BLOCK MEETINGS

WINTER INFORMATION

RECONTRACTING

ALTS IN THE NEWS

AKITA-BEN

Tips on staying warm in winter ··························· 4

Recontracting information ·································· 7

ALTs in the news ·················································· 8

Block meetings ···················································· 10

Traveling ······························································ 12

ALTs in the news ·················································· 14

Winterizing your apartment ······························· 16

English Camp photos··········································· 18

ALTs in the news ·················································· 20

Akita-ben corner ················································· 22

Lesson corner ······················································ 23

JALT ······································································ 24

In this issueIn this issue

Winter is quickly approaching and

for some of us it will be the first

time experiencing it. Even if you

are used to winter back home, you

will encounter many differences

here in Japan.

This issue of The Akitan will cover

many important points necessary

for surviving this winter. Make sure

you don’t miss the useful

information on staying warm and

active!

Remember that if you ever need

anything you can always call your

PAs. If you don’t already have their

phone numbers in your phone,

then put them in now!

We hope everyone enjoys this

edition of The Akitan and has a

fantastic Thanksgiving, Christmas,

and New Year!

-Your PAs

PA Info

Randy Umetsu

080-4608-1073

randy.umetsu@gmail.com

Josh Drewry 090-2987-1984

jdrewry.akita@gmail.com

Stephanie Hupp

090-7565-5049

stephaniehupp11@gmail.com

Taylor Fustin 080-3322-3820

taylor.fustin@gmail.com

AJET Peer Support Group

Everyday 8 p.m.–7 a.m.

Toll free: 050-5534-5566

As the changing leaves start to fall and the wind starts to bring in the first snow of the

season, we find ourselves once again in the throes of winter. Worry not though; there are

plenty of ways to stay warm, safe, and happy here in The North. Here are some various

ways to keep you and your apartment warm and cozy this winter.

Kotatsu

A kotatsu, or heated table, is a staple in many Japanese homes. Essentially, it’s your run of the

mill coffee table with a heating element

underneath. Remove the top, throw down a

blanket, turn that baby on, and trap the heat

inside. The heat is adjustable to get the

temperature just right. Warning though, once

seated, you may find it extremely difficult to get

up and do anything else. Available at many

home department stores, prices can run 7,000

yen to 20,000 for the table and blankets.

Kerosene Kerosene heaters are a cheaper alternative to using a wall

unit. These, like most other appliances, come in a variety of

sizes. Some are attached to the wall for ventilation, while

others are free standing. To get kerosene for your heater, get

your container, head to the gas station, and ask for touyu 灯

油. Gas attendants will gladly fill up your container for you.

Caution though, kerosene heaters emit more fumes, which

can be very strong with older appliances. If yours is NOT

ventilated, make sure to crack a window open every few

hours to allow ventilation and prevent a build-up of carbon monoxide.

Wall Unit Though generally more expensive because of its use of electricity, your wall unit can also be

used to heat your apartment. Using your remote, select the 暖房 kanji, adjust the

temperature, and you’re good to go. Many wall units have timers on them, so set them about

an hour before you come home to enter a nice, cozy apartment rather than the likes of a walk

-in fridge.

Heated Fan

Sometimes called a ナノコン カーボンヒーター, or Nano

Carbon Heater, in Japanese, these run like a normal electrical fan but

emit heat rather than blow out cool air. You can adjust the

temperature to low, medium, or high, or set it to rotate around the

room. These are a great alternative to kerosene heaters, but may not

be as effective depending on the size of the room. Larger ones can

cost upwards of 6,000 yen.

Heated blankets and carpet Japan has a huge variety of heated housing

accessories to make the winter a bit more bearably.

You can buy heated carpets in different sizes; simply

plug them into the wall, and you’re good to go.

Electric blankets are a great way to stay warm while

you sleep. Though some suggest you don’t lay

directly on the material to avoid being burned.

Instead, tuck it under your fitted sheet or sleep with a sheet on top of it.

Heated Packets Also called hokkairo ホッカイロ in Japanese, these

are perfect for warming your hands or stuffing into

gloves, boots, and pockets. Ranging in size, these

pocket warmers heat up only after you take them out of

their individual package and generally last a good 12

hours. They are perfect for skiing, snowboarding, or

those cold, long waits for the train. They are very

inexpensive, and be found at most conbinis, drugs stores, and supermarkets.

