Living my dream

Journals

2011-05-17T09:44:00.002+09:00

I get my students to write journals to basically just practice writing paragraphs in English.

And sometimes, I get some very interesting reads.

For example, in one class alone, I had a very wide range of answers for the topic - If I could spend one day with anybody in this world, I would like to meet....

a) I want to meet Anpanman. Because I want to eat his face. His face looks soft and good taste. I want to see his face change. I want to tell him, "You are so cute!". Then, I want to fly away with him.

b) I want to meet Jack the Ripper. He was a murderous fiend in London in the 19th century. I want to meet him because I want to know his true character. When I meet him, I want to ask him, "Why did you slaughter so many people?"

c) I want to meet Galileo Galilei. He was called the Father of Modern Science" and is a famous great person. I want to meet him because I want to know about astronomy. He knows alot of things. I want to know more. When I meet him, I want to tell him "Please teach me Astronomy!" I want to look at constellations with him.

It's very interesting to see all the different types of answers!

Living my dream

2010-11-09T16:02:00.002+09:00

I am sorry for giving out this blog url and in the end, I never did update this page much. I had intended this blog, to be an amazing blog because I believed I will be having an amazing time in Japan. And this blog will be filled with photos and quotes and learning points.

Well. In the end, I used facebook more than anything else because it was convenient to upload photos for everyone to see. But I realized that not much reflection was done for all the places/events/things that I saw or did or experienced. Which is kinda bad. I am still now debating what's the best way to retain all these wonderful memories that I have created here. Should I create a photo book? Or something?? Thinking in Progress.

Sometimes it's amazing how time flies. It seemed like it was just yesterday when I was new and ignorant of almost everything. For example, I threw my plastic bottle in the bin beside my table in the office for consecutively 5 days until one day, I found one of the bottles on my table with a small note saying "Recycle bin please." And then I found out that nobody throws plastic bottles in normal garbage bins. *embarrassed!* But that, sometimes, seemed so long ago too.

I have started preparing to send things home as I plan for my return when my contract ends. Also, time has become something difficult to gauge since I have been here. Next August seems so far away but it also seems so near.

As I was walking around the class watching my students attempting to do one of my worksheets diligently in the quiet classroom and noticing the sun shining on the trees that are turning reddish yellow with the mountain range in backdrop, I suddenly had this intense feeling of bliss. How many people really have the chance to do this? To live in Japan, to experience the 4 seasons (well, i come from a place which only has summer!) to teach these students attired in their cool uniform (cool because we used to only see it in comic books and movies and dramas) and interact with them in close proximity although we speak a different language.

I am indeed living my dream. And I need to focus on this fact and remind myself how lucky I am as I stumble along my journey in Japan.

Bimyo

2010-07-02T16:07:00.002+09:00

Interesting Japanese word of the day.

I met some students and I asked them genki? And their reply was Bimyo!

I was utterly confused and went back to check the dictionary.

Bimyo = Delicate / Subtle.

And so I learnt from my Japanese teachers that the world basically means - It's difficult to explain a.k.a It's complicated a.k.a I'm not sure how to answer your question.

Wow. So many meaning in just one phrase.

Tweet Tweet

2010-02-27T13:16:00.002+09:00

And so I got a twitter account! Add me if you are bored. =p

http://twitter.com/sheryna1234

Cold

2010-01-08T14:02:00.002+09:00

Many people have said that I am lucky to be posted to kyushu which is known for its warm winters.

Well, it's kinda true that temp has never dipped below 0 but it's still very COLD!

I happen to stay on top of a hill with no obstructions. Basically, it's a mountain range behind me and from my living room, I look down at a valley of houses. So, that also means, the cold wind hits the building 24 hrs a day. Old japanese buildings have no insulation and it is always said that the inside and outside temp are the same. Thus, even when I turn on the air conditioner heater and with my electrical blanket on top of me, I still have to sleep with all winter gear on. Sounds ridiculous but true! If the air is still, I find the weather perfectly bearable. But the strong gusts of wind always kill whatever strength I have in dealing with the wind. =x

In school, going to the toilet is a torture. Haha.. because my school has no heating in the washrooms nor heated toilet seats like some places so it is really cold. In the teachers' room, we have no central heating but heating from a big kerosene heater placed in a corner for every 3 tables. Seriously, I hardly feel it. And whenever cleaning period comes, all the teachers will shiver because we have to open all the windows and switch off the heater for 15 mins to change the air. (for your info, breathing in too much kerosene is bad for health).

Today was also my school's opening ceremony after the winter break and the gym was so cold. I was literally chattering in my seat while holding on to heat packs. I wonder how the students can endure when they are not wearing anything to cover their legs nor hands or neck?!

But I know this is just for a couple of months more before the lovely spring arrives. I will and must endure!

I was excited to see snowfall but the snowfall is not as heavy as places up in the north. Hopefully next month when I visit Sendai and Tokyo, I can have the opportunity to throw some snowballs! =)

Making a difference in someone's life...

2009-12-17T13:25:00.004+09:00

I think, that is the main thought that keeps a teacher going.

Although I do not teach the 3rd year students officially, I had some 3rd year students approach me to help them with writing or speaking outside classes. 2 particular students whom I had helped last month to prepare them for their university entrance examinations, both passed their exams and got a place in the universities that they wanted to go! Imaike whom I helped with writing and Yaida whom I helped with preparing for a interview with the university. Although I only gave some advice and seen them like 3 times only, both of them (and their form teachers) came to look for me, bowed and thanked me so sincerely that I am so touched. I doubt any of my students in Singapore will do such things!

