Spring Meeting Reflection

AEC @ Spring Meeting [March 16th, 2009]
(back: JMD, Yoshi, Ed, Colin; front: Rachel, Kayoko, Karen, Mina)

On Thursday, I headed for Bloomfield, CT, [crib de Colin the Chairperson] from Philadelphia where it was still pretty chilly and not so Spring-like.
The meeting did not officially start until Friday, but I did not want to drive for 5 hours, only to drive a few more hours picking up people from the Hartford station & airport.
We AECs had our 5-day spring meeting to select delegates, continue site discussions, conduct a phon-a-thon and reconnect with our alumni, and just enjoy ourselves in a very JASCy way.

On Friday, after the last AEC, Ed, arrived, we stayed up until 3 or 4am discussing site planning. I mean... was anyone tired? We had people who endured xx-hours of bus ride, flew in from Seattle, and... the JAPANs. Everyone enthusiastically participated in our late night discussions, and at that moment, I realized everyone wants to make the conference really the best as it can possibly get.

Saturday was when we really kicked off our official task of selecting delegates. Prior to the meeting, all of us already had read and graded the applicants' personal essays & short answers, references, and writing samples in order to focus on discussing each and every applicant. Honestly, I saw way too many applicants with the JASC potential, and it was such a difficult process selecting just a few.
Around noon, Regina, the executive director of ISC, arrived at Colin's and gave us a rundown on what we will be doing for Sunday, and stayed with us throughout the delegate selection process to provide us with her valuable opinions and advices. Thank you, Regina!

Sunday was the Phon-a-thon day-- we called our American alumni to update them on JASC and ask for support for the 61st JASC. I had never done one before so I was super duper nervous, but I managed to talk to some alumni. I know other AECs did a better job than I did, so I admire them! I overheard some AEC members talking for an extended period of time with alumni about their past JASC experiences, such as sites they went to, dorms they stayed in, JASCers they still keep in touch with, and, of course, JASC marriages :)

The quite fun part of the meeting was the video making of the serious AEC on Monday. We wanted to create one to introduce ourselves to the world-- yep, that's right. Although it was pretty serious and official, in the process of filming there were much laughing and "Karen, take 25" involved. Also, gullible Kayoko didn't know when she was being recorded and when she was not, so we got a footage of Kayoko being... totally Kayoko. Thanks for the cooperation!
At night, we discussed web resources for us to better organize ourselves and present materials to the selected delegates. [sarcasm] After that, we went to this great Japanese restaurant called "Kinsa（きんさ）." [/sarcasm] Actually, it's Ginza, but it was nothing like Ginza we had hoped for. However, what mattered is that we had a deep, thoughtful reflection on our spring meeting-- what could have gone better, what we did well, etc. The reflection will help us and the future AECs to truly plan the best, well-prepared conference for delegates.

Everyone left at different times on Tuesday; Ed at 5am, Rachel at 9am, Mina at 7pm. Kayoko stayed back and prepared for her alumni interviews in NYC the next day with Colin.
I drove Yoshi and JMD to NYC for them to go on their ways. Before separating though, I had the opportunity to take JMD to his ultimate favorite Chipotle [non-existent in Japan]. JMD looked like a kid with glittering eyes biting down on the burrito, haha.

Personally, I hadn't seen most of the AEC members since last Fall meeting, so I was [GYAAA] so thrilled to reunite with everyone. Right before the meeting, I had mixed feelings about the meeting; how productive it was going to be, how to resume conversations with some of the AEC members that I had not seen in awhile, etc. However, as soon as we were together, the biggest concern for all of us was not being able to stop talking, not just on conference-related matter, but also on anything and everything else. Sometimes, with streams of AEC work and tension among ourselves, I found myself burying away the memories of our friendship during the 60th JASC. I feel as if this spring meeting helped me dig out that hole and bring back the fond days and friendships we had weaved so intricately.

Now I am back in Carlisle, PA, not getting ready for today's class, instead writing a blog entry. But hey, this is way more meaningful and fun than learning about brain cells.
Only after 5 days, there is a major turn around of the weather, and now Spring is in the air. After being stuck in a room working and talking endless hours, we are able to welcome both the Spring and... new faces to JASC.

Karen