I am writing this as both an update and a means to pass the time as I sit on the bus that will take me to Fukui city for another 2 and a half days of orientation. How much time do i need to pass? 9 hours. That’s right, a bus… in Japan… 9 hours. Some of you are probably thinking “Why not take the much talked about bullet train which will get you there in 4 hours?” That my friends is what I’ve been asking since I found out that we would be taking this long long bus ride. Still no answers on that one. I think this is something that I will have to get used to when asking the unpopular questions.
BRIGHT SIDE: The Japanese countryside is amazingly beautiful and seeing all the different landscapes is helping to soothe my frustrations.
So Tokyo… huge metropolis – check, skyscrapers galore – check, never-ending buildings as far as the eyes can see – check. You get the idea. For those of you that know me, not my ideal place to live. That being said it was great to be a tourist. The orientation was held in the Keio Plaza hotel in Shinjuku, which I must admit is an amazingly beautiful hotel with all the comforts of home. I was very very impressed with the accommodations, even if we did have to room with 2 others.
I managed to explore some of the hotel’s surroundings in Shinjuku and take a quick trip to Shibuya with a few other JETs. Sadly, I think jet lag got the better of me for most of the orientation which meant that when i wasn’t in training, I was likely sleeping and trying to adjust to the 13 hour time change. Not an easy thing to do and I am still trying adjust.
Orientation consisted of several workshops per day on topics including life as a rural JET, driving in Japan, teaching Senior High school, and pop culture in the classroom. For the most part, many of the sessions were redundant and boring or we previously covered in the Toronto pre-departure orientation. This was probably a mixed blessing since I was not paying much attention in a few of them since I was still struggling with jet lag. I am sad to be leaving Tokyo because it means that the good group of friends I made from the JETs in Toronto are now going our separate ways and in all likeliness we will never all be together again in Japan. On the other hand, I am also excited to be heading to my home prefecture and to discover what my life in Japan for the next year will be like. Most of the details of my placement have been a mystery to me as I received my final placement details fairly late in the summer and have not had much in the way of information from my predecessor.
More to come as i get the details in Fukui!
Hope everyone at home is doing well and that you are and will keep in touch.
- O
Well I just got home from an exciting day number 2 of the Toronto Pre-Departure Orientation. The orientation has been graciously put on by JETAA Toronto whose members have been nothing short of spectacular in helping to prepare us for our new lives overseas as ALTs. I am really appreciative to be a Toronto JET as i know this is far from the norm.
For the past two days we have covered all sorts of topics regarding the lives of JET participants. What has been a great about these sessions is that each topic was presented to us by ex-JETs who were able to not only tell us what it would be like, but also illustrate each topic with their own experiences and stories about their fellow ALTs. I can honestly say that it was well worth the loss of a weekend. While a lot of the focus was on topics that are likely to be covered once I get to Tokyo, it was comforting to get the information while still in Canada. Hooray for keeping panic at bay.
Semi-update: Day 3
Today was all about getting a sneak peak at the culture of Japan. the JCCC and its volunteers were kind enough to put on a display of several different cultural practices including: Arts and crafts, Japanese calligraphy, Iaido, festival dances, how to behave in a Japanese home, How to wear a Kimono, and the Japanese tea ceremony. It was quite a neat experience to partake in all of these and I am looking forward to joining some clubs when I get to Fukui.
Semi-update 2: Japanese cooking class
Toronto’s JETAA members had one last event planned for us and that was the cooking class held on Tuesday. It was a lot of fun and had a great turnout. I learned how to make okonomiyaki, Japanese stir-fry, Japanese curry, cold soba noodles, and rolled omelets. The food was great, people were excited, jokes were aplenty, and a good time was had by all. To all those Toronto JETs for the future: ATTEND THE P-DOT AND ASSOCIATED EVENTS!!!
*Insert Jeopardy waiting song* now loop that for 3 weeks. Yes, I said 3 weeks. This is just a small understanding of how it feels to be a new JET ALT who still hasn’t received any information from their BOE other than a short email to say “check your mailbox for more information”. Well, WHERE IS MY NEW INFORMATION!?????????? *sad face* Hence, 3 weeks of no updates.
