Durkin's Introduction... Part Ni!

As promised, here is a friendly meme. Sadly, I think it gives a better impression of me than my self-intro. ENJOY!

1. What is your first name? Jon-Michael, of course—but you can call me Durkin if you like!

2. Were you named after anyone? My parents do not answer this question consistently. The short answer is no. The long answer is maybe. My Uncle is named John and my father is named Michael. My parents often joke they named me after Jean-Luc Picard, of the U.S.S. Enterprise... Yeah, I was doomed to nerd-dom from the start.

3. Do you wish on stars? Alas, it always seemed a strange superstition to me… Perhaps that’s why I was such a sad excused for a child.

4. When did you last cry? When I thought about the individuals from the 60th JASC, of course.

5. Do you like your handwriting? I used to not care at all… but recently I have become knowledgeable that my handwriting looks like crap, and that makes me sad. My kanji, however; is often quite beautiful I am told.

6. What is your favorite lunch meat? Even before I became a vegan, I never liked lunch meat. (I stopped being vegan when I came to Japan, PS)

7. What is your most embarrassing CD? That’s hard! Almost every CD that I own is somewhat embarrassing… It’s possibly any of the following: Aladdin OST, The Newsies OST, or Pocahontas OST.

8. If you were another person, would you be friends with you? What kind of question is that? If I were another person, I would clearly be much to cool to hang out with the likes of me. Not to mention, I am kind of a jerk.

9. Do you have a journal? I have a blog. But no journal!

10. Do you use sarcasm a lot? No. Never. Of course not. I don't whine, either.

11. What are your nicknames? JM, JMD, Durkin, Jiji

12. Would you bungee jump? Of course I would! I went skydiving this past summer and it was AMAZING!

13. Do you untie your shoes before you take them off? Does anyone?

14. Do you think that you are strong? Strong in a physical sense? Certainly not. But I like to think that my mental strength more than makes up for it… But that might actually just be a guise for a strong ego.

15. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? I like vanilla… Isn’t that just so plain?

16. Shoe size? 10. Not much to say about it—it’s pretty standard yo.

17. Red or pink? Neither.

18. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? My propensity to withdraw from relationships when I start to really get to know people.

19. What do you miss most? Diet Coke and wireless internet (they don’t exist in Japan!)

20. Do you want everyone you send this to, to send it back? No, but I wouldn't mind if someone rewrote this question to prevent that icky "to, to" issue.

21. What color pants/shoes are you wearing? Semi-dark blue jeans and brown slippers

22. What are you listening to right now? ‘I Don’t Think Now Is The Best Time’ from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End OST.

23. Last thing you ate? Well, it was a rather large meal: A bowl of rice, vegetable miso soup, sponge tofu, and a ground-meat/mixed veggie stirfry. It was really quite delicious!

24. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Who wrote these questions? Barbara Walters?

25. What is the weather like right now? It’s a bit cool! Japan has finally entered fall, I fear. Otherwise it is a beautifully calm and clear night.
26. Last person you talked to on the phone? I think my hostfather. I don’t have a phone, so I rarely use one.

27. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? The size of their face and body and how proportionate the two are.

28. Do you like the person who sent this to you? I found this on some random blog… so no.

29. Favorite drink? Used to be Diet Coke… Recently it’s become cold tea.

30. Favorite sport? I like to watch baseball. I like to do karate :-P

31. Hair color? Brown.

32. Eye color? Hazel-ish.

33. Do you wear contacts? Nope.

34. Favorite food? Gardein Burgers, definitely!

35. Last movie you watched? This is tough. I think the last movie I watched was Be Kind Rewind on the plane to Japan. It was really stupid, don’t watch it.

36. Favorite day of the year? I really prefer the day on which JASC begins 

37. Scary movies or happy endings? Neither—they are both too cliché.

38. Winter or summer? The spring, thank you very much.

39. Hugs or kisses? Hugs. There is nothing quite like holding another person in your arms and simultaneously being held.

40. What is your favorite dessert? Probably crepes… Yeah, definitely crepes.

41. Who is most likely to do this meme? Nobody. Well, maybe another EC will pick up on it and do it, but I doubt it…
42. Who is the least likely to do this meme and comment? To no Chujo? Hikaru Genji? Murasaki Shikibu?

