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, 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