It's autumn!

2009-11-29T16:13:00.001+09:00

I love how the leaves turn yellow and then red... such beautiful colours!!!

Life has been great and I am most probably going to extend my contract to stay 1 more year!

Learning Japanese

2009-10-27T14:16:00.004+09:00

Out of hiragana, katakana and kanji, the 3 forms of japanese writing, I have the least affinity with katakana. I do not know why I find it so difficult to remember how they are written and even after I recognize them, it is difficult to make sense of what they mean!

Katakana is used for direct translation of foreign words based on how they sound like. But seriously.... can you guess what the following words mean?

1. iyahon
2. u-ru
3. epuron
4. raion
5. bideo
6. kashimiya
7. kuizu
8. nekutai
9. goru
10. gurasu
11. arerugi
12. sa-bisu
13. se-ru
14. taoru

Sigh.........

Answers
1. earphone
2. wool
3. apron
4. lion
5. video
6. cashmere
7. quiz
8. necktie
9. goal
10. glass
11. allergy
12. service
13. sale
14. towel

Travel Bug

2009-10-27T12:48:00.005+09:00

I really love to travel and explore new places. I am going to start a map to tag where are the places I have visited in Japan!!!

My map

Multi Tasker

2009-10-07T11:09:00.003+09:00

When we use the above term for our life as teachers in Singapore, I think that the teachers in Japan are true multi taskers. I really admire them for their hard work and dedication!

First, the working hours are really long! Even though lessons start at 9am officially, most teachers are in school by 7.30am to conduct morning supplementary classes. Then, they are rotated on night duties where they take turns to patrol the school, make sure all students have gone home and all doors/gates are locked. There are no such things as school servants in Japan. So I was shocked that some teachers go home as late as 9 or 10pm, especially before exams where night revision lessons are conducted and they have to lock up the gates and arm the security system.

Next, CCA. Over here, it's called clubs here and joining a club is means strong dedication to your club. They have club activities EVERY DAY. Yes. Including Sundays. So as I hear the baseball club / tennis club / brass band etc etc training on saturdays and sundays... I wonder about the poor teacher in charge...

Then, the next shocking thing to me is that because there's no school servants, the whole school's cleanliness depends on the school teachers and students. Every teacher is in charge of an area to clean and they supervise the students in the cleaning period which occurs every school day. So you have kids coming into the teachers' room to empty your bins etc. And the staff toilets, are cleaned by teachers themselves! They have a duty roster and the female teachers will clean the female toilet while the male teachers will clean the male toilet.

I really salute them!

Natural Disasters

2009-10-06T11:02:00.003+09:00

With the recent spate of natural disasters, it is no surprise that Japan will also get its fair share.

So here, I have experienced tremors and upcoming, a typhoon. According to weather forecasts, typhoon 18 is headed our way and we are expected to get strong gale and high waves.

I wonder how it will be like. But for now, I just know that I am very cold. Last night, I wore a wollen long sleeve turtleneck to sleep. And it's just the start of autumn! Lol.

Updates updates! I am so sorry for not posting!

2009-09-25T10:17:00.002+09:00

Hi all,

When I first started this blog, my idea was to update this daily. However, I just got lazy because there are so many things to share and I figured that uploading photos often on facebook will more than suffice!

But of course, I should really give you more details! But as I said, too many things! So I shall just summarize some for today's post.

Living in Fukuoka
I've settled in pretty well. I can take the public transport without fear as I've gotten all the cards and know the routes that can get me to the major places. I've memorized my home address and I can walk around the neighbourhood without getting lost. I love cooking for myself and I think my cooking skills have improved or mainly soup boiling skills. Lol. I love buying udon/ramen and then putting them into the soup that I cooked. I love making pasta too! I love grocery shopping and 100 yen shops. I get along very well with one of my neighbours - Lori and she's like my the other half these days since we hang out with each other often.

The only negative things are the bugs... I've met a big spider in my bedroom... it cast a shadow on me when I was watching tv and I freaked out when I saw it. Lonely Planet Japan was a good weapon to smash it to bits. I've also seen the dreaded mukade (Japanese centipede) in my shower room. It was lucky I didn't step on it when I enter the shower room. I can still visualise the way it wriggled to hide under my tub. ARGHS! Luckily I sms my only male foreign neighbour Mahendar who's a 3rd year ALT from India and he rushed over with his girlfriend and the mukade died of many slaps from a slipper. (actually the grossest thing was when Mahendar picked it up to throw away, it was still alive!!!!!) There's a cricket living in my ceiling which I do not know how to get rid of because it jumps so fast and I do not want it to land on my face. Met another gross spider while I was showering and it died under endless sprays of hot water. And a gecko(lizard) decided to sneak into my house when I opened my door to enter the apt. I saw a shadow dart into the porch but as it was the same colour as my porch's stone floor, I couldn't really see it until I used my long umbrella to poke the area and out flew the lizard. ARGHZ! I didn't kill this as I figured he will be useful to help me eat up the numerous spiders along the stair well so I took a long time to chase it out of my apt. Oh, there's a dead cockroach on my balcony after it scared me while I was hanging clothes and it died under bubble foam insecticide.