43. What books are you reading? Funny you should ask: The Tale of Genji, The Gossamer Years, The Kojiki, and so many more…

44. What's on your mouse pad? It’s a small red dot in the center of my keyboard, aka a trackpoint.

45. What did you watch on TV last night? ano… last night I think I watched the news and then went to bed.

46. Favorite smells? I love the smell of spring… You know the one I am talking about.

47. Favorite sound? You know those soft murmurs that the person you love makes when they sleep? Yeah, that’s it.

48. Rolling Stones or Beatles? The Beatles… and the Rolling Stones! OH I AM TRICKY!

49. What's the furthest you've been from your home? Osaka, Japan (I think that Kyoto is closer to home… hahahah)

50. Do you have a special talent? I can run around really fast and whirl my arms around while making loud noises before I fall down… In other words, no.

51. What is your ring tone? Ah, my friend… I am 19, and thus I cannot get a cell phone in Japan without parental consent… Which is a bit tricky to get when neither of your parents speak any ENGLISH!

2 min self-intro of the "other" Asian girl

Hello reader,

My name is Kayoko “Kai” Hirata and I am one of eight 61st JASC AECs. I study Urban and Regional Studies and Government at Cornell University, located in middle-of-nowhere, NY. My roles in JASC are AEC treasurer, JASC Presents AEC Liaison with Yoshi and Hakodate site coordinator with our wonderful Chair Colin. I lead the RT topic “Food Security and the Future Accessibility of Edible Commodities” with a very benevolent JEC buddy Moto.

I had the fortunate experience of growing up both in Japan and in the US, therefore not only do I speak English, but also a fair bit of comprehensible Japanese and enjoy pretending to understand Spanish.

Food transports me away from dreary reality and I wish there were more time and resources to fully devote myself to it. But as for now, I have turned to books on food, which is why my RT will be the best. And oh, Japanese bakeries ruin my health but I spend a good portion of my camera memory and time and income exploring for them.

The 61st JASC is on the process to become the best summer experience ever, so if I haven’t bored you yet, apply! (Well, not now cuz the applications aren’t up yet) Please check our blog sporadically and request more info by signing up to our listserve ↓

http://iscdc.org/index.php?option=com_forme&fid=4

Cheers,

Kayoko

Durkin's Introduction

It’s taken me a while to want to write this introduction… I’ve struggled a lot with exactly what to say in it. How can I sum myself up in a short time while still keeping you interested? It’s really difficult!

Name: Jon-Michael Durkin
College: The University of Akron
Major: International Politics
Site: Kansai Region
Roundtable: Globalizing Economies: The Rise of BRICs in Relation to Japan and the United States

Well that was interesting, right? Ok… Be quiet.
I’m studying abroad in Japan this year. It works out rather nicely because I get the extreme pleasure of actually living in the area where the fourth site of the coming JASC will take place. If you haven’t already guessed, I was an American delegate from the 60th JASC. My motivation to become an EC was borne out of one specific goal: World Domination.
Just joking… Maybe.

In actuality, I found JASC to be one of the most momentous events in my life. I was skeptical, at first. In truth, I found myself not wanting to go the week before the conference out of fear. I am glad I did not yield to such silly thoughts. Traveling the United States with 61 other students from Japan and the US has left a great impression on me. It’s almost impossible to put the feelings into a generic paragraph such as this. If you are thinking about applying, do so. Absolutely, without a doubt, apply. It’s something you won’t regret, ever. It’s worth every bit of time spent, and it’s an experience which will enrich your person beyond belief.
If you find yourself compelled, but still fearful, please contact us and learn from our experience. That is, after all, why we are here.

Ok, so this was a poor self-introduction… I’ll just do a freaking meme…

Ed's Introduction

Hello all!
I am Edward Phillips, but usually I just go by Ed.
I am a member of the 61st JASC American Executive Committee, webmaster for the 61st JASC, American Orientation coordinator, organiser for the delegate selection process, one of the 4 coordinators of the Nagano site, and am leading the Public Interest vs. Individual Rights roundtable (which is going to be great!) with an awesome guy named Takuma.

