~ Articles and photos by JETAA South Island ~
A new year has just begun for JETAASI and we are feeling positive for 2015/16 after gaining some good momentum during the past year. Here are some recent events we’ve participated in and some things we are focusing on for the coming year.
-Japan Day-
At the start of March we volunteered in association with the Japan Society of Canterbury and Consular Office of Japan stalls at Canterbury Japan Day. This year’s theme was ‘Japanese Autumn’ and record numbers of people interested in Japanese culture turned out on a gorgeous day to eat, learn and enjoy.
-Culture Galore-
JETAASI always enjoys this local festival where many different groups from around the region celebrate their cultures. Our stall demonstrated ‘Shodo’ where young (and old) people could try out Japanese calligraphy. It was a lot of fun meeting people and talking about the JET programme.
-Annual General Meeting-
Our AGM was held in March and with a bit of a change around in members, we are looking forward to another good year. It’s a small but strong group and we hope to boost the numbers over the coming year.
-April JET Departures-
President Caroline was able to meet with the early departing JETs recently before they left for Japan.
She was on the interview panel earlier this year with the Consular Office of Japan, so meeting the applicants in a casual setting was very interesting and she was able to give them some advice and share in their excitement.
In order to keep relevant for the August departees, the JETAASI committee want to really modernise and digitise ‘JETSTREAM’, the pre-departure handbook for departing JETs.
JETAASI has been in touch with other chapters, getting advice and ideas about their departure guides for JETs.
-Fundraising Quiz Night-
Something that JETAASI has not done enough of recently is fundraising for a good cause, and this year we have locked in our first fundraising event for May.
To celebrate Childrens’ Day, we are holding a pub quiz evening where all funds raised will go to a childrens’ charity in Japan called Playgrounds of Hope, which builds playgrounds in challenged communities throughout Japan. We hope to get a great turnout and that this kind of event can be a regular happening.
-J-Kaiwa-
This continues to be a great event each month. We trialled a more casual version of J-Kaiwa at a bar, rather than a restaurant, and got rid of RSVPs, which allowed for a more relaxed vibe where people can mingle and chat without having to feel like they are stuck in one seat all night.
We have had a good contingency from the local polytech, both Japanese and English students, as well as JET alumni and friends. This will continue on the first Tuesday of each month.
-JETAA Oceania Conference-
From the 16th to 18th of October JETAASI will be hosting the conference in Christchurch. Our broken city is now in a rebuild boom, and we are looking forward to showing it off to delegates later in the year!
Work is now underway finding a venue, planning social events and of course, deciding on a theme. Stay posted for details coming soon.
