Winter in the Nash

Here is a blog of a friend of mine who was living in the same city that I was in while on the JET Program.  She was a new ALT when I originally wrote this entry, and had posted a lot of interesting photos and stories about living in Japan.

She had a very fresh perspective to her writing and her blog.  She posted about things that I took for granted at that point in my "Japan career," but I liked her entry about the Japanese appliances in her house and what it is like to function in her everyday life.

Here is the link to her blog: http://gettingalifeabroad.wordpress.com/

Omiyage Advice

Here is some advice I received from a friend before going to Japan to teach English. Perhaps this will be of use to you new JETs/ALTs/English Language Teachers.

"You should bring お土産 (omiyage). It's true that it might not be

expected of you, since you're a foreigner and are coming from a non-
omiyage culture. But it's a nice gesture and will always be
appreciated, and will help you get off on the right foot with your new
overlords. 

As Janice says, food is the main form of omiyage in Japan, usually
individually-wrapped snacks from wherever the person comes from/
visited on vacation. So, I'd look for a snack or candy that reflects
your local area (or at least has the name of your local area on the
tin/box). Nuts, snack mixes, pretzels, etc. Hard candy is also a great
idea. 

Don't bring chocolate. It will melt. 

For the kids, bring prizes. This is different than the omiyage you
bring to your office/schools. Stickers, stamps, loose change,
postcards, playing cards with pictures of your area on them, etc. Even
if you're teaching only high school. You'll be surprised how
competitive jaded high school kids will get just to snag that coveted
smiley ladybug sticker you brought. 

On that subject, a fun thing to do with the kids is passports. Make up
mock passports for each student and stamp your inkan on the visa pages
every time they win a game, answer a question, etc.
When a student gets a certain number of stamps, give them a big prize
like a book of stickers, an American flag, or purikura of you with
cartoon poop on your head."

Interview with Jennifer Jakubowski, Bridges to Japan

Although I've been back to the US for almost seven days now, I haven't found the time and or energy to update here in a while.  I'd still like to update about the whole transition from Japan to the US, but for now I'll just leave you with a quick update on something I was working on throughout the whole move.

I did an interview with the Founder and Managing Director of Bridges to Japan, Jennifer Jakubowski.  The interview has been published by JQ Magazine, a JETAA publication, and linked through JETwit.  Please take a moment to read the interview using either of these links, and feel free to comment and share!

JETAA JQ Magazine: Jennifer Jakubowski Interview
(Japan Exchange & Teaching Program Alumni Association of New York)

JETwit.com: Jennifer Jakubowski Interview

-Lana

Yamanashi JET, Fuefuki

I have recently been in contact with my JET Program successor!  In order to help prepare her for her transition to Japan, I showed her a few blog entries that I had posted when I first arrived.

One that I found particularly amusing was my homemade video of my apartment, posted on August 19, 2010.

I don't find that I look much different, but it seems that everything about me compared to this video feels different.  I speak differently, dress differently, and even move differently.  It's hard to believe that that was me a mere two years ago.  If I have time I think I'd like to record another video similar to that one before I leave.  If I'm not too embarrassed, I'll post the second video here so that you can compare them, too.

Looking back at the first photos that I took of the school made me remember how new it all felt once.

I also mentioned updating the English Board and posting some pictures.  I did update it several times throughout the two years, but I think that I neglected to post any pictures... So however overdue, here they are!

1

1

1

2

2

2

2

3

3

3

3

Last AJET Connect Article for me!

In May I submitted my last Rosie article to the AJET Connect Magazine.
Here is the link!

May AJET Connect 

AJET Connect Homepage

Pulling me here and pulling me there.

Sakura, さくら、桜

The Japan chapter of my life winds down, and my stomach churns as my emotions fluctuate from day to day.  One day I count down how many days left on my calendar until I hop on the plane at Narita and return to NY.  The next day I walk around my apartment, feeling nostalgic for something that's not even gone yet.  When I think about never living in Japan long-term again and saying goodbye to all of my students and friends here, a stinging feeling wells up in my eyes.  But then I think about everything I've missed for two years back home, and I get jittery with excitement to return and start the next phase.

I realize that these swinging emotions are natural, and that I'm certainly not the first or last person to feel torn between my new home and my old one.  Deep down I know that going back to the US, pursuing the next step in my career, and being closer to friends and family are what I want in the next step of my life.  But despite knowing what I want, how do I effectively cope with these kinds of changes, and embrace the conflicting emotions?

