When I travel to another country I always try to have the “don’t have any any expectations or don’t believe the country’s stereotypes” mindset because I know it’s a given that more often than not things are not always the same as people described on the internet, let alone word of mouth.
So when I lost my wallet last weekend , a long weekend, and having searched at at home,at work, the train stations in between and asking the local police station if they had seen it ,yielding no results , I decided to let go of the chance I would see my wallet again. Despite letting to I decided to wait a week just in case someone did find it. Up till last week I had never lost my wallet or any other personal belonging before so I was really confused and stressed (and still am confused) about how I could have lost it. My wallet also had my important Australian cards. Slightly distressed, I called my mum who helped me calm down.
I also had to work on 2 days of the long weekend , having no wallet and having to travel without money(between Himeji and Kobe for a debate contest) did make me feel anxious. I am however grateful to my neighbors for allowing me to borrow money from them so that I could work/travel with some ease. Some of my friends noted “In Japan if you lose your wallet it is likely you will get it returned” .But me being in my negative mood thought “there’s always a chance it may not happen and I think it is likely it won’t happen to someone like me”
On Tuesday the first business day of the week, after my first class, my supervisor approached one of my JTEs saying that they received a call from Tatsuno Police office that someone had just given in my wallet to them . The police office was different to the police station I had originally reported it to.
My JTE helped liaise between the police officer and I on when I could pick it up.
I was beyond relieved and thought “wow, I guess sometimes it is okay to give some hope to (positive) stereotypes about a country”. That being said I still believe we shouldn't place all our hope on such stereotypes.
When I first arrived in my area (Shingu/Tatsuno) I asked my co-worker (who had lived in the same apartment block as me for 3 years) if they knew any places around us to eat/dine. They said since we are in the “inaka” there isn’t really anything and if they want to eat out they would just go to Himeji (1 hour travel time). As a big fan of korean bbq/yakiniku I was down.
However maybe in the last 2-3 months I have discovered two yakiniku joints near my apartment as well as a sushi joint. There are also three local family restaurants/cafes near me . My coworker is definitely one of those “everything is dull in the countryside” type people but I don’t find it that dull - maybe it is because i’ve only been here for 7 months. I do pity them due to the fact that they never really had an urge to explore our area besides going to the local supermarket, and then choosing to complain how there is “nothing to do in Shingu”
On average I have around 15 classes per week, it can decrease/increase due to holidays or rescheduling of classes (usually when I have to take a business trip).
I’m expected to get to school by 8:15am and leave at 4pm. On Tuesdays I usually have an ESS club which runs from 430-530.
Rafting in Kochi (organised by Hyogo Ajet) aka me not knowing what I was doing 120% of the time and smiling , waving and hoping for the best, to survive and not to capsize ( I didn't capsize luckily!!!) My mum said I don't look like myself in these pictures and she's probably right because the Anna from Sydney would probably not go on a rafting trip if her friends invited her.
However given my opportunity to work here , I decided I should step outside my comfort zone from time to time so that I experience new things and continue to learn about the world I'm living in .
During my first month on JET my mother wanted to pay me a visit to bring my winter clothes. She was here for a week so we decided to discover the area/help me settle in my apartment .
We went to Mount Shosha which was a really beautiful place - you can see where ‘The Last Samurai’ & ‘March came in like a lion’ were filmed (provided I hadn’t watched any of those movies). When you reach Mt Shosha from the bus in Himeji you can choose to climb up or take the cablecar . We chose to take the cable car. Once you reach the top you are again given the option to climb or take a bus, we decided to take a bus. We did for the same way back down.
However on the way down I tripped, just as I got off the cablecar and was approaching the bus that would take me back to Himeji. If it weren’t for my mum there I’m sure I would’ve fainted because I was barely aware of what was happening with cablecar staff rushing me to the bathroom to clean the blood of my leg. They kept telling me to go to the hospital but were also a bit hesitant since it was a Sunday. So my mum collected some first aid equipment from them and took me to the bus . After I returned to my senses I found I could walk a bit so we assumed I didn’t break anything - thus I didn’t need to go to the hospital. For a period of about 3-4 weeks I had trouble walking and running but it felt like it was healing
5 months later , my leg is fine and I can walk normally but my knee still hasn’t properly healed and hurts from time to time especially when I bend it. I’m returning to Sydney for 2 weeks where I will probably visit a doctor , hopefully my knee is just healing slowly and is not infected.
