Having been a Southerner most my life, in Texas and Japan, it was a bit of a transition coming up here and settling in Maine with my dear. I like to talk about it as if I’m in Game of Thrones, hehehe: I was whisked away from the warm southern coast to the north and the land of winter and… winter was coming!!
And come it did. Here’s a quick rundown of my snow experience so far: it snowed every once in a while in Texas growing up, pretty lightly for the most part. Then my college years witnessed one “Snowpocalypse,” which shut down the entire area for about a week – absolutely no infrastructure to deal with that. My Canadian professor was laughing hard at our weaknesssss…
More recently, it snowed once pretty heavily in Japan – about 6 inches – even in Amakusa where I was placed.
And then there was Maine! It was a completely different ballgame. The snow season cranked up in December and lasted until the first week of April this year, which was a real surprise to me. I think the peak occurred February 13th (don’t quote me) but here are some pictures that represented those conditions:
A quaint Maine scene
That’s the most snow I’ve seen in my life!!
Believe it or not, it IS more difficult to walk in deep snow…
Hi all! This is a post I’ve been planning for some time, and now seems like a good time to share because I know that this year’s deadline is approaching for 2017 JET Program applicants — it’s November 18, 2016. Don’t let it sneak up on ya! Hehe. For a while I’ve been promising to give some insight into what became my first-time JET application success three years ago (2013). I’ve decided to start with the Statement of Purpose.
This is one of the most important elements of the written/digital application — as I’m sure you’re aware. It’s critical to your success because through your writing, you can draw a picture of who you are as an applicant with the potential to highlight your strengths and perhaps explain your weaknesses. I don’t know why, but it seems every round there are some who don’t give the statement the attention that it needs, but I strongly recommend taking your time to read and re-read it as much as you can before actually submitting. I definitely did.
Another key element to success: answer all of the questions put forth in the prompt and follow every given instruction exactly. You may ask why that is. Well, the personal statement doesn’t just show that you can write, but also that you are capable of coherent thought and can connect ideas. Most importantly of all, it shows that you can follow simple formatting instructions.
So for my application in 2013, and I’m sure it hasn’t changed too much since then, the instructions read as follows:
Statement of Purpose (1 original and 2 copies): This is an essay, in English, of not more than two 8 1/2″ x 11″ (or A4) pages, typewritten in black 12 point font and double-spaced with one-inch margins. Anything beyond the required two pages will be discarded unread. Please type your name and page number (1 of 2, 2 of 2) on each page.
You should incorporate all of the following points in your essay:
Relevant experience: Describe applicable experiences, professional skills, relevant interests, and personal qualities, and how you feel these will be useful to you as an ALT or CIR.
Motivation for Participation: State why you wish to go to Japan and participate in the JET Program and why you are interested in the position for which you are applying. Also address what you hope to gain, both personally and professionally, and what effect you hope to have on the Japanese community and internationally as a result of your participation in the JET Program.
That seems easy enough, right? Get into word, and before you even start writing set the basic format to be what is requesting in the prompt. That means your margins, your font, your paper size, and set your headers exactly as requested.
Then start writing. The key to great writing is to not only say what you want to say, but to do so in a logical way so that your writing evolves over the course of your very limited two page guideline. A lot of us have a fair amount to say about Japan and our relation to it, so before you know it, you’ll be over two pages and will have to cut down! When it comes time to do so, do it thoughtfully.
In my next post, I hope to share with you a few excerpts from my own statement. Please feel free to ask questions in the comments below. Best of luck in the meantime!
So, I’ve been back from Japan for just over a month now. My last month in Japan was a whirlwind of emotions, thank-you meetings, packing, and preparation for the move back that resulted in my brief hiatus. But I’m back (in both senses) and I think I’m finally getting back into the hang of life in my native country. It sounds weird doesn’t it? One would think that having originated from the US, there would be no major readjustment necessary upon returning. For a while I thought that too, but it is different, and there is readjustment. For those of you out there who have gone through similar things, you can relate I think. For what it’s worth, here are a few of my post-Japan reflections I’d like to share, amusing Japan pics alongside.
