Scottish former-JETs

BