Most of you know by now that I’m headed to Japan to teach English as a participant on the JET Programme. I wrote previously about how this was a long time coming (I first heard about it in 2006!) and a basic breakdown of the timeline. This post will be more detailed, and will probably only be interesting to those of you who found my blog while searching for info about JET, sorry! Please keep in mind while reading that I am a Canadian (Vancouver consulate) JET, and things differ by consulate and country.
So, you are applying to JET, and you’ve already read my Application to Acceptance post and you’re wondering what’s next? Well, it’s Pre-departure to Departure time! I’m going to talk about the pre-departure activities, packing, what to do before you go, and the farewell reception.
The Vancouver consulate offered a few pre-departure activities and orientation that you’re expected to attend. They’re not mandatory, though the departure reception the day before you leave is mandatory (and you’re gonna want to show up since that’s where they give you your passport back).
There are free beginner Japanese lessons too, which sadly I couldn’t take advantage of because I was living in another province at the time. The pre-departure activity weekend was in late June where the Saturday was a pre-departure orientation, and the Sunday was a team-teaching English in Japan seminar. I would really recommend attending these if it’s possible for you, as I found them extremely helpful (especially the teaching English seminar). The day before you go there is a farewell reception at the Japanese consul’s residence.
Weekend Workshops
These differ by consulate. I heard Montreal had Japanese cooking lessons at theirs, and Toronto had some cool stuff like trying on kimono. We didn’t have anything that fun at Vancouver’s, though we did get some good info. There were a few icebreakers, presentations by former JETs to get an idea of what it’s like teaching at the different school levels (ES, JHS and SHS), and what to prepare for when it’s time to leave the program. After lunch we split into smaller workshop groups with former JETs leading discussion groups. I actually found these the least helpful to be honest… it would have maybe been better to just have an open Q + A session or something. They would say scenarios (ex. sexual harassment at school, problems with your apartment, not getting along with your JTE, etc.) and the group would offer ideas on how we would handle it. Maybe it was more helpful for those candidates who were coming straight out of university and who had never had a job before or lived/traveled abroad. It was all pretty common sense stuff to me. To be 100% honest, probably the most helpful thing I got out of this day was the Japanese version of rock, paper, scissors since people use that for everything in Japan, even at schools.
Here’s a few photos from that day, courtesy of the JETAABC:
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| that’s me playing jan-ken-po (rock paper scissors) at the front left – from a bikini to a suit! from the bottom to the top now we here… |
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| the full saturday group. i’m at the back right… always at the back |
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| kiritsu! rei! (stand up! bow!) |
After the Saturday workshops we headed over to a local pub where the JET Alumni Association put on a reception for us, which was really nice of them. The former JETs all showed up and they played musical chairs and chatted with all of us about their experiences and answered our questions. This was my favorite part of the day. Possibly due to about 10 gin and tonics and some chicken wings but who knows.
The Sunday teaching English seminar was beyond helpful and I felt more confident after attending it. The girl who ran it was a former JET and currently works in education here. She was fantastic – hilarious and knew how to keep us entertained. I learned a ton of stuff this day, and left with lots of ideas for activities and games and lots of nitty gritty real-world advice on what to do if things are going sideways. They also gave us workbooks with lots of easy activities in it in case you get surprised by your JTE at the last minute. We got into groups after lunch and had to present an activity based on a topic which was good to get thinking about stuff like that. My only complaint about this day was that we were told we would receive her PowerPoint by email, which never happened and I didn’t take any notes because I thought I was getting it later. And it would have been helpful to receive the workbook and materials via email as well. There is already so much shit to pack for this program and they just keep giving you all these books and papers and then are like BRING THIS ALL TO JAPAN AND OH ALSO BRING ALL YOUR BELONGINGS TOO OH AND MAKE SURE IT’S UNDER 50LBS OR ELSE. Get on the paperless train guys!
Packing
There’s soooooo many people with very strong opinions on what you should and shouldn’t bring to Japan. I made a lot of mistakes with what I packed when I moved to Roatan, so I promised myself I would do better with this move. I brought too much shit. To be fair, it’s ridiculously hard to find stuff on Roatan, and you can’t mail anything there. But I brought too much shit that I never ended up using and I had to give it away when I left. Too many “just in case” items. Why did I have a money belt!?
What you need to pack will depend on your several factors. If you’re going to Hokkaido, you’ll need more winter stuff than someone going to Kyushu. If you’re teaching ES, you’ll probably need more casual clothes than someone teaching SHS. If you’re Japanese-sized, you’ll probably not need to pack as many clothes and shoes as us giant heifers who wear larger than an XXS or size 6 feet because you can buy clothes and shoes there (you lucky bitches).
Let me make one thing very clear. Japan is a first-world country with a mercantile economy and an efficient mail system. YOU CAN BUY STUFF THERE AND YOU CAN SHIP STUFF THERE. They have shampoo. They have hairspray. They have peanut butter. They have DVDs. They have hair elastics. They have earrings. They have makeup. You don’t need to bring a year’s supply of that shit. And you know what? If you get there and you can’t find Kraft Mac & Cheese and you are somehow going to die without it, you can order it on the internet or have your parents mail you some. Otherwise you might have to find the Japanese equivalent or do a little kanji investigating for stuff, but Japan has all the things we have here and people seem to live just fine with it there. You might find Japanese brands that you like even better, who knows? Be open to trying new things. Disclaimers: women of color, you’re gonna have to bring or ship your haircare products and makeup. It will be very difficult to find those things there. Also everyone, yes, bring antiperspirant (they have deodorant but not antiperspirant) and toothpaste if you need fluoride in your toothpaste (Aquafresh there has it but if you like something else, bring it).
