Toyama Times

Toyama AJET Quick Contacts

President: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected]

Toyama Times Staff

Editors:Paula Kerrigan & Jon Perry

Assistant EditorsKellie Petruzzelli & Nicole Meanor

Staff Writers:Jon Perry, KYLE ALBRIGHT, Kieran Murphy

Volume 2 Edition 8 March 2010

TOYAMA TIMES Volume 2 Edition 10 May 2010 Page 1

A f in al word from the Ed.

Bein g in volved with the Toy am a Tim es has been the m os t brillian t project I’ve had. I am a voracious reader an d when I lived in Italy I really m is s ed the En glish s tim uli that on e jus t tak es for gran ted at hom e. I m is sed bein g able to go brows in g for book s in a book shop; I m is sed bein g able to pick up a m agazin e in the shops an d look at m ore than the pictures ; an d m ost of all I m is sed m y S un day paper. S o when I fou n d out that Toy am a had a m on thly n ews letter I im m ediately con tacted the Ed an d ask ed for a job. I’ve n ever look ed back . I love the Toy am a Tim es an d every on e who has helped m e m ak e it what it is .

I have to s ay a big than k y ou to som e special people before I s ign of f . Jon Perry , y ou were m y m u se. To the Excurs ion s , Charity an d S ocial R eps , who en dles s ly con tributed on top of their other duties . To Tiffan y , for s tartin g the whole thin g . To Kieran , for his challen gin g articles an d for k eepin g m e san e! To Nicole & Kellie who cou ld alway s be relied on in a tight spot. A n d f in ally to the regular writers , M att, Ky le, Jarrad an d S ham bhavi, who m ade the whole thin g worth livin g .

This is the las t is sue in Volum e 2 of the Toy am a Tim es . I wish the n ext editor all the best of lu ck . L au ra R oun tree is Publication s R ep n ow, so please con tact her at if y ou would lik e to help with the Toy am a Tim es or an y other publication s that A JET produces , s uch as the upcom in g A JET Leavers Book .

Than k s for readin g ,Paula Kerrigan

Strangest Thing You've Strangest Thing You've Seen in JapanSeen in Japan

We've all had one. A moment that's made us stop and stare in disbelief. Where the only thing we can think to do is whip out our cameras and snap a picture to show to our skeptical friends later.

If you've seen something truly WTF-worthy, the Toyama Times wants to know about it! Email your best photo to [email protected] by May 23rd to be included in the June edition!

The person with the best photo will win a special prize!

mailto:[email protected]













mailto:ajet.newsletter@gmail

Volume 2 Edition 8 March 2010 Page 1

TOYAMA TIMES Volume 2 Edition 10 MAY 2010

This Month's Curriculum

May Calendar .................................................................pg. 3

Body Building by Arvynia .....................................pg. 4

MASQUED!

by Sara Continenza .........................................pg. 5-6

Social Reps, Signing Out

by Brett Quimby and Cory Potwin ...............pg. 7

AJET Election Results ..............................................pg. 8

Fare Thee Well by Paula Kerrigan......................pg. 9


Advertise your event (or an event you know about) on the AJET calendar! Advertise your event (or an event you know about) on the AJET calendar!

Send info to [email protected] info to [email protected]

TOYAMA TIMES Volume 2 Edition 10 May 2010

What's Happening in May!What's Happening in May!Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat

1Happy

BirthdayRevan!

2 3 4 5Happy

BirthdayTina!

6 7 8Happy

BirthdayAnita!

9 10 11 12Happy

BirthdayKatie!

13 14 15Charity Chalk

Festival!

16 17 18 19Happy

BirthdayJenna & Michael!

20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29Himi's Beach

Cleanup!