Get out of your apartment! As tempting as it is to hide under your kotatsu and watch copious amounts of Dexter and

Game of Thrones, get out of your apartment once in a while! As you’ve been told

countless times already, Akita gets very cold and snowy and winter which may lead to

seasonal depression and cabin fever. Get out of your apartment once and a while! Go out

for coffee, visit a friend, or try a new winter sport; just do whatever you need or want to

do to get you out of the house for a least a few hours. The hardest part is forcing yourself

to get out, but once you do, you’ll be glad you did.

Don’t fret over costs The cost of electricity is higher in Japan than where most of us are from, but don’t let

pinching pennies keep you cold this winter. Slightly higher electric bills or the cost of

filling up on 灯油 is well worth the money to keep yourself warm. With no insulation in

many houses and apartments, they get cold very quickly. Spend the extra money to keep

yourself warm; I promise you it’s worth the money to not be miserable.

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and

for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.”

-Edith Sitwell.

Lastly, remember that Akita has many renowned winter festival and dishes. Have a nabe

party with your friends then go out to see the Namahage or duck inside a kamakura. The

winter is only as long and dark as you let it, and it certainly doesn’t have to be!

Contributed by Stephanie Hupp

Soon it will be recontracting time! And you know what that means...

You have to decide if you will recontract! Some of you may have

already received your Contracting Organization Intent to Reappoint

and JET Participant Intent Confirmation Form (A-1) or the Confirmation

Regarding Reappointment Form (A-2), which means you will not be

reappointed.

Most, if not all, JETs will receive Form A-1. Please be sure to review the

terms, conditions, and other provisions of your next appointment and

indicate whether or not you choose to accept it. Regardless of your

choice your form must be returned to your CO by February 7, 2014.

For 1st year ALTs it may feel like it is very early to be asking for a

decision on a second year. That’s because it is. However, use these

next few months to think about what you’d like to do.

If you choose not to recontract, then make sure you start your job

search early. You don’t want to find yourself packing to go home and

wondering about whether you will have a job.

Remember your PAs and Block Leaders are always more than happy to

talk about anything you may have on your mind regarding

recontracting.

For detailed information visit

http://www.jetprogramme.org/e/news/reappointment.html

Foreigners and College Students Join the AJJ Halloween Party

Halloween Costumes Win Applause and Cheers

October 30, 2013

On October 26, Akita Association of JETs (AAJ), which is run by Assistant

Language Teachers who teach English in the prefecture, sponsored a charity

Halloween party at the club Jamhouse in Nakadori, Akita City. Three-hundred and

seventeen foreigners and college students in Akita attended in costumes.

Participants came as zombies, the Frankenstein monster, Alice of Alice in

Wonderland, etc. and enjoyed the costume contest and dancing. Loud applause

and cheers rocked the venue as participants explained their outfits on stage.

AAJ has held this Halloween party annually since 2011, and part of the profits

from the event has been donated to hospitals and welfare institutions. This year

400,000 yen will go to Japanese Red Cross Akita Hospital, Akita University

Hospital, Nakadori General Hospital, and Kanonkou Childcare Center.

(Shoko Fujita)

Picture: Participants at the Halloween party

Translated by Gaketsu Ko, edited by Randy Umetsu

ALTs in the news

!

ALTs in the news

!

Block Meetings

Block Meetings will

be held on Friday,

January 24.

The yearly Block Meetings are coming up soon!

This year they will be held on Friday, January 24.

For those of you who have never attended, the

block meetings are when all the people within

your block come together for a day to meet.

People will present on various things and you will

participate in a cultural activity. You will be

expected to wear work attire. If you have any

questions regarding your block meetings or

would like to present, then please contact your

Block Leaders.

Block Meetings

Information will be posted here when available.

Traveling

If you are traveling this winter break, then

please be sure to inform a Block Leader or

PA of your plans. To be safe it is always a

good idea to leave a photocopy of your

passport in your desk at work or somewhere

in your house that is accessible. If you lose

your passport or your bag is stolen while you

are gone, then you will be in trouble without

some way to verify your identity. Remember

to have fun and be safe!

For more information about traveling in and

out of Japan, click here.

Where in the World

is Sugichi?

Sugichi is the Akita

mascot. In past years we

have encouraged ALTs

traveling abroad to bring

a picture of Sugichi and

take a picture with him.

Please add to our Sugichi

photo archive on the Akita

Wiki.

Print out a picture of

Sugichi from the internet

or make your own!

www.akitajet.com/wiki/

This beautiful man

brought Sugichi with

him to New Zealand.

Butterbur Sprout

Introducing the Attractions of the Japanese Garden in English

Ayako Suda, a former school teacher in Takanashi, Daisen, introduced the Ikeda

Family Garden, which is also a Nationally Designated Place of Scenic Beauty

located in Akita prefecture, to foreign tourists in English on November 5.