I expect the first 6 months or so in America to be difficult.  I won't have a place to call my own, no steady income, a feeling of lack of independence, and unfamiliar culture and customs around me.  I ask friends and family to please be patient with me during this period.  Things in the US have probably changed while I was away that I know nothing about, and I may have changed more than I realized too.  The way I speak is without a New York accent (for the time being at least), and I accidentally pick up my bowls when I eat.  Hopefully we can discuss these differences, and share our experiences from the past two years in stories and pictures.

I can't wait to see you all soon!  The page turns, one chapter ends and the next begins!

See you in just over a month.

Lana

PS. After I returned home from Japan in University, I stopped writing in my livejournal blog since my adventure in Japan was over.  This year I'd like to continue writing in my blog in hopes that I can continue to reach out to people in some way.  I haven't decided what I'll write about then, but I think I'll figure all that out as it comes.  I look forward to writing , and I hope you're there to join me in the next chapter as well!

Welcome Back! - Spring Vacation Travels 2012

Hello all, and welcome back to Kitcher's Cafe!

Here is a short slideshow of some pictures that I took while on a 1-week vacation in March.  Two friends from High School (now all three of us living in different places) managed to get some well-deserved time off to make the trek all the way to Japan!

We started in Tokyo, making our way south to Kyushu by shinkansen, visiting Fukuoka and Nagasaki, then making our way back north with a stop in Nara.  It was a great time, and helped me see the beauty of Japan again through fresh eyes!

Take a look at the flickr album, and post any comments about the locations or pictures in the comments section below!

Also, take a minute to look at my new store on Zazzle - KokoRosato.  I have added a few preliminary items, and will be updating more as time goes on.  I'll post again when I have some new products for sale.

 See KokoRosato at Zazzle

Browse other gifts from Zazzle.

All of the products in my store were created using original photos taken by me.

-LRK

Happy looking!  Happy shopping!  Happy spring!

Breakdown - but not mine

I'm glad to find out that I'm not the only one who has difficult days from time to time at the Junior High School.

Today I was walking through the library at the school, searching for nothing in particular.  The librarian and I like to chat about books and life when we have some free time after school.  I am often able to find some kind of book to read for fun, and I just enjoy looking even if I can't read anything.  Don't forget, this is a library in a Japanese school...

I was looking around for a few minutes, paying little attention to the librarian who was putting books away from the previous class.  She went to her desk once or twice to get a tissue to blow her nose, but there was very little communication between us for the first five minutes as she tidied.  Finally, we ended up near the same bookshelf and at last she said, "Oh it's no use."

I saw her sniffling and holding a tissue, so I asked her, "are you sick?  Did you catch a cold?"

"No," she replied, and her eyes started to water.  "It's just because I'm crying.  I'm so mad."  At this point the real tears came, and she started to choke over her words.  I finally figured out that she had been softly crying that whole time.  I asked her what was wrong, and we talked about her day.

Several classes had come in to use the library that day, and the last class of the day had been particularly childish and difficult.  I only understood about 20% of what she was trying to tell me, but I got the main gist of everything.  On top of the misbehaving students, she was also offended by a teacher in the staff room who made a back-handed joke about her age.*  We talked about the situation for a while, and I reassured her that these specific students were not only bad for her, but for everyone.  Also, I told her that it isn't her fault that they act this way.  There are probably a large number of reasons that the students have turned out this way; they want to impress their friends, they are still children, they have mental/social disorders, they have a rough time at home, their parents have problems, they only think about themselves and don't worry about how it effects other people, they grew up in a bad environment, and so on.  We ended up talking for about an hour or so, and tried to gear the conversation away from the students so that she could stop thinking about her bad day and think about something else fun.

I was sorry to see her so upset, but glad that I could be there to support her, and also glad to see that other people sometimes feel hurt by the words or actions of the teenagers at the school.  I do my best not to let the youngsters get to me, but every once in a while when a variety of events pile on top of one another, it's normal to break down a little.  Even someone who's been teaching for 20 or 30 years can still feel these things.  It makes me feel a lot better to realize that everyone has similar problems.

After our conversation she was worried that I would bring bad memories of Japan back with me to America.  I told her that every once-in-a-while there were indeed difficult and trying days, but in general my image of Japan and sentiment is still a good one.  I will most definitely bring all of my good stories and experiences back to America, and I think that the ones that I'll remember the most will be the good ones.

Today was actually a good day for me, despite having a few difficult classes of my own.  First period I was supposed to go to a first year class, but on my way through the hall there was news of a special education class that got changed and would have no teacher for the period.  There were only two girls in the class (both of whom I teach English to once a week) and I volunteered to just sit with them while they did some Japanese worksheets for the hour.

