Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where did you grow up? What did you study in school?

I was born and raised in Sioux Lookout, a small town in Northwestern Ontario. I earned degrees in translation and journalism and worked as a translator in the federal government’s Translation Bureau and then as a reporter for the Ottawa Citizen before joining JET.

How did you become interested in Japan ? What prompted you to apply to the JET Programme?

I’ve always enjoyed studying foreign languages, and I started studying Japanese because it seemed so different from the European languages I was familiar with. Then I met an employee of the Japanese Embassy at a Christmas party in Ottawa in 1988. He urged me to apply for JET as a way to learn more about the Japanese language and culture.

What were your impressions of the application process?

I thought the process was professional and fair. I was asked only one question I thought odd: a Japanese woman on the selection panel asked me if I would shave off my beard if I were chosen to be a JET. I said that I might if I absolutely had to. No one mentioned it again, and I remained hirsute.

What were your thoughts/impressions about this new role prior to departure?

I left in July 1989, when no JETs had come back from Japan yet, so there was no one to tell us what it was like. I really had no idea what to expect.

What were your first impressions of Japan?

My very first glimpse of Japan, coming down through the clouds east of Narita, was of Japanese cedar trees and their swirly, helical branch arrangement. I thought they looked like big green soft ice cream cones.

Then we were whisked to Shinjuku, and I felt like I had stepped into the movie Blade Runner. It rained constantly, there were neon lights everywhere, the food was strange, and I couldn’t understand a thing anyone said.

Tell us briefly what your work situation was like. What about your living arrangements? What is the best part of the area of Japan in which you were located?

I taught at about two dozen different schools scattered across Saga Prefecture during my two years there. Fortunately, Saga isn’t very big, so I could get to most of my schools by bicycle when I felt ambitious. The buses and trails also ran like clockwork, except the two times a dusting of snow fell on the roads and rails. Then everything stopped until the snow melted.

I had the best living arrangements I know of. To accommodate me, the Saga School Board kicked a vice-principal out of a family-size apartment in a brand-new residential complex owned by the Board. The rent was around ten thousand yen a month. The apartment was beautiful, with hardwood parquet in one half and tatami mats in the other, and an ofuro that kept the water hot as long as I liked.

The best part about Saga was the depth of the traditional Japanese culture. Saga is the home of Yoshinogari, an archeological site many claim was the seat of Pimiko, a Japanese queen mentioned in a Chinese chronicle dating from the 2nd century AD. Patterns in local textiles antedate Chinese influences.

Apart from work, how are you involved with the local community and with Japanese culture  in general?

Our hosts organized numerous events where locals could meet and get to know us JETs. I attended all of them and had a great time. There was also a full schedule of religious festivals, an international hot air balloon competition every fall, and a truly great selection of traditional restaurants and izakaya. There was never any shortage of things to do.

What were your most positive experiences while participating on JET ?

Working with Japanese students was the best part of the job. They reminded me how much fun it could be to be a kid, and I was glad to help them learn a little about my country and my mother tongue. Three of them came and visited me in Canada, for a month each, after I returned.

Could you describe some of the challenges you experienced and how you overcame them?

Life can be frustrating in a foreign country if you don’t speak the language. I studied Japanese four or five hours a day. Everybody encouraged me and helped me learn: the English teachers I taught with, the students and the people in the towns.

How do you feel JET has been of benefit to you since your return to Canada?

I passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test after returning to Canada and used my results and my JET experience to get re-hired by the Translation Bureau as a Japanese-to-English translator, in the worst days of the recession of the early ‘90s. Later, I turned my knowledge of kanji into a working proficiency in Chinese, and now I spend most of my time at work translating Japanese and Chinese into English.

My experience as an ALT has definitely made me more at ease speaking in public. I just imagine everyone in black cadet uniforms or sailor blouses and long pleated skirts.