I am a gamer and a computer nerd. I am also into theature and singing. I have been in 5 musical theature productions with 2 lead roles.
I am one of 2 male children out of 11 total.
I was born in Phoenix, AZ, but have lived in Arizona (obviously), Utah, Illinois, Nevada, Washington, and Japan.

I am entering my senior year at the University of Washington, majorin in the Japanese Language.

That's me in a nutshell.

Henry Kissinger

I've been looking through previous JASC recruitment materials and making some of my own, and whenever I encounter a list of famous JASC alumni, there's always one name that stands out: Henry Kissinger.

Presumably because he is our most famous American alumnus, we seem to take great pains to mention him as often as we can.  I am of the school of thought that sufficient repetition makes anything funny, so now every time I see Kissinger mentioned, I can't help but smile.

As you can tell, I am working very hard on JASC right now.

Self-Infroduction: Karen

Hello all readers!

I am...
Karen Jung,
the proud American delegate of the 60th Japan-America Student Conference,
the Vice Chair of the American Executive Committee of the 61st JASC (2009),
the liaison between the AECs and the Int'l Student Conference,
the leader of the Roundtable: Modernized Technology and the Health Issues with sexy Emi,
and one of the 4 Tokyo site coordinators with my best friend YOSHI!

I...
was born on October 15 in a small city in South Korea,
flew to the US on a snowy day in January of 2000,
live in Havertown, PA and attended Haverford MS & HS,
own a deli business in Philadelphia, PA,
attend Dickinson College, class of 2011, majoring in East Asian Studies and Pre-Health,
miss my older brother, Young Woong, who is probably sweating and swearing his butt off in FLW, MO, as an American soldier in-training,
love listening to music [artist playing right now- Rachael Yamagata], taking pictures, travelling, writing journals, being on my bed, talking to people about everything,...

and wish I can be with you [future 61st JASCers and lovely 60th JASCers] right now creating another cherished moments of my life.

Love,
Karen.

Rachel's self-introduction

Name: Rachel Staum

College: Harvard

Major: East Asian Studies (Japanese literature!)

Hobbies: classical music ♥ , knitting, reading

EC roles: recruitment, public relations, publications (with Mina!)

Site: Kansai!!!

Roundtable: Educating a Global Citizenry: What is the ideal education for a globalizing society?

I am looking forward to working with everyone to make an amazing conference for next year. Right now it seems so far away, and it's hard to imagine everything coming together!

☆Yoshi's first blogging☆

Hello :D

I'm Yoshi, a member of 61st AEC.

First of all, let me introduce myself briefly.

I was a Japadele in 60th JASC, then got elected as an AEC member. Although I am a junior at The University of Tokyo, I am currently studying at University of Toronto, Canada as an exchange student till next summer! So I can work closely with other AEC fellows (both geographically and emotionally, of course!)

My main role is to facilitate the communication between the Japanese side and the American side; I am a liaison. I am also a liaison for alumni, keeping them updated about 61st JASC.

Since 61st JASC will be held in Japan next summer, I'm really looking forward to rediscovering my country with all of 61st JASCers!!

As for RT(discussion round table), I'm leading "Environment and Sustainable Development" RT with Keisuke, my buddy in JEC.

So far, I have used some of "JASC jargon".

Let me conclude my introduction by explaining them.

JASC: Japan-America Student Conference

JASCer: participant in JASC

AEC: American Executive Committee (8 members)

JEC: Japanese Executive Committee (8 members)

Japadele: Japanese delegate

Amedele: American delegate

Our new blog is awesome

To my fellow AEC--

Welcome to our new AEC blog!

I believe our intention in creating this blog is to have a casual online presence, through which we can spread information about JASC and our progress creating the conference.

You all have posting access, so I hope you feel free to post photographs, informal updates, and your thoughts on JASC!

Let's keep this blog lively and post often!

Post #1

Hello World!