Working in Fukuoka
Work life has been pretty good. Boring sometimes because I have so much free time to play with that I get sleepy and tired often. So by the end of the day when I reach home, I am really tired... strange to say.. from doing nothing much! My working hours is that I muz report by 8.30am and I can go back at 4.15pm.

This is my timetable:

Monday:
10.00-10.50 Class 1-4
15.35-15.40 Supervise cleaning in Language Lab
16.00-17.00 English Speaking Society (CCA)

Tuesday:
No lessons
15.35-15.40 Supervise cleaning in Language Lab

Wednesday:
09.00-09.50 Class 1-1
10.00-10.50 Class 3-4
12.00-12.50 Class 1-6
13.35-14.25 Class 1-2

Thursday
11.00-11.50 Class 1-5
15.35-15.40 Supervise cleaning in Language Lab

Friday
11.00-11.50 Class 1-3
12.50-13.25 Lunch with English Speaking Society members
13.35-14.25 Class 3-4
15.35-15.40 Supervise cleaning in Language Lab

So there's lotsa free time but I spend much time planning lessons because over here, they don't really use IT equipment to teach. Strange for a country with such advanced technology! So for me who's used to using powerpoint, I find myself having to DIY posters/cards/display boards for teaching and having to think of ideas that doesn't require me to use the projector but only the chalk board. Yeah... CHALK board. I hate breathing in the chalk dust. The only projector is a portable one which I have to lug around and set it up in class which takes much time. So.... sigh. Back to basics!

The students are generally ok, I haven't met any scary or horrible kids (hopefully not) since my school is supposed to be a pretty good academic school and since they are 16-18, they are quite mature.

That's all for this post... will try to update more...

The start of the introductory speech seasons...

2009-08-18T15:10:00.003+09:00

My introductory speech to all the teachers in the staff room

Hajimemashite
Yip Siew Min to moushimasu
Singaporu kara kimashita
Singaporu dewa watashi wa chu gakko de chiri o oshiete imashita
Nihon ni kuru no wa hajimete desu
Hetana nihongo de sumimasen
Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu

My introductory speech to the whole school

Hajimemashite
Good morning!
My name is Yip Siew Min.
Please call me Siew Min.
I am the new "Anna" but I am not American.
I come from Singapore, a small country in Southeast Asia.
This is my first time in Japan.
I am very happy to be placed in Yahata Minami Senior High School.
I am poor in my Japanese but I will try to do my best.
Please talk to me anytime, anywhere.
Over the next year, let's study English and Japanese together.
I hope we will have fun.
Thank you.
Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu

Finally a new post! (photos to be added later)

2009-08-12T00:49:00.008+09:00

Hi everyone!

I finally found some time to type out a blog entry.

I am settling into my new town pretty well.

It’s been kinda crazy from Tokyo to Fukuoka and to KitaQ with so many new things and experiences that I barely had time to sit down to think.

Tokyo was packed with seminars and workshops where basically, I was stuck in the hotel room. The only time to see Tokyo was during dinner time where we walked out to explore interesting areas, with the help of Xianna for the first night where we checked out Kabuki-cho. This was a street famous for its many lady’s shops. Lol. Kinda realized what I have gotten myself into when we were about to order our dinner and I can’t read the menu! Yvonne had to go over to ask Xianna for help. It was funny. And whatever that came, was not what I had in mind but it was still good. Haha…

So then the next day, it was the start of orientation programme where we reported to our respective prefectures etc etc and attended all the briefings and workshops.. Kinda boring but necessary part of the Tokyo Orientation programme. And here’s my Fukuoka prefecture group photo of the participants in Group B orientation. (There are so many JET participants every year that the orientation programme is divided into 2 main groups so that the logistics will not be so crazy!)

At night I was really dead tired from the workshops! So we only walked around Shinjuku area… had dinner at a shop with a vending machine to purchase meal coupons and order our food (their version of fast food).

Walked around a supermarket and jaw dropped at the prices… Eg. 1 box of grapes for S$115. Any takers?

And finally to a nearby electronics department store where I bought the English-Japanese dictionary software for my Nintendo DS. Getting to the section to buy that was another set of challenge itself because the electronics store was so big, it had sooooooo many sections and not within one building but all around the streets! Luckily I had my friends who are more fluent in Japanese to help me! That’s when I realized I am so dependent on my Singaporean friends! =x The Nintendo section was big and filled up with interesting games. That’s when I was thinking that Xiangjun will go crazy in the shop! Lol.. especially with the crowd of guys standing outside the shop playing free game demos on the wifi network!

The 3rd day’s early morning at 5am, I met Shane, Yihua and Anne to check out the famous Tsukijishicho (Tsukiji Market).

Interesting place where we missed the live auction of really huge slabs of tuna by 10 minutes as the market was huge and we were trying to find the place.

We kept taking photos of everything! It was really interesting.

And then, for the first time, I had sashimi at 7am in the morning! But it was realllly yummy. My fav dish will be tuna with egg yolk and sesame oil. Totemo oishi desu ne! (Really very delicious!)

In the late evening, I met Rita & her family for drinks and snacks @ a nearby Krispy Kreme! =) I finally fulfilled my promise to visit them in Tokyo. =p

At night, we attended a dinner hosted by the Singapore embassy where all of us ended up smelling like beef as it was a beef tepanyaki restaurant. Food was good but all of us were choking from the smoke… teary eyed welcome dinner. Lol. Check out the before and after photos.

But it was a good gathering.. last night to see each other before we departed for our respective prefectures! Most of us attended the dinner and it was a good catching up opportunity.