Finally, the Saga School Board put a clause in our contracts forbidding us from operating any form of motorized transport in Japan. I quickly got used to walking, biking, bussing or taking a train to get around. I didn’t buy a car when I came back to Canada and haven’t owned one since. I figure I save at least $7,000 a year in car-related expenses, and I don’t need to go to a health club to stay fit.

Do you have any comments or advice for people who might be thinking of applying to JET ?

Like anything, the more you put into JET, the more you’ll get out of it. It’s a great way to learn about a fascinating foreign country. And it’s still a good way to pay off student loans, although I’m surprised the pay hasn’t increased since I went on JET twenty years ago.

My true story about teaching in Japan

I was sitting in the teachers’ room one day across the table from Mrs. M., an older English teacher who was loved and respected by her students. She could explain an English grammar point more quickly and clearly than anyone I knew, but, like many of the teachers I worked with, had little oral comprehension. In fact, no matter how slowly I spoke, she usually didn’t catch more than one or two words of what I said.

I wanted to make a note on something I was reading, but couldn’t find the pencil I had brought with me in my backpack. I noticed Mrs. M. had two pencils beside her on the table.

“Excuse me, Mrs. M.,” I said slowly. “I seem to have lost my pencil. Do you think I could borrow one of yours for a minute?”

To my surprise, Mrs. M. became agitated, stood up and rushed out of the teachers’ room without saying a word.

A couple of minutes later, I heard her booming voice on the school’s PA system, speaking in Japanese.

“Attention all staff and students! Richard Sensei has lost his pencil. Anyone finding it is asked to bring it to the teachers’ room immediately.”

Of all the words I had said to her, Mrs. M. had apparently only understood “lost” and “pencil”.

I could feel the other staff in the teachers’ room casting puzzled glances at me as I sat blushing in silence. I imagined students throughout the school scouring the classrooms and corridors for a pencil that looked like it might belong to a big, bearded Canadian.

Five minutes later, Mrs. M. returned to the teachers’ room holding two sharpened pencils, each stamped with the school’s name in gold leaf.

“From Kocho Sensei,” she said, earnestly presenting them to me.

I accepted the pencils with effusive gratitude. I didn’t have the courage to tell Mrs. M. that, shortly after she left, I had found my pencil in one of my trouser pockets.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where did you grow up? What did you study in school?

I grew up in Ottawa. I studied History at Dalhousie and Education at Queen’s.

How did you become interested in Japan ? What prompted you to apply to the JET Programme?

The main way I became interested in Japan was because I applied to JET. I didn’t know all that much about the country before I left to go and live there. A neighbour of my parents mentioned the program to them, which is how I heard about it.

What were your impressions of the application process?

I can’t really remember the application process all that well. It was funny to talk with friends and to hear that the interviews seemed very different in other countries and cities. A British friend of mine was asked very detailed questions about Japanese History. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have gotten in if I had done the interview there. A Canadian friend remembers telling her interviewers that 80% of Japan was “non-arable land” because she’d read it in an opening chapter of a book the night before.

What were your thoughts/impressions about this new role prior to departure?

I was lucky that the person who had my job before me was very good at giving a sense of what his life had been like, the typical challenges he faced, and the positive experiences he had enjoyed. He did a great job of preparing me, and helped me to start off on a good foot.

What were your first impressions of Japan?

That it was very hot!

Tell us briefly what your work situation was like. What about your living arrangements? What is the best part of the area of Japan in which you were located?

I was an Assistant Language Teacher at a school where they had previously hired teachers directly from Canada , and they were used to giving them a fair degree of responsibility. I worked at one school and taught all the first year high school students, as well as a few special English classes for third year high school students.

In my first year I lived in a very small apartment with a bunk bed up in the ceiling, which I was worried that I would sleepwalk out of. For the rest of my time in Japan I lived in a really lovely 2 bedroom apartment, which I moved into with the help of my supervisor at the Board of Education.

Fukuyama City isn’t really a touristy area, but I really liked that the people there were very down-to-earth. It is near the inland sea, Tomo-no-ura and Kurashiki.

Apart from work, how are you involved with the local community and with Japanese culture in general?

