How You Can Donate to Help Japan

There are many ways you can donate to the relief and future rebuilding efforts in Japan. You of course must be wary. In times of tragedy, there are those who use it as an opportunity to line their own pockets.

if you are going to donate money to Japan, make sure you do it to a credible organization. Here are just a few who are helping Japan right now:


Canadian Red Cross

American Red Cross

Japanese Red Cross

UK Red Cross

Australian Red Cross

Save the Children

Salvation Army

Oxfam International

You Don't Need Money to Help Japan

With the passing of each day I’m hearing countless stories of people all around the world donating money to the relief efforts here in Japan. I’ve heard of individual people donating via text message, online, at their churches, etc. I’m hearing of celebritities and major corporations donating massive sums of money. Canada’s own Justin Bieber donated a million dollars to Japan and Starbucks Japan donated 1.2 million.

I am of course more than pleased that so many are giving so much. Japan will need countless billions of dollars to rebuild after last Friday’s earthquake, tsunami and now nuclear disaster. Millions of people have lost everything, been displaced and infrastructure around most of northern Japan has been damaged.

Of course, donating money is a great thing, but not everyone out there has money to give. There are many people out there with warm hearts, but simply don’t have the extra cash to give away.

There are many ways that out can help the people of Japan without donating money. Here are some ideas I had:

1. Donate your time (volunteer): Even if you don’t have money, you can find the time to help. You can volunteer at an organization that is collecting clothes for the people in Japan. You can contact your local Red Cross and ask them how you can help. Maybe there is something you can do at your local Salvation Army to lend a hand. Don’t underestimate how important just a few hours of your time can be for those in need!

2. Create your own fundraiser: Start your own fundraiser. Start one with your classmates, coworkers or friends. It doesn’t have to be something grand. It could be something as simple as a bake sale. Why not organize a walk-a-thon at your local school track? Hold a yard sale and donate the proceeds to a reputable NGO helping Japan. Set up a table at a fleamarket. Run a race (marathon/half/10k/5k) and ask for donations. Have a carwash. I can even remember doing a 24-hour rock-a-thon (in rocking chairs) as a teenager. There are many great ways to raise money wherever you are!

3. Donate old clothes: The people in northern Japan have lost everything. Most escaped with only the clothes on their backs. They need clothes (adults and children), blankets and shoes.

4. Say a prayer: If you are a person of faith, any faith, this is always a great option!

5. Educate yourself and others about the situation: There is a lot of sensational and bad press coverage coming out of this disaster. I’ve seen some pretty bad stuff on major American networks like ABC News. Do your research. Learn about the situation from multiple news sources. Shop around so to speak. Once you have a decent grasp on what is happening over here in Japan, spread the word!

6. Donate Blood: If you live in Japan this is a great option!



Now, just a word of warning, there are many great organizations out there helping like Save the Children, Red Cross, the Salvation Army, etc. Mind you, there are also scammers out there. It is a sad, but true reality that some people out there will take advantage of an awful situation like this for their own benefit. Make sure you donate to a credible and well-known charity.

Shoddy Journalism and the Good Ones: Covering the Crisis in Japan

Last night I stayed up way past my bedtime and the only thing that happened, aside from being really tired this morning, was me getting really pissed off.

I stayed up late and decided to catch up on the "news coverage" of japan by clicking on some stories on the Yahoo News main page. What I saw were puff pieces and downright bullshit by several American news organizations. I saw some journalists who basically should basically pack it in and get a job fetching coffee for camera operators as opposed to standing in front of a camera!

I’ve been basically keeping up on the most up to date news of the disaster here in Japan from a few sources. One of them of course being Japanese television (I do indeed live in Japan) and the other being Twitter. I do realize that Twitter is often a repository for people’s thoughts and opinions, but during this ongoing crisis, something different has happened. Many bloggers and vloggers based in Japan have really stepped up and have become truly credible news sources. They are spending their days and nights scouring news services, both domestic and foreign and sharing links and stories with the world. More often than not, these bloggers have been far more accurate in their reporting and views than many professional journalists.

Now of course, I cannot dump on all foreign media covering this crisis. Many correspondents and writers for foreign print/digital media have indeed been living in Japan for a long time, speak the language and understand the culture. Those journalists stand out.

I’m talking about the representatives of foreign media who are parachuted (not literally of course) in to the tsunami/disaster zone and report with no background or understanding of the people or culture. They are sent in from countries such as the U.S. and the U.K. to quickly publish puff pieces or “hard hitting” news with very few, if any facts correct. These are the folks that piss me off royally! These are the people who sell papers through bullshit and fear mongering.

