Wheeeeeeee! I got the word a couple of days ago (but have been without a computer all week). I've been accepted into the JET program and will be leaving for Japan at the end of July this year. Waiting that that envelope in the mail was one of the most stressful times of my life. I'm not really as happy as I should be, because it means an awful lot of hardships for me (the biggest of which being living without my significant other for a year, when we haven't been apart for more than a day in over 4 years). Still, I'm happy and relieved, and maybe I'll be posted in Okinawa with Vince! ^_-
Good stuff. It should be a great learning experience.
If you happen to be dropping into Hong Kong while you're travelling around Asia, and if you want someone to show you around a bit, or perhaps try something like doing Tai Chi in the park with my Sifu and I, just let me know (by the way, my Tai Chi Sifu was a professional Tour Guide here in Hong Kong for over 30 years).
Best wishes.
just remember these useful phrases-
Do you speak English? -- Anata wa eigo o hanashimasu ka?
Where is the toilet? -- Toire wa doko desu ka?
Where are the cheap women? -- Yasui Onna wa doko desu ka?
A must read about a guy that was also in the JET program, it's funny, scary and weird.
http://outpostnine.com/editorials/teacher.html
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http://www.pervision.net
we make moms unite against evil
Quote from: magintz on Fri 15/04/2005 22:48:13
just remember these useful phrases-
Do you speak English? -- Anata wa eigo o hanashimasu ka?
Where is the toilet? -- Toire wa doko desu ka?
Where are the cheap women? -- Yasui Onna wa doko desu ka?
You forgot "Where's the refridgerator?" :)
and "Am I teaching Japanese to a Japanese major?"
Scan: I've read a lot of those, great stuff ^_^
Congratulations Kinoko! I was worrying all week when we hadn't heard from you. You're in for one hell of a ride!
Oh, and on the off chance that you get posted here in Okinawa... what do you say to Mittens '07: Tokashiki Island?
Congrats!
Hi I'm curious is there anyone on the boards who would be able to translate to and from japanese for me??
I've just found a laptop I REALLY LOVE and want to buy off an ebay, or yahoo auction, but its in japan...
Please someone help me this is like the most awesomest thing i've ever seen I TRUELY was in LOVE.
sincerly KANDYMAN
Send me a PM Kandy.
Quote from: Kinoko on Fri 15/04/2005 16:13:46
It means living without my significant other for a year.. maybe I'll be posted in Okinawa with Vince.
How many times do I have to tell you, my name's not Vince.
Cool beans. :) Glad to see that the news was worth the stressful wait.
Fly safely, and take some pictures while you're over there.
Japan is so cool...I saw it on tv once...
Have fun in Japan. After playing Shenmue i have always wanted to visit Japan. But unfortunately i have a fear of flying, so i guess i'd have to swim there. :)
After watching Lost In Translation; made my urge to visit Japan even stronger.
Sounds like you'll have a great time.
Good Luck & Stay Safe.
Shawn
Awesome, Japan. That's one of the places I want to seriously want to visit in the next five years. Teh lucky is YOU.
Remember to visit the Nintendo Japan headquarters. :D Oh, and if you see Shigeru Miyamoto, tell him I said hi. And that he r0x0rs. And then steal some of the upcoming Legend of Zelda details.
Hey, Nintendo Japan... I should put that on my "To visit" list ^_^ So far, I'm definitely going to the Ghibli Museum and dining at one of the Iron Chefs restaurants.
That said, I have to keep in mind that I'll be working over there so my holiday time will be limited.
Well, don't fret. You'll have plenty of opportunity to travel around Japan. Unless of course, you have the misfortune of being placed on an island paradise with eternal summer, great beaches, scuba diving, great food, and a generally relaxed attitude towards life. Then it's a bit harder to explore mainland Japan. But... you quickly find that... well... you just don't care.
I haven't been back to mainland since orientation in Tokyo. But I'm going back for a conference next month in Kobe and I'm planning on taking a few additional days off and getting a bit of sightseeing done.
