Hilo Bay Hotel

The last day on Hawaii I did not camp since I had to be at the airport so early. Uncle Billy's is nicely located, and had large rooms with this view.

Originally uploaded by dbrooks_tokyo.

Today is the last day in Pahoa. I visited Kalani last night, after having grilled lamb at my lot in Kalapana. I saw John out walking this morning with his son Joshua. Unfortunately, he said his wife had left him, but they agreed to share custody of their young son- sad news. I got to swim near a pod of dolphins here yesterday.

North Kohala BOAT Diving

I had some great dives this morning. We got to see whales on the way to the second dive site, dolphins circled us underwater at the end of our spectacular journey through a hilly coral forest.

Puako, dive and snorkeling site

Puako, dive and snorkeling site
Originally uploaded by dbrooks_tokyo.

Sea turtles abound here. I made two shallow dives this afternoon.- saw many many hawks bill sea turtles tons of tropical fish.

Spencer Beach Park camp site

It is my first morning after arriving yesterday afternoon. I got air tanks and weights at Kohala Divers and am planning two shallow dives after breakfast.

Originally uploaded by dbrooks_tokyo.

Paul's place horses belong to a neighbor

Originally uploaded by dbrooks_tokyo.

mark. Paul. David at canyon entrance

Originally uploaded by dbrooks_tokyo.

arrived on Saturday in Hilo

Originally uploaded by dbrooks_tokyo.

arrived on Saturday in Hilo

Originally uploaded by dbrooks_tokyo.

camping at my land

A Beautiful Day in Tokyo

A Beautiful Day in Tokyo
Originally uploaded by dbrooks_tokyo.

SETSUBUN 節分 passed on Feb.3, signalIing the traditional end of winter. We were.delightedto〓hear today from Patsy, a friend and former colleague. On CHUO train now to Shinjuku.

静 SHIZUKA QUIET

静 SHIZUKA QUIET
Originally uploaded by dbrooks_tokyo.

Tama Cemetery

Getting Work in Japan

(Excepted from email dialogue in January 2006 with T.J. G..., a Stanford student soon to graduate with a B.A. in art (photography) and who is interested in working in Japan)

On the subject of working in Japan.... I have written what I know below– some from what I have heard and some from the few resources I have near by. If there is a certain employer that you might want more specific info about, then I might be able to help. It is likely that I’ll be away from Japan from Feb 16-April 1 (in Malaysia, Hawaii, the US mainland and Europe).

Actually, my classes are finished now (Spring semester April-late July), Fall semester is mid-Sept to Mid January(including final exams for 10 days at the end of each ) so now I only have committee work, entrance exams (our university has 7 different exam dates for prospective applicants) and my own research and preparation for next year's classes, so now is my least busy time of year.
In fact, I’ll be traveling for all of March and probably after Feb 15 (if things go as planned).

Work in Japan: Info and advice

There are some facts that you should be aware of in thinking about working in Japan. (Just randomly organized - -off the top my head). Please be aware that I have NOT looked myself for a job in many years; my own sons are Japanese citizens and read/write it fluently so they have not had the experience of coming to live in Japan as a foreigner.

1)a To stay in Japan longer than 60 days (a tourist) you will need a work visa (or other type such a student visa or spouse visa). A work visa is required for gainful employment and only an employer can provide you with the necessary documentation to support your application for one. Normally, you would obtain a work visa at a Japanese embassy or consulate in the US after your employment contract is signed (you have been hired either by mail or in interview by phone or live). Yes, in fact, some people are hired sight unseen which can be sometimes be very unfortunate for both the employee or even the employer.

