Quote:
Originally Posted by Wasabista
I knew (past tense: it was a while ago) lots of people who joined the JET program and every one of them enjoyed the experience thoroughly. Of course the flip side of having the support of fellow JET-setters is that you spend too much time in the gaijin ghetto.
My experience was the opposite. I joined a school that sent me to the boonies where there were no other gaijin. I had to learn the language to survive and have any kind of a social life. The result was that I made Japanese friends that are as close to me as my brothers and sisters. And I made more money than the JET people, lots more -- but that was back in the bubble days.
I think I had a point but now I've forgotten what it was. Anyway good luck with your endeavors and keep us posted!
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Well, most JETs are sent to small towns, not large cities, so most don't have a "gaijin ghetto" to go to. But AJET organizes activities within the prefecture... mine was very active, probably 3-4 events a month, in various places around the prefecture. You could go if you wanted... some chose to go to only a few during the year, others made it quite often. I probably went to about 2 events a month. It was nice to see my fellow JETs and many of the events included Japanese people too. For instance, I went on 6 weekend homestays with Japanese families in the prefecture thanks to AJET. Another time we visited a Japanese orphanage at Christmas time. Other times we visited local festivals, such as the Crying Baby Sumo. It wasn't just "hang out and party with foreigners", that's a mistaken impression some have, perhaps because their AJET was not as active, involved in the prefecture, and creative as ours was.