Hi all,

I'm just getting a little anxious because departure date is in less than three week and I still have not heard from my pred.
I'm sure my pred is probably working hard packing to leave and stuff, but I'd really like to know about the situation I'm going in to.

I have already heard from my contracting BOE. Is it best I wait for my pred (if I have one)  to contact me, or is it okay if I contact my supervisor?

Thank You

Hi everyone,
As part of my prep for Japan I’ve been doing some studying (not as much as I should be, though!) and today I was going over phone manners and structures, etc. I guess answering the phone in a business setting in any language is a bit frightening, but in Japanese…!

Well anyway I was making myself a table and it turned into such a big job that I thought, with a bit more effort, I could make it into something useful for everyone else as well.

And so! Here it is, my collection of phone phrases and vocab, etc. Most of it is from ‘Japanese for CIRs’. In the spirit of collaboration, if you think of anything to add, let me know… maybe we can add some sample convos or something, *shrug*.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/wni8yj

Hey guys, quick question... does anyone know of a site in Japanese (or English) that specializes in omiyage from all the prefectures? I've been looking, and if it doesn't exist somehow I'd be really surprised. I bought some amazing tea in Okinawa and am already almost through one of the packets. I want to get some more, but I think hitting up every Okinawan JET I can find on ITIL to send me tea would be a little odd*. Nagano also has these awesome Ichimi KitKat I'd love more of too! Thanks for any help!

*However, if there are any Okinawan JETs out there who want to send me more tea, I can furikomi! Or send you some Gunma stuff!

Hey all! I should have posted this ages ago, but I was wondering if anyone in the comm is currently working around Nagano? Komagane, specifically! That's where my placement is, but I haven't gotten in touch with my BOE or predecessor yet, and I'm dying to know a little more about the area. What to pack, what the schools are like, etc.

If you know of any current or former Komagane residents that might be willing to let me drop them an email, that would also be great!

Howdy all!

I totally forgot to post this before last weekend, but I am in a movie that just opened in Japan. I don't know if anyone saw posters for it, but it is called The Harimaya Bridge (はりまや橋） with Danny Glover. It was written and directed by a JET alumni, produced by a JET alumni and I suppose I would be the third alumni associated with it (I play the son's best friend). Here's the trailer:



Please tell all your friends to see it, especially this first week. I am coming over next week and hope it is still in theaters so that I can also see it. We just need it to get enough business so I can. :)

Doumo!

Hello all. I'm an old JET interesting in getting TEFL certification. I know that some of you may have already gotten this before coming to Japan even though it is not required. How did you go about doing it? How long does it take? How much did it cost you? I've been finding some conflicting information online and I always prefer to hear from personal experiences.

Hey guys, quick question for you: do teachers generally work during all school holidays? I know I'll be 'working' as soon as I get there, during the Summer holidays, but the other ones...?

But I think I know the answer. Teachers work during the holidays and if they take time off, it comes off their holiday allowance- but it's still probably the most appropriate time to take off, yes?

Hey all, especially new, incoming JETs, and especially those who have no or just a little experience with Japanese:

I just found a sweet website, www.livemocha.com , that seems to help me figure out Japanese a little better. In conjunction with an online kanji dictionary, you can get a good start with this site. I wish I'd found it, oh, about a year ago...

Ganbatte :)

I'm a JET alum (Tokushima 2005-07) and will be volunteering at a Q&A session for new JETs next weekend. I've been asked to present on three topics, two of which I think I can handle with what I already have (vegetarian and junior high/elementary).

However, I've never really had to talk about being a minority in Japan before, and I'm kind of stuck on what to cover. Do you all have any suggestions?

The biggest things I can think of immediately are:
- the staring
- fielding questions about where you're from
- explaining immigration (a lot of Japanese people I met just couldn't understand that my family's from India but moved to America)
- foods unique to your culture/country (I can definitely talk about the mail-order Indian grocery stores, but not sure about others)
- culture shock that other JETs may not relate to

Any other ideas? The above will take me all of 10 minutes, and these sessions are between 40 and 50 minutes long each.

And actually, I may as well ask for some help with the junior high/elementary one. In Japan my role was heavily shougakkou-oriented, and in theory I know how "ideal" JHS team-teaching situations go, but I'd like to show them something that's an example of more than just me being a human tape recorder. I will be solo (we had a shockingly low number of volunteers this year), so there's no chance to demonstrate team-teaching or anything cool like that.

Thanks, guys. :)