JET
in Japan for another 1.5 years.
Monday, December 22nd, 2008written by Electra
So, the rumor mill may be flying, perhaps accurately. I thought we should tell people here.
Roy and I, after talking to our friends here (some of whom are from Portland) and our friends and family back home, and watching the economic situation, and using financial calculators and payment plans, and comparing our work [...]
トランプ
Saturday, August 2nd, 2008written by Electra
Day before yesterday, Roy and I went to Tokyu Hands (a sort of hobby/ craft/ nongrocery-store goods store) to see if we could find poker chips of a suitable weight and size. Roy has been playing poker with a group of other ALTs and local friends for months now, so I figured [...]
まま働いています。
Saturday, February 16th, 2008(PreS. You can hover over the Japanese characters for a romanji-ization.)
So, much to the disappointment I’m sure of our friends back in the ‘States who desparately miss us and want us to come back, we have decided to recontract for another year. Or rather, a long discussion with our bank accounts and various other [...]
NishiOka Kita Middle School
Wednesday, November 7th, 2007My other school is 西岡北中学校: Nishioka Kita Chugakkô, or Western Hills – North – Middle School.
This is my Base School: I work here Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and when I’m not working at Seien I work here on Tuesdays and Thursdays too. My JTEs are Mrs. (Yoshiko) Kurosawa, Mr. Kikuchi, and Mrs. Maeno. I [...]
Seien High School
Wednesday, November 7th, 2007札幌市星園高登校 (Sapporo-shi Sêen Kôtôkô) “Star Garden” High.
On most Tuesdays and Thursdays, I work at a part-time high school. I really like it here. The teachers are really exuberant and the kids are spunky. Because the school is geared for kids who would otherwise drop out to work, there’s an air of bouncy gratitude [...]
Arriving in Sapporo and going Home
Sunday, September 30th, 2007After our trip from Tokyo to Sapporo, we are greeted in Chitose Airport by taxis. We are efficiently bundled into them and sent to our new workplace: Chieria. There, we get a whilrwind “Here’s the room where you’ll be sitting for the next few weeks while at work; here’s the staff room where [...]
Sapporo Ni Ikimas!
Sunday, September 30th, 2007The day-before-last of our time in Tokyo, us Sapporo JETs had our first meeting with one of our future supervisors, Mr. Nomoto. He had a wonderfully dramatic way of starting things. The first thing he said after we settled down was, “You are not in Japan.” What he meant was that the Keio Plaza [...]
Hokkaido!
Sunday, September 30th, 2007 Glossary:
Sempai: A senior peer. Someone who’s been in your group/club a little longer than you, but isn’t of a higher rank, is your sempai.
Enkai: Literally a dinner party, banquet, etc. Usually used to talk about an official party thrown for a group of people. The majority of enkais are for work, although the people [...]
Typhoon! Run for the hills!
Friday, September 7th, 2007 There’s a typhoon this weekend! It’s hit Tokyo already and it’s coming this way!
35 mph winds! Torrential downpours! Be careful!
If this is a Japanese typhoon, then I can definitely deal with living here.
You Are Not in Japan
Thursday, September 6th, 2007 GLOSSARY:
ALT: Assistant Language Teacher. Pretty much all of us are ALTs.
CIR: Coordinator for International Relations. Most major cities have a CIR, and a CIR must have strong Japanese language skills. CIRs are JETs but they don’t teach. They work at the BOE or town hall. Most of what they do is translate documents written [...]