Hi everyone!

My name is Jeffrey Shieh and I am from Los Angeles, California. I was born and raised in L.A. and am a Taiwanese American. My father was born and raised in Tainan and Kaohsiung, Taiwan, while my mother was born in Tainan, but raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The two of them went to the U.S. for graduate study, and got married there, giving birth to three kids (me, my younger sister, and my younger brother).

My father is the pastor of a Taiwanese American church and my mother is a research coordinator for Children’s Oncology Group. I grew up going to church, and currently attend Uchinada Bible Church in Uchinada Town, helping out with the music for their Sunday night service.

My first time to Japan was in October 2005, when I was in my third year of college. I was a recipient of the MEXT Scholarship and studied for one year at Osaka University of Foreign Studies. There, I picked up some of the Kansai dialect, learned how to make takoyaki, joined the university’s Yosakoi team, and quickly fell in love with Japan. Besides Japan, I have also studied abroad in Korea at Seoul National University (summer of 2007).

I graduated in May 2009 from the University of California, Berkeley, at the top of my department (Dept. of East Asian Languages and Cultures), with a double major in Japanese and Chinese Languages, and a minor in Korean Language. Soon after graduating, I came to Uchinada Town on the JET Programme and worked there as a CIR for two years.

In these past two years, I have traveled all around Ishikawa Prefecture, from Kaga all the way to Suzu. Seeing the beautiful nature of the Noto Peninsula, the night view from the top of Mount Utatsu in Kanazawa, the sunset over the ocean in Uchinada, and the many hot springs in the mountains of Mt. Hakusan and Kaga, I have really come to feel that Ishikawa is a great place. Also, I come from a place where it doesn’t snow, so for me, the Ishikawa winters are especially beautiful. Although it gets very cold, I can go snowboarding on a nearby mountain, and I can make snowmen and have snowball fights, which I love to do. Ishikawa Prefecture is really a great place!

During my time at IFIE, I hope to introduce various aspects of American culture to the people here, and I also hope to promote multiculturalism. I am looking forward to meeting everyone; please say hi to me if you see me! Thanks!!