Adventures as an ALT or a CIR...
 

Hello everyone. I hope it's okay to create this topic. I was just wondering about those who have gone to Japan through the JET program. As I've mentioned in random posts, I'm planning on applying this year for 2009. I know there are no guarantees on getting in, but, I would like to hear of some stories of former JETs or even current ones and the process taken.

I guess such things, like, what did you include in your SoP, how long did it take for you to adjust (if you'd never been to Japan before), did you end up with a nice placement, did you end up in a bad placement, etc.

i heard from someone who worked for the JET office in Japan that there are many many complaints by the JETS about numerous things including how many schools they have to teach at etc.

the important thing about being a JET is ready to be flexible. you might get lucky and get a great position that is nothing but fun, but then you might get one that is a terribly big challenge.

I have my JET interview in a couple weeks for the 2008 program. I already have lived and studied in Japan before for a year and worked part time being an english teacher there so i'm pretty prepared for what is coming my way but as i said, it is really important to be ready for anything and be flexible.

as for my SoP i simply wrote about how i had experience of japan and i was eager to get back there, increase my knowledge and that i have a future career plan to work in education in Japan, hopefully at university level (yeah i will have to go back to study more at university for that >< ) etc etc..

will let you know how the interview goes if interested. If i don't get in im not too worried, i know i can easily get a full time job in Japan elsewhere as i already had one ready to sponsor me prior to returning home for this break but JET is my preferred option.

I would love to hear how your interview goes. Good luck to you. Even if I don't get in, I would just try again the following year, personally.

I did the JET Program. I was at a difficult school, but learned to like it.

Anrakushi is right, flexibility is the main characteristic you will need. A lot of people don't really know how flexible they are until they are thrown into a Japanse beauracracy.

The interviewers are looking for someone who is energetic, flexible, and wanting to be part of a team. I would say "I look forward to working with the English teachers at my school" over "I have all these great new ideas."

It does seem to be the key and I'm ready to adapt! I'm also anxious to observe the Japanese education system firsthand.

Also, on the flexibility thing, that's one of the things I've noticed from others, especially with the school and placement situation since there's no guarantee, if you're accepted, that you're going to get your first choice, or any choices for the matter.

Places I want to put down (placements) are:

Toubetsu-cho, Ishikari-shicho, Hokkaido
Miyagi-ken (Sendai particularly sounds nice, minus the rainy season stuff)
Akita-ken
Tochigi-ken
Saitama-ken (only because it's my sister city)

I'm leaning most towards putting down Ishikari, Tochigi, and Saitama. I might change my mind, but Ishikari is my first choice.

Oh, I've been asking this for a while. What are the key differences from rural, urban, and suburban settings in Japan? Is it similar to how the US is? You know, rural being pretty much the middle of nowhere, urban being the city, and suburban being...a place where you more than likely need a car...

I already know you have no say what-so-ever with the schools you're placed in. I just hope that if I do manage to get in, that it's a nice school with eager students. ^^;

Hey, I'm thinking of applying for JET for 2009 as well! It sounds quite difficult to get into from what I've been reading though, and seeing as they make you wait so long it makes it a bit difficult to fully explore other options if you don't get in. I'm a bit worried about my complete lack of teaching experience (only help train kids at kung fu, and even then only a bit...), but I'm hoping having a couple of years of Japanese and general enthusiasm and flexibility will make up for it.

If I get in I'm hoping to be in a semi-rural kind of place with a good, close community and public transport to larger cities for an occasional weekend away, but I think I'd be happy anywhere really. Hyogo is an easy option for me since it's WA's sister state or something like that, and Kansai-ben sounds fun to learn.

We have a looooong wait until we can even start applying though, plenty of time to chill :vsign:

As the others said, adaptability and taking things in stride with a sense of humor will be very important.

I was on JET for 2 years, as my sig says. Each situation is different... you'll hear that so often they made an acronym out of it: ESID. While some seemed like a little better deal than others, every placement had its positives and negatives. For instance, my apartment was just a 5 minute walk to either the train station or my base school, which made things very easy. But I got no help on rent, the apartment was tiny, and the train to Osaka rumbled by, shaking the whole building, every 20-30 minutes from 5 AM till midnight. The teachers at my schools were generally very nice and eager to work with me, and the kids really seemed to like me, but the school required me to come to work even during summer vacation unless I used my vacation days (and they wouldn't let me use my vacation days during the school year, just on holidays.)

Overall, I loved my time in Japan, and remember it fondly to this day, 10 years later!

I think you'll have a pretty good chance of getting something at least near those requests. They are not the common requests (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto), so you'll have a better shot at them. I requested the Kansai area (Specifically Nara, Kyoto, and Osaka), and I was put in Wakayama-ken, less than an hour by train to Osaka, a bit more to Nara. Not bad at all.

So you would rather work in Tochigi than Gunma? Yeah, Tochigi has Nikko, but I would much rather live in Gunma than Tochigi. Of course, I would rather live in Niigata than Gunma, but what can you do? Shoganai...

ps~ Eager students, that is like five out of thirty eager to learn English. Maybe fifteen out of thirty are eager to impress upon you how cool they are with four out of those fifteen acting like complete idiots. Then there are about eight out of the thirty that are just completely socially awkward with the other students and even more so with the scary gaijin. Then there are the two out of thirty who seem to think it is totally cool to know zero English, make single digit scores on the tests, and are just happy if you leave them alone in English class. This of course is all at my schools which have some of the best behaved kids in the city.

As for the adventure part of living in Japan, that usually takes place after school, on the weekends, and during nenkyu or school breaks. I wouldn't call working in a Japanese school an adventure after those initial two months. Well elementary school, that could be considered an adventure. They should seriously issue HazMat suits to work in an elementary school.

Sister-city helps!

I know people that "didn't want to live in Tokyo" and put "rural" first. The stories I would hear about the REALLY rural places they will place JETs will surprise you. Town of 300...Bus comes only twice a day... have to take a boat to get anywhere...

So to answer your question...YES. Don't choose "rural" because you don't want to live in downtown Tokyo. Rural Japan is like that American Ozarks.