Tips for settling in - find your comfort food
Going to another country you will be pressed with many food choices and will be pushed by many to try “new foods” . Trying new food isn’t bad but sometimes it can cause stress so I think it’s important to have some sort of food that you always look forward to. For me it is dessert , specifically in summer , parfaits.
My balcony view.
My area is very inaka-ish . There are a lot of local vegetable/fruit farms. I have a 2 supermarkets - one which is a 5 minute walk and one which is about a 15 minute walk. My closest convenience store is about a 7 minute walk. I have some family restaurants near my apartment but they are pretty spread out and thus I have only been to two so far.
So it has been almost 6 months since I came to Japan and I have realized I have not updated this blog .
I will try my best to summarize how I have settled in thus far.
At my placement I am lucky to have a co-jet , a lot of schools don’t. Having a co-jet allowed for a smoother process of settling in. However a lot of schools don’t have more than 1 jet so I won’t get into detail about it.
My commute is long but bearable . My workplace takes about 50min-1hr to get to everyday, however it is also pretty close to the closest city (Himeji) so after work I usually can go to the city to eat & shop. Because of distance/time/how often I go to the city I opted to get a commuter pass because it does save money in the long run
My apartment is described as small but it is perfect size for someone like me. I have a 2DLK - so two rooms + living room + kitchen and bathroom. One room is used as a bedroom while the other room functions as a walk in closet. My kitchen is small but I make do I have a portable stove , a toaster oven , a halogen tabletop oven as well as ricecooker, normal toaster and kettle left by my predecessor. I have never used a toaster oven and halogen tabletop oven before but I will learn in time I think. My bath is very small but I prefer to shower anyway.
I try to participate in as many AJET events as possible . It is easy to feel out of the loop and alone especially when you live far away from the main city (in my case Kobe) - events allow me to meet people again and keep up with the news/gossip etc
I have also joined the Hyogo AJET committee to help organise stuff /events . Currently trying to revamp the website.
I’ve had some minor inconveniences: within the first three weeks I fell down pretty badly and couldn’t walk properly for a few weeks. I can walk fine now but my knee is still recovering and I still feel pain when walking sometimes. Also a few weeks ago I noticed one of my ‘go to’ shoes are falling apart.
I haven’t traveled to as many places as I originally wanted but I’ll get there with time.
A lot of people around me are hopping into relationships and asking when I’ll get into one, personally relationships are my last priority here so it doesn’t really bother me - I prefer being alone which isn’t bad imo.
I don’t feel my Japanese is improving that much but I also see it because I haven’t really decided to undertake any serious study here yet
My rent is low compared to what other JETs are paying so I am saving some money here/there .
This week I have been researching my surroundings from the city I will be living in (Tatsuno) to cities surrounding it. I came across the city above me “Shiso City” and saw there was a lot of sightseeing to do there - many waterfalls and mountains! (funnily enough i don’t like hiking or trekking but I am willing to do a bit of it to take a good photo)
Surprisingly enough there isn’t much ‘english’ touristy information online for Tatsuno or Shiso . Hopefully. if I have enough energy to do it , I am planning to blog about the cities and provide insight for future JETs in the area, or just for people who are interesting in exploring West Hyogo .
This will be a brief post about the application process, If you want me to go into detail about a certain part let me know!
In 2015, during my time in Kansai Gaidai University I learned through my roommate about what the JET programme was. I’ll be honest at first I wasn’t that interested but after I returned to Sydney and did further research I found that this a great way to merge my interests and kickstart my career.
One of the dilemmas that struck me at the time was references , at university I wasn’t really close to any of my teachers and even if I wanted to get close to a particular teacher it was difficult.
Around October 2015 I learned about the Meiji Short Course through one of my International Relations classes. Then it hit me ‘If I am able to go on such a program, the professor in charge may be able to vouch for me’ . So in December when the short course applications were open I applied straight away - I wouldn’t know till March if I got accepted or not.
The wait was long and I still had struggle finding a second reference. However during mid-semester I found that I was getting along with my International Marketing teacher and that he had a positive impression of me. I was also doing decent enough in the class consistently being in the top 10% in that semester.
March came, and I was rejected from the Meiji program. I was a bit upset but my mum suggested I write back to them and ask to be put on the ‘waiting list’. I didn’t have much hopes since only 10 people were chosen. But alas, in April someone did drop out of the program and I was picked as a backup!
I was absolutely thrilled !
During the program (June-July) I asked the professor if he would be willing to be my reference for the program and he gladly obliged!
Come September I decided to start on the application - the form was no problem, I enjoy filling out forms because after filling out my study abroad forms in 2015 any other form felt small in comparison.
