The Hokkaido Association for Japan Exchange and Teaching
The PA
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The Red Brick Bulletin (Akarenga Tsushin) – March
Mar 2nd
The newest addition of The Red Brick Bulletin is here!
March 2011 – Issue 5 (Page 1)
March 2011 – Issue 5 (Page 2)
(Published 28 February 2011)
Contents:
Winter in Hokkaido Part III: The Red Brick Snowman
The Red Brick Building
A City Close to Home - Sapporo (sister city with Portland, USA; Munich, Germany; Liaoning, China; Novosibirsk, Russia; Daejeon, South Korea)
Canadians in Hokkaido – Impressions of a Canadian living in Sapporo
You can check out the The Red Brick Bulletin homepage here.
Post-Winter Holiday Reappointment Season
Jan 24th
Happy 2011 everyone! This brings me to my third New Year’s celebration in as many years in Japan: Okayama (Kansai, Honshu), 2009; Shimokawa (Northern Hokkaido), 2010; Sapporo, 2011. The reasons I have been ushering in the New Year in different locations each year is not because I like to keep things fresh, although this is also true. Instead, the main reason is each of the past three years has presented me with unexpected circumstances to which I could only react as best as I could at the time.
I begin in Canada, where I first heard that I would be employed through JET in Hokkaido. Far from my desired placement near my grandmother in Okayama, but much closer than Canada, I readily accepted the offer. Hoping that I would be able to transfer without much difficulty in my second year, I quickly learned my request would not be readily approved. Simply put, interprefectural transfers are essentially impossible. More precisely, being deadly allergic to something in my town, having a spouse elsewhere in Japan, being a caregiver for family elsewhere in Japan, or the equivalent of such circumstances were required to be considered for an interprefectural transfer. Having not looked into the interprefectural transfer process beforehand and assuming that I would be able to transfer without much hassle based on simple-minded hearsay served to teach me a now well understood lesson: do not count on hearsay if something sounds too good to be true because it probably is.
Taxes and Visa Reminders
Jun 17th
Greetings from Doucho! As we inch ever closer to the 2010-2011 JET year, I’d like to remind Hokkaido JETs of a few issues coming up in the near future:
- All 1st year US JETs: you’re coming up on the deadline to file your taxes in August. Hopefully you filed your extension back in April, but please don’t forget to file the actual tax return when the time comes.
- 3rd year continuing JETs: your visa will expire this summer! Please talk to your supervisor about getting the paperwork together to have your visa extended. You will have to go to immigration to get everything sorted.
Winter is Coming…
Oct 27th
Winter, and all that comes with it
It’s that time of year again – the leaves are fast falling from the trees and the temperature is steadily dropping. Within a few short weeks, some of us will be seeing the first snowfall of the year. And snow is a mixed bag; while first snow means snowboarding, skiing, and other delightful Hokkaido adventures, it also means freezing temperatures, sickness, slipping, sliding and assorted accidents.
Get some tips on how to best handle the coming winter after the break.
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H1N1A Flu Update
May 18th
Long, but please read.
At this point people will likely have heard that the number of H1N1A (swine flu) cases confirmed in Japan has reached 93 (morning of May 18) and thus all stations are go for the active implementation of preventative measures. Please keep in mind that, while a concern, this flu travels a course very similar to the common cold and that initial fatalities were grossly over-reported. Please check your embassy websites for sensible and relevant information.
Read More >
