Jikoshokai Corner
Today we are introducing our year one, JETAARM vice president!
Please introduce yourself with your name, prefecture, and years spent on the JET program.
Hello everyone! My name is Brad Breiten. I was on the JET Program from 2016-2021 in snowy Iwamizawa-shi, Hokkaido. I spent my first three years as an ALT, and the last 2 years as a CIR.
What made you want to apply to the JET Programme?
I applied to the JET Programme after finishing my master’s degree in Japanese Language and Literature. I wanted to live and work in Japan for a couple of years to improve my Japanese ability before applying to a PhD program. Well, I kind of fell in love with Iwamizawa and my life in Japan, ended up staying a full five years, and ultimately decided to go in another direction than academia. But I wouldn’t change a thing about the path I have taken to get here.
What was your most meaningful experience on JET?
I have always enjoyed giving back what I can to the JET community, so I’d say the most meaningful experiences on JET for me were the ones that allowed me to help build community. My time working with HAJET as the central region representative, and subsequently as translator allowed me to make connections with JETs all over Hokkaido. My time spent as an AJET Peer Support Group volunteer gave me the ability to help and connect with JETs all over Japan (albeit anonymously). And I enjoyed being a Couch Surfing host as well as a Tatami Timeshare host and participant. There are so many awesome ways to get involved in your local, and the broader JET community in Japan.
What are you most looking forward to as a JETAARM board member?
I came into JETAARM as the Webmaster in November of last year and have shifted my responsibilities to fill the position of Vice President, but my goal remains the same. I want our website to be a lively and useful space, full of information and interesting and fun content. I want to see it become a one stop shop for getting your information about the going-ons in the Rocky Mountain JETAA community, and my ultimate vision would be to make a resource so fun, interesting, and useful that people from other chapters recommend their members check it out.
I am also looking forward to more in-person get-togethers so we can continue to build our community. We cover a large area, but it doesn’t mean we can’t be tight knit.
Answer a fun question of your choosing (favorite food/most surprising/embarrassing story, etc)
My chosen question is: “Are you a good dancer?”
Well thank you for asking! Actually, I do consider myself somewhat of a dancer. I got my start as a senior in high school with salsa (so 2006 ish) and I have been dancing ever since. I dance Salsa (on1, on2, rueda, cumbia), Bachata (traditional, urban, sensual), and Kizomba (traditional, urban) regularly. I can also dance – but do so with much less frequency – West Coast Swing, Cha Cha, Merengue, Zouk, Rumba, and beyond that I have dabbled in an can probably BS my way through a song or two with Waltz, Fox Trot, East Coast Swing, and various styles of Tango.
But I have to say, I am not much for solo dancing. I am tall and goofy and a little all over the place, which doesn’t lend itself well to clean lines or crisp movements. So yeah, mostly stick to partner dancing.
