on your next big project.
-Look into CLAIR’s annual publication called “The JET Streams.”  It can be found on the “Former JETs” tab of the official JET Program website at http://www.jetprogramme.org.

Other sites, resources and ideas:
-There are tons of groups that you could join on networking sites such as LinkedIn, facebook or twitter.
http://www.facebook.com
http://www.linkedin.com
http://twitter.com
-A part of being able to promote internationalization and awareness of the culture and customs in your country involves being able to communicate with the native population in Japan.  Japanese can be a difficult language to learn, but it is important to try if you want to really maximize the effectiveness of your time here.  JET offers free courses to participants at varying levels.  According to the JET Program, “Courses are designed for participants to improve their Japanese language abilities and to assist in the promotion of the understanding of Japan upon returning home.”  There are language books that you can borrow from the International Center in Kofu or from various libraries in the prefecture.  Borrowing from friends, other English Teachers, or foreign residents in the area may also be an option.  Other than books, there are many Japanese learning websites and free JLPT downloads on the AJET website.  “Yamanashi Nihongo Volunteers” is an inexpensive option if you want one-on-one classes with a Japanese native speaker.  If you do not like learning the traditional way there are more interactive ways to learning as well. Take www.Japanesepod101.com as an example.  They distribute a series of free to download podcasts and lesson videos.  Listening to Japanese music, going to karaoke, or watching Japanese movies are also more entertaining ways to get Japanese language practice. 
-Does Yamanashi have any official sports teams that the English teachers are involved in?  Some teams could be organized and possibly even compete against teams in other prefectures.  Maybe local Japanese people would be interested in joining as well?
-Is anyone interested in theater or film?  We could put together a play or make a movie for awareness about different cultures.  Not only might it be fun to participate in this kind of event, creating a team and building a production from the ground up, but it would also involve the local community actively in either participation or viewing of the final product.
-If you want to get involved, it does not mean you have to do it through a JET-run organization, or even with other JETs.  Let your imagination take you somewhere new.

What else can we do for our students?
-Organize events for them involving other native English speakers in the area.
-Set up pen-pal systems between them and schools in your home country.
-Set up fund-raising and charity events to build a local scholarship program to help students study abroad to your home country.
-If you have any ideas about teaching techniques, organize a concise plan with reasons supporting your new teaching ideas and propose them to your school.
-Bring cultural education into your classroom.  So much of language is culture.  No one will understand idiomatic expressions or set phrases without learning a little about culture.  However, do not forget that internationalization is a two-way interaction.  Japanese rituals or customs may sometimes seem pointless or mundane, but how much effort are we putting into fully understanding them?  We are as much here to learn about Japan as we are to teach about our own countries.
-Share your trials and errors with other English teachers!  Why all make the same mistakes over and over again if we can learn from each other?  Why not share what events or games were a hit and hope that another teacher can use them just as effectively?  ALTs and Eikaiwa teachers used to have to communicate via facsimile.  We now have websites, forums, mobile phones, local and national publications, and e-mail to contact one another quickly and easily.
-Are you involved with any clubs at your school?  English club tends to be strongly suggested if not required, but do they meet every day?  Are there any other activities or clubs that you are interested in?

         What other ideas do you have that I have not mentioned above?  How many people are informed about the ideas that might be interested in your mission and like to join in the completion of it?  Did you ever make a list of goals, either before coming to Japan or after arriving, about what you would like to accomplish while you are here?  If you did make something resembling such a list, take a look at it.  Is there anything you can cross off of it?  Is there anything you would like to add?  If you have not made this kind of list, what would you put on it now?

Everyone keeps telling me that the JET Program, and any experience for that matter, is what you make of it.  If you find something that you are passionate about you are bound to get far and make great things happen.

If you would like to discuss anything at all about this article or would like more information about a specific resource mentioned within, please do not hesitate to contact me.  You can send me a personal message on the YETI forum to “LanaKitcher,” or e-mail me at LanaKitcher@gmail.com.

Thank you and good luck with your next endeavor!  There may be many more people willing to get on board than you think, so get the word out and have a great time!

Lana Kitcher
First Year JET
Isawa Junior High School ALT