There is a famous saying in the newspaper industry that states, “If it bleeds, it leads!” Simply put, sensational sells. That has been the case since the advent of newspapers and has not changed. Whether you are consuming You Tube videos, blogs, print or televised media; sensational sells! Unfortunately, sensational usually doesn’t equal accurate!

Now, back to these bloggers on Twitter who have been doing such an amazing job keeping the world informed about what is really happening. Many of them are doing such a great job because of the fact that they have been here for a long time, they speak the language, understand the culture and most of all, I think, are connected to Japan. They care about Japan and the Japanese people. They have a vested interest in the country and want to tell people, both here and abroad the real story. They may not be “professional” journalists, but they cite sources, do their research and work very hard to get things correct.

I suppose I can make the comparison of professional journalists to professional teachers (which I am). I’ve taught in Korea, Canada and now Japan and have met many teachers. Some of the greatest teachers I ever worked with in Korea/Japan didn’t have teaching licenses. They didn’t have the “credentials”, but were dedicated, driven and brilliant at their jobs.

As someone who is a professional teacher in Canada (and a student for many years), I’ve met many “professional” license-holding teachers who were lazy, inept and sloppy at their jobs. I suppose the same can be said for some journalists.

I would like to say something to all the journalists who represent foreign news organizations in Japan during this crisis. Please do your research and get the story right before you publish it! You are the reason my family back home is scared out of their minds. You are the reason so many expats in Japan have scared families in their respective countries. Honour the people of Japan by getting the story right!

Here are just a few bloggers in Japan who are doing an incredible job spreading the news of the crisis in Japan with the rest of the world (some are also journalists I respect a lot):

Garkuranman
Mutant Frog Travelogue
Slices of Soup
Martyn Williams
Tokyo Times
Hiroko Tabuchi
Justin McCurry
Steve Herman
Mark Williams
Mark MacKinnon

You need to follow these folks on Twitter, read their blogs or newspaper stories!

I will add to this list as there are many more awesome people out there I follow on Twitter and other means who are doing a great job!


Here is a great video from You Tube video blogger elevencolors who lives in downtown Tokyo. In this video he illustrates a MASSIVE mistake in reporting made by Fox News:


You can of course follow me on Twitter: @jlandkev

After the Quake: How You Can Help

Life in Japan has suddenly changed for so many. The people of northern Japan are suffering and simply in a world of hurt after Friday's magnitude 9 earthquake and following tsunami.

Many people may be surprised that I waited this long to make a blog post, but to be honest, I've been too busy with Twitter to write a blog. The news flow is fast and fluid (a little personification there) and I've honestly found that I can communicate with more people, more efficantly, through Twitter, Facebook and my video blogs. Also, my video blogs and Tweets have a much larger audience.

So, as of Monday morning, things are still really bad. Much of the coastal regions of northern Japan have been decimated and thousands dead and missing.

The people of Japan need help. If you are in Japan, you can onate money, clothes and blood, but people are being asked to stay away fromt he disaster area. I'm sure many, myself included, would love to rush to the affected areas and help with the cleanup and rebuilding, but it is simply still too dangerous. I suppose in time, people will be given the chance to go there in person and assist.

For those of you abroad, you can help by donating to several (I'm sure the list is ever growing) NGO's racing to help the Japanese people:

Canadian Red Cross

American Red Cross

Save the Children


Here is a page I found had a lot of useful information from Time Out Tokyo magazine.


Here are a few video blogs I made about it during the weekend. You can also follow my Twitter feed on the side of this page for more information:





For the time being, spreading the word to people about how to donate and help is all I can do. I do have a fairly large social media audience so I will do what I can to help that way.

I Want To Teach in Asia

I normally don’t talk about teaching ESL in Korea or these days in blog posts or in You Tube videos. To be honest, I feel pretty disconnected from the whole ESL industry and from life in Korea. I left Korea in 2007 and when I left Korea, I left the ESL industry.

I do however still receive loads of emails from people asking me about teaching in South Korea and Japan. Sometimes I think my knowledge about Korea is now pretty dated. Like most aspects of life in South Korea, the ESL industry changes quickly and unless you are there on the ground and have some sort of vested interest, it is impossible to keep abreast with those changes. I have also never taught English in Japan so any knowledge I have of the industry here is purely second hand. I listen to stories from my friends who have or do teach ESL in Japan and read about it in newspapers.

That being said, I wasn't to impart some basic information to those interested in making a career in ESL or just taking a year or two to try teaching. The advice I am about to share is general stuff that basically doesn’t change with time. Most of it simply has to do with being professional. I suppose this will be some advice that could be used for many different professions.