My involvement has been mainly through music. I studied the shamisen, a traditional three-stringed Japanese instrument from a master player, Tanaka Chikusen. I played in a number of bands in Hiroshima and a few years ago I brought one of them to tour in Canada. Now I study music with Debbie Danbrooke, who is a master shakuhachi player based in Toronto.

What were your most positive experiences while participating on JET ?

It is hard to choose ? there were a lot! The three most important ones were getting to know the students, teachers and Board of Education staff that I worked with, studying shamisen with a master teacher and playing in bands.

Could you describe some of the challenges you experienced and how you overcame them?

Understanding and then adapting to new ways of thinking was the biggest challenge. I was lucky to work with a kindly teacher named Mr. Watanabe who was able to explain his impressions of situations at our school. At first I couldn’t understand his point of view, but the longer I stayed in Japan, the more opportunities I had to make mistakes and then figure them out.

The best think about misunderstandings and mistakes (which usually happened at least once a day!) helped me to develop patience and a high threshold for failure. I became less worried about embarrassing myself which made it easier for me to take risks and try things I might not have done otherwise at home, such as singing in a band.

How do you feel JET has been of benefit to you since your return to Canada?

I would say it took me about three to four years to have a sense of the benefits of the experience I had gained. While I was readjusting to living in Canada it really helped to talk to some friends who had come back a year or two before I did. They told me that it had taken them a number of years to become more settled here. Once they did, they did a lot of really interesting things, but they did find it hard to readjust at first.

Living in Japan definitely helped me learn how to connect better with people. I became very aware of a variety of ways of communication that don’t necessarily involve language. Learning to be very comfortable spending time on my own is another benefit of this experience. Now have a better sense of myself when taking on challenges and I have more patience to understand different points of view.

Do you have any comments or advice for people who might be thinking of applying to JET?

If you think you are interested, even if you don’t know that much about Japan , I think you should apply!

My JET Story

I honestly do not know where to begin. My experience with JET has enriched my life in so many ways. In 2003, I joined 30 other Ottawa JETs and embarked on a journey to Japan , a country that I knew little about but have always been fascinated with. It was a chance for me to get out of my comfort zone, to learn in a cross-cultural environment and to develop and mature as a person. Of course, I was ready to teach and share with the Japanese but to me JET was an endless learning opportunity.

With this mind set, I was eager to learn from my new environment and to interact with the locals as much as possible. During my 3-year stay, I was completely immersed into the Japanese culture and community through both my work and my own social circle. It is important to address that I was not trying to become “Japanese” as some gaikokujins (non-Japanese foreigners) might see it. However, I was very focused on enriching my own experience and to do this I wanted to become a more or less integrated part. I saw no point in living in Japan , holding tightly onto the Canadian life style. It is about balance. I was embracing the new culture and customs while sharing whenever appropriate my own Canadian differences.

During this time, I achieved many of own personal goals. I visited many regions of Japan and saw the beauty in diverse natural landscapes versus man made structures. I also feasted on a collection of gourmet home cooking to exquisite works of art, literally!

I would give anything to be able to taste some of it again! I have mastered the Japanese language to quite a fluent and comfortable level. Mind you it is now rapidly disappearing due to the lack of practice! I even entered a public speaking contest and talked about an old Japanese saying, Ichigo Ichie which I learned from my shodou (Japanese calligraphy) teacher. Loosely translated it means that we need to cherish the people we meet for these encounters could be once in a life time. This expression spoke so deeply to me because it is the Japanese people I met that made my learning and experience so rich and real. They were some of the nicest people I have had the blessing to meet. They were like my teachers, family and friends. The friendships I fostered I am carrying with me. It is my sincere hope to be able to work in Japan again in the near future.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where did you grow up? What did you study in school?

I am an army brat so I grew up all over. I spent eight years living in Germany and one year in Pakistan. I love travelling and have been fortunate to be able to do since I was a year old. I studied Communications and French in university.

