Category: Japan

Goodbye Days

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The last week or two has found me saying goodbye to quite a few people I’ve met in DFW in the past 5+ years I’ve been here. It’s sad if I think about it too much (in some cases I’ve thought about it A LOT), but I’m really looking forward to spending time with my parents and the cats.

I’ve been having quite a lot of fun engaging in celebratory drinking with everyone up to this point. Last Friday I went out for drinks with a few coworkers on my last day and it was a bit bittersweet as I hadn’t been there for very long and hadn’t gotten to know certain people as well as I might have otherwise. The same goes for my Japanese-English Exchange Meetup, all of whom I met Saturday for the group, ultra southern food (Babe’s FTW), and then ye ol’ drinking party! It was a lot of fun and soo many people came and enjoyed themselves, which made me very happy. And then there was sleepy karaoke for an hour or so (for me at least) but it was still fun. Anywho, my meetup acquaintances all signed a card wishing me well with my Japanese life. It was very cute and a lot of nice things were said. :) I’m going to miss everyone a lot!

goodbye card

私のJETタイムライン：My JET Timeline

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Hey all, hope it’s going well!

It has occurred to me to post a tidy timeline for prospective JET applicants applying this year, just to get an idea of what they’ll be going through as the process unfolds. Unlike some timelines I’ve seen, I wanted to include quite a few of the major paperwork timelines for those who make it to the shortlist, so that they might be able to get an idea of the timeline for sending off documents,  mainly because I wasn’t given as much direction in that area (aside from “follow the instructions”).

Initial Stages
水　11.07.2012 4:56PM Submitted online application
火　11.13.2012 Sent off paper applications copies
木　11.15.2012 Paper application copies with supplemental materials received at Embassy
火　01.29.2013 4:01PM 1st stage results: Interview Granted
水　02.20.2013 2:00PM Interview at Houston Consulate {Interviews Conducted on 20, 21, 22}
水　04.03.2013 5:32PM 2nd stage results: Shortlisted

Post-shortlist Requirements & Events
木　04.04.2013 Got fingerprints taken at college police station
金　04.05.2013 Sent off FBI & IRS Requests
水　04.08.2013 FBI & IRS Requests arrived at destinations
木　04.09.2013 IRS ran payment
水・金　04.08/10.2013 Got Medical Certificate of Health completed
金　04.10.2013 Reply Form and Paperwork Delivered to Consulate
金　04.19.2013 Health Certificate arrived at Consulate
木　05.09.2013 FBI Record Request payment processed
木　05.16.2013 FBI Background Check arrived at Consulate
月　05.20.2013 Received my form 6166 certificates via mail
火　05.21.2013 5:10PM Received Placement Info: 天草市、熊本県 Amakusa, Kumamoto
金    06.21.2013 Predecessor Contact
土　06.29.2013 General Q&A Session
金　07.26.2013 Pre-Departure Orientation
土　07.27.2013 Leave for Japan
日　07.28.2013 Arrive in Japan
月・火・水　07.29-31.2013 Tokyo Orientation
水　07.31.2013　Arrive in Kumamoto, then Amakusa

As is always the case, comment if you have any questions when this year’s application process rolls around! :) I know I ended up browsing a lot of blogs for unofficial details even though I knew it was just each person’s individual experience. But even without the details what it helped me do was get in a state of mind to compete and fight for a position! And though unofficial it was still incredibly helpful information, so I want to pay that forward.  And as far as posts go, I want to address my app and interview experiences as well, so look out for more information on my own application experience in the near future!

The Yen: Where It’s At?

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Just a quickie post today. What’s it about? You guessed it! (And the title probably gave it away..)

1000yen-soseki-vector

I don’t want to jump the gun here but yesterday and today are the first few days in a long while that the yen has been exchanging at below 100 to a dollar. (Ah, recalling the fine times 5-7 years ago when the yen pwned the dollar.)

Now I know that this is purportedly an indication of Abenomics financial stimulus plan, but there’s several factors going into it and no one thinks it’s going to last. Loads of people are interpreting it badly but finance seems (to me) to be a fickle mistress. I only know the way I hope it goes, which is the beneficial one… ^__^

To that point, I find a lot of people on the forums rooting for the strength of the American dollar to the yen so I feel like I must be opposite by cheering on the strength of the yen; from the way that it sounds, you’ll have more $$ going home if the yen remains strong against the dollar, whereas hoping for a great exchange rate on the way over seems to be a one-time, one-off occasion. I mean… how much of an impact is twenty bucks ultimately going to make when you arrive in Japan?

So, in brief summary, I want to err on the edge of caution, but hopefully the yen will reach a steady, strong point throughout summer because it’s really too early, for me at least, to be exchanging savings of any kind.

I will keep an optimistic mind as I continue to hope for a steady, non-chaotic Japanese economic situation. :)

The Future’s in Motion

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57 days to go and I’ll be in Japan. That’s just under two months!

I still can’t believe it. But the things I’ve done in the past week have sure put things in motion.

Last Friday I signed an early lease termination at my apartment complex, paid the fee, and agreed to get out in 30 days. Then today I handed in my notice at work so I’ll be working for a couple of weeks more, then I’ll be moving from Dallas to my parents so that I can spend some quality time with them and the cats before I leave.

It’ll be really good preparation because they live on an island of sorts as well. Perfect weather and locale prep!

Before that though comes the last minute get-together’s with friends. I’ve already got some people penciled in on the ol’ agenda but I really need to get on that!

Next is changing a bunch of mailing addresses too. And Yakkan Shoumei. And International Driving Permit….

Just thinking about it is making me crazy so I think I’m going to go work on that right now!

 

Placement Received!

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So I received my placement yesterday afternoon! HOORAY!! Drumroll please!

Amakusa-shi, Kumamoto-ken (天草市、熊本県)　！！

I am so excited to be returning to Kyuushu. I was previously placed in Kyuushu in 2006 for an intensive language homestay over the summer. Because I know you’ll ask, it wasn’t one of my preferences, but honestly, I only filled those out because previous JETs seem to recommend it.

That aside, I’ve experienced some great feedback from Kumamoto area JETs and a few Amakusa JETs currently working in the area. It has only made me more excited to be embarking to this island in the inaka!  Also got a little info from a contact: Group A arrivals to the area are going to fly from Haneda to Kumamoto on the 31st after orientation. So I’ll get to spend a little more time in the air! ;)

I am a little phased by the idea of getting a car (and Japanese Driving License) but hopefully my predecessor will have one to hand down to me via transfer. Either way I’m determined!

Now to begin buying Texas souvenirs for my new acquaintances, coworkers, and Texas-themed rewards for the students!!  This part actually makes me glad that Texas is such a well-recognized (and stereotyped) state, lololol!

It’s getting pretty exciting ^___^ Now the items on the waiting list are to hear from my CO (contracting organization) and pred (predecessor). Whee!! Now I’m weirdly excited for acronyms & highly anticipated emails!