Music by Flex Vector, "The Killbots are Coming" - Freemusicarchive.org

Along with anime and J-pop, the Japanese game industry is another influential export of the country. My guest, Catherine (Cat) Dinh now works at Ubisoft Osaka, and we talk about the industry, work practices and a valuable trait that a non-Japanese worker can bring to a Japanese workplace.

Game Changing: Game Designer

Many of us go through several restarts and pivots. For Natalie Hamilton, it's been a full circle going back to teaching and finding her passion and purpose (including time to publish a textbook on kanji). Join us for a discussion on what that's like, and why finding purpose is an ever-changing destination.

Footnotes:
Natalie's book on kanji can be found at: https://thekanjicode.com/the-kanji-code-study-guide/
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Music for this episode is A Journey by Kevin Hartnell, from the Free Music Archive, under license type CC BY-SA.

The After JET podcast is generously supported by CLAIR, the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations, but is otherwise an independent personal project. All views expressed on this podcast are the independent opinions of podcast participants and do not represent any organisation that participants are connected with or work for.

After JET - Life Changes

Oh the places you’ll go. Dr Seuss's poem nicely describes the post-JET life of my guest, Sam Baldwin - journalist, start-up techie and author. A desire to live the outdoor mountain life led him to living and working in Slovenia in a 300-yo cabin. He chronicles his journey and love for his adopted country in his upcoming book, Dormice and Moonshine: Falling for Slovenia. Sam's description of this overlooked corner of Europe is very evocative - anyone want to do a trip?

Footnotes:
- Sam's portfolio site: sambaldwin.me (https://www.sambaldwin.me/)

Music for the episode is Snow Drift by HoliznaCCO, from the album Winter LoFi, with a public domain license and sourced from freemusicarchive.org

The After JET podcast is generously supported by the Council of local authorities for International relations or CLAIR, but is otherwise an independent personal project by me, Eden Law. All views and opinions expressed on this podcast are the personal opinions of podcast participants and are not the official views of any organisation that participants are part of, connected with, or work for.

Oh, the Places You'll Go: Writer and Journalist

Against the odds, a tiny Icelandic town speaks of a local Black ancestor. Geneticists and historians combine forces to uncover the man’s eventful life.

A Trail Gone Cold

Living to another country can be a source of inspiration. And you could meet kindred spirits that make you feel like you belong. My guest, Luke Cuerden, talks about finding a welcoming creative community and how much that has inspired him creatively and professionally. We also talk about the music scene in Tokyo, and what jazz and metal have in common.

- Connect with Luke on IG: https://www.instagram.com/harroruke/ 
- Check out Red Dragon Blues on YT: www.youtube.com/@reddragonblues7231

Music and Brotherhood: The Musician

Analog games! We've all played them - board games and card games, famous examples being Settlers of Catan and Magic: The Gathering. A good board game can be addictive - last year, at Oz Comic Con, my friends and I were so invested in this game called Carcassonne that we decided to skip one William Shatner's appearance and spent the rest of our time at the gaming table. The analog games industry is booming, despite the widespread use of digital equivalents everywhere.

We speak to Brendan Weiskotten of Asmodee North America, who works as an Organised Play Coordinator (hence the OCP in the title). He speaks about getting into writing for Magic: The Gathering (I know right?), and how JET helped to develop his creativity and skills he uses for his career. We also share stories about when we were final year JETs, and reflect a bit on the experience since then. Also checkout the footnotes for great games recommendations!

For footnotes: http://www.jetaainternational.org/roll-of-the-dice-the-opc-1

Roll of the Dice: The OPC - Part 1

Featuring the lives, stories and careers from the global JET Programme alumni community. And usually, our stories begin with "This one time in Japan..." - our best, our silliest and our fondest.

Share your story! Contact webmaster@jetaainternational.org

Roll of the Dice: The OPC - Part 1

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