30 31

Golden weekGolden week

Who's that wearing a superwoman corset?! What? A corset? Man, she's hawt! Where'd she get that?! WTF I WANT ONE! You CAN get one! Right here in Toyama, you have your very own custom wardrobe designer, aka fashion designer (but let's not get into technicalities). Okay, enough shameless self plug-in. I've been obsessing over corsets for a REAL LONG TIME but never had the money to get in it cuz you know what? Corsets are f***en expensive and so are the materials to build one. Yes, build, you don't sew a corset together, you friggin' build that sh*t. So not only do you need super power… er-- a machine, but you need hammers, awls, metal clippers, super glue, and grunt work. Actually, a lot of grunt work. Oh right, and creativity! Corsets are sexy no doubt, and I simply fell in love with the way that it enhances a woman's curves (the right kind of curves, mind you). You don't have to live in the Victorian or Edwardian era to appreciate how a corset can cinch your torso and displace all your organs…. well… actually, no one probably appreciates that nowadays, BUT you can still wear a corset comfortably and safely and look damn "SEX" in it. Or cute. Or professional. Or whatever look you're going for.


It's funny what life throws at you. Only four years ago, I came on the JET Program and the minute I stepped foot onto Japan, I had a fleeting thought, “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if I was actually doing fashion here? Hahaha… yeah right. I’m just here for fun. I’m only staying a year.” Although I joked about it to myself, it really was one of my dreams to hold a fashion show of my own in Japan. But here I am sitting at work at 11am, with that same dream in my hand (okay, a mouse and keyboard), and thinking about the past few years and how I've grown and developed my skills by being involved in the charity show and slowly gaining recognition as a designer, creating pieces for my friends. And with the cushiony pay we get, I can afford to start investing in corsetery. I can now close my hand around that dream, and make it a reality.

And you don’t even have to exercise for it!

has become bigger than I could have ever imagined on my own. On Saturday, June, 19th, the 3 floors of Mau Fine Art Gallery in Toyama City will be the venue for a glamorous, amorous fantabulous evening of fashion, music, food, and libations. And to sweeten this sexy, sexy deal--all proceeds will go to 3 charities that support the education and entrepreneurship of women & girls in communities struggling with poverty & violence. Now ain't that an even sexier cause? Oh yeah. It's going to be big. Don't miss out. Save thedate. Stay tunedfor more information.

-Arvynia,

PS. Guys - no fear, I'm not a sexists, I swear! I am creating a line of vests just for you. <3 PPS. Body build by wearing corsets. You don't have to sweat to put it on. Only your friends. ;)

Fashion: ArvyniaMakeup: AnitaPhoto:

Rebekah

Model: Valerie

I'm now ready to showcase my work for all to see. Expect Sexy. Bitch. Vivid. BIG. And S c a n d a ls . With the help of my dear friends here, planning and producing:


As many of you are aware, I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina Faso, West Africa, for two years, from 2005-2007. My job placement was Girl's Education and Empowerment (GEE). I spent the two years in a small, rural village in northern Burkina, where I had a life-changing experience. Though there was no running water or electricity, and few worldly comforts, the comforts of learning from my village family, being accepted as a part of the community, and becoming acquainted with the kindest, most hospitable people I've ever been blessed enough to know...all the possessions in the world would never add up to the value of that experience.

The Peace Corps is an American, governmental organization that was started in 1961 by president John F. Kennedy. It is currently engaged in over 60 of the world's poorest countries. Peace Corps volunteers work on two-year contracts to develop sustainable, grass-roots projects in a variety of communities, from rural villages to larger towns and cities. The goal is to promote development, learn about foreign cultures, and teach others about the cultures being experienced as a

Peace Corps, Burkina Faso: Gender and Development Committee

Peace Corps volunteer.Peace Corps Burkina Faso currently has four

programs in place: Health, Small Enterprise Development (SED), Secondary Education, and Girl's Education and Empowerment. All volunteers work on a variety of projects, depending on the individual needs of the village. There are several resources available to volunteers for the implementation of their projects.

One such resource is the Gender and Development Committee (GAD), which offers fi nancial resources to volunteers that are working to implement activities that aim to promote the autonomisation, empowerment, and/or education of women and girls. GAD distributes funds based on project needs, and carefully analyzes the results to make sure that every cent is accounted for.

For more information about the Peace Corps, check out www.peacecorps.gov, and for more information regarding the GAD Committee, please send your inquiry to [email protected].