How did you become interested in Japan? What prompted you to apply to the JET Programme?

I can’t pinpoint exactly what it was about Japan that I was really keen on experiencing. I was never into manga or any kind of Japanese discipline, be it a fine art or a martial art. All I know is that when I was around thirteen I just made up my mind to go.

What were your impressions of the application process?

I was nervous, to say the least. I probably re-wrote the application several times, as well as had family members read over my letter of intent. It is thorough, to say the least. but maybe getting through it, shows your willingness and determination.

What were your thoughts/impressions about this new role prior to departure?

I wasn’t nervous about moving to Japan because I had lived there prior to being accepted on the JET Programme working. I’d had some experience teaching Japanese students but I knew that being on JET was going to be different, and I was really excited about teaching IN the school system and working with Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs).

What were your first impressions of Japan ?

I (we all) arrived in the middle of summer and thus festival season, therefore sweltering but fun, hilarious and partial nudity. When you see what the men wear who carry the shrines you’ll understand.

Tell us briefly what your work situation was like. What about your living arrangements? What is the best part of the area of Japan in which you were located?

I worked in an academic senior high school in the Nagano , Japan . I worked closely with the 120 or so students in the International Studies Program in all three grades. I was able to challenge them, work on improving their English ability, teach them a little bit about Canada and more then anything, have fun with them.

I also visited a vocational high school once a week. The students there had less of an interest in English but we still managed to communicate and learn a bit about each other.

I lived in a private apartment. It was small and my rent was about 38,000yen a month. I lived about two minutes the bus and train station, grocery stores and restaurants. I also had the sweetest landlord!

Nagano is amazing! It is hard to choose the ‘best part’.

Nozawa Onsen, Sugadaira and Hakuba are phenomenal for snowboarding or skiing. They were venues for the 1998 Olympics.

In my town, there was a tiny, dirty noodle shop that only sold two kinds of ramen, regular and spicy, and it was a gem!

Apart from work, how are you involved with the local community and with Japanese culture in general?

I took traditional Japanese taiko classes, and Japanese lessons in my town. I took part in International Expos and fairs that took place throughout the prefecture.

I organized a Nagano wide talent show for two years, with an emphasis on brining together the prefectural ALT, foreign and Japanese communities. I also put together and captained a footie (soccer) team, made up of ALTs, foreigners and Japanese friends, for the footie tournament that takes place twice a year in Nagano. I don’t even know how to play.

What were your most positive experiences while participating on JET ?

Getting involved in the local community, the JET community, with your school.

My school took part in several English camps and debate contests which were usually overnight trips. After the end of the day, after supper when everyone had a chance to relax, I got to chat and joke around with my students. It’s the friendships you create and personal experiences trying new things that you will always remember.

Could you describe some of the challenges you experienced and how you overcame them?

The thing that makes dealing with stressful situations all the harder is that you must deal with them in an entirely different country. We all went through culture shock in some way or another, and no one is immune. The best way for me to deal with challenges was to use the resources around me. Talk to other ALTs, your prefectural advisor and so on; they have all been there and can have some great words of wisdom to share to help put things in perspective or be a much-needed sounding board.

How do you feel JET has been of benefit to you since your return to Canada?

Staying in touch with JETAA ( JET Alumni Association) has helped a lot because I have a group of people with whom I can share stories with and more importantly to which they can relate. Everyone in JETAA has experienced reverse culture shock and they were/are the best ones to talk to about returning home and some of the challenges one might have. Also, members of JETAA are now employed in a variety of sectors in the private and public industries here in Ottawa and so they are a plethora of knowledge when it comes to figuring out your future.

Do you have any comments or advice for people who might be thinking of applying to JET?

Two things:

Belly Dancing My Way Into Japan

I smile a lot. My smile is big, sometimes too big for my cheeks to bear it but it helped me when I worked in Shiogama, Japan as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT). From 2007-2008, I had the chance to teach English and experience life in a small Japanese city through the Japan Exchange and Teaching ( JET) Programme, a well-organized and supportive initiative of the Japanese government that not only provides university graduates with the opportunity to learn valuable work and life skills but also promotes internationalization. Graduating students seeking adventure and an extraordinary learning experience should consider applying to the JET Programme.