Can't wait to find out about your placement, Kinoko. Though I'll bet you're going batty. Enjoy the wait! (as if you haven't had enough of that in this process)
Have you read "angry white pyjamas"?
link to it on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0688175376/qid=1113708968/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/103-8107617-2259846?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)
Highly recommended, despite the terrible tag line they put on the American release.
Kinoko, wholy cow!! I am so envious!! I hope I can go to Japan again next year, but this year I am just sitting at home preparing my graduation... well... something to look forward to is not so bad I guess... enjoy Japan :D
Thanks ^_^ I hadn't heard of that book, Steve, so thanks, I'll check it out. At the moment I'm reading, among other things, "Hokkaido Highway Blues" which I've really enjoyed. It's all about a previous JET's experiences as he hitchhikes from southern to northern Japan following the sakura front. Very good read.
I'd love to visit Tokyo.
Actually, it's one of my life's goals...
That's pretty cool, Kinoko! I'd like to go Japan someday myself... or Europe, or anywhere outside the Americas.
One of my friends got to go to japan last (northen hemisphere) summer to represent this city, and she was chosen because she has never been on a plane and she hadn't go too far away from this state! She's from a remote small town, you see, and they don't get out that much there. So, what better way to introduce her to the world than to put her on a plane to fly a billion hours to a suburb in Tokyo?
I may be mere minutes away from finding out where I'm being placed. I don't know what to do with myself so I ifgured I'd post here again. Waiting for the call...
Oh... Vince? Lots of people have found out already and I know one Brisbane girl is going to Okinawa ^_^ Some guy called 'RuffnReadyOzStyle' says you're a nice guy.
EDIT: I'M GOING TO SHIZUOKA-KEN!!!
*ahem* I'm so excited >_< Shizuoka was one of my preferences, I can't believe I got it. I'm near ALL my preferences, apparently I'm in a "main city" (maybe Shizuoka itself) and I'm near Tokyo... holy crap. I'm jumping around all over the place.
hehe, I don't know what all that means, but I'm happy that you're so excited :)
I'd like to go to Japan some day too. Send us some photos once you're there, will'ya?
No problem :]
I was just bouncing everywhere this afternoon. I found out where JET is placing me in Japan and it's probably the absolute best thing I could have hoped for. Not only that, but 2 of my friends are placed in the prefecture right next door to me, and another is only maybe an hour away... all of us got the places we requested or at least right next to them.
It was just all too good.
Ahh, congrats, Kinoko! I just sent you a PM congratulating you when I saw your post on a JET program website message board. I hadn't seen this thread yet!
Congrats! Now you just have to struggle through the two-plus months before you board that plane bound for Tokyo. Happy packing!
I don't think I'll be struggling. I'm excited right now, but I have quite a lot to miss once I leave so I'm concentrating on trying to get the most out of it all now. I also have a lot of preparation too... such as, earning some money. I have $0.00 right now and no job.
EDIT: And in case anyone cares. I'm actually going to the city of Shizuoka.
Just in case anyone was interested (I know Vince will care!), I just found out today I'll be in a town called Kakegawa in Shizuoka ^_^ Pop. of about 100,000 and it sounds faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaantastic.
Shizuoka must be really cool, I never visited there though. When I stayed in Tokyo I could see Mount Fuji from my window, but you will be a neighbour to it and have lots of hot springs and all that, envious!
And they have a Translation Competition in Shizuoka every year, you should join it once you brush up your Japanese there!!
'Bout time you heard from your Contracting Organization. I leave in two weeks for a trip through Shizuoka, Kyoto, and Osaka. Mostly visiting family, but Kyoto's all about fun! If I have a chance to pop by Kakegawa, I'll warn 'em all that you're coming (all 100,000 of them).
Sounds like you're in for a good time. Personally I like my little town of 12,000. Do you know how many schools you'll be visiting? Elementary, Junior High, Highschool? Are you a municipal or ken ALT?
