#jet program 2016

Your second year on JET can be very different than your first year.  Your first is all about adjustment and new things and experiences.  Then you decide one year is not enough, so you sign up for that second year, expecting lots of the same.  But it’s not always that way.  Here are some things I’ve noticed in the few months since I started my second year on JET. - I don’t take as many pictures as I used to.  I’ve never been a big picture taker unless I make it a goal to take pictures of things.  But I did take quite a few pictures during my first year of random things like a meal or something I saw at school.  But I haven’t taken as many I used to.  That actually makes me sad because there are lots of things I want to remember later. - School is much of the same as it was.  The Japanese education system doesn’t change and won’t change until they change it at the base level.  Some new teachers have good ideas for English education but the older teachers are stuck in their ways because it’s comfortable and what they’re used to.  The same could be said for the American education system as well. - The dynamics change within your JET and/or ALT groups.  Now that two people are gone and two more have taken their place, the dynamics have changed, as I’m sure they did when I came in.  It’s not a bad thing or a good thing, but it can cause cognitive dissonance.

- Things like knowing what to do for classes and planning and teaching are easier.  Things like when I plan to leave Japan or taxes or any adult things are much harder.

I am actually trying to update this for people who want to read about JET stuff and life in Japan.  Cause things happen but I tend to just be like, “Oh yeah, this happened.”  And people are like, “Why didn’t you get pictures?!”  And I’m like, “Haha yeah, should have done that lolz.”

This time I got pics.

I went to Shizuoka on Saturday with my Wednesday ES teachers.  Let me tell you, they are a crazy bunch of people.  Well, half of them are.  Dubbed by the other half as “the young people.”  I’m included in “the young people.”  Also, apparently kouchou-sensei (instigator of all things sketchy) is also included in “the young people.”

We took a chartered bus from Yamanashi down to Shizuoka.  Immediately, I was made to sit in the back with “the young people” what I consider “the party section” of the bus.  They had arranged the seats so they faced each other and set a table in the middle filled with drinks and snacks.

Yeah, the day-drinking began around 8:00am.

Also, this is totally normal, people who are coming to Japan.  Japanese teachers like to get turnt on these kinds of trips cause it’s one of the few times they can just let loose.

I was made to drink a pear chu-hi at 8:00am.  It was a bad idea, stomach-wise.

We had fun, though.  The “older people” sat up front, mostly consisting of the older ladies that work at school.  I never realized half of my school is older ladies.

We played games on the way there and gambled a bit with 100 yen coins.  And people drank.  The school nurse who is apparently now my new BFF just kept drinking.  She was pretty wasted by the end of the day.  Also, did I mention we’re BFF’s now?  Cause that happened, apparently, lol.

So the whole day consisted of going to different places, eating a ridiculous amount of food, shopping, and just hanging out.  I’ll post some pics in a different entry for anyone who wants to see.  We made our own wasabi pickles at one point.  That was kind of fun, even though I hate wasabi.

Guys, I highly recommend going on trips like these with your teachers.  It’s such a fun way to see people outside of the school environment.  Especially if you’re like me and want to be friends with everyone, it’s a great way to make new BFF’s.  A lot of bonding goes on when you see people relax and when you relax.

I finally got my placement this week!! I’ll be a prefectural JET in Yamagata-ken! （山形県）！I don’t know too much about that area except that it’s up North, mountainous and very beautiful. I’m a little nervous since it’s so rural which means minimal English, not to mention the local dialect. However, I’m sure in time I’ll get used to it and manage.