The JET Programme is strongly committed to cultural immersion and, as a result, I learned a lot from my students: from taiko drumming to the delicacy of tea ceremony and also gained experiences that have contributed to my current successes. For instance, I strengthened my public speaking skills since my role on JET included giving speeches and participating in workshops. Furthermore, my position included the preparation and implementation of teaching plans so my creativity blossomed and, in turn, this has led to my recent writing publications. Being an ALT allowed me to expand my strong organizational and communication skills, which now enhance my job performance in a fast-paced office environment. Because of my positive relationship with both students and Japanese teachers, I also learned the art of diplomacy and teamwork.

Working side-by-side with Japanese teachers of English provided an interesting learning experience in itself. Many of these teachers became my mentors. There was never an ordinary day when I was teaching in Japan . Ordinary things became extraordinary because the students brought much energy and fresh perspectives to the classes. Further, by participating in activities common to Japanese education such as cleaning - yes, the students clean their own schools - and various school events like the chorus and sports festivals, I learned the facets of Japanese school life that went beyond the four walls of a classroom.

Beyond school life, I lived in a quaint port city called Shiogama, a place famous for its sushi. There was something very innocent about this small city, even the old cemetery I’d pass on my way to work spoke of a simpler time. Children played in the streets, their cheerful voices resonating outside my apartment window. At 5 p.m., a bell chimed across the city signalling dusk. At night, frogs sang in fields. And with the support of my schools and local community, I immersed myself in Japanese life and because of their generosity, I wanted to share a part of my own heritage, so I began to belly dance my way into Japan. The amazing thing about the JET Programme is that it encourages participants to introduce different aspects of their backgrounds while gaining new insights into their own lives and the world around them. Like most JET participants, I went to Japan to experience its intriguing culture, to travel across its beautiful landscapes and to support its students in learning English. One of my favourite parts of my teaching job was the opportunity to work at different schools.

One of my most memorable visits was to a local elementary school. When I asked the head teacher if I could introduce belly dancing to the students, he cleared his throat and, without saying a word, rushed out of the staff room. Surprised, I looked around, unsure of what to make of his sudden disappearance but then two adorable students came to get me.

I followed them down the hallway, then entered the gymnasium where all the grade 2s cheered and I suddenly found myself surrounded by a very cute mob! Reappearing, the head teacher guided me to the front and said gently, “Please dance”. I introduced myself and asked a few questions in English before pulling out the hip scarf from my bag, cheers of su goi (great) filling my ears. Everyone raced towards me to touch the fake coins on the scarf. Then I tied the scarf around my waist and motioned for the music. I asked a few volunteers to come and dance with me. Grinning, I looked into the bright eyes of the students. After the first few songs, I had the students form a long line, hands interlinked, while I demonstrated the steps of the dabke, a traditional Lebanese folk dance. I stood between two girls and held onto their hands as we went around and around in a circle. Amazed by the students’ sense of adventure and courage, I couldn’t help but smile as I looked across at the kids stomping and kicking their feet in the air and I thought how lucky, how very lucky I am to be here with these open-minded young people. When I smiled my big smile, it was returned again and again.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where did you grow up? What did you study in school?

I was born in Kiev but did most of my growing up in Toronto . I studied English Lit and Critical Theory at McMaster.

How did you become interested in Japan ? What prompted you to apply to the JET Programme?

In my third year at university I went on an academic exchange to Leeds University in Britain . I wanted to participate in more internationally based programs. The career councillor at McMaster is a past JET who put up a JET Programme poster in the hallway outside her door. I didn’t know much about Japan then, and learned a little about it while researching for the interview.

What were your impressions of the application process?

The application process impressed me with its length. I hated the wait at the time. In retrospect, it was a good experience for future career-like job interviews.