And on the 4th day, I bade farewell to my Singaporean friends and headed for Fukuoka prefecture. Thus, if you ask me what’s my impression of Tokyo… I can’t tell you much because I didn’t get to see much.. other than there are lotsa bright lights and people!

Upon arrival in Fukuoka Airport, all of us were bundled off in various cars by our supervisors. My supervisor, Yasuki sensei seems very nice! We spent an hour to drive to my school in KitaQ City and I was introduced to the vice principal etc. Then my supervisor brought me around the neighborhood so that I will memorize the route home and where to buy groceries and we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant which was opened… by Chinese. =)

Then back to my new apartment. Frankly speaking, it looks really old and spooky from the outside. Especially the rusty playground with the lonely tree and the building opp which is due to be torn down and really looks like it’s been abandoned for a long long time. View of the playground from my apartment.

In my building, there’s space for 16 families but to date, we only have around 10 apartments that are used. I do not dare to imagine what lurks in the empty apartments. Yikes!

But on the inside, my apartment is great… comfy bed and air con! That’s enough for me! =p

My apartment is on top of a hill. So it is quite a challenge going up and down the hills which are nicknamed “death hills” by the current ALTs staying in the building. They are all really very steep!! The photos look deceptive!

My school is just beside my apartment… 5 mins down one of the steep death hills and I can reach it pretty fast. This is a view of my school from my balcony.

But it is now summer holidays in Japan and many of the teachers are on leave. Thus, I’ve been just sitting in the staff room and doing reading and typing this. All the teachers will be back by next Monday for extra lessons. Hopefully I can help out more next week!

My neighbors are pretty nice. Just watched Harry Potter 1 again with Lori & Cecilia since we have nothing much to do anyway. Quite funny. I’ve been meeting people and going out for dinner every night since I reached KitaQ. And I have taken express buses, “baby trains”, subways, JR etc… learning in progress but it was all fun and I will need to take some time before I can figure out the complicated train system!

I’ll type more next time… a little tired already. Counting down… 30 more minutes left to stay in the staff room… Can’t wait to get home to meet the internet man who will get my internet up and ready!

H1N1

2009-07-24T04:03:00.002+09:00

Well, it seems like h1n1 is going to hang over for quite a while! Just got an email telling us that we will be on semi-quarantine till 19th August. -_-'' But I can also understand their rationale. Oh well, I better bring lotsa stuff to entertain myself!!

Some introduction...

2009-07-16T10:29:00.006+09:00

Now that I have given most of my friends and students this blog address, I better highlight some of the acronyms that I will be using often in the blog in case you get confused.

My position is known as ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) and sometimes we are also referred to the JETs (teachers on the Japan Exchange & Teaching Programme). My pred is referring to my predecessor, the very nice and friendly American (Anna) that I am taking over. I am posted to kitakyushu city but people generally just refer to the area as KitaQ (that's the short form).

Hum, can't think of what else to explain for now.

Last Friday I attended the Singapore JETs pre-departure orientation at Japan Embassy and there are altogether 22 of us. 20 ALTs and 2 CIR (coordinators of international relations who do more translation and other jobs that require a high proficiency in the Japanese lanugage). It was interesting to hear from the ex Singapore JETs who shared with us their experiences etc. However, we didn't much chance to interact and Carie-anne, one of the girls has organised a informal gathering next week. Hopefully we will get a chance to interact more since having a network of fellow Singaporean JETs is good for travelling within Japan! On Kyushu island itself, there's 8 new ALTs and according to Weili, one of the JETs currently stationed in Kumamoto, there are also other existing JETs in Kyushu and he's going to organise a reunion gathering during New Year. Looking forward to that!

There's much coincidences for me that really show that the world is very small.
1. I got to know a new ALT, Yvonne wayyy before the interview through the JET forums and turns out she was my VP's ex student.
2. After meeting up with a few ALTs, discover Adrielle and Nicholas just live like, a few streets away for me.
3. I had actually seen Nicholas's car often because he used to pick up my neighbour and friend Liyong for work every morning and they are colleagues in YJC. LOL.
4. Adrielle who heard our conversation about Liyong realised that we know the same Liyong as Liyong is her senior in her secondary school's cca - band.
5. One of the new ALT, Shane, is my sec sch's classmate's husband and he's bringing Eileen along to Japan
6. A friendly guy in Facebook gave me much useful advice as he read that I was posted to Fukuoka and he's there. When I got my exact placement, he was shocked because he never expected to be staying in the same city as him and after I got my exact address, he's even more surprised because I am only staying 20-30 mins away from his apartment. Haha.
7. I chatted with a asian girl in the JET forums and we just found out the day before, that we are going to be neighbours in our new apartment block! She's taking over Dan, my pred's fiancee. It's really amazing!

Anymore surprises? =)

=)

2009-07-13T12:43:00.001+09:00

I have gotten my finalised address... seems like it's a pretty good location because it's near my school so there's no need for me to cycle!!! According to Anna, it's juz a 5min walk from my apartment to the school! So we shall see. =) And it's in the middle of 2 train stations and near a big park. =)

I am a lucky gal!

2009-07-11T12:57:00.002+09:00

My predecessor Anna, is a really friendly and nice person! She just told me that since I am taking over her apartment, she's leaving everything for me for free! I have told her to charge me a nominal sum or I will feel bad for taking all her stuff for free!

an extract from Anna's email..