1. Do I need a university degree to get a teaching job?

If you want to work legally as a teacher in Korea or Japan, you must have a university degree. You must have a degree in something (doesn’t matter if it is Science, Arts, Business, etc.). This is not a great global plot to keep those without degrees down; it is simply necessary for visa regulations. These governments consider teachers to be skilled/white collar workers and they need degrees. Besides, wouldn’t you want your child’s teacher to have a degree as well? In order to be a teacher in the United States, Canada, U.K normally you need more than one degree to be a teacher. Long story short, there is no way around this. If you want to teach in Korea or Japan, but have no degree, you will have to take a few years and get it!


My first job in Korea (2002) was at a large franchise operation. I didn't care for my first job, but the folowing year I worked at a great school.


2. Once you get to Korea will I screwed by an employer?

I would like to say no, but it does happen occasionally. You also have to remember that that sort of thing happens in Canada and the United States as well! I did meet a few people that did get screwed out of pay by employers and it even happened to me on two occasions, but those cases are still relatively uncommon. There really is no way to prevent this from happening. Most large schools are franchise operations so where one branch might be an awesome place to work, the next branch might be a crap –hole! If something does happen, the Korean Labor Board is very good at going to bat for teachers. If your case is legitimate, they will certainly put the crews to the school owner. For more on dealing with the Korean Labor Board, there is a great podcast on it here at the Midnight Runner Podcast website.


3. Is teaching ESL an easy job?

Teaching is never an easy job. It can be challenging and very rewarding at the same time. You may at times find yourself frustrated with the cultural differences though. Koreans generally push their children very hard and education is far more important in their eyes than in Western culture. You have to realize that you cannot change Korean/Japanese people to think the way we do about education. You simply have to go with the flow. You are a guest in their culture and paid by them to teach the way they want you to. As far as the teaching goes, it can be intense. Please remember that you should take your work seriously. This isn’t a part-time job at a shopping mall or a fast food restaurant. You are doing a serious job that takes time and preparation, often outside of your contract hours. Welcome to teaching! In fact, welcome to most professional jobs anywhere in the world. Being ask to show up 10-20 minutes before class (contract hours) is not unreasonable, it is the way companies around the world work. As a teacher in Canada and now Japan, I put in countless hours of preparation work outside of my contract hours and I never complain because I take pride in my work!


Teaching adults during my 3rd year in Korea. I personally prefer teaching children, but it was a great experience for one year. I certainly learned a lot about Korean culture!



4. Why do I come across so many negative people online/in person?

There will always be a lot of negative people online. Welcome to the land of trolls. It is the perfect hiding place for disgruntled teachers who need to vent about work. Many folks who head to Asia to teach would never be interested in teaching in their native countries. It is a means to an end and many don’t like the work they do. Mind you, some people may have legitimate gripes about things. You will also meet many negative people once you get to Asia, especially Korea. I don’t think there are so many negative people in Japan because many who come to Japan to teach are already enamored with the country and culture long before they get here. As for Korea, I think many people simply go there for work purposes. Many of those people are simply not cut out for lie in another culture and get easily annoyed by the differences in language and life. Some others you may meet complain often simply because they are young and inexperienced in life. Many new university graduates arrive in Korea expecting to party all year and treat it like “University Year 5.” Those are the people who give all teachers and foreigners a bad reputation in Korea. They are also the ones who are simply unprepared to have a full-time serious job and complain the loudest. Often they see their job as something that gets in the way of the party!


5. How should I behave in my host country?

Remember, you in a way are not only an ambassador to your own country. You are an ambassador for all foreigners living in Korea and Japan. If you misbehave or cause trouble, Koreans/Japanese don’t se you as an American/Canadian/Australian. They see you as a foreigner and they will judge. Just as we do in our own countries, people in Asia will brush you with broad strokes. If you act like an asshole in front of Koreas/Japanese, some of them may assume all foreigners in their country are assholes! Don’t miss around. Act the same way you would in your native country. Have some respect for your hosts and they will happily return that respect!




For current and useful information on teaching in South Korea I’d recommend some great video blogs by teachers who are there now doing it!

Simon and Martina: They are a married couple from Canada and work as public school teachers in Korea. They are serious professional teachers who make the most entertaining and useful videos for those coming to Korea. They have many “how to” guides. Their website is amazing too: www.eatyourkimchi.com

Qiranger: Is an American ESL teacher living outside of Seoul. He is a serious teacher and a very fun video blogger. He makes useful and informative videos about many different aspects of life in Korea. He also has some other fun travel videos!

Zenkimchi is a wonderful website about Korean food. www.zenkimchi.com

Myargonauts: For great videos about the JET (Japan Exchange for Teachers) program in Japan, watch myargonauts.




BE CAREFUL....WARNING....
If you are working and living in Korea and are having problems with your school, don't complain about it on You Tube or your blog. Korea is one of the few countries in the world that has criminal liable laws. If your school finds out that you are bitching about them online (and mentioning the school's name) they can press charges! You can actually be arrested and sued!!!