Friends and Family FAQ

Here are a list of questions you may have about my upcoming employment on JET and their answers:

Q1. What is JET? Why are you going to Japan?

• A1. JET stands for Japan Exchange and Teaching, and is a program run by the Japanese government to hire native English speakers to be Assistant Language Teachers in Japanese elementary, middle, and high schools. (For candidates fluent in Japanese, a different position, Coordinator for International Affairs, may be offered.)  

Q2. Where in Japan are you going?

• Edited 6/28: I'll be going to Kagoshima prefecture! It's located on the southern-most tip of Japan. Where in the prefecture, you ask? On Amami Oshima island, about 200 miles south of the coast of the prefecture mainland. I will live and work on the southern end of the island in a town called Setouchi. See this blog post for more: Island Life, here I come!

Q3. When are you leaving?

• A3. The flight to Japan leaves July 23rd. [Added 5/20: We will arrive in Tokyo on the 24th (due to the time difference) where we will attend the JET Orientation for on the 25th and 26th. On the 27th, I will fly out to Kagoshima.]

Q4. How long are you staying in Japan?

• A4. JET employment contracts are one year long, and may be renewed if both the JET and their school agree to it. I will be in Japan for at least one year (July 2016-July 2017)

Q5. Can I visit you in Japan?

• A5. Yes! I will be in a small apartment in the middle of town, so you will probably need to book the local hotel (super cheap, don't worry). Also, in order for me to spend time with you when you visit, I may need to ask for vacation days, so please tell me as soon as possible if and when you plan to visit.

Q6. Can you speak Japanese?

• A6. I can currently speak a little -- my working vocabulary is about 50 words. Thanks to some friends of mine who lent me their old Japanese textbooks, I hope to teach myself enough Japanese by July to survive in Japan. 

Q7. Are you going to bring your cello with you?

• A7. No. Japan's weather is a lot different from the nice weather in SoCal, and 1) I don't want to subject my instrument to those conditions, and 2) transporting my cello is logistically very difficult. I will likely rent a cello while in Japan, and recruit a cellist friend to babysit my instrument here at home, play on it every once in a while, and keep it in good working order so it's ready when I return.