There are many different reasons why people want to go to JET, and I’m willing to bet that for some of those people, their reasons probably aren’t the best of reasons (though who am I to tell them that, right?). What I said in my Statement of Purpose was all true…I really do want to be an ambassador for the American culture, whatever American culture is (because let’s be honest, it’s so very varied).
And I especially want to learn the skills that might help me get my foot in the door for a future in International Business. Despite what people might say about China replacing Japan as the Asian economic power (or rather, China BEING the economic power of the world), I still think Japan is still relevant (as an economic power) and is a vital ally for the United States, in terms of military AND trade.
However, I’m sure everybody who applied for JET has their own secret reasons that they couldn’t exactly mention on their statement of purpose or in the interviews, since it’s probably not the best thing to mention in a professional setting.
My main hobby/fascination in life is Jamaican music, more specifically early Jamaican music (ska, rocksteady, and skinhead reggae). To me, its fascinating to follow the “trail,” so to speak, of Jamaican music, and see its impact on the world and modern day music. From it’s origin as an amalgamation of Jamaican folk music, African rhythms, and of course, the tunes being played in the USA–jazz, country, and the beginnings of rock and roll–all of them forming to create ska music. It’s evolution from ska, to rocksteady, to reggae all the way to present day, where we have ragga music and dancehall. It’s arguable that hip hop would have even been created if there wasn’t a Jamaican population that imported their muzick to New York.
Right now, I’m kinda rambling, but what I want to get at is, the various forms of Jamaican music traveled all across the world, and one of the places it landed was Japan. Japan has a very vibrant scene for Jamaican-influenced music. My favorite band, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, is apparently a huge band in Japan, playing in huge stadiums and appearing regularly on TV Commercials and MTV-type programming. Then there’s the underground scene that, at least from over here, seems to be big.
Once upon a time, I used to admire anything and everything coming out of the Japanese ska/reggae scene, but these days I’m a lot more skeptical, for reasons I won’t go into at this time, but long story short, I want to experience the Japanese ska/reggae scene for myself and even try to get involved with it. Maybe even get a few interviews for the music blog (And I’ve been trying to get in touch with certain people already).
But you know, it’s all dependent on whether I even get INTO the JET Program, and whether I’ll be placed at a location that, you know, has a scene at all (I’ve requested Urban placements, but I realize placements are almost always completely random)!
I also realize that if and when I do get accepted to the JET Program, my focus will be doing my job first…everything else will come later.
But there it is, one of my unofficial reasons for wanting to go to Japan.
To end this post, I’m going to post one of my favorite TSPO videos…a cover of the Skatalites tune, “After The Rain”
MAGNIFICENT!
