Introducing: Bethany Marsh

Background
* Nickname: B, Cabbage

* Birthday: July 1983
* Hometown: near Seattle, WA

* School: Jackson School of International Studies '08 (M.A.); Kalamazoo College '06 (B.A.), Doshisha University '05
* Major: Japan Studies (language and politics/economics)
* Job: computer support specialist, T.A. for Japan Studies classes, research assistant, nanny

* Interests: travel (Japan, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Israel, Egypt, Canada, and Mexico so far with Greece in June 2008), body photography, salsa dancing, cooking, foreign languages and films, camping at the ocean, reading in hammocks

* Memorable Quotes: 「幸せは自分の心が決める。」
"Don't think about it so much." ~Dove chocolate



Middle Ground
* Position: 60th JASC AEC Treasurer and AO Coordinator
* RT: "Memory of Tragedy: Examining Vehicles of Bias, Education, and Peace"
* Site: Reed College, Portland, OR
* Why: As someone who wants to work in/with Japan in the future, I was especially interested in another chance to be involved in JASC. This is a truly outstanding program: not only are you given the chance to travel around a country with 70 other people, sharing experiences and exchanging opinions, but you have the opportunity to meet some of the foremost actors and thinkers in the Japan-America arena. I feel very honored to be a part of the 60th Japan America Student Conference.


Foreground:
This fall I applied for an internship program through the Technical Japanese Program at my university. If accepted, I will spend roughly a year working for a company in Toyama, Japan. Following the internship, I would like to either continue working in Japan, either for a Japanese company or as a CRT through the JET program, or join the Peace Corps in South America and build my Spanish back up before returning to Japan to live and work.