"OK - having said that, here's a list of what is in the apartment:

Twin bed set with bedding (very cute and so comfy!!)
Two tall book shelves
Three small book shelves
Small chest of drawers
Kitchen Table
Kitchen accessories (dishes, pots, pans, etc.)
TV
VCR
DVD player
Small couch and matching chair (with cute covers)
Kotatsu (Table with heater under it)
Toyo heater
Laundry accessories
Microwave and stove"

All these for free! Wow! =)

Finally got the first contact from my prefecture's board of education!

2009-07-01T22:27:00.003+09:00

Extract from Roman's email...

"Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening Everyone,

Welcome to Fukuoka JET!

.....Essentially, my position is intended to be a bridge between the Japanese administrators and you, the JET participants. The PA is always available to answer work related questions/queries/issues, to listen to any personal grievances (we receive training as counselors), to mediate if necessary during difficult situations and to just generally be someone in the upper trenches who is always looking out for you. On any given day, I will be dealing with an array of matters ranging from contractual issues, tax, pension information, conflict resolution, arranging seminars, translation, small questions and any and everything else in between. Basically, if you have a question or a problem that needs some friendly attention, I'll be your first point of contact in most cases. Until the PA system was established- all decisions affecting JETs and the JET Programme were basically made by Japanese Administrators with little regard to ALTs opinions and input. Now you have someone on your side who shares your perspective (or at least understands it) who is representing and working hard for you to hopefully make your lives and over all JET experience better. That's a PA in a nutshell.

The Basics

This summer, we will be welcoming approximately 37 new JETs to Fukuoka. JETs are employed in Japan in one of three positions - Assistant Language Teacher (ALT), Co-ordinator for International Relations (CIR) and Sports Exchange Advisor) SEA.

In Fukuoka, ALTs are assigned to one of four teaching divisions:

Senior High School
Junior High School
Municipal
KitaKyushu City

All of you receiving this email will be Senior High School ALTs and that is pretty awesome in my view. At Senior High, you will be assigned to work at one school throughout your tenure. In some special cases, you may find yourself being asked to teach occasional classes at a nearby school that does not have an ALT.

Senior High ALTs typically enjoy the greatest stability in their situation as they have the opportunity to establish and develop relationships and rapport with students and staff alike because they are working in the same environment throughout the year. This compares against ALTs in other divisions who have to visit any number of schools per month and while they can take satisfaction in their interactions with students, have much less opportunity to lay down some roots than SHS ALTs do.

I should also let you know that once you get to Fukuoka and your new schools, you won't actually start teaching for about 3-4 weeks. This is because you arrive during Summer break and a major Japanese National holiday called Obon. During this time you will be spending alot of down time in the office doing a whole lot of nothing. It is pretty lackluster so think of a project ahead of time that you can focus on to keep busy. Most new ALTs work on their upcoming lesson plans, prepare their self-intro's, go through all the stuff their predecessor's left them, explore the building, or get to know the students (they come to school for morning classes during summer break and then participate in club activities in the afternoon).

Making Contact

No doubt that ever since you received word that you were accepted onto JET, you've been looking to make contact or hear more about what's going on. Don't worry, that's all in process.

Bureaucracy in Japan takes time but we have been working hard on preparing for your arrival. Two weeks ago we finalised the details of your exact placements. Your schools have been notified and they have begun their own preparations to receive you. Your predecessors should be in contact shortly. If you do not hear from your predecessors by July 9th, please let me know asap.

Tokyo and what comes after

I think that very shortly, if not already, you'll receive information about Tokyo Orientation as well as getting a copy of the JET General Information Handbook (GIH). Be sure to have a good read of that - or at least as much as you can manage - before coming to Japan. There's a lot of useful information there and is worth your time to check-out.

Tokyo Orientation is a lot of fun and your first chance to meet up with all the new JETs that are heading to other parts of the country. It may also be the last time you get to see some of the new buddies you make at your pre-departure Orientations so make the most of the few days you have in Tokyo.

There's really nothing else I need to say about Tokyo that the itinerary doesn't already say. If you do have questions about Tokyo though, feel free to ask me.

Once the Orientation concludes, you will be put on a flight bound for Fukuoka. For Group A JETs, that will be on Wednesday July 29th. Group B will be Wednesday August 5th. Both flights will arrive in Fukuoka by lunchtime.

When you arrive at Fukuoka airport, you will be met by at least one representative of your new school. At that point, reality starts to sink in. On that first afternoon, you'll be taken - most likely- to your new work place where you will be introduced to the staff and perhaps have a chance to meet some students.

Fukuoka Prefecture

No matter whereabouts you will end up being placed within Fukuoka, this is one of the best prefectures to be located for a lot of different reasons and we are often the envy of JETs living in other parts of Kyushu. In addition to having the luxury of having access to Fukuoka City's (specifically the Hakata and Tenjin areas) modern shopping arcades and outrageously good food but we also have lots of lush country beauty and are easily within reach of the other prefectures in Kyushu. Additionally, our geographic position makes us a very convenient location for travel to other parts of Asia via our two airports (Fukuoka Airport and New Kitakyushu Airport).

Sports fans can enjoy any number of professional teams with the Softbank Hawks baseball team playing to packed crowds at the 35,000 capacity Yahoo Dome, or, if you rather, the J2 League soccer team Avispa Fukuoka are the team of choice round these parts. We also have a rugby team as well so we are quite spoiled for a prefecture that sits beyond the Kanto and Kansai areas....