For me, I’m planning on staying as long as I can so that affects what I’ll bring. I am too big for Japanese clothes and shoes so I packed my two checked suitcases to the brim with clothes and shoes. (After I get to Japan, I’ll do a big post with outfits I wear to school – ladies, I know it’s hard knowing what to bring as there’s no real ‘standard’!) There’s places in Japan that I could hunt down larger stuff and I’m aware of that, but I have so many clothes here that already fit so why not bring them? I don’t need the space to bring Kraft Mac & Cheese. I also am bringing some of my dive gear but not all of it (my BCD was too heavy/bulky). I am bringing the regular makeup I wear daily, travel size toiletries to tide me over till I can get to the store in my hometown there, my electronics (laptop, camera, tablet, iPhone, flash drives, external HD, etc.), my omiyage (maple tea + candy for teachers, Canada keychains + magnets for higher-ups), prizes for the kids (Snowbirds posters + pins, Canada pins + pencils + stickers), realia for my self-introduction (Canada flag and a flash drive of photos of my hometown, family, hobbies, etc.), realia for lessons (a couple magazines, a couple flyers, a take-out menu, a newspaper) and most importantly, my regional ramen poster so that I can check them off as I eat my way through the country…and my Sol Charity 2016 Diving Men of Roatan calendar so my Roatanean boys can keep me company from afar 🙂
I am checking two medium sized suitcases with all the stuff listed above in them. I’m also taking a small rollerboard carryon which will house some delicate dive gear, plus all my formal clothing for Tokyo orientation. I’m taking a backpack as my personal item, which will hold all my electronics, dayplanner, passport/ID stuff, etc. When you get the travel info, check carefully what luggage allowances there are… for us going out of Vancouver on Air Canada, we can take one carryon + one personal item, and two checked suitcases of 50lbs each. Anything over that was a ridiculous amount. Extra checked bags were like $225 and overweight bags were $100 and up. It’s not worth it for these amounts – if you really need that much stuff (and think hard about if you reallllllly need that much stuff), it’s likely cheaper and easier to ship it.
Remember that once you get to Tokyo, you are only allowed to keep your carryons plus one suitcase for Tokyo orientation. You cannot keep both checked suitcases for Tokyo orientation. Anything over one suitcase you’ll have to send forward once you land at Narita (it will either go to your CO or your house). Don’t be the guy ripping apart his suitcases at Narita and trying to repack them. If you’re bringing two checked suitcases, pack one of them with all your fall/winter stuff and things you won’t need your first two weeks in Japan. It shouldn’t take two weeks, but better to be prepared. That’s the one you’ll want to send forward. Better yet, if you can fit all the stuff you need for Tokyo orientation in your carryon + personal item… send BOTH suitcases forward and they’ll be waiting for you when you get to your hometown. It will be way easier for the travel to your hometown, plus remember that domestic flights within Japan have lower luggage allowances and weight restrictions than your international flight had.
What to Do Before You Go
You’ll hear people saying “oh don’t worry about anything just spend time with your family and friends and eat all your favorite food ok see u soon in japannnnnn”. Those are good ideas too, but there’s a few things you might want to do before you go. This is what I’m doing:
1. Get your paperwork in order.
Get your mail redirected or better yet, go paperless. Get a copy of your driver’s abstract so that you have it when it’s time to get your Japanese license. Get your International Drivers Permit. Get notarized copies of your passport and ID and leave one set with someone you trust at home, and take the other set with you (keep in a separate location from originals). Get 8-10 passport photos, you always seem to need these for stuff so might as well have them handy. Get any bill payments you’ll need to make from Japan set up somehow so you can pay them without being in the country. Consider designating a power of attorney for banking/tax matters.
2. Get some super cute stuff made.
I got a custom ink stamp (not an affiliate link) made that says “Great job! From Rika” with a cartoon seahorse on it so that I can stamp kids’ work with it. I got business cards made for Tokyo orientation!
The blurry bit (internet privacy and all, guys) is my name, my FB and LINE info, my email, and the city I’m in. These cards are from my fave, Moo Printing, and if you want to get some made you can use my Moo referral link with no extra cost to you (full disclosure: you get 10% off your order, and I get an $8.25 credit…we both win!)
3. Take some photos.
I have heard this over and over from JETs… they wished they had taken more photos of their families, local food, festivals, their hometown, the inside of grocery stores, etc. before they came because the kids are really interested in this kind of stuff. I had to re-do the only recent family photo I had because I was wearing a tiny tube top dress in it and my brother was holding a beer, and it wouldn’t have been appropriate to show my students that. Take a million pics, save it on a flash drive.
Farewell Reception
Again, this differs by consulate. We’re having ours as a garden party at the fancy shmancy consul general of Japan’s residence, which is apparently super swanky and I will probably take some James Bond photos inside the house if I can. This is where they are giving us our passports back with our Japanese visas in them, so this one is mandatory. I don’t know what else goes on at this, I think it’s mostly just a “bye see ya don’t get arrested for drugs cause we won’t help you type of thing” and then I guess they tell us what time to be at the airport the next morning. It’s just a few hours and then that’s it.
Dudes, I’m ready to go. JAPAN HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Guys, make sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter … there’s lots of extras posted there that don’t make it onto the blog. I also have Google+ if anyone even uses that? And I’m on Bloglovin’, so you can follow me there too! Plus it makes me try to post more than once a month. So there’s that.
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