Suda was the principal of Takanashi Elementary School before she retired this

spring. She then registered as a volunteer guide for the garden and practiced

continually introducing the attractions of the garden to foreigners using her

strong abilities in the language.

This day was Suda’s first actual guide in English. She explained the attractions

of the garden in autumn and the distinguished services of the Ikeda family in

establishing a free medical clinic and starting school lunch programs to Xiuli

Lee (ALT from Singapore) and Airen Lin (visitor from Singapore).

Lin smiled and said, “On top of being able to enjoy such beautiful scenery I was

also able to learn so much about the Ikeda family’s involvement in this area.

Thank you very much.”

(Tomonori Sato)

Translated by Gaketsu Ko, edited by Randy Umetsu

ALTs in the

news!

Winterizing your Apartment

Seal your doors- there are often spaces around the door frame, especially between the

bottom of the door and the floor. You can visit the hundred yen shop or home center

and purchase stop panels; these can be the tape ones or foam. If all else fails you can

stuff a towel at the base of the door.

Face your windows with bubble wrap of the plastic sheets with double stick tape at the

back. Bubble wrap may be cheaper though as it can be purchased at the hundred yen

shop or home center

Close all unused spaces to avoid heat loss. It would be great to heat your entire house

but it is not cost effective. Instead heat only the spaces you need and use thick curtains

and carpets to trap the heat inside.

For other crafty ideas please check : http://www.survivingnjapan.com/2010/11/8-ways-

to-winterize-your-japanese.html

Ways to make your apartment cozy for winter

Scented Candles- buy yourself a selection of candles with warm festive fragrances such

as cinnamon, chocolate, pine or even lavender. You can stack them together or distrib-

ute them through your space. These will provide subtle warmth and make your space

smell inviting.

Have warm fuzzy blankets on your couch and take time to layer your bed with an elec-

tric blanket, comforters and heavy blankets.

Take a long steamy bath as often as you like with some of the best bath salts easily ob-

tained at the drugstore or home center. If you can’t make it an onsen create your own,

with essential oils such as peppermint or rosemary and breathe in the aromas. Also

have a thick bathrobe or sweater on hand for leaving the shower.

Another way to make your space feel cozy is to add drops of your favorite essential oil

to your humidifier. The vapor will caress your nostrils and make your space smell

heavenly. NB. (Scrub your humidifier regularly if you use essential oils in it)

Cook lots of soups and stews and the heat from your stove will help to warm your space.

Quick 20 minute soup recipes can be found here http://www.cookinglight.com/

food/quick-healthy/20-20-superfast-soups-00400000039394/page40.html

Contributed by Alexia Nelson

Driving in the winter can be tricky, especially if it is your first time. If you haven’t already,

then it is time to go have your winter tires put on. The roads in Akita are not usually salted and sometimes not even plowed. This means that the chance of having an accident is greatly increased during the winter. Here are some tips to drive safely this winter.

1. Decrease your speed and leave yourself plenty of room to stop. You should allow at least three times more space than usual between you and the car in front of you.

2. Brake gently to avoid skidding. Most cars in Japan have ABS now. It is no longer necessary to ease of the brake for fear of your wheels locking up. If the ABS begins to work, then break strongly. You should feel your pedal vibrate if the ABS has been activated.

3. Turn on your lights to increase your visibility to other motorists.

4. Keep your lights and windshield clean.

5. Use low gears to keep traction, especially on hills.

6. Don’t use cruise control or overdrive on icy roads.

7. Be especially careful on bridges, overpasses, and infrequently traveled roads, which will freeze first. Even at temperatures above freezing, if the conditions are wet, you might encounter ice in shady areas or on exposed roadways like bridges.

8. Don’t pass snow plows and sanding trucks. The drivers have limited visibility, and you’re likely to find the road in front of them worse than the road behind.

9. Don’t assume your vehicle can handle all conditions. Even four-wheel and front-wheel drive vehicles can encounter trouble on winter roads.

10. Assemble a survival kit to keep in your car in case of emergencies

For more awesome tips check out the wiki section on winter driving!

www.akitajet.com/wiki/winter_driving

Have you been to English Camp

yet? If not, you are missing out!!!

I love English

Camp! How

about you?

ALTs in the news!