Best Regards,

Roman : )

--
Roman Montoya
Prefectural Advisor
Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education
Senior High School Division
7-7 Higashi-koen, Hakata-ku
Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka-ken 812-8575
Japan"

I am still waiting for my exact placement!

I am not the only one!

2009-06-30T14:03:00.003+09:00

There was a discussion thread in the forums recently about bugs and spiders and roaches in Japan and I am not the only one who's freaked out by them! Lol...

Read this story! I hope I won't have like.. erm. many of the spiders.

The year of Ninja Spiders

Click on the above link! The story is quite funny anyway. I totally understand how the guy felt.

Where are the rest of the Singaporeans?

2009-06-30T12:37:00.003+09:00

Well, it seems that there are going to be 18 Singapore ALTs and 2 CIRs.

One of the JETs have done up a google map to give a visual representation of where we are all distributed. Quite cool!

Though nobody is placed in the same prefecture as me, there are others on Kyushu island so if I am desperate for some Singlish, I will have people to visit over the weekend! =)

The fear of bugs...

2009-05-28T17:52:00.000+09:00

From Meelynn

"The bugs are truly horrific but maybe Singapore, being more tropical, has comparable ones...keep in mind I come from upstate New York, where our worst bugs are mosquitoes and the OCCASIONAL cockroach in a dirty restaurant.

Common Fukuoka bugs are cockroaches, mosquitoes, cicadas in summer (my least favorite, ughhhh), huntsman spiders, and big wasps called suzumebachi. The only ones that will probably invade your house are cockroaches and mosquitoes.

For cockroach prevention you can set boric acid traps in your house. They look like little cookies in plastic squares, put them in corners and your roach problems should be near none. Roaches happen in the cleanest of homes unfortunately and they are gross but easyish to control.

Mosquito-wise, you can buy little electric domes that you will with some magic liquid that keeps them at bay. These work very very well somehow and are cheap and easy to find.

Don't worry too much about the bugs, you can also buy bugspray to kill all sorts of breeds of bug at drugstores, discount warehouse stores and convenience stores."

Can someone kill me now?

My apartment & rental

2009-05-28T11:40:00.004+09:00

Meelynn (one of the current ALTs in Fukuoka) just told me that her rental is ¥12,100 which is only S$183 per month? That is really cheap!!!

And she also mentioned that I'll likely live in a kyoshokuin jutaku (public teacher's housing), "an old submarine-like apartment complex that while straight out of the Soviet Era cleans up nicely and is quite spacious." Hum... wonder how spacious is spacious.. which means there's alot to clean?

So it means I might live in an apartment like this:

Found this from the internet and it's posted by another ALT, Mike in Fukuoka.

My placement...

2009-05-27T22:48:00.003+09:00

By now, most of you would have know that I am resigning from my job and leaving for Japan to teach. =) My last day at work will be 17th July and will depart for Tokyo on 1st August.

I have been assigned to teach in Fukuoka Prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu in Japan.

For those of you who don't know where's Fukuoka, here's a map!

Though sad to leave my family and friends, I am also very excited about it as I will be fulfilling one of my dreams - to live overseas by myself and immerse in a totally different culture!

Anyways, there's direct flight from Singapore to Fukuoka by Singapore Airlines! I just checked, it costs S$600 for peak season which means it will be even cheaper during off peak season! And it's even cheaper if it's transit flight... Cathay Pacific's ticket is $450...

P.S. Just realize that Fukuoka is nearer to Seoul than to Tokyo. LOL.

The Interview

2009-04-26T13:42:00.004+09:00

Cut and paste from my blog on Feb 6, 2009

Since many of you are asking me how's my interview, I shall dedicate a long entry about the interview...

Thanks to yvonne, my new fren, I was more or less prepared for the interview because we got the same interviewers and some similar questions but some questions left me stumbling for answers. Feel kinda stupid. lol.

There were 3 interviewers, 2 Japanese (One is fatherly looking and the other reminded me of like what yvonne said, kinda reminded us of hiro from HEROES) and 1 foreigner.

Today I was kinda stressed out because we had chapel till 1.15pm and I had to rush home because I forgot to bring my passport to school. (Totally forgot that I don't have my IC because my bag was stolen on Sunday) and then there was some crazy jam at bkt timah, I reached Japan embassy at 2.15pm. LOL.

By the time I walk into the reception area, the lady was waiting for me at the counter and asked me if I am me. Lol. So stressful. I was panting. Haha..

So I was brought up to wait into a little cold room. I kept wondering if there was some security camera for them to watch me getting all stressed out in the room. And the hiro guy came in to fetch me.

Here are the questions that were asked based on my memory...

Hiro: Pls introduce yourself briefly.

Fatherly man:
1. I notice you teach many subjects and many levels. May I know more about what is Social Studies?
2. How many classes do you teach then since you have so many levels of preparation?
3. Can I find out how you cope with so many levels of preparation? How many lessons do you have to plan per week?
4. I notice you are in Data Management Committee, what kind of data do you collect?
5. Does your school do diagnostic tests for EL? Do you think such tests are useful?
6. Since your school do learning styles profiling & have a through train programme, do you notice any improvement in results?
7. You have taught for quite a couple of years, which teaching method you find most useful/helpful?
8. Do you have use any scientific method in measuring students' improvement or learning?
9. I notice you head NPCC, was vice head of Staff Welfare committee and organised many camps. Did you volunteer for all these positions?
10. Why do you think your school leaders assign you NPCC and Why did your colleagues nominate you for Staff Welfare? (Found this question most difficult to answer because you are like praising yourself!!!!)