If you enter the country on a tourist or student visit, you cannot work legally more than a few hours weekly. Consequently, you are typically obliged to actually leave the country (temporary) to re-enter it on a work visit (6 months, 1 year).
That is an additional expense – which your future employer might pay if they really wanted you. Typically, they would send you (or you have to fly to Seoul) for a few days in order to visit the Japanese embassy there).
b. The academic school year is April 1 – March 31 – very few schools would hire from September -- although it may be possible since the second semester begins in Sept (after the summer break).
c) IMPORTANT- Because the school year starts in April, you would have to apply immediately to start then or you may end up waiting until application are again received or advertised next fall (Sept-Feb). Most hirings probably happened in Nov/Dec for the following April. However, there are always exceptions – with the less well-paid (and crummier) schools trying to hire later (as late as March 1). Other types of jobs (even some teaching jobs are open year round or especially just after summer and winter breaks (HINT: I am presuming that some teachers skip out of the country and fail to fulfill their contracts).

2) Teaching is probably the easiest types of job to get but it may not be the best. It will really depend of who and what type of school / institution you work for. There are several major ELT employers – one of the biggest is the JET program – sponsored by the national government, local school districts are given grant money to hire foreign assistant English teachers.
By the way, if you also speak Spanish too, this could be an asset if your job search goes toward language teaching.

3) Other types of jobs do exist, but generally if the employer is a foreign corporation, they have their own internal practices for filling vacancies so mostly these jobs are completely inaccessible to the average person. Japanese corporations, of course, do hire but generally do so locally from either an employment agency or nowadays they tend to outsource openings with temp staff agencies – such as Adecco, etc.

4) Not being able to speak, read/write Japanese is not a major handicap, but it will tend to severely limit the type of jobs you can apply for (or even have access to). Therefore, English teaching is one of the ways that people cannot speak or read/write any Japanese can work here.
5) Tokyo is the biggest city but it is not necessarily the best place to live and work. If you are willing to live in the countryside or less urban areas of Japan, there may be a chance to actually have a better job and better working and living conditions.

English Teaching Jobs
Actually, there are plenty of lower paying, longer hour jobs where employers will give you a contract for the minimum salary. I think the Japan Immigration Office requires someone to have a contract (or multiple contracts in the case of several part-time jobs) for a monthly gross salary of approx 250,000 yen ( see http://www.xe.com/ for the exchange rates).

Since there are many private languages schools for children through adults who run through young teachers (some who are fresh out of college and looking for a cross-cultural adventure - of sorts and who would like to make enough to survive in Japan for a year or no), it is probably fairly easy to get such a job but I cannot really say there would be much future in it. You could get lucky and get a job at a decent private school or as a teaching assistant for a public school or get hired for adjunct teaching work (outsourced by a private language school as a part-time university instructor). The latter method is way some people without Master's degrees are able to get "credit" [or at least experience for one's resume] for working as a university instructor (sometimes called 'lecturer').
NOVA, GABA, GEOS,
6. Check the JAPAN TIMES or other English language newspapers for the classified ads (some or all of the ads may be online at:
http://classified.japantimes.com/ (click English – small button at the topi). There seems to be another site – I cannot see what the difference it),which it is also mainly in Japanese language, but there is a similar button to click to see at least some of the jobs and info in English: http://job.japantimes.com/

The JT Monday edition is the main Want Ads (Classified Ads for Employment) (and Sunday has fewer but also has some too; if Monday is a holiday (National or just a news holiday, then the Classifieds might be in Tuesdays paper (such was the case on January 10). There is also the Asahi Evening New, and the Yomiuri Daily news which also have ads for jobs – I am not sure exactly what day or days these papers have their job ads. You should be able to find one or all of these in the Stanford libraries. Or these English dailies or even Japanese newspapers might be on sale in the Japanese communities of San Jose or elsewhere.
A few private and large commercial language schools (or other employers) may put ads into US newspaper and on some US Internet-based recruiting sites, such as HotJobs, Monster, etc. So you can check there too.

