| JET Tales: stories from rural Japan This website is a record of my experiences in the JET Programme as an AET (Assistant English Teacher) in two Japanese public high schools. Placement: where you will be Predecessor: what you can expect For those who do not have (or do not hear from) a predecessor, here are some general notes... ESID, but you will probably be asked a lot of questions about grammar, so bringing a book on it might be helpful. I was an English Lit/Writing major at uni, and sometimes the questions are so obscure/difficult that I can't help wondering why in the world they need to study such things. Late summer/early fall is a busy time here in Japan: summer school holidays, obon festivities, school cultural festivals and sports festivals, and even speech contests! New JETs arrive, which means LOTS of self-introduction lessons for your classes. Be creative. Do you think your students really want to hear about you and your hobbies and your extended family?? (Well, maybe they do - but make it fun!!) It will be horribly humid and hot, so pack light summer clothes, sandals, and lots of anti-perspirant! Typhoon season will begin in September, so bring rain jackets as well. There are international food stores in most large cities, and you can find all kinds of familiar, yummy things - but if there are particular cooking spices you can't live without, pack them 'cause spices are expensive. Of course, if you are placed deep in the countryside, the needful shopping possibilites are more limited. Contact the JETs in your area to see how they cope! It will be "mushiatsui" (humid) and "atsui" (hot) when new JETs arrive in July/August. Classrooms do not have air conditioners - and the office uses the A/C sparingly - so picture yourself in sweaty offices or classrooms and pack accordingly! At work... this varies depending on where you are. Generally, for women: skirts/pants/dresses are fine; some places allow sleeveless tops, some do not. For men: khakis/pants and a button down top; a suit for formal occasions; some schools allow shorts, some do not. I have yet to see any houses/apartments with clothes dryers - we hang everything up on a line to dry. Washing machines are small and can stretch your clothes. However, even in my little, mountain town, there are dry cleaning places. Architecture in Japan seems to universally lack insulation, which makes both home and school/office freezing cold in the winter. Using heaters in the classrooms & offices is...peculiar, and seeing our students bundled up in blankets IN CLASS is a common sight. If you send your stuff by surface mail before you leave, it should arrive in time for the cold weather. Predeparture: what you should bring BRING/PACK: office clothes and summer clothes, shoes (shoes and more shoes! make sure they're easy to slip on and off), personal items, gifts*, rainwear, swim suits, toothpaste (Japanese toothpaste tends to not contain fluoride) *omiyage (gifts) - something for the principal (kocho-sensei), vice-principal (kyoto-sensei), and head of the office staff (...I don't remember the position title...). Also: a general, edible something to put out for the office is nice but not absolutely necessary - cookies, candies, etc. In addition to anti-perspirant, photos galore, easy-to-slip-into/out-of SHOES (and more shoes - and gym shoes), don't forget to bring every CD you own. Especially if your placement is inaka. CD's are horribly expensive here, and the radio dials are stuck on J-pop. A measuring cup (for you U.S. folk, unless you're into metric cooking). International Driver's License (you never know, you might need/want it). Extra passport pics (for i.d. cards, etc). **if you're coming from a country which allows 2 suitcases... upon your arrival at Narita Airport (after clearing Customs, etc), ONE of your suitcases will be sent ahead to your school or BOE. The OTHER ONE will stay with you through Orientation. So make sure that one of your suitcases has everything you'll need for Orientation. Ladies: if you use tampons, bring/ship them. Everything I've seen here has been very small. Midol (or whatever your PMS pills of choice are). The Pill. Also, consider extra pantyhose/stockings as they tend to run to very small sizes. If you wear cosmetics, the shades tend to favor Asian skin tones/types, but if you don't want to bring stuff, there are Body Shop stores in the big cities - as well as the big name brands at department stores in Osaka and Tokyo. [money] If possible, bring about $1300-$2000 (US) in cash or Traveller's Checks. Cash is best, but if you bring TC, then change them at your hotel in Toyko. Once you leave Tokyo, it will probably be more difficult to figure out where/when to change the TC to yen. Regarding credit cards, VISA and MC work in the cities, but do not count on being able to charge your way through your first month/halfmonth here. I've seen people try; they had to eat mostly rice cakes, drink only water, and walk/bike everywhere for a couple of weeks. Reality check: you will be setting up your new home, wanting to eat/drink, transportation, and possibly hang out a bit with your new friends and acquaintances. You may have to pay key money, buy a phone line, pay your predecessor for stuff, buy something to sleep on and eat with if you do not have a predecessor (I didn't), buy a car/AC/whatever. The point is that it is best to be prepared. I know it is a lot of money, especially if you're just getting out of uni and HAVE no money. But trust me, scrounge it up somehow 'cause you may really need it. Yes, it sounded like an enormous amount when I first heard it, too. Yet living in Japan is expensive - food, transportation, etc - and JETs do not receive their first paycheck until almost a month after their arrival. To give you an idea of things that I needed to buy from my arrival in August...I brought $1500.00 and I'm putting everything in general dollar amounts... futon/bedding - 200.00 (discount purchases) air conditioner - 850.00 inital household goods (groceries, dishes, etc) - 200.00 transportation - 100.00 out with new friends - 100.00 *if you have a predecessor (I didn't), you may also need to pay for any goods that you have bought from them. If you don't have a predecessor, you will probably want to buy furnishings for your house. Let me tell you, I spent a month and a half with a futon, a fan, and my suitcases as the ONLY things in my apartment. Unless you are very into stark spaces, you will probably want to acquire table, bookshelf, etc - of course, these things can be done over time, and many 2nd or 3rd year JETs can frequently help you out with old furniture, etc. SEND AHEAD: winter clothes, coats, heavy things (books, etc), more shoes FOR ORIENTATION (Tokyo and Regional): business attire, summer clothes (shorts, sleeveless tops, sandals), camera, basic phrase book (if you need it... I highly recommend Barron's Japanese at a Glance: Phrase Book for Travelers) AND room in your backpack or suitcase for a LOT of papers, pamphlets, handbooks, etc. DO NOT BRING: Winter gear (ship it by seamail before you leave and it will arrive in time for snow); dishes (buy them cheaply at the 100yen store nearest you); dishtowels for the neighbors (something edible works much better - bake them brownies or something); any kind of omiyage which is likely to melt in your bags because it is DAMNHOT in July/August; clothes which require dry cleaning or delicate care (the washing machines are scary beasts and will eat your clothes); lace-up (i.e. combat) boots (you'll only have to send them home) What else? Umm...If you haven't already, you might want to study a little Japanese. Being able to read hiragana, at least, would help so much. A good general phrase book is published by Barron's (see above) - but that little book has been immeasurably helpful to me. Take care of your passport, etc. Compile money for your initial expenses... Yay! be totally excited. See you in Japan. |