JapanNewbie

JET ALT/CIR Interview – Part 3

Posted on 24. Sep, 2007 @ 10:50 pm by harvey in Culture, Society, Working Views: 1,062

We’ll continue the interview with Sugu, the JET teacher in Hamamatsu now. If you missed it, be sure to check out part 1 and part 2! In this interview Sugu comments on the JET selection process, as well as what causes some JET’s to stay… Forever… and what causes others to leave after the first year.

Q: Now that you have seen many other JETs come and go, have you noticed any similar characteristics in those who opt to stay longer than the initial one year contract, and those who, like your self, chose to extend?

One year is definitely too short on the JET Programme. ALTs tend to spend the first 6 months of that year just trying to stay afloat and by the time they start to get in the groove, they have to leave. However, some ALTs leave their home for an expressed one year sabbatical (Canadian teachers, specifically) and have a reason to stay in Japan for only one year.

After 2 years, ALTs that are ready to leave are usually the ones who are looking at grad school and want to do something completely different that may never put them in a classroom again. These are generally the people that don’t really care about teaching, they just wanted to try something different.

People that stay for 3 years are generally the type of people who are either looking at JET like a real job or using it as an excuse to stay making good money and do nothing. But these are broad sweeping generalizations. I’ve seen too many different types of ALTs to name them all.

Q: So which 3 year clan do you claim? Real job? Or money making do nothing excuse?

I fit into another category all together. I want to leave and go back to the States (I’ve only been back once in 3 years and that was not the best experience), but I can’t. I treat my position as a real job and thus work very hard at it. After all, my job is to manage other people’s lives and I certainly don’t want to see them crash here. But before that, when I was an ALT(Assistant Language Teacher, mind you, although it is just a title, I was not the Assistant), I thought of it as a real job. Not permanent, but definitely something worthwhile doing. As it is now, most of the gears in my life are aligned to keep me here, despite an inner pressure to return home and start my “real” life.

Q: Are there any people who ever jump ship and return to their home country before the program is over? What are some of the reasons they chose to leave?

Sadly, there are ALTs who break their contract and leave early for a variety of reasons. I don’t like to talk too much about them because some of them are very tragic stories. But some reasons I’ve heard is that the stress of living in Japan can suddenly become very strong. I’ve noticed two large time periods were people experience the worst of it. November/December and May.

Q: Could you elaborate just a bit on the Nov/Dec thing? Like, what is this the half-year point or what? Or is it the weather?

Well, in my experience, November and December are really tough for Westerners, specifically Americans, because of the holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sometimes it can be really disheartening to look around and realize that one is all alone. I suppose it doesn’t help that many ALTs actually teach those holidays in their own class so they have to really realize that the safety net of the family is gone. That sense of isolation and aloneness does hit people in many different ways. I’ve found that most people don’t miss the big things from home unless they’ve been here a while.

For example, I love driving and I love my car back in America. But when I came to Japan, I knew that I wouldn’t drive at all and also that I wouldn’t see my car and I mentally prepared myself for that, so it wasn’t a large problem. But things hit really hard when ALTs call home and they’re reminded of all the little things that they hadn’t prepared on missing. Their family is together. The smell of the kitchen as Mom serves her family’s apple pie that’s been the family recipe for generations, ever since the Angles met the Saxons. Sparky the dog just swallowed the entire turkey. The family or friends are having a great time, even moving on,despite that the ALT isn’t there. Pictures from back home are being sent to each ALT and it’s just a harsh reminder that the ALT is out here, not even able to celebrate properly. There aren’t many turkeys or cranberries in Japan. And McDonald’s apple pie is a very pale substitute.

After those depressing months, the JET participants have to decide if they will re-contract or not by February. Many ALTs think their situation will stay the exact same, and so make that decision based on how they feel after a few short months of teaching. But in April, the education system does what I call “The Great Shuffle” in which teachers throughout the schools are shifted around all over the city, creating a totally different experience for ALTs. It can get really bad (awesome teachers leave for different schools and bad teachers can come in) or it can get really good (new awesome teachers totally befriend and take care of the ALT, there’s more acceptance of English).

May is around the time that it sinks in what the next term (maybe even year) will be like. I have dealt with ALTs deciding to go home, and then in April, their school becomes really great and manageable. The ALT then wants to stay, but can’t, because the paperwork has already been sent to CLAIR. I’ve also dealt with the opposite situation, where the school was great in February, and the ALT re-contracted. But then in April, things get worse. Of course, these are extreme examples. Most of the time, it’s something in between.

Q: What advice would you give to people who are considering the JET application, but haven’t quite made up their mind yet?

Apply and be professional! It’s a fun job, but it’s a job nonetheless. Even though the Japanese are big on drinking, they are not big on drinking in the total college-student irresponsible fashion. Remember that the drunk driving blood alcohol level is 0.0. Absolutely no alcohol in the bloodstream. The stories that people do hear are extreme few-and-far-between type stories.

Be fun and open-minded on your application. Write your essay from a standpoint of awe and wonder at the world, not from a standpoint of arrogance and know-it-all. Be honest. I knew nothing about Japan or teaching and I still got in, so don’t think you need to sell your knowledge of either. If you have any doubts about the program itself, just apply anyway.

Q: Any regrets in the decision to join JET and come to Japan?

No. I love being here, but sometimes I do want to go back and get on with my life. On the flip side, I don’t know what I would do back home and plus I’m having a great experience here.

Q: Three years is a long time. Any plans to go home?

Not yet, unfortunately. I do want to go back, but there are still too many things I want to see and do in Japan. After that, who knows? I may be stuck in Japan for the rest of my life, or I may get to live all over the world. The family isn’t too happy about those possibilities, but everyone has to make their own choices sometime in their life.

Thanks for your time Sugu!

Official JET homepage

GuruSugu.com – Sugu’s website