The last time I wrote something for a CP newsletter was in 2008. It was after I had just gotten back from studying abroad in Japan for a semester. At that time I said that I planned to return to Japan to teach English after I graduated and . . . I am doing just that!
I have been working for the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program providing assistance in supervising the English curriculum at several junior high schools and elementary schools in the countryside of Northern Japan since 2012. And while that sounds pretty official, my position sometimes includes participating in throwing large amounts of peanuts at students in February, watching kids faceplant during tug of wars in June, attending summer festivals dedicated to some of the strangest things, like the burning of parade float horses (yes, not the parade itself but the burning of the horse floats used in the parade is a festival), and getting saliva covered merengue smeared on your face by weird looking old men in the name of “good luck.”
I have met so many people from different walks of life, made lasting friendships, and will have taught thousands of students by the time my term on JET ends next year. To anyone thinking, “that sounds interesting, I wish I could do that,” you can! I recommend living abroad, even if only for a short time. You get to experience a lot of ‘firsts’. When was the last time you did something for the first time? I think you owe it to yourself, after pledging to live life to the fullest every single school morning at CP, however many years ago. At the very least, you can collect a cool stamp in your passport. Keppare! (You can do it!)
I have been working for the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program providing assistance in supervising the English curriculum at several junior high schools and elementary schools in the countryside of Northern Japan since 2012. And while that sounds pretty official, my position sometimes includes participating in throwing large amounts of peanuts at students in February, watching kids faceplant during tug of wars in June, attending summer festivals dedicated to some of the strangest things, like the burning of parade float horses (yes, not the parade itself but the burning of the horse floats used in the parade is a festival), and getting saliva covered merengue smeared on your face by weird looking old men in the name of “good luck.”
I have met so many people from different walks of life, made lasting friendships, and will have taught thousands of students by the time my term on JET ends next year. To anyone thinking, “that sounds interesting, I wish I could do that,” you can! I recommend living abroad, even if only for a short time. You get to experience a lot of ‘firsts’. When was the last time you did something for the first time? I think you owe it to yourself, after pledging to live life to the fullest every single school morning at CP, however many years ago. At the very least, you can collect a cool stamp in your passport. Keppare! (You can do it!)
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