Comments on: My Job in Japan (Oh no, This Isn’t H!p Related At All) http://www.intlwota.com/bikkuriproject/2008/07/11/my-job-in-japan-oh-no-this-isnt-hp-related-at-all/ Hanaseba BIKKURI suru jan Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:14:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: celestia http://www.intlwota.com/bikkuriproject/2008/07/11/my-job-in-japan-oh-no-this-isnt-hp-related-at-all/#comment-550 celestia Wed, 16 Jul 2008 06:15:57 +0000 http://www.intlwota.com/bikkuriproject/2008/07/11/my-job-in-japan-oh-no-this-isnt-hp-related-at-all/#comment-550 Hi Gidget! To answer your questions: I'm going through the KET program (Kawagoe Exchange Teaching) which is similar to JET but it's done through the local Kawagoe government instead of all of Japan. Unfortunately, they only take graduates of my college (Willamette University) in Salem, Oregon. Salem is Kawagoe's sister city, you see, and Willamette has a very strong foreign exchange program with a University in Kawagoe as well. As for finding housing, the apartments that we live in are on permanent lease by the city, and they get passed from one person in the program to the next. I didn't have to do anything for finding my apartment. I'll be able to walk or ride to work, which is nice, because I won't have to worry about catching a train every day. I'm really going to miss my kittys, but I don't want to put them through quarantine, so I'm leaving them at home. *cries* I do know a fair amount of Japanese to start with. I studied it in High School and college, though I don't think I could ever know enough. I don't really know what KET's preference is, but I do know that they asked about our Japanese experience on the application, and the other two people doing the program with me also have both studied Japanese previously. Okay. I'm off to bed. I've got an early flight tomorrow! Good luck with everything! Hi Gidget!

To answer your questions: I’m going through the KET program (Kawagoe Exchange Teaching) which is similar to JET but it’s done through the local Kawagoe government instead of all of Japan. Unfortunately, they only take graduates of my college (Willamette University) in Salem, Oregon. Salem is Kawagoe’s sister city, you see, and Willamette has a very strong foreign exchange program with a University in Kawagoe as well.

As for finding housing, the apartments that we live in are on permanent lease by the city, and they get passed from one person in the program to the next. I didn’t have to do anything for finding my apartment. I’ll be able to walk or ride to work, which is nice, because I won’t have to worry about catching a train every day. I’m really going to miss my kittys, but I don’t want to put them through quarantine, so I’m leaving them at home. *cries*

I do know a fair amount of Japanese to start with. I studied it in High School and college, though I don’t think I could ever know enough. I don’t really know what KET’s preference is, but I do know that they asked about our Japanese experience on the application, and the other two people doing the program with me also have both studied Japanese previously.

Okay. I’m off to bed. I’ve got an early flight tomorrow! Good luck with everything!

]]> By: Gidget http://www.intlwota.com/bikkuriproject/2008/07/11/my-job-in-japan-oh-no-this-isnt-hp-related-at-all/#comment-547 Gidget Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:32:25 +0000 http://www.intlwota.com/bikkuriproject/2008/07/11/my-job-in-japan-oh-no-this-isnt-hp-related-at-all/#comment-547 AH! What program are you going through? My dream job is to work with kids around primary/jr high level. The schools there are amazing. The kids are trained from the time they start school, so there are so few problems. The teachers and I that I went with were amazed at the procedures that everyone in the school knew. LOL Besides that, the kids running down the hall and doing things ours weren't allowed to do is no big deal there. But things our kids are allowed to do is a huge nono. Odd. You'll love the kids, especially the primary kids. Do you know what area you're located in?? The schools we saw were in Osaki in the Miyagi Prefecture. The day care and kindergarten kids were amazing too. Anyways, I'm interested in what program you went with. I've been worried about finding housing, and it being close to where I needed to work since I started thinking about doing this myself. I'd like to be able to walk or ride my bike to work each day. Or take the subway/train and then walk or ride the rest of the way. And if my cats can come with me. I left them for a month for the JFMF trip, and don't think I can leave them for any longer than that. Though I have been looking into the rules about that. Anyways, ganbatte! (And do you know any Japanese to start out with? I know some places don't want their English teachers knowing any since it makes the students work harder. What did you hear on that?) AH! What program are you going through? My dream job is to work with kids around primary/jr high level. The schools there are amazing. The kids are trained from the time they start school, so there are so few problems. The teachers and I that I went with were amazed at the procedures that everyone in the school knew. LOL Besides that, the kids running down the hall and doing things ours weren’t allowed to do is no big deal there. But things our kids are allowed to do is a huge nono. Odd. You’ll love the kids, especially the primary kids. Do you know what area you’re located in?? The schools we saw were in Osaki in the Miyagi Prefecture. The day care and kindergarten kids were amazing too.

Anyways, I’m interested in what program you went with. I’ve been worried about finding housing, and it being close to where I needed to work since I started thinking about doing this myself. I’d like to be able to walk or ride my bike to work each day. Or take the subway/train and then walk or ride the rest of the way. And if my cats can come with me. I left them for a month for the JFMF trip, and don’t think I can leave them for any longer than that. Though I have been looking into the rules about that.

Anyways, ganbatte! (And do you know any Japanese to start out with? I know some places don’t want their English teachers knowing any since it makes the students work harder. What did you hear on that?)

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