So, this past weekend I got to volunteer at the local Obon festival being held down in South Florida. Since the museum that the event is held at once a year is really far from where I live, I only get to go down there whenever I have the chance. This year I decided to volunteer my time and help with the lantern building.
If you don’t know what Obon is, it’s essentially a holiday that celebrates the dead. People write messages on lanterns that we light up and send down a river so that the dearly parted on the other side will receive their messages.
The lantern building was hard work. I got there around 3:15 to check in, heard a briefing, got outside around 3:30 and started working until we launched them at 8:15pm. The lanterns were bases of wood in which we inserted reed frames in for holes so that the paper would be held, forming a lantern. Then, before we put the paper on, we added candles to each one. When the lanterns are launched, from our location on the lake, we lit them one by one and set them off.
But it was really windy and about to rain really bad so trying to light them was a nightmare. But we got it done. 
Watching the lanterns in the water and the family member’s reactions to it has to be the most rewarding experience of all. It’s really an emotional festival for a lot of people, despite the overall happy feeling with loud taiko drums, food stands, and games.
Then, two weeks ago, I had volunteered some time out at a convention in Central Florida to present some panels on Japanense music and Japanese television. My music panel covered 40 years of Jmusic. I tried to cover everything from kayokyoku to modern pop — it was pretty successful. My television panel actually was about Japanese network television and the whole system, explaining time slots and how television affects Japanese lifestyle from an outsider’s perspective.
I did not expect anyone to come to that panel… but people did and they asked really good questions so I was surprised at the positive outcome of that one. If the con is scheduled earlier than group B departure, and I make it into JET, I want to host that panel again.
As always, I volunteer my time every two weeks at the Oceanographic center in my town. That’s where I get to interact and teach my community about our local estuaries and fish native to our area. It’s cool hanging out with the little kids at the touch tanks or giving them lectures on the sea turtles and other wild animals in the area. Definitely teaches you patience.
To wrap this post up, volunteering is a big plus for the JET application… especially if you have no work experience to really back up your application and show that you’re a reliable person. miami_coordinator at the forums said,
We do have JETs who have never had jobs before, but usually they have a lot of extracurriculars, volunteer activities, relevant coursework, and the like to demonstrate their experience and maturity.
Since our eligibility requirements are pretty basic (citizenship of the country through which you are applying and a Bachelor’s degree before departure), we receive far more eligible applications than we could ever possibly interview. While not required, the leadership and skills gained from working at various jobs, clubs, and organizations can really help an application stand out in order to get to the interview stage.
So, for those that are applying or are to apply in the future, this is really important. Try to find something in your area to do; it doesn’t even have to be Japan related as long as you’re volunteering. If its close to what you will be doing for JET, great! But as long as you’re volunteering, you’re showing an initiative.