Public Service Announcement for future JETs: Learn to deal with long, and I mean dreadfully long waiting times due to the snails pace of the Japanese bureaucracy.
So where am I now? Well it’s now 5 weeks till departure and I have started my shopping for new work clothes and necessities for life in Japan. Today also marks the last day of Japanese classes provided by my consulate. One would hope that I would be at some sort of basic survival level of the language but i must confess that I have yet to do much studying. I am planning to start my hardcore study mode as of early next week. Other than these few changes there is still not much happening or much to report since I’m still in the dark about my placement.
If there are any of you who believe that ranting and pleading via the internet brings about results, well this part is for you: Please please please *Japanese person who is in charge of disseminating information regarding JET placements* send me some more information soon! kthnxbye.
Well, it’s official: I’ll be heading to Fukui prefecture as an ALT at the end of July. I’ve been hired by the prefecture’s Board of Education, meaning that I am a ‘Prefectural ALT’ and will most likely be teaching senior high school. I say ‘most likely’ because while I have been informed that I will be heading to Fukui-ken, I have yet to be assigned to a specific city or school within the prefecture. This, as I have been informed by those who will remain anonymous over the internet, is standard procedure and I will be notified about my specific placement in early July. Yes, that’s right… the waiting game continues! I should not be complaining though; I’ve known what I was getting into when I applied to the program 
I guess the next question is, well… what do I know about Fukui? So far everything I’ve been able to find out is through hours of research via Google. I won’t be contacted by my predecessor till at least next month, and I am finding it difficult to get in touch with any JETs already in Fukui. So to answer the question, here is a small sample of the information that I have found out about Fukui.
Fukui’s prefectural flag (above) is white on blue and shows the prefecture’s symbol. Fukui is located on the main island of Japan called Honshu, and is situated on the Western coast bordering Kyoto, Shiga, Gifu, and Ishikawa prefectures. It is also a convenient 2 hours away from Kyoto. (I think I will have to visit at least a few times… and might even take the train a bit further to visit Osaka and Kobe.)
Fukui is also known as Japan’s dinosaur capital. This is because the largest number of fossils found in Japan have been in the prefecture. Consequently, there is a dinosaur museum that I will be sure to check out. I have been to Canada’s in Drumheller, Alberta and I am curious how they will compare.
Fukui is also well known within Japan for it’s famous dish “sauce katsu don” (Deep fried pork cutlet in Worsteshire Sauce) and the Eichizen Crab which is a local delicacy.
So, that’s just a sample of what I’ve been able to find out. More to come as I get it.
- O
Published on
April 20, 2010 in
News.
Tags: JET.
Just a minor update. After receiving the great news about making the shortlist for the JET programme, I was then given a new set of forms to fill out as well as a more in-depth medical background and information form for my doctor to fill out. I am happy to report that I got the forms filled out and hand delivered them today to the JET consulate office which is only a few minutes away from where I live. Interestingly, it turns out that the consulate employee who is in charge of reviewing our documentation and collecting the necessary information is the same lady who was part of the two person panel that interviewed me back in February.
The last thing that I have to do now is wait to receive my criminal record check in the mail and forward it to the consulate.
Here begins the third long wait. This time it is to find out our placements which should hopefully start being disclosed come mid May.
That’s all for now.
- O
After a 3 year hiatus this blog has finally got a new raison d’être.
I am happy to report that I am now officially ‘shortlisted’ with the JET Programme as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT). This means that come August 1st I will be in Japan!
As for where in the country I will be going, I will know more come mid May when the placements with the different contracting organizations/boards of education around the county are released. In the meantime there is still plenty to keep me busy. I have to get a whole new set of paperwork completed and submitted to my local consulate as well as start on getting my life geared towards preparing and living abroad for a year. I also have to buckle down and study for the upcoming LSATs in June which I need to write so that I can apply to law school for September 2011.
Lots to do, more updates to come as I get word
- O