Statement of purpose - no problem . I enjoy writing about my experiences/ how they affect me/how I will use skills learned from my experiences and since I volunteered at the Japan Foundation & other places consistently during the year I was able to back up my said skills.
I hear volunteering adds great points to your application so if you can voulnteer anywhere at least a year beforehand you can get points! Volunteering in places where you have to assist people , like teaching / working with kids or volunteering in Japan(ese) related groups is a great way to enhance your application.
[note : I’ve been an active volunteer for many organisations since around 2012]
[note2: whilst i was a volunteer I was only rarely paid + I have never been formally employed somewhere]
References - I had recieved my reference from my short program professor but my International Marketing teacher wasn’t replying to my emails. At first I decided to wait a few weeks, however as time passed I got more anxious. I didn’t have a ‘backup reference’ other teachers who taught me in that semester - I wasn’t close to, and one of my closer teachers I was really awkward with and couldn’t tell whether she hated me or not lol .
About a week before the application was due my International Marketing finally replied (he was hiking in Japanese Mountains) and he said he was happy to be my reference. With 3 days to the closing date I express posted my application pack to the embassy.
I was fairly confident in my application, whilst I didn’t have formal teaching qualifications I did have other experiences & skills that I felt would be something positive for the program.
Come December, I decided to take the JLPT N4 test just to back up my skills and refresh the Japanese in my mind. The test was hella long and i was beyond tired by the time the listening stage came.
Mid December the results came and I was accepted for an Interview in February!
January - my JLPT results came and I passed the N4!
February - the interview time. I was really nervous , I had a good idea of what questions they’d ask me and I was ready to answer them when asked. I just hoped they wouldn’t ask me to sing or dance (as i read some people had to).
Regardless I get nervous easily and end up speaking fast. During the interview all the questions they asked me were questions i knew the answer for. “Curveball questions” such as “how would I deal living alone” were easy for me because I had already experienced that when I was on exchange for 6 months @ KGU. The Japanese part was ok for me too... I was nervous and couldn’t exactly properly answer all the questions but I tried my best even and would not say ‘skip’ to any question because one word answers are better than none. I answered all questions(english&japanese) to the best of my nervousness.
After the interview I couldn’t tell whether I had a good interview or not. A part of me felt i did really good- I made the interviewers laugh and I managed to answer all questions without hesitation. Another part of me felt my answers were lacking and that my ‘fast speaking’ would be a turn off for them.
The waiting game was a long one. Finally late March I got an email saying I was accepted! I guess my interview was fairly good then!
* I applied via the Sydney Consulate in Australia & I was interviewed at the Sydney Consulate
Yesterday Sydney Jets had their pre departure orientation session where we got to meet other jets as well as get information on “jet life” and things we have to prepare beforehand i.e visas ,tax and baggage rules .
Having studied abroad twice in Japan I knew already some of the things they were talking about, it wasn’t mundane - it was more of a refresher for me if anything since minor things can always be forgotten.
I learned that female jets in hyogo aren’t allowed to be placed on the first floor of an apartment complex. I didn’t ask why because I kind of guessed why - I would’ve preferred to be on the first floor because I don’t want to people under me to hear my loud footsteps lol.
After the orientation we had dinner at daruma which we had to pay $30 for (sans drinks). There was so much food , kind of like a tabehoudai except it was more pre ordered than us ordering . Hyogo jets managed to all sit together on one table, it was good cause 3 plates (per dish and there were like 10 different dishes) came for one table, so even though we had to share because of the quantity of each food item, I was able to get pretty full.
some of the food (taken on my phone so w/e quality)
There were also vegetarian options for vegetarians or vegans , you just got to let the staff know beforehand . One of the hyogo jets was actually vegetarian and still got a fair decent amount of food.
After an anxious wait (have to submit my visa in a week) my city placement finally came! I’ll be living in Tatsuno /working in the town Shikisai of Himeji - Hyogo.
I previously visited Himeji (the castle) once during my study abroad and it seems like a nice place. Liking kyoto sweets I immediately searched up trains to Kyoto but it costs like $25 one way... seems like this will be not an often trip for me. That being said, I know the sweets sometimes get sold in Kobe/Osaka so I should be able to meet my sweets craving haha.
Tatsuno is about a 20 minute train ride from train station where I have to get of (Yobe) , which is good except the train only comes 2 per hour so I’ve got to wake up early (which I’m not use to). It’ll probably be a struggle the first month or so since my body clock has to adjust waking up early, as well as not doing much because my classes start in September. Hopefully I find ways to preoccupy myself !
