Keeping AJET Alive: President’s Summary
This year was a blast. Our team did a fantastic job this year, especially considering that we were finally stabilizing after a devastating global pandemic.
Backtrack #28: Take Me Home, Country Roads (Jennie Terman, Kamijima ALT, 2006-2008)
We have another Backtrack! This time from Jennie Terman, an ethnomusicologist who was a JET out on Kamijima from 2006 to 2008.
Have you heard of Brass Band Camelia?
By Patrick Peh
Prelude
At the end of January we had Tsubaki “Matsuri” (meaning Festival), which is a massive festival held at Tsubaki Shrine, marking the coldest day this winter. But what I am going to write about here is not so much about the festival but about a concert band of the same name. In my final year of the JET program, I had the honor and privilege to perform with Brass Band Camellia in Masaki Culture Center. Previously, in Listen to the Japanese School Band I narrated the story of students playing their instruments in band. This time, I will write about their teachers who play their instruments in band.
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Ehime AJET TTRPG: Spooky Scary Skeletons in Matsuyama
On February 5th, 2023, JETs and other English educators from all over Ehime converged in Matsuyama for Ehime AJETs first TTRPG conference for the year!
Backtrack #27: A Lightbulb Moment (Maura McCarthy, Uwajima SHS ALT, 2013-15)
What’s your name, when and where was your placement, and where are you from originally?
My name is Maura McCarthy, and I had a placement in Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture.
I’m a military dependent, so I’m not from one place in particular– but I spent my last year of high school and undergraduate career in North Carolina before JET. I lived in Kanagawa prefecture for 3 years in high school (on a military base), so Japan was also a part of my upbringing in some ways.
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Backtrack #26: I Had Never Seen the Ocean (Jae DiBello Takeuchi, Nishiumi ALT, 1996-99)
What’s your name, when and where was your placement, and where are you from originally?
Jae DiBello Takeuchi. I was an ALT in Nishiumi (currently Ainan), in Ehime prefecture from 1996-1999 (I was the first JET in my town). I am from the US.
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Where the Track Splits: The Aiaru Iyonada Line and the Uchiko Line
By Carl Sotomil
Hello there Mikans! My name is Carl, and I like trains. I am the ALT for Iyo-Nakayama, so if it still does not ring any bells until now, nice to meet you.
I live in the middle of the mountains (that’s where “Nakayama” got its name) in Iyo City, so much so that I can not even call it a city anymore. My daily life is almost entirely dependent on taking the train from the mountains to the city below. I love being on trains here in Ehime because it is almost guaranteed that you will have a seat every morning; though I am sometimes a little frustrated with the lack of scheduled trains, sometimes going hours without one!
A lot of you are probably afraid of going south because the Yosan Line splits into 2 lines, though I can reassure you that you will enjoy where both lines go through. Allow me to guide you through the mountains and the coastline by rail!
Backtrack #25: I Didn’t Want to be in England (Steve Turner, Hojo High School ALT, 2003-06)
What’s your name, when and where was your placement, and where are you from originally?
I am Steve Turner. I was an Ehime Ken ALT in Hojo Senior High School, in Matsuyama for 2 years and then added Imabari Nishi Senior High School and Imabari Technical High School for a year.
I was originally from Walsall near Birmingham in England. The ongoing joke was if there was a small group of brummie sounding kids now in Japan.
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The Magic of Miyajima: An Itinerary for New Years
By Sage Burch
Do you want to have the best New Years? Look no further. If you follow this New Years Game Plan, then you will welcome in the new year at a World Heritage Site.
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