In Burkina Faso with my friend, Paitiba, with whom I worked on several GEE projects.

My girl's soccer team! They kicked ass. The town boys were like, "I didn't know they could do that!"

MASQUED: Where Does The Money Go?By Sara Continenza

Hello Everyone! Sara, your fellow ken-mate/block rep/party activist here!

I would love to share with you three charities that you will soon have the opportunity to support just by having a blast at an event called MASQUED. I chose these projects after extensive research and recommendations of trustworthy resources; please take the time to look over this information before I tell you more about this awesome event.


I was recommended this organization by a friend who is currently a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina. She used to work for them in Washington, D.C., and said that they have done some wonderful work regarding the promotion of sustainable and empowering entrepreneurial work in poor communities all over the world. This is an excerpt from their website:

“Ashoka is the global association of the world's leading social entrepreneurs-men and women with system changing solutions for the world's most urgent social problems. Since 1981, we have elected over 2,000 leading social entrepreneurs as Ashoka Fellows, providing them with living stipends, professional support, and access to a global network of peers in more than 60

Central Asia Institute

currently reading it, and it inspires and captivates me to tears.

Also, check out www.ikat.org, the foundation's website.

"Once you educate the boys, they tend to leave the villages and go search for work in the cities, but the girls stay home, become leaders in the community, and pass on what they've learned. If you really want to change a culture, to empower women, improve basic hygiene and health care, and fi ght high rates of infant mortality, the answer is to educate girls." - Greg Mortenson

Mortensen working with Pakistani girls.

Another wonderful organization that works toward education and empowering girls in poor villages is the Central Asia Institute (CAI). The CAI supports community-based education programs, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Each project involves local people in all phases of projects: to plan, implement and evaluate. A committee of elders and experts guides each selected project. Before a project starts, the community matches Central Asia Institute project funds with equal amounts of local resources and labor. Such commitment ensures the project's viability and long term success.

$20..........One student's school supplies for one year$50..........One treadle sewing machine and supplies$100........Maternal health care supplies for 1 year$600 .......One teacher's annual salary$800........One advanced student's annual scholarship$5,000.....Support for existing school for 1 year$50,000...One school building and support for up to 5 years

For more information regarding this venture, please read the inspiring biography of the founder of the CAI, Greg Mortenson, entitled Three Cups of Tea: One Man'sMission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time. I am

Ashoka: Innovators for the Publiccountries.

“Ashoka works on three levels. First, we support individual social entrepreneurs-fi nancially and professionally-throughout their life cycle. Second, we bring communities of social entrepreneurs together to help leverage their impact, scale their ideas, and capture and disseminate their best practices. Finally, we help build the infrastructure and fi nancial systems needed to support the growth of the citizen sector and facilitate the spread of social innovation globally. The fi elds of work in which Ashoka is engaged are: education/learning, health, environment, economic development, and civic engagement.”

Go to www.ashoka.org for more information.

Now that you know exactly what sort of good you will be doing by supporting our event, let me just tell you a little more about it.

As you may already know, Van, Hilda, Laura, and I are organizing MASQUED, a Charity Fashion Event, on June 19th at Mau Fine Arts Gallery in Toyama-shi. It’s an opportunity to raise money for these wonderful charities, as well as to display Van's extraordinary talent and Laura's superb delicacies. Who doesn't love partying and dancing it up, all the while knowing that your money is going to a wonderful cause?

Thanks for taking the time to read this! I hope to see everyone out there supporting these causes and partying it up at MASQUED! Cheers!


A Letter from Your Social RepsThis year, I feel we accomplished quite a bit and for me it was one good long year of hangouts and hangovers. We managed to take the reins from our prominent predecessors last year at Leaver’s Weekend and we fully intend to baton touch to some successful successors for next year. This year, in addition to all the crowd favorites (Leavers/Welcome Weekends, Beer Gardens, Halloween…) we managed to revive a few of the classic events that have fallen to the wayside like the Pub Quiz, the Christmas Party, and the Prom. I hope we rocked your socks off this year. For everyone who’s leaving, I hope it was a year full of memories, and for everyone who’s staying, I hope it encouraged you to get out and be awesome.

