Ok, maybe I am writing this blog post two months after I have already arrived. And maybe it has been almost a year since my last blog post. But you know what they say, better late than never!
What is JET?
For those unaware, JET is a program where native English speakers are given an opportunity to live and work in Japan. The program lasts for one year, with the option to reapply up to 5 years.
Right now, I am working as an ALT or Assistant Language Teacher. Basically, my job is to assist Japanese English teachers in the classroom. The other position you can apply for is a CIR or Coordinator for International Relations. A CIR works somewhere in a government building doing various tasks such as translating, teaching English, and participating in community events.
Where do you live?
I live in Shimane prefecture in the town of Iinan. It is a very small town with a population of around 4,500 people. There isn’t too much to do in Iinan, so I have been doing a lot of driving around to participate in various events and activities. We do, however, have a cool apple orchard. The Shimenawa museum is also nearby.
What do you do?
As my job title implies, I mostly assist in teaching English. The teachers I work with already have lesson plans and activities. I usually help the students with pronunciation, or participate with them one on one and in small groups. I am someone the teacher can rely on for spelling and pronunciation checking or explaining a difficult expression or concept.
In the staffroom, I spend my time creating my own activities or studying Japanese. So far, I have had lots of success with Kahoot quizzes. It is a great way of gamifying the learning process. In my opinion, it also helps increase student participation. The only drawback is that it requires every student to have a tablet or laptop. Thankfully, all my students have their own IPad. Even at the elementary schools.
I was also introduced to a cool website called altopedia. It has lots of free activities for teaching English. Recently, I had success with an activity from altopedia. It was a game of UNO, but instead of colors and numbers, it was colors and pictures of various actions. Surprisingly, some of the students had already played UNO, so the students got started quickly. I also made a PowerPoint to explain the rules using pictures and simple English.
I also participate in local community events. Some of these include a local festival, a Halloween walk, and (this weekend) cooking in English. Another ALT and I are teaching Japanese people how to make American style hamburgers (from scratch), mac and cheese, and biscuits and gravy.
We did cooking practice a couple weeks ago for the event. Each dish turned out great! Although, the biscuits and gravy were a little disappointing. We drove to Costco in Hiroshima to purchase all the ingredients. We were unable to find hamburger buns, sausages, and biscuits. The gravy ended up tasting more like hotdogs instead of sausage. But the consistency was still good. For the biscuits, we supplemented English muffins…
How have things been?
Overall, I can’t complain. Everyone has been nice, the cost of living is cheap, and I have lots of free time. Living in such a small town can be a little isolating, especially when no one speaks English. But I do live next to one other ALT. She is very nice and has been helping me get situated. My contacts at the Iinan Board of Education have also been very helpful and responsive.
The apartment is O.K. It only has a single small air conditioner on the first floor. This sucks because my bed is currently on the second floor. And it has been VERY cold lately. I have been told we also get lots of snow in the winter. I do have some electric heaters, but I try to limit their usage because it will use a lot of electricity.
I have made some small improvements to my apartment. I bought some furniture and a couple small appliances. I got an electric kettle and a drip coffee maker. I built a gaming/work computer with parts I purchased online. I automated my air conditioner by purchasing a smart IR blaster. I can now turn it on remotely and set timers for when I wake up and am returning from work.
There have been a couple events held by AJET, the JET association for Shimane. I have been able to meet lots of people at these events. At one event, we climbed Mt. Sanbe, and at the other, we went apple picking (in my small town!).
That’s it for now
I could probably type another few paragraphs, but I think I will save those for later. If you want to hear more about my time in Japan, please considering checking out my YouTube channel. Here is my first and likely only podcast episode:
Thanks for reading.