I've gotten a lot better at what I do as an ALT I think.  It may seem like a weird time to post this, but I'm really happy that I came to Japan, even though originally I would have preferred to come as a CIR.  I've learned a lot about Japan, about human nature, about consulting, Japanese, communications and more.  I think I'm stronger now, too.  I'm definitely ready for the next step in my career, and I'm excited to see where the experience and connections of the past year and a half will take me come July.

Thanks for your constant encouragement and support!

Sincerely,

Lana Kitcher

NaNoWriMo

Good morning!  Even on non-work days I find it difficult to wake up late.

My hopes for this fall/winter are to stay inside, read as many books as possible, study for the JLPT, and figure out what I want to do with my life once I leave Japan in approximately nine or ten months.  I have the study and leisure books already prepared, but I don’t really have enough information on job hunting.

Last night I met up with a friend in Kofu.  She is also in the process of trying to make a career change, so I asked her to bring along the books she has regarding employment.  We talked a lot about our interests, and what kind of markets cater to them.  She has been talking to various career coaches and had a lot of useful information to share with me.  The main book that she’s been using is called Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 3.0.  I’m also interested in learning a little about this on my own, so I looked online only to discover that there are about 20 different versions of this book, all geared towards different needs and occupations.  For example there are some that focus on using technology, some for using social media, for entrepreneurs, writers, and the list goes on.  There are a few that I’m really interested in reading, but I was unable to find any copies that were cheap enough to be worth my while.  I also checked the e-libraries and couldn’t find them for free for the kindle.  I’ll either have to suck it up and buy some of the ones I’m interested in, or find equally useful information for free on the Internet.  I’ll consider this a little longer before I make a decision.  At this point, I'm trying to avoid buying anything new because I’ll have to spend a lot of money to bring it back with me to the US.

Lately I’ve been trying to expand my writing ability, so I’ve been doing some volunteer writing.  I mentioned this in my last entry about the AJET online magazine.  For those of you who guessed that my nom de plum is “Rosie - the advice columnist,” you’re right! I’ll be writing the advice column monthly, as long as there is an interest from the editing staff and readers.

In addition to article writing, I found out about this event in November called NaNoWriMo.  It stands for Nation Novel Writing Month.  From midnight on November first to midnight on December first, a group of individuals from all over the world will make a pledge to dedicate the month of November to writing a novel.  Each person will attempt to write 50,000 words, or approximately 175 pages, in 30 days.  The purpose is not necessarily to walk away with something you can publish on December 1^st, but to write for the sake of writing.  Many people who want to write often let doubts get in their way of ever sitting down to the task.  “I’m not good enough, I don’t have enough time, and I don’t know what to write.”  The deadline constraints of this event force people to write as much as possible, creating a writing flow that is important for practice and idea generation.  The point is to get people away from using excuses, and simply WRITE.

I will be participating in next months NaNoWriMo.  Anyone can join (as long as they have access to the Internet), and there are various communities within the event to help motivate one another with the task at hand.  Although my schedule is busy and  I may not pass the 50,000 word finish line, I figured it was still a good chance and opportunity, so I'll give it a try.  Ultimately, anyone could make this a project for themselves at any time of the year, but having a community going along through the same process at the same time as you is integral to getting the job done I think.  Getting inspiration and motivation from others is often important when trying to push yourself toward a seemingly unachievable goal.  Every year people “pass the finish line,” so perhaps I will join them either this year or next!  Also, maybe the work I produce this month will eventually be turned into a novel.  You never know!  Check out the website if you’re interesting in the program, and please let me know if you decide to join in!  I have put a “participant’s badge” at the bottom of my website.  I’d love to share this experience with you!  We can share ideas, story lines, and encourage one another along the way!  I will try to keep my word-count up on my blog during November to let you all know if I’m making any progress or not.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/about/whatisnano

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/about/hownanoworks

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/dashboard

http://blog.lettersandlight.org/

AJET October Magazine

I feel like it has been a while.  I apologize for the sudden drop in posts!  Things probably won't become any less busy any time soon, but when I can I will update you with tid-bits of what's going on in my life.

The October AJET Magazine has just come out!  I hope to write a new article every month until July, as I think I would like to pursue writing seriously and the only way to get any better at it is to learn and practice.  In the current issue (the link is posted below) I have submitted one photo, and one column.  For the column I actually used a pen-name, as the editors thought this would be best considering the nature of the column.  Can you spot it?  I'll give you the answer in my next post!  In the meantime, happy hunting.

October AJET Magazine Download link

Also happy haunting, as Halloween is just around the corner!  This year I will not do anything special except for decorate "Halloween pancakes" with the English club.

And as for a new bit of fun news, I am going to be in Korea for Christmas this year!  I'll be there for about a week, leaving Japan on December 23rd and returning on the 28th.  Have yourself a Merry Korean Christmas!  메리 크리스마스!

-Lana