Here was a sampling of ads in the January 10 Japan Times classifieds:
1. Native English Instructor wanted to teach English conversation at Fukushima High School in Fukushima City. 1 year contract, must be a college grad with Jap conversation ability Age up to 30, Salary 280,000 yen/month incl tax.
Accommodation provided. Please mail resume/photo for interview appointment to Fukushima High School 9-1, Oyamacho, Fukushima City, Fukushima Postal Code: 960-8012
2. US Embassy Tokyo is seeking a temporary administrative assistant for the Financial Attache office. Details on the US Embassy Tokyo website:
http://japan.usembassy.gov/
Address: 10-4, Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420

3. Kurashiki Board of Education (not far from Okuyama – a hour or more away from Hiroshima) is hiring native English teachers. Deadline in January 25
Download application: www.city.kurashiki.okayama.jp/hiring/hiring_jt.htm
Or request directly by mail at: 640 Nishi-nakashinden, Kurashi, Okayama 710-8565.

NOTE* There were a few other jobs – but many were for part-time work only (it’s harder to get a successful work visa application through Japan immigration unless a part-time employer is willing to guarantee your wages (as in a signed contract). Still I don’t have experience in these matters so you ask the Embassy or seek out help from people who have.

7.a) Check out other professional organizations – relating to your own major(s), professional fields of interests, private foundations, Japanese corporate sponsors/employers with connections to Stanford or Silicon Valley, etc.
b) Who knows may be your photography skills and English ability might be just the thing that a Japanese wine importer would love to make good use of. Don’t let your need to just ‘get a job’ keep you from looking for or working creatively toward your own professional goals. You may be able to find an internship from a Japanese or foreign company in Japan or you might be able to convince a company or organization or research or marketing group in the US (or Europe) to pay for your to stay and take photos in Japan, working on their project as a freelancer, etc.
c) You could try to get a connection to work as a student (apprentice is called a “desshi” for an artist, writer, photographer or other person in the arts/media, journalism, etc (TV director, film-maker).
d) Use Stanford’s employment services and their myriad of university and corporation connections to help you find a relationship for a job, internship or apprenticeship in Japan.
8. See the link at JALT (Japan Association for Language Teaching) Links Page – Employment
http://jalt.org/links/
Below are copied links – just in case -- It was hard to find this page –since it seems only to to the Japanese language version of the jalt.org page.
Ohayosensei gives the most up-to-date info since it is published twice monthly (or used to be). However, most of the jobs are for entry-level type jobs. It is not slave labor, but you would probably have to work 5-6 days a week (full or part-time those days with not much time off).



Employment
Link/Description
Clicks
121sensei.com - Language teacher and student matching service for Japan based instructors. Teachers can set their own rates/schedule/workplace. Free service for teachers Japan wide.
549
English Job Maze - A wonderful new ESL/EFL job & info site for teachers and employers. Contains one of the most comprehensive guides to ESL pay, taxes, visas in 50 countries (including Japan). Check it out!
1382
ESL Employment - Free ESL/ EFL jobs posting and employment opportunities. Search for the latest teaching jobs and career opportunities abroad in the field of ESL / EFL.
1136
Hokkaido Insider - Hokkaido News and Insider Teaching Job Information broadcast via email to subscribers. Profile of the teacher conducting this service is provided.
607
http://jalt.org/links/linkster.php?LID=235&URL=http://www.englishjobmaze.com/cg-main-jpn.htm - A 6-page guide to teaching EFL/ESL in Japan. Contains information about ESL pay, taxes, visas and the best times to look for work. Also has links to other useful websites for ESL teachers in Japan.
923
Jobs in Japan - The Motherload of Japan Job Information
2819
O-Hayo Sensei - is a free, bi-weekly newsletter that collects and lists currently available teaching positions (at all levels) across Japan.
1273
SearchESL.com - Internet resources for ESL teachers and employers: search jobs, find employees, post resumes and use ESL directory for ESL information.
863
TLT's Job Information Center - Teaching positions in Japan
4309


8. There are international schools (where children of diplomats, foreign business people and even affluent Japanese sent their children). You may be able to get a job – although without a teaching certification you may have to work as an assistant teacher, administrative assistant/clerical work, assistant coach.

