Culture & Education
2014/10/15
The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme
Irish JET Report
"Ohashi Jouzu!" - Simona Sampaolo (ALT, Gifu Prefecture, 2013-2015)
I had been to Japan once before JET. I visited a friend in Tokyo and together we explored all of what I thought Japan was at the time. I experienced the “wonderfully weird” that only Japan could offer – from interestingly flavoured Kit Kats and maid cafés to the curious fashion along the streets of Harajuku. I had a fantastic time and left Japan believing that it was a country filled with towering buildings flooding the horizon and neon lights from morning to night. It was an unforgettable experience that I wanted to have again.
A couple of years later I applied for JET and got my placement – Gifu prefecture, Takayama City. Uh…Where? I had never heard of a rural city before, but I quickly learned what one was when I move to Takayama. Tokyo is crowds of people, efficient public transport and a thriving nightlife; Takayama is ATMs that close at night, vegetable greenhouses for days and mountains, mountains and more mountains. However, I came into JET with an open mind and decided to stop comparing it to Tokyo and try to find what Takayama had to offer; and I’m glad I did.
Takayama gave me a sense of home and community that one doesn’t find so much in the big city. It’s normal here to go to the supermarket or even the doctor’s office and hear, “Eh? Simi-sensei?” There are other benefits too, such as bags full of free fruit and vegetables from neighbours and colleagues who own all those greenhouses that I pass by everyday - the perks of small town life, eh? Takayama also has a relatively close ALT community. With 12 of us altogether in the city limits I had plenty of opportunities to get to know those who were sharing my same experiences and I’ve made some wonderful friends because of it.
Teaching here has been an experience in and of itself. I’m based mostly in a small mountain school with less than 60 people in the entire building at any time. It has allowed to me to interact with my students very frequently and because of that I have developed closer relationships with them. I know all their names and not many ALTs can say that about their schools. I have learned so much from them and from my colleagues, especially my main Japanese Teacher of English (JTE). I only have one, compared to larger schools and because of that I have a very close relationship with her. I call her my Japanese mother, when we’re not joking about her being my sister; because, of course, she’s 25 and not 45 (not that she looks it!).
I’m not going to lie and say that teaching was always a walk in the park. Because of the very rigid systems, American English was enforced big time and my tendencies towards spelling favourite with a ‘u’ and pronouncing ‘many’ as ‘man-y’ got me in trouble a couple of times. Also, being in the minority with only 3 European JETs among us in Takayama, it’s all too easy to lose yourself in the American-ness. You start saying “sweater” instead of “jumper” and “gas” instead of “petrol” just to save on having to explain yourself. Being asked, “Simi, when are you going back to America?” doesn’t get any less jarring the more you hear it either. However, it makes you so much more appreciative of who you are and where your heart lies. Explaining about Ireland, and reminding people I’m not from America, stands to broaden Japanese minds as well as show me, and the people I speak to, the wonders that Ireland has to offer.
Traveling was one of my favourite past times and though I didn’t have much time to trek around the country I ticked my must sees off my list, this time round at least. There’s still so much left to explore and I’m hoping to be able to do it. I’ve seen some of the most beautiful places and did some of the craziest stuff while being here, but I would go back and do it all again and then some.
While the frustrations can overtake you at times, I know, without a doubt, that when I leave here I will miss it. I will miss the friends I made, I will miss the things I can do and I’ll miss being amazed at something new everyday. I’ll miss the food and I’ll miss the gasps of amazement when I explain that we don’t do souji in Ireland. I’ll miss saying “Hello” 800 times to the same children in one day. I’ll miss conbini, because let’s face it; they are the best invention on the planet.
But the one thing I won’t miss…
“What do you mean I was meant to wear a suit today?!”
A couple of years later I applied for JET and got my placement – Gifu prefecture, Takayama City. Uh…Where? I had never heard of a rural city before, but I quickly learned what one was when I move to Takayama. Tokyo is crowds of people, efficient public transport and a thriving nightlife; Takayama is ATMs that close at night, vegetable greenhouses for days and mountains, mountains and more mountains. However, I came into JET with an open mind and decided to stop comparing it to Tokyo and try to find what Takayama had to offer; and I’m glad I did.
Takayama gave me a sense of home and community that one doesn’t find so much in the big city. It’s normal here to go to the supermarket or even the doctor’s office and hear, “Eh? Simi-sensei?” There are other benefits too, such as bags full of free fruit and vegetables from neighbours and colleagues who own all those greenhouses that I pass by everyday - the perks of small town life, eh? Takayama also has a relatively close ALT community. With 12 of us altogether in the city limits I had plenty of opportunities to get to know those who were sharing my same experiences and I’ve made some wonderful friends because of it.
Teaching here has been an experience in and of itself. I’m based mostly in a small mountain school with less than 60 people in the entire building at any time. It has allowed to me to interact with my students very frequently and because of that I have developed closer relationships with them. I know all their names and not many ALTs can say that about their schools. I have learned so much from them and from my colleagues, especially my main Japanese Teacher of English (JTE). I only have one, compared to larger schools and because of that I have a very close relationship with her. I call her my Japanese mother, when we’re not joking about her being my sister; because, of course, she’s 25 and not 45 (not that she looks it!).
I’m not going to lie and say that teaching was always a walk in the park. Because of the very rigid systems, American English was enforced big time and my tendencies towards spelling favourite with a ‘u’ and pronouncing ‘many’ as ‘man-y’ got me in trouble a couple of times. Also, being in the minority with only 3 European JETs among us in Takayama, it’s all too easy to lose yourself in the American-ness. You start saying “sweater” instead of “jumper” and “gas” instead of “petrol” just to save on having to explain yourself. Being asked, “Simi, when are you going back to America?” doesn’t get any less jarring the more you hear it either. However, it makes you so much more appreciative of who you are and where your heart lies. Explaining about Ireland, and reminding people I’m not from America, stands to broaden Japanese minds as well as show me, and the people I speak to, the wonders that Ireland has to offer.
Traveling was one of my favourite past times and though I didn’t have much time to trek around the country I ticked my must sees off my list, this time round at least. There’s still so much left to explore and I’m hoping to be able to do it. I’ve seen some of the most beautiful places and did some of the craziest stuff while being here, but I would go back and do it all again and then some.
While the frustrations can overtake you at times, I know, without a doubt, that when I leave here I will miss it. I will miss the friends I made, I will miss the things I can do and I’ll miss being amazed at something new everyday. I’ll miss the food and I’ll miss the gasps of amazement when I explain that we don’t do souji in Ireland. I’ll miss saying “Hello” 800 times to the same children in one day. I’ll miss conbini, because let’s face it; they are the best invention on the planet.
But the one thing I won’t miss…
“What do you mean I was meant to wear a suit today?!”