(upbeat music)
- Good morning, everyone.
My name is Jenny and I am doing today's ITA takeover.
I am currently teaching in Japan
and I am going through the JET program.
So if you have anything regarding JET program
or just any teaching or Japan questions, please let me know.
Just to give you an idea, I am from Los Angeles,
and I did the ITA online course back in 2019 spring.
And I actually came to Japan end of June this year.
So I have to go get ready for work,
so I'm gonna put a question box,
feel free to put in anything for now,
and I'll get to your questions later.
So I'm walking to work now.
And for those of you who don't know the JET program,
the JET program is short
for Japanese Exchange Teaching program.
So it's actually a government-funded program
that hires ALTs or Assistant Language Teachers
to help teach at public school.
So I actually applied to the JET program back in 2019,
and I was supposed to depart in 2020, September.
However, due to COVID our departure
was ultimately postponed to June.
And something to keep in mind about the JET program is
when you are applying, you are allowed
to put down your preferences as to where you would like
to be put, as well as the grade level
that you want to teach.
However, it is not guaranteed,
and most people don't actually get what they want.
So there is a risk of ending up completely different
from where you wanted to go.
So for me, I didn't actually put down any preferences.
I left it up to the universe and I am loving my placement.
So if I haven't said so already, I am placed
in Kashihara city, Nara prefecture.
So I am a prefectural JET, and that means I teach
at the high school level.
So let me show you my walk really quick.
These are rice fields that have been cut down,
so in the summer it is actually really beautiful.
And it actually got really chilly this past.
So I think I'm gonna get this question a lot.
A lot of you are going to ask me, you know,
what is it like to be on the JET program?
And I want it to just let you guys know
that my experience is honestly one out
of thousands of experiences.
A common phrase that we say in the JET program is
"Every situation is different."
So that means that literally,
depending on where you are placed,
your situation will be different from someone else's.
For example, I don't drive, and I'm actually not allowed
to drive affiliated with work.
A lot of people are required to drive.
Some people get subsidized housing,
some people don't, and some people teach
at 10 different schools while I teach at two high schools,
so it's something to keep in mind.
Okay, so due to privacy reasons, I won't be able
to film any students.
However, I will continue to answer any questions
you may have and tell you more about my teaching experience.
Okay, so I am actually not teaching any classes today,
or actually this week, or next week,
because a lot of the students have midterms coming up.
And when that happens, usually I just come to work,
and sit at my desk, and kind of lesson plan or do anything
that keeps me busy.
So this is not a typical Japanese classroom,
usually they have single seats.
But for English classes, we can often borrow this classroom
to do group activities.
What's really cool, actually, is there are books in English.
And I think it's like the whole set of One Piece,
maybe not the whole set, but a majority of it in English.
So students can actually read manga in English
to practice their.
So when I first got to Japan,
it was actually right before their finals
and right into their summer vacation.
So I didn't actually start teaching until about a month ago.
And like I've mentioned in a story
that I am actually the teacher number one in classrooms,
I am expected to execute the lesson plan; and at my base
or main school, I'm expected to plan the lesson plan.
So that means that whatever I learned
at ITA actually is super helpful because I know how
to format things, what kind of activities,
so on and so forth.
So the COVID situation has definitely improved
in the past couple of weeks.
More and more people are getting vaccinated
and the cases are going down.
Early this month, the state of emergency also ended.
However, we don't really know
if that means Japan will open up its borders,
and let more people as well as tourists in.
So we just kind of have to wait and see about that.
The answer to this question is kind of yes and no.
So let me get into that really quick.
Prior to applying to JET, I didn't really have
a full-on classroom teaching experience.
So it is a bit different.
I was a tutor or a conversation partner
at my university campus for international students.
And I also did a study abroad program that is mixed
with an English teaching program.
So I taught about four students per class
at a Korean university abroad.
Hey guys, so before I sign off of today's takeover,
I am gonna give you a quick tour of my apartment.
So when you walk in from the front door,
there's a genkan area where you have a little place
for your shoes.
I don't actually have that many pairs of shoes.
And then you walk up, this is where you get your slippers.
So this is the first room.
It is actually just a storage place area for me.
And then when you continue to the left,
here is the bathroom.
And so in Japan, the toilet is separate from the bathroom.
You walk in.
I have a washer and dryer.
This is the bathroom, the shower and bath area.
Now, coming back from the bathroom area, you walk in.
To the right I have a tatami room as well.
There's nothing in there really.
And here, excuse the mess, but I have a lot
of postcards that I put up here.
And then also the living space area, a sofabed,
so for whoever visits me in the future.
That's actually a
(Jenny speaking foreign language)
so in the winter I can put a futon over it,
and it will keep me warm.
Over here I have a family size fridge,
which is really rare, but I got it for free from my school.
Some more trash can stuff.
Again, excuse the mess, I haven't done my dishes yet.
But I do actually cook a lot and I love my kitchen set-up.
It's really spacious.
And if you walk over here, there's a money plant,
and this is my bedroom.
So I have some plants in the corner here,
some postcards, and cards that people have sent me.
Some art work.
The curtains, AC, hanger area,
and then closet.
So there's a lot of closet space,
which is really, really nice.
I kinda wanna talk about my living situation.
I do live in a 3LDK,
meaning that there are three separate rooms,
and a living space and kitchen.
So this is really rare.
I got really lucky with my apartment search.
There was some complications in the beginning,
but ultimately it worked out,
and I eventually loved my place.
I had to furnish the whole place myself from lights
to even curtains.
So again, everyone's situation is a little bit different
depending on where you're at.
So before I sign off, I do want
to answer a few more questions.
The JET program is relatively competitive,
but if you are fairly open and flexible
with where you wanna teach and what grade level,
I would recommend it as their salary
and benefits are considered
to be a little bit above average.
So it's definitely possible, but you would just have
to show that you are proficient or close
to native speaker level in English.
And if the company is okay with it,
then you can definitely teach in Japan.
So this will be my last question.
And I will go into the favorites first,
and then the least favorite aspect of teaching
and living in Japan.
So the best things about living in Japan,
I would say definitely the food, and then a close second,
or even comparable to food is the nature.
There's a lot of rice fields around me,
and just watching the seasons change is super beautiful.
And in the sense of teaching, I am really lucky
to have the freedom to do whatever lesson I want
as long as there's activities for students to interact
with one another.
Something I kind of dislike about teaching here is
that the students can get a little bit shy and afraid
of making mistakes.
So a lot of times I'm faced with awkward silences
and just talking to myself,
but it's something I'm working on and definitely hoping
that they will eventually feel more comfortable with me.
Before I sign off, I just wanted to say,
it's only been four months since I've been in Japan,
so I definitely have so much more to experience
and to share.
So if you would like, please follow me on my Instagram.
And this weekend, I am actually going to visit a fellow ALT
of mine who is living in Gifu prefecture,
specifically Takayama area.
So if you would like to join me,
I'll be posting some stuff about that.
(upbeat music)