9. Have you considered going to school? If you have money to spend, then you also get a student visa or research visa. For example, you could study Japanese or study in a field which is related to your own fields of professional preparation. If you did that for 3-6 months, you could look for jobs while studying and also getting a better idea of where and what in Japan you like to be working at.
There are also graduate and post-graduate programs at some Japanese universities – scholarship may be available for them from either the institution itself or from Mombusho (The Ministry of Education). Japanese language is not always a pre-requisite for some of these Master’s and PhD programs (although there are too many like that).

Stone Forest in Yunnan China

Stone Forest in Yunnan China
Originally uploaded by dbrooks_tokyo.

SHILIN 石林 Stone Forest

Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site just a short time ago, the Stone Forest has been considered by the Chinese population to be one of the greatest natural wonders of the world. I would not quite go that far -- but it was a beautiful place and offered a glimpse at a very unique natural phenonmenon but also into how the today's Chinese live and celebrate their own national heritage.

I had looked into going to the Stone Forest ever since June when I decided to travel to Kunming to attend an educational conference at Yunnan University there from Dec 1-3, 2005. I had read that it was overrun by hordes of Chinese tourists so I had looked into and even tried to arrange a tour bus trip for a small group of conference attendees to go the nearby Naigu Shilin (Black Stone Forest).

As it turned out, three of us ended up hiring a taxi driver to take up to Shilin (for 400 yuan) (including taking us onto the airport for our flight back to Hong Kong for one night transist before returning to Narita (Tokyo) Japan the following day.

We left Yunda Hotel (the university hotel) at around 8:30 am and arrived at about 9:45am at the main entrance of Shilin. Although I had given the driver (who spoke not a word of English) a written note asking him to take us to the Naigu Shilin (Black Stone Forest located about 7 km from the main Shilin entrance). He either forgot or thought we would enjoy the main Stone Forest better. If fact, I think he was right. It was not as crowded as I had expected -- probably the advice I had received about the massive crowds was by people from less densely populated countries than those of us who live and work in Asia.

It was still early in the day so that may have accounted for the fewer tourists -- still it was quite crowded around the central viewing area and at the peak tower observation platform.

Just before we started into the site, we decided to find a toilet and followed some people into a guest house. Everybody seemed to be heading to the same point -- the head. There were long lines at both men's and women's toilets. I had never seen so many people packed into such a small space standing 3-4 deep just behind each other. In some cases, the Chinese stood two together so that two guys could take a piss at the same time while just behind us other were taking a crap in the long trough that served as a continuously flushing toilet. Nobody seemed self-conscious and hardly anyone gave us (the few foreigners) a second glance either in the toilet or outside on the grounds of the 400 acres of the Stone Forest park.

Laupahoehoe Coast

Laupahoehoe Coast
Originally uploaded by dbrooks_tokyo.

There are few places on Earth like the paradise islands of Hawaii. Far and away, my favorite is the Big Island, whose geographic and human diversity is quite astounding.

About 20 miles north of Hilo is the coast village of Laupahoehoe. Not much distinguishes the small cluster of homes and the few stores on the main highway, but there is a remarkable scenic point on the lower shore, far beneath the cliffs that form the shore line. On April 1, 1946 a tidal wave, which originated in the Aleutian Islands, struck Hawaii and killed over 170 people, mostly in Laupahoehoe and Hilo where the wave heights averaged 30 feet. It wiped out the former village of Laupahoehoe once located a the foot of cliffs below the point, killing all of its known inhabitants. The place is marked by a memorial monument and the area is not a recreational seaside park.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

A psychocognitive and linguistic argument for the importance of biodiversity to humans

A psychocognitive and linguistic argument for the importance of biodiversity to humans

A translation and expansion of an article (in Japanese) by Dr. K. Okui, former Dean and Professor Emeritus
Kitasato University, Sagmihara, Japan

by David L. Brooks

Associate Professor, Kitasato University

Scholars, conservationists, ecologists from the far-corners of the globe have lent their collective support to argue for the preservation of biodiversity on this planet. Their reasoning is just, reflective, and conscientious.