Congratulations again!!!
I'm prefectural and I have -one- school, that's it. I'll most likely be teaching all three years at senior high school (so no little kids :\ Oh well, but at least I can communicate a bit more with the older ones) AND I'll be heading an adult class at the town hall, with about 10 people who are apparently really excited about me and always asking when I'm coming (awwww). I can't wait to meet them.
My apartment is in a block of other teachers (not ALTs, Japanese maths/social studies teachers some of which are also new to the school) and it's 2 storey. Kitchen, bathroom and a 6 tatami rookm downstairs, and 2 x 8 tatami rooms upstairs. My school doesn't provide anything though, and although I haven't received a list of stuff and prices from my pred, I get the feeling she's gonna charge a lot because she told me she paid US$1,400 to her pred. Well, she's REALLY nice but there's no way I'm paying that much if she asks, so I'm afraid I'm gonna be refusing quite a lot and bargaining like mad ^_^ Hopefully she takes it well.
My town just recently merged (don't ALL Japanese towns have a merger every year?? Seems like it) with Osuka-cho, which I think is technically where I live but I haven't found a decent enough map to find my street yet. Apparently I'm 6 blocks from my school, and 10 minutes from the ocean (which is the thing I wanted more than anything. I specifically made all my placements on the coast in the hopes I'd be close to the ocean, I never thought THIS close though!).
I haven't heard from my CO yet, just my pred, but it won't be long. They all only got my info yesterday (same as all the prefectural schools). Apparently all my teachers are incredibly nice people and my JTEs english is great - which is great. Apparently everyone's excited about me, so that's a big relief. I was preying I wasn't following a shitty ALT who made them all bitter.
Oh, plus she tells me she's only had 2 visits from the evil NHK man and the "wakarimasen, wakarimasen" trick worked both times :) YAY! I never, ever planned on paying and it was only a matter of whether that worked, or whether I'd have to be outright rude (which I'm always happy to do)
Sounds great Kinoko! I'm very excited for you!
I'd now like to share some interesting parallels between our situations that jumped out at me.
Quote from: Kinoko on Thu 07/07/2005 01:40:41
My town just recently merged (don't ALL Japanese towns have a merger every year?? Seems like it)
Yes! Mine is merging next year, in fact. We're going to become the second biggest city in Okinawa :(.
Quote from: Kinoko on Thu 07/07/2005 01:40:41Apparently I'm 6 blocks from my school, and 10 minutes from the ocean.
I'm (less than) 6 blocks from the ocean and 10 minutes from the school!
Quote from: Kinoko on Thu 07/07/2005 01:40:41I was preying I wasn't following a shitty ALT who made them all bitter.
I
did follow a shitty ALT who made them all bitter!
You're place sounds awesome and big! I'm jealous. My apartment is way too tiny, especially with a little Twelve on the way. But the view makes it all worth it every morning when the sun rises over the ocean, illuminating the mountains across the bay...
Sounds like you've got a great placement. I hope you can get a bunch of stuff on the cheap from your pred. Good luck!
I'm hoping I can see Fuji from where I am :) My friend who's going to Fujiyoshida (pretty small town RIGHT at the base of Fuji) in Yamanashi has an unbelievable view of it from his window.
This is his backyard:
(http://www.smouha.org/levi/backyard.jpg)
Dayum, that's a hell of a view.
... but what's all that white stuff?
Snow, obviously. Afterall that's Fijiyama, what else did you expect? :=
I think he's referring to the fact that he lives riiiiiiight down the bottom of Japan where they never see the stuff ^_^
;) When I show pictures from home that have snow, all my students "OOoooh" and "AAAaaahh." Some of them have never seen snow in their lives.
...spoiled sub-tropical island brats... ;)
Hey Vince, do you think 15,000 yen is reasonable for a 5-7 year old fridge and stove? I haven't got pictures yet but ... seems kind of old.