181 ALTs and Educators Within Akita Prefecture

Learn English Teaching Methods from the

Conference Held in Katagami City

October 29, 2013

A conference for Assistant Language Teachers (ALT) and

educators from elementary, junior and high schools within Akita

prefecture was held at the Prefectural Education Center in

Katagami City on October 28. One-hundred eighty-one

participants learned English teaching methods through mock

lessons and other such workshops.

The mock lesson was presented by two ALTs. One presenter was

Kenneth Grant (24) from the United Kingdom, who is in charge

of nine elementary schools in Oga City. They played games in

English with students (acted by the other participants), such as

finding objects of a specific color in the room and guessing the

object in the box. At the end of the workshop, they asked

participants to discuss the interesting points and assignments in

groups.

An ALT from Kitaakita, Sean Corrigan (27) from the United

States said, “English is easy to remember for those who enjoy it.

It was useful to learn games that get the participants moving.”

Jonathan Stimmer (27) from the United States is an ALT from

Mitane. He presented the mock lesson together with Kenneth

Grant and said, “I hope both students and teachers can

experience the cultures of English-speaking countries while they

learn English.”

This workshop is held annually by MEXT (The Ministry of

Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) and

Prefectural Board of Education.

(Ryoma Sato)

Translated by Gaketsu Ko, edited by Randy Umetsu

AkitaAkita--ben Cornerben Corner

What is Akita-ben? Akita-ben, literally translating to “Akita dialect,” is a sub-dialect of the Tohoku dialect umbrella (often called Zuzu-ben).

For most of us, learning Japanese is hard enough as it is. Throw Akita-ben into the mix and we have a nearly unintelligible language. (It is often accompanied by subtitles in national broadcasts). But not to fear! Give these Akita-ben phrases a try and you will be conversing with the local obaachan and ojiichan in no time (WARNING: Not for use in formal situations)!

In every new issue of The Akitan, we will be featuring a new Akita-ben word or phrase.

By now most of us know how to ask for something or for someone to do

something using ください or おねがいします. However, Akita-ben

has its own way for asking.

Example:

Randy, てつだってください！ (testudatte kudasai)

↓

Randy, てつだってタンセ！ (tetsudatte tanse)

Translation: Randy, help me!

タンセ

With Pat Costello, a.k.a Akita-ben Mastah

I would love to help you!!!!!

AkitaAkita--ben Cornerben Corner

This activity is great for reviewing vocabulary!

1. Cut out individual slips of paper for all the different vocabulary words

that you wish to review

2. Make enough so that each group gets a set

3. Explain how to play pictionary

4. Break students into groups and assign them each a portion of the

blackboard

5. Each group has to draw and correctly guess all their words (students

switch after each word)

6. The group that finishes first is the winner

The amount of time depends on the amount and difficulty of the vocabu-

lary. Words like simple nouns will be easier while verbs or feelings will be

much more difficult. This game is fun as a warm up or review for previously

learned vocabulary. It also gets the students up and moving .

Pictionary Relay

Lesson Corner

A re you interested in

learning more about

language teaching?

Would you like to connect with

other language teachers around

Akita or maybe Japan? If so, then

you may be interested in The

Japan Association for Language

Teaching (JALT).

JALT is a non-profit organization

dedicated to the improvement of

language teaching and learning

both within Japan and

internationally. The Akita JALT

chapter meets monthly and

invites you to check out the

workshops. You will find a

schedule for workshops for the

year on their website.

There is a charge of 500 yen for

all non-members (It used to be

1,000 yen, but they lowered it for

us!) JALT members and students

are free. Scheduled meetings are

at JOIN US in Akita City.

NOTE: The Akita JALT community

would love to learn more about the

JET Programme in Akita and team

teaching. If you are interested in

presenting something, please contact

Wayne Malcom:

wamalcom@gmail.com

Akita JALT

We hope that you found this newsletter useful. If you have

any suggestions to make The Akitan better, please do not

hesitate to contact us.

Lastly, submissions from you will make this work-related

newsletter all the more interesting. So, if you have lesson

activities, work-related essays, job postings, news articles,

photos, etc., please submit them to one of the PAs. As always,

thanks for reading!

Life After the BOE by David Namisato

We are looking for great photos and

articles by you! Please send anything you

would like to contribute to one of the PAs

and help make The Akitan even better!

Created by your PAs

Design and layout : Randy Umetsu and Taylor Fustin

Contributors:

Jordan Oxborough

Randy Umetsu

Pat Costello

Stephanie Hupp

Alexia Nelson

You can download and

read The Akitan offline

by clicking on the

download icon below This edition’s photos were contributed by Jordan

Oxborough. Check out his photo blog at:

http://oxborough.co.nz/tohoku