Introduction　　　　　　　　The origin of the idea for this research came while I was a visiting researcher at New Zealand’s Waikato University in 1991 to investigate onychophoran. At that time, Professor Kenneth Henshall suggested that it would be interesting to compare cross-cultural awareness of nature through a study of the linguistic expressions involving insects. The following is a founding step for this ethno-entomological research. At this point there is not a defined research paradigm. Initially, this study serves to build such a foundation.
At first, we decided to compare linguistic items from Japanese and English related to how these groups grasp the meaning of insects. We simply list and explain many old sayings related to insects found in Japanese and English as a basis for comparing the two cultures’ perceptions of the value of insects and their relationships to humans. At the same time, Ray Harlow, an instructor at Waikato University, collected similiar expressions from the Maori language as a further cultural sample for comparative reference. All of this raw data has been collected as the basic material for subsequent development of a research structure in ethno-entomology.

Grasping the concept of “mushi”
　　　　　　　　　Central to the psycho-cognitive schema in the Japanese paradign of man’s relationship to nature is the concept that humans are fully integrated components of the complex system of life on earth. Not only are organisms interdependent with man, but it is a ingrained in the Japanese values that biological organisms frequently form symbiotic life patterns with humans. This thinking is most clearly observed in the concept of mushi. Strictly speaking, the word “mushi” as used in everyday conversation among the Japanese does not always refer strictly to a member of the insect family as defined by taxonomy. There are few cases in the usage of “mushi” where the animal, whether it be insect, worm, or other form of animal life, is clearly identified. Rather, there are many more occassions when the word ‘mushi’ expresses a vague or ambiguous life form whose nuance of meaning is more expressive than its actual definition. The distinction is equally missing in written Japanese as well, which is derived from Chinese characters. A wide variety of organisms are generally grouped together in colloquial Japanese by name and category because they all possess the same lefthand character radical, called ‘mushi-hen’ (’虫--> 蛇).

[For a comprehensive reference detailing for the scientific taxonomy of these organisms grouped together as ‘mushi’, one could consult The Big World Museum Picture Encyclopaedia, vol. 1, by Hiroshi Aramata. ]

　　　　　According to Henshall, the tendency to generalize the word ‘bug’ to represent a broad array of organisms is similar in English. Henshall recognized, however, that the use of ‘bug’ when compared to the its Japanese equivalent ‘mushi’ tends to be limited to describing creatures of the insect family, whereas ‘mushi’ often includes microorganisims, snakes, crabs, or octopus, in addition to insects. He believed that for the Japanese, almost all the creeping, crawling creatures known as ‘mushi’ are treated as insects. It is likely that Henshall drew this conclusion because there are so many Chinese characters or kanji in the Japanese language that use the ‘mushi’ radical and also from the fact there are a large number of idioms, adages, and set expressions which use the concept of ‘mushi’. For example, there is an expression in Japanese which means to ‘hate like poision’ or to possess an abominable hatred. This expression, ‘dakatsu no gotoku’ uses the kanji for snake and scorpion, both of which are written with the ‘mushi’ radical. Obviously, neither of these is an insect, but the expression illustrates how “mushi” occurs throughout the Japanese language.