What were your thoughts/impressions about this new role prior to departure?

I was extremely nervous about the teaching. I had never been a teacher before.

What were your first impressions of Japan?

How I completely did not fit in. I was not used to the heat, while everyone else was walking around and, seemingly, not even sweating. I didn’t understand a word of the language. Despite being short and small in Canada, I was too tall and too wide in Japan. Tokyo was a blur of over-excitement and nervousness. My first solid memory of Kagoshima was going to the convenience store with my new neighbour: when I went to pay for my bento the cashier boy bowed as he gave me the change, which he did with both hands.

Tell us briefly what your work situation was like. What about your living arrangements? What is the best part of the area of Japan in which you were located?

I worked for the Kagoshima City Board of Education. There were fourteen foreigners in the office. I had three different Junior High Schools and one boarding school for kids with special needs. Every Friday afternoon we would go to the BOE office to re-cap the week and do some paperwork. I lived in a small apartment in a building that housed seven other gaijin. The best part about living in Kagoshima-shi is the amazing volcano, Sakurajima (“cherry blossom island”), which sits across the bay from the city, emitting smoke and ash. I lived on the tenth floor of my building and had an amazing view of the volcano from my balcony.

Apart from work, how are you involved with the local community and with Japanese culture in general?

There is a network of foreigners all around the province. Whenever there is a festival or event of some kind in the nearby towns, the country JETs become the hosts to the city JETs. This network is a way to carry information about local events. On the weekends, I would be busy with some festival or event somewhere in the province. For example, Ijuin Samurai Festival, where kids and adults dress up as samurai and walk for miles from the nearby villages to the Ijuin Shrine. The Kajiki Spider Fights, where homegrown, free-range spiders battle each other on stage. The Camou Duck Race, where the local Junior High hosts a duck race and traditional dances performed by the students.

What were your most positive experiences while participating on JET ?

I worked in a boarding school for kids of all ages with emotional and/or mental traumas and disabilities. The school was in the middle of the countryside, and I had to take a bus and a taxi (the BOE paid for this, of course) to get there. The kids who live there don’t often get to socialise. I would often teach one-on-one twenty-minute lessons. One of the students was a very shy young boy. When he met me, he pointed at the map and asked me ordinary questions about Canada, while looking at his feet. I thought I wasn’t getting through to him at all. A little time went by, he got used to me and one day admitted that he was very impressed to have met me since he had never shook the hand of a foreigner before. He said he was never before interested in the world map that hung in the classroom. The best experiences are when students don’t seem to care and then surprise you by showing just how much they are getting out of being your student.

Could you describe some of the challenges you experienced and how you overcame them?

The biggest challenge to me was the language. Learning it seemed to go very slowly, and most of the time I felt as if I had learned nothing at all. In the spring, a friend came to visit me from Canada. She didn’t speak a word of Japanese and I found myself teaching her useful phrases, asking for directions, and ordering in restaurants. She was impressed. Most JETs will tell you that the visit of their family or friends is a marker that reminds them of how they were before and just how much they had learned.

How do you feel JET has been of benefit to you since your return to Canada (work skills / network of contacts / job opportunities not before available / more confidence etc)

Always being a foreigner in the crowd meant that you were an easy target for being asked to make spontaneous speeches. The Japanese love speeches. Amazingly, this formal way of address is used not only at festivals and events but also at rowdy office parties. The attitude is: let’s see what the foreigner thinks, for no other reason than because s/he is a foreigner. One of the many contradictions of life as a JET in Japan is that you are expected to take yourself seriously (wear a suit, be on time, etc) but at the same time, don’t take yourself seriously (make a silly speech, laugh at yourself, be a clown for everyone, not just your students). Having had these experiences, I find that I’m more comfortable speaking to a crowd of people, and thinking on my feet about what to say without worrying about being embarrassed.

Do you have any comments or advice for people who might be thinking of applying to JET ?

Apply and go! This is a fantastic opportunity to experience a completely different way of thinking. I promise that Japan will surprise you.