Countdown Begins

So there was a comment on one of the JET facebook groups saying that group B departure is in exactly 100 days last week, and now there are 97 days en-counting!

I'm starting to get a little nervous about the mundane things to do with going to Japan for a year like packing, clothing, haircuts and all that stuff but as I get nervous, I feel the excitement bubbling up too. I don't know what it's going to be like, or what school I'm going to be placed in, or even what part of Japan I'm going to end up in! It could be absolutely anywhere! It's almost like a surprise present - you don't know what's enclosed, but you really want to find out. I think I'll start to relax a little more when I find out where I'm going and I can start investigating where I'll be living; I don't even know what age group I'll be teaching, or what behaviour management will end up being like. One thing I know for certain is that it has to be better than the school I'm currently in! Teaching in a North London School has its perks, but one of the big drawbacks is that behaviour is absolutely terrible.

I'm also really worried about my diet and eating healthily - I cut out a lot of things to stay healthy during summer 2012, and although I don't really NEED to cut out most of those things, it certainly makes me feel a lot healthier when I stick by what I've been eating. I really hope that I'll manage to sort that out in Japan - I love trying new foods and I'm definitely not going to turn something down if it's offered but at the same time I really want to keep as healthy as I can. I'm hoping (from what I've read) that the Japanese diet will keep all of these concerns at bay. I've recently bought a really lovely book called Sushi Slim:

It's written by the daughter of a lady who ran a sushi course I attended, Makiko-san, and it's a beautiful rendering of how to make all sorts of sushi and bento boxes with traditional recipes. I'm going to try out as many as I can before I head out and hope to adapt recipes and try all sorts of new things whilst I"m out there. 

I know I've been fairly rambly so apologies for that. Even though I am worried about various bits and bobs, from the mundane to the logistics, I really can't wait. 97 days seems too much time and too little! Roll on August :D  

JET Letter to JETsetter

The week starting the school Easter holidays was pretty stressful.

I applied for the JET cycle in November with a vague hope/prayer that a programme I had dreamed about for years would grant me a chance; I had read the statistics, I knew just how competitive the programme was. I knew it was really unlikely that me, a scientist by trade, would be considered for a teaching position in Japan, but I thought that maybe if my application was the best to could possibly be, maybe the Embassy of Japan might give me a chance. Maybe I could even get to interview.

The application deadline came and went and after a month or so of waiting, just when I had lost hope, I received a letter inviting me to an interview. On the 25th January I attended - it was an intimidating, formal proceeding unlike anything I had ever experienced before, with all electronics removed and strict rules about communication with other candidates. I came out in a daze. But once the interview was over, then came the real task - the 3 month or so wait for a response! The first two and a half months passed in relatively calmly - there was a long time to wait so there was no point agonising over it, but the closer it came the more nervous I got. By the first week of April I was an absolute wreck. I would check the postbox three or four times a day until it came, charging to the door like a dog and wrenching it open, only to be disappointed that the fateful letter hadn't arrived. Then, the day after results were posted out, an ambiguous email sent me into a half hopeful, half despairing tail-spin.

The day after the email i knew subconsciously that it was time. That Friday was the day I would discover my final result: it was cold but bright outside and I spent the morning pacing in my front room, and checking the post ever hour. At around 12pm I caught a glimpse of the postman looping away from my house to the neighbours. I flew down the stairs and tore open the door to find a single brown envelope addressed to me sitting in my mailbox. Hands trembling, I ripped it open and scanned the first line for those important few words.

~Final shortlist.~

It felt like a dream come true, and it's where my adventure to Japan, a country I've loved as long as I can remember, began. The next week or so was a flurry of paperwork, I was determined to get it done as soon as possible. Finally today, April 15th I sent the final set all of the paperwork to the Embassy. Every few minutes I find myself remembering and grinning;

I'm going to Japan!