Random Transplant
I don’t want to say I’ve been experiencing massive culture shock, because I don’t think I have. It’s just some little things that I notice on certain days that make me realize not only cultural difference, but what I’ll call “me” difference. One of the main “me” differences I’ve encountered so far, is that as I’ve talked to people since coming back, strangers who I don’t know, there is a potential for a personal conversation at any given time. In Japan I think no one assumed common ground between themselves and myself, so not often was such conversation possible — it had already been ruled out. Being readily identifiable as a foreigner in Japan, a personal conversation, a conversation where you find out more about a person other than perhaps their favorite color or sport, was rare. It did happen from time to time, but as I say, it was rare. I disliked that intensely for a really long time. God forbid you actually find out something about me! I would often think to myself. But here’s the thing. Now that I’m back, people often do the opposite: they suddenly start a conversation with me, not just at random, but enough to ask a personal question. Where are you headed to? Or a random statement about something that occurred in the vicinity: That was odd… There’s a closeness in the way of speaking, rather than caution or distance, that is taking me some time to readjust to. Neither is better or worse than the other, which is important, but in both situations that awkwardness of difference played into it and made me aware of my complete one-eighty over time.
Something is wrong here.
“Me” differences aside though, I have definitely encountered some cultural differences as well. You might say “You’re from the US — it is your culture, regardless of time spent away,” but I think this is an erroneous assumption. When one lives in another country and encounters a different set of values, you don’t necessarily adopt the other culture or its values, but the encounters serve as opportunities from which one observes cultural difference. These encounters grant awareness of difference. Awareness of difference is what defines “culture”, which is in fact a very subjective and fluid thing. I was born in the US. But it doesn’t define me eternally or unendingly — my everyday actions and interests do that. That I’ve grown up in the US does play a part in my identity and my culture, but there is not a single factor that can define something as complicated as those things.
That’s what I’m getting at. Despite my identifiable American-ness, I find myself observing cultural differences and finding understanding in where American stereotypes come from. I was on a plane recently and encountered some things that I thought were obvious no-no’s in public. Apparently not! Haha.
D Bag
Anyway, sitting in my seat, a women wanders along who needs to use the restroom but it’s occupied. So her natural assumption is to lean her rear against my chair for upwards of five minutes. Only after some very obvious flopping about in my seat does she realize that this may not be acceptable for someone sitting in my position. The truly dumbfounding part: despite the fact that most people experience discomfort in these situations, there is still a rampant tendency to ignore the fact that others around you are also struggling in that situation. Another example: a man down the row from me thought it was appropriate to play some of the provided on-board content on his smart phone — WITHOUT HEADPHONES. Again, what makes a person think that this is acceptable, especially in close quarters? What makes someone think, I think everyone in my immediate vicinity wouldn’t mind hearing any or all of the things that I enjoy. His seat partner also did not find it appropriate to ask him to use headphones. As I stated earlier, lots of people are not content with the airplane situation. We all get it. But then again, we don’t. If these people had just exhibited a little knowledge of difference in a public space, a little awareness, it would have been an easier plane ride for me I know, but to expand on that, I think it would be a lot easier for people to go on alongside each other without feeling so wrought against each other. At least, I hope that’s true.
So, it’s been an interesting experience so far. I’m trying to understand some of the juxtaposition that was so obvious to me when I was in another country, but that I’m still encountering similarly on my home turf after returning. What is this tendency toward understanding alongside ignorance? I’ve seen it in both cultures and, as humans, I think we’re doing ourselves wrong. It’s an interesting dynamic to observe and be a part of. From these observations, I want to inject a bit more awareness into my life. That’s my post-Japan reflection for today.
laceywrites 