One Year Down

I am a few days late, but it has been just over a year that I started working in Japan for the JET Programme.

I just got back from the first of three summer orientations for new JET Programme participants in Tokyo.  I left Yamanashi early on Saturday morning, and spent the next five days volunteering at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku.  I think this was a perfect way to end my first year because it was exactly as I began it.  The orientation works out the same more or less every year, but this year instead of being shuffled from one event to another, I was the one doing the shuffling.  Instead of asking all sorts of questions, I was the one giving all the answers.  Revisiting some of the exact locations of orientation really made me remember what it felt like to come as a new JET, and seeing it a year later after I have experienced working and living in Japan as part of society has made me realize just how much I’ve learned and changed.

Saturday night the volunteers, also known as TOAs, had a small orientation of their own to learn about the whole process.  We set up a few things at the hotel, like the JET tote bag that everyone gets when they first arrive.  It includes forms, schedules, and information booklets.  From there, half of us went to a hotel closer to Narita airport and half of the TOAs stayed behind to finish setting up the hotel.

At the airport the following day, I was placed at terminal two.  We waited at the airport for the designated flights to come in.  We then stood at certain positions around the airport and directed the new JETs where to go and what they needed to prepare.  Some stations were just for giving directions while others were for checking passports and arranging or sending luggage.  I was assigned to be a bus leader that would bring many of the new JETs back to the hotel in Tokyo, and I was nervous about this responsibility as it meant that I was the first face they really got to interact with and learn about orientation from.

Eventually my bus number came up.  A lot of luggage had accidently ended up on my bus and there were more people than planned, but after figuring everything out before departure it turned out ok.  I gave the bus JETs a basic overview of orientation, and we filled out some forms and I answered any questions that they had.

I spent the majority of the two-hour bus ride going up and down the aisle talking to everyone.  A group in the back asked me a little about where I came from and my accent, wondering if I had had any accent training.  I actually heard something similar from my friend B a few months ago when she came to Japan.  She mentioned that my New York accent had basically disappeared, and that my spoken English is now really clear and easy to understand.  I also hear from English teachers at school that my accent is very clear.  I told the JETs on the bus that I had no training, but that I was honored by their comments.  I wonder if I’ll be able to call on this new accent whenever I want after I return, or if NY English will find its way back to my norm.

When we finally arrived to the Keio Plaza, the new JETs went off to get settled into the hotel and I helped around the hallways with other TOAs waiting for the remainder of the busses to return.  Going through this airport and bus process brought back memories and feelings from when I was coming over.  I felt nervous and unsure.  After getting off the plane I wanted to make a good impression with everyone, and know exactly what was going on.  From the new JET’s perspective, everything is so well organized and flows very efficiently.  They are shuttled from one place to the next seamlessly.  On the TOA and JET Programme side, this is absolutely essential.  There are so many new people coming in at once, and there is so much information that we have to send them away with in a very limited amount of time.

After the flood of memories of a year ago subsided, I was finally able to sit back and take on the 2011 orientation as it came.  Last year I hardly remember any of the JET helpers that were there, I just remember a lot about my own experience and about what I was doing.  Perhaps I didn’t spend enough time interacting with the veterans, but even as TOAs we were told that this is all about the new JETs, and we are simply there to help when needed.  I really had a good time getting to know the other TOAs.  Working with them and the CLAIR staff and being a valuable resource for the new JETs at orientation was the best part of the entire experience.

There was one room at the hotel that was reserved as a 24-hour resource center for new JETs.  TOAs had to work there in two-hour shifts throughout the orientation, meaning that sometimes people were stuck with really late or early times.  I worked one midnight to 2 am shift, a 2 am to 4 am shift, and several mid-day shifts in addition to other TOA duties.  I ended up working with a lot of the same TOAs throughout the time, and despite a lack of regular sleep, had an amazing five days.  Unfortunately, all of the TOAs and new JETs that I met are placed all over the entire country.  Some of the closest friends I made live all the way down on Kyushu and Shikoku.  It would be nice to stay in touch though because most of us travel around the country, and we will all go home to our own countries some day.  It’s nice to have a network all around the world of friends and family so that when you want to visit somewhere, you have a friendly and familiar face to see when you go.