The thing we have to say most is Thank You to all the wonderful people who helped us. You know who you are, cutting up veggies, cleaning up cabins, saving our asses with music, inviting people to the events, and just generally watching our asses. There are so many people that either helped us with putting all of this together, or just showed up and decided to be amazing. Thank you guys, keep being great.

We hope you guys had an awesome year, and we hope next year is ten times as awesome.

Social Reps, signing out.



Prefectural RepHilda Solomon

TreasurerChante Samuels

Excursions RepMatthew Dowd

Charity RepSherilee Kahui

Publications RepLaura Rountree

It was a close race, but after

much deliberation the election results are in. Congrats to the new AJET

Officers!

work with some of the most intelligent and gifted people in this ken. What a pleasure it was. Now I’m proud to say that we’ve been invited to submit articles to 3 online JET magazines in Japan. Sure, you’re reading it, it must be good! And behind all these events was Hilda, taking your money! Thank God someone did , because now it will all end up going to a good cause, the Toyama Charity Show. It’s been tough at times, but the thing that’s gotten us all through it is when someone takes the time to say thanks and to tell us that they enjoyed whatever event or publication we put out. After all, we do it all for you. Congratulations to the new committee members and the best of luck for the year ahead. There are still no volunteers for the Social Rep position. If you would like to volunteer you can contact Hilda a t [email protected] from today. There is a transition period until the 14th of May during which both the old committee and new committee will still be contactable, but after May 14th the 2009-2010 committee will no longer be handling things so if you would like to get in touch soon please do so soon. On behalf of the AJET 2009 – 2010 Committee Fare Thee Well Toyama, and thanks for the memories.

This, added to their infectious enthusiasm brought abou t phenomenal results that we as a ken can stand up and say we’re proud of. The other dynamic duo we have to thank this year is our Social Reps. I had a first hand view into what the thankless life of a Social Rep entails and I can safely say there aren’t many that could come out of this position alive! My favourite party this year was the Christmas party. It was so good to be able to feel the Christmas cheer (I can feel Nicole sighing heavily at the word Christmas still haunting her life even in May!). It is a testament to Brett and Cory that they managed to bring JETs from all regions of the ken together in the middle of winter. That doesn’t happen often. Maddy The Mighty– as she will go down in History – put 4 excursions on the table this year. Few people have a grasp of what a feat this is. Imagine Maddy as, well, Maddy; and Fuji, as well, Fuji. Then imagine that in order to organise the trip Maddy had to Sumo drop Fuji. Unlikely, but she did it, and came back into the ring for 3 more rounds! The excursion to Osaka was so well run that it really felt like I’d won a prize to go on holiday and everything was taken care of for me. The person I’ve perhaps worked closest with this year is Jon Perry, Publications Rep. Together we built on the AJET newsletter that existed before to create the Toyama Times. The TT really was the joy of my life this year. I got to

What a year it’s been for AJET. We’ve partied harder and more often, miraculously managed to get out of bed the next morning in time to make 4 different excursions and given a fistful of cash to charity. We’ve also become quite a cultural centre in the JET community in Japan with many of our writers’ articles featured in magazines around Japan. Why did we do it? For you of course. AJET, whether you know it or not, provides JETs with experiences that they would not otherwise be able to have. For my part I was so thoroughly impressed at how the team stepped up to the plate this year. We wanted to do the best we could to build something great and it turns out we did! We listened to the feed back that people had given us the year before, especially when it came to charity. All too often the word ‘charity’ is supposed to be enough for us. But when we are given nothing more than the word ‘charity’ to give to we aren’t interested in where our money goes, the ins and outs of what it’s for. The people in this ken have been pressing for a more structured approach to our charity objectives and Michael and Ally were just the people to do it. They grabbed the Charity Rep position by the balls and set out clearly defined objectives, such as putting money towards a library. Not only did they decide on charities, they educated us about them, and about the causes that need our support.


Fare thee wellBy Paula Kerrigan


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