Foreigner: (stumble with most of his questions, he kinda made me scared, i duno why, maybe because he seemed like an experienced EL teacher and I haven't taught EL for a looong time)
1. It seemed that you find building rapport with students very important. How will you try to build rapport with students when you teach in Japan?
2. How about young children? If you are placed in a elementary school, what kind of activities will you do to engage them and build rapport?
3. In your example used just now on teaching adjectives in class, I'm not intending to put you on the spot here but how will you explain to the students the difference between regular adjectives and irregular adjectives? Eg. Tall taller tallest are the common ones but there are others like exciting, more exciting. What is the structure that is used to define the difference? Wondering if you can pull this out from your memory. (I was totally shocked by this question and told him frankly that I don't remember).
4. So, if your students or your colleagues ask you this question and you obviously do not know/remember the answer, how will you respond to them?
5. I notice in your statement of purpose, you mentioned that you feel that you can adapt to Japan because you share the same Asian rootedness with Japanese. Can you further explain this statement?
6. In your daily work, you will actually be dealing with many different colleagues who are not Asians, then you do not share Asian roots, how will you adapt then?
7. You have travelled to many countries but they are all short stays, the longest is only 2 weeks. How are you so sure you can cope in Japan since you are staying for at least one year?
8. You mentioned that students have very short attention span in class and you have to constantly engage them with different activities, how can you ensure you have a supply of such activities?
9. You talked about having breaks during lessons to keep them engaged, can you elaborate more about these "breaks"?
10. In your future career plans, you mentioned that you will want to teach in international schools or private schools when you come back from JET. Can you explain your reasons why?
11. In international schools, they usually do IB program, what are your views towards IB? (Faints, I gave some answer about that it is not the programme that is important but what are the values and life skills that you impart at the end of the lesson that is important)
12. Do you think the role of teachers is weakened with promotion of IB or project work learning?

Hiro:
One last question - please introduce a place of interest in Japan, with details of the location and interesting sights that you will want to visit since you've never been to Japan. (throw me off totally. told him i've never been to japan and difficult for me to pin point an area but told him why i chose miyagi as my 1st choice to live in becoz it has a unesco site of pine trees and Kunmamoto because it has volcanoes and hot springs.

ALOT of questions right?!!! At first I was quite calm but the foreigner made me so nervous with some questions that I couldn't formulate my answers properly so that I think I was babbling by the mid of the interview. Lol. Not sure if good or bad because I was really babbling at the foreigner. The japanese men seem friendly but I thought Hiro looked bored and the foreigner had this deadpan look. Only moment of laughter was at the end when i described to Hiro why I wana visit Kunmamoto because I want to experience being on top of a live volcano and as a Geography teacher, it is strange that I teach all the earthquakes and volcanoes and not seen one before? Fatherly man laughed. Hiro just nodded while foreigner continued to scribble more. Oh well. Haha..

And then when I was ushered back to the waiting room, met an Indian guy who was waiting for his turn. During this brief moment of interaction, I discovered he was also a sec sch teacher we started laughing because his principal is the husband of my Vice principal. Singapore is really too small.

Anyway, I am just so glad this is over. Now is the long wait for results.

2009-04-26T13:31:00.001+09:00

Now that I am more or less confirmed that I am going to Japan, I better start updating this site!

Friday was a real crazy day where I rushed down to submit my reply slip and medical report.

One word of advice, the medical report takes 3 working days to be done, so do not be naive like me and assume that medical checkup can be done in one day. =x Can't describe how I felt when the nurse told me I can't collect the report when the deadline for submission was 3 days later. So I had to pay $25 extra for them to rush my tests' results. =x

Anyway, I really like the lady from the Japan embassy who's in charge of the JET programme. She's so helpful and nice. She was worried that I "forgot" about the deadline or maybe, I am the only person who didn't submit the forms early that she sent a reminder email to me on Friday morning to hand in the forms. Heh..

Felt so super relieved to be able to submit the forms to her personally and she checked through everything for me.

Now it's the long process of waiting for my placement results. Where will I be posted to stay for the 1 year in Japan?

While I wait in anticipation, I shall cut and paste all Tina's emails to me after she notified me about the interview...

On 13th Feb, one week after my interview, my present for V-day was..

Dear Ms Yip,

I am pleased to inform you that you have passed the preliminary selection
process for the 2009 JET Programme/ALT conducted by this embassy. You are now
on the shortlist for the final selection process to be conducted by the JET
authority in Tokyo.

Please note that not every applicant who has passed the preliminary selection
process will be offered the post. You will be informed of the final results in
the beginning of April.

Best regards,
Naoki Kuwayama
Second Secretary
Embassy of Japan

And on 3rd April...

Dear Ms Yip,

Congratulations, you have successfully passed the 2nd stage of the screening
process for the 2009 JET Programme and are now on the final short-list for ALT
candidates.

The attached letter and documents will be posted to you today.

Have a nice weekend.

Best regards,
Tina Chiang
Senior Assistant
Japan Information & Culture Centre
Embassy of Japan

2009-04-11T21:24:00.000+09:00

Sometimes it's amazing how time flies... the time spent doing up the application forms seem so long ago.. and I am getting really excited about going to Japan! I must start updating this site so that it will be a source of help for future JET applicants from sgp!

2009-01-23T18:09:00.000+09:00

Dear Ms Yip,

Thank you for your interest in the JET/ALT Programme.

I am pleased to inform you that you have been short listed for an interview
scheduled for Friday, 6 FEBRUARY 2009 at 2.30pm at the Embassy of Japan, 16
Nassim Road, Singapore 258390.

You are requested to bring along the attached Interview Voucher duly completed
and your Identity Card. You will not be interviewed if you do not have them
with you.

Please report to the embassy 10 MINUTES BEFORE your scheduled time of
interview.

I would appreciate it if you could confirm your attendance by replying to this
email (Attention: Tina) as soon as possible.

Thank you for your attention.

Regards,

Naoki Kuwayama

Second Secretary

Japan Information & Culture Centre

Embassy of Japan

2009-01-18T01:37:00.001+09:00

Interview results coming out this week!!!!

Will I get a interview?!!!!!!

2008-11-24T11:40:00.001+09:00

It is done!

2008-11-23T22:07:00.002+09:00

I am finally done with filling up my application form!

My statement of purpose

2008-11-22T19:45:00.001+09:00

Finally completed my statement of purpose and got it vetted by a journalist, an ex english teacher and an english HOD. =p

Anyway.. here it is...
Statement of Purpose

Being able to interact with youths is the key foundation from which my passion in teaching came about. Thus, I joined the teaching profession immediately after graduating from junior college and found great joy in imparting knowledge and touching the lives of the youths I worked with. However, being able to live independently overseas and break out of my comfort zone has always been another dream of mine. My interest in the JET programme came about in 2006 when I came across its website while searching the Internet for opportunities to teach overseas. It was also in the same year that I found that one of my friends had succeeded in joining the JET programme as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) and through her, my interest in the JET programme grew deeper as she shared with me her wonderful experiences in Japan.

Japan is a country which I have always wanted to visit. I first learnt about its rich cultural heritage through my Japanese Language studies in University and then through my friend’s husband who is a Japanese. As a student who majored in Geography, Japan also excites me with its extensive physical landscape, from the famous Mount Fuji to the great lakes. Also, coming from Southeast Asia, I believe I will be able to adapt easily when I move to Japan, given some similarities in Asian rootedness. However, I do recognize the need to adjust myself to Japanese culture and traditions when I am there and I look forward to overcoming these challenges. Thus, I strongly feel that living and working in Japan will fulfill the aims and goals that I seek.

Being an avid traveller, I have visited many countries and there were some memorable trips which brought me much joy. The first was a personal trip I made to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 2004, where I volunteered at an orphanage for 9 days. During this period, I found great fulfillment in teaching English to the young children there. Subsequently, I made it a point to do community service in my overseas trips whenever possible. Thus, in Sikkim, India, in 2006, I volunteered for a similar teaching stint. This was another memorable trip because it totally took me out of my comfort zone. Being underdeveloped, there were few facilities in the small village and besides dealing with the extreme cold of 5 degrees celsius, there were also communication difficulties - I had to interact with villagers who barely spoke English. However, this trip also taught me that if you put your mind and heart to it, anything is possible. At the end of it, I made good friends and came away from it with long-lasting memories of the wonderful times I spent there. After such an experience, I was much more patient with students who had difficulty catching up with their peers. The experience taught me that examinations and getting good grades aren't everything in life, and that it's more important to instill in students the joy of learning.

Besides my personal community service trips, I twice led my students on school trips to do community service in Kunming, China - once in November 2007 and the other in November this year, where I guided them to teach basic conversational English in a village school. These experiences had made me appreciate the simpler things in life, for instance, a simple word of encouragement can mean so much to others. All these had helped me grow as an individual, which no doubt, being an ALT in Japan will enrich me even more so.

My 4 years of experience in teaching English, Geography and Social Studies to students aged 13 to 17 from all walks of life will enable me to deal with the challenge of teaching different types of students in Japan. I have also attended courses such as the Kagan’s Cooperative Learning strategies which encourage the use of collaborative work and student centered teaching in the classroom which I look forward to putting to good use in Japan when I teach English. My non-academic responsibilities such as heading the National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC), running the Staff Welfare Committee as a Vice Chairperson and being a member of the Outdoor Education Committee in my school have given me much experience in the development of my leadership skills and effective communication with my peers, students and their parents. These skills are vital assets to being an ALT in the JET programme where I have to handle my young charges.

Being independent, adaptable and easy going will help me to settle in well in Japan. Always eager to learn and experience new things, I am looking forward to tackling the challenges head on although I know that there will be a learning curve for me in Japan due to the differences in culture and traditions.

By becoming a participant of the well established JET programme, I aim to be able to introduce my country, Singapore, to the people I meet and interact with in Japan. At the same time, I hope to brush up on my teaching pedagogies and through my interaction with students from a different cultural background, I hope to be to promote inter-cultural understanding in whatever small ways I can. Although these are small steps, they are still significant as I realise the world cannot change in one day, so little by little, I believe these efforts will bridge the gap between our cultures. Personally, I hope to become more resilient as I will be on my own and out of my usual comfort zone. Finally, when I come back, I hope to be a better teacher and continue to inspire and touch lives.

Hello!

2008-10-15T17:49:00.002+09:00

Hi my friends. Decide to dedicate a blog for my JET experience... will update IF i get the job! =)