Finally the time came for everyone to move into their own prefectures and homes for the first time.  New and old JETs alike said goodbye to new friends and acquaintances as they set off on their journey by bus, train or plane.  The Yamanshi group all went together on one bus, and the ride in brought back memories of one year ago when I saw the Yamanashi valley for the first time.  The mountains, the rivers, the agriculture, it was all just as beautiful as it had been then, but now instead of being new it was like I was returning home.  I remember the feeling of amazement when I came in, and this time I was able to observe the excitement of the new JETs seeing their home for a year or more for the first time.

It was interesting to see the transition within myself from anxious, to calm; from having all the questions, to having all the answers.  The questions that they have (that I had) when they first arrive, seem so small in the general scheme of things.  I want to say, “calm down, sit back, and relax.  Enjoy the scenery, enjoy the time you’ll have to explore your town and be disconnected from the world for a short time so that you can really take in all of the stuff around you."  I know that they want to get everything set up as soon as they can, but viewing all of this commotion having done it all one year ago, it seems like much more worry than it’s worth.

As one of the Fuefuki city JETs did for me when I arrived, I helped the three new Fuefuki JETs get settled in on their first day.  Our supervisor from the Board of Education and a few Japanese Teachers of English went around with us all day getting different documents and payments settled.  First we went to the city office to register for their foreign registration cards, and next to the bank.  Last year since I was the only new ALT in Fuefuki it took much less time than now, but it still took quite a while.  After the bank we paid for rent and went to buy their new phones.  As they won’t have Internet access for approximately one month, they all wanted telephone access right away.  In our day-and-age, this is pretty understandable.  Even just twenty years ago, someone wouldn’t have cared so much about instant global connection.

The phone store was quite busy, so we had about an hour or more of waiting time to kill.  We decided to go to the grocery store all together, which was meant to be done separately, and bought a few essentials for the new JETs for their first evening.  This was probably one of the hardest things for me to do the first day I was in Japan, because I didn’t know what anything was or how to cook it.  Luckily I had Mr. A for help, and they had the English teachers.  I couldn’t help but realize how much more I knew now.  I now know what most of the various boxes or containers of food are, and an idea of how to cook it.  I know what I like, what a decent price is, and whether or not it’s worth buying.  During the first month or so of being in Japan, going to the grocery store was the absolute worst experience.  I often left unsatisfied or without what I had gone in looking for.  A few times I was even brought nearly to tears because I couldn’t communicate well with the clerks, or understand the words on the packaging.  These kinds of problems sometimes happen, but I usually pull out my dictionary or run with the punches.  Tears and frustration are no longer part of the grocery-shopping picture.

I finally got home around 10 pm after a long day of translating, and question answering.  Despite the long hours and the sometimes strenuous conditions, I had an absolute blast doing every part of the past five days.  It was great getting to know the JETs, new and old, and help out in any way I can.  I discovered a few things about how I changed and about how I’d like to lead the next year of my JET/Japan experience.

I’d like to end here, but before I do I’ll write a short list of some things I discovered about myself:

I want to work with people, and I like being a resource for people.  I like helping them answer questions and problem solve, getting them what they need to succeed.

When I came a year ago, I only understood the majority of what was being said when I was setting everything up.  This year, I was now the person helping the other three understand.

My written Japanese has barely improved, so I think I know what I should focus on now.

I enjoy socializing more than I thought I did, but I don’t like the hassle of getting anywhere.  We are slightly isolated in Yamanashi, especially without a car.  Also, just because there isn’t a large number of JETs I connect with on a personal level in Yamanashi, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t out there.  As I learned from this weekend, they really are!

I have learned a lot about Japan.  I thought I already knew a lot since I studied here, but I learned a lot more just by working here and observing at the school and workplace.

It’s hard for me to write much more without a prompt, but if there are any specific questions I’d be glad to answer them.

Thanks for reading!  I’ll write again when I get back from Thailand and Cambodia.

Much love,

Lana