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
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Finally a new post! (photos to be added later)
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!
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!
Friday, July 24, 2009
H1N1
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!!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Some introduction...
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? =)
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? =)
Monday, July 13, 2009
=)
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. =)
Saturday, July 11, 2009
I am a lucky gal!
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! =)
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! =)
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Finally got the first contact from my prefecture's board of education!
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!
"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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)