Because there are an enormous number of such cases where the ‘mushi’ radical is used in kanji, it would be impractical to include them all in this analysis. Instead this study will limit its analysis to instances where the meaning of ‘mushi’ is either clearly an insect or to those cases where a vague ill-defined reference to an organism eliminates its confusion with a specific non-insect species. For example, Japanese refer to ‘hara no mushi’, which is actually closer in nature to the tapeworm, as the belly-bug or stomach-worm. Even though it is not classified taxonomically as an insect, it is treated in colloquial language as one.
The core of this study focuses on an analysis of the dictionary entries under the heading of “mushi”. In a most general sense, “mushi” indicates a member of the insect family, but its usage also encompasses a large variety of other non-insect species. By way of explanation about Japanese common taxonomical appellation, it appears that animals whose characteristics or qualities make them attractive or familiar to humans are usually given names which are distinctive or unique for each species. Examples of animals with such names include: dog, cat, lion, chimpanzee, and even some insects whose names do not include “mushi”, such as the cicada and swallowtail butterfly. However, a host of other creatures are often lumped together in the rather broad, ill-defined group called “mushi”. Typical members of this second category include ,not only a great many insects, but also a large number of diverse types of organisms such as single-celled organisms, various other arthropods, nematods, annelieds, rotifers, and even mollusks.
The Japanese name for a paramecium, for example, is zorimushi. Zori signifies the shape of the traditional Japanese sandal of the same name. Like many lower order animals, it is grouped together with many other genus in the single category, “mushi.”

A particularly unique example of the use of “mushi” is to be found in the expression, hara-no-mushi meaning stomach-worm or belly-bug, as mentioned previously. The English translation here is simply a rather imprecise approximation because the concept of “mushi” cannot be clearly defined as either an insect, worm, nor any other specific biological name. The hara-no-mushi is typically blamed in colloquial Japanese for stomach pain; however, it is more often cited in a more general sense as the cause of one’s behavior or disposition. In traditional Japanese thinking, the hara (abdomen, belly, or gut) is generally associated as the seat of one’s emotional states, especially those of anger, desire, will, pain, hunger, patience, or intuition. In a sense, the hara-no-mushi is a kind of non-lethal, sometimes even beneficial, parasite which appears to live symbiotically within its human host. Many an old wive’s tale blames the hara-no-mushi for a person’s foibles and almost as often attributes to it a person’s admirable or valuable characteristics. Actually, there are many ‘mushi’ associated with many parts of the body. It is perceived that an unknown and ill-defined organism inhabits the body inducing both positive and negative effects.
Similarly, there exists a related expression in Japanese, “shishi-shinchu-no-mushi”. Literally, it translates -- the bug/worm/creature within the lion’s body. This expression is comparable to the English phrase, “the snake in one’s bosom,” describing a treacherous friend or the traitor from within. Again, the expression uses the ambiguous term “mushi.” Not only is it unclear what kind of organism is involved, it is equally vague as to where this creature is located and whether it is to be found internally or externally.
At this point, having decided what type of expressions to collect, it began to become difficult to locate expressions in colloquial Japanese which strictly specified insects. More often than not, it appears that the use of insects tends to connote some kind of bad, offensive, or negative meaning. Professor Henshall mentions that the connotation of insects in various English expressions falls into three categories: good, bad, and neutral in a ratio of 1-5-3 respectively.

A comparison with expressions in English

　　　　　Though there are many expression involving insects which are commonly used in the English-speaking world, each of the English-speaking nations has its own particular forms and idiosyncracies. Sometimes these differences are interesting, especially when compared with Japanese expressions. In a very general sense, most English expressions involving insects tend to avoid bugs which are noisy. For example, in Australian English, there are no expressions which use the mosquito. Likewise, in New Zealand where the sand fly, butterfly fly and other small blood-sucking insects are prevalent, there are, oddly enough, no expressions which make reference to these insects. On the contrary, in Japanese the word urusai is used to describe a person who is annoyingly loud or bothersome by talking too much. The kanji for this word can be written as “the fly in May” -- a reference to the loud buzzing of house flies ubiquitous in late spring.
[ insert English expressions ] Similarly in English, the word “worm” is used rather ambiguously to name some organisms which are not at all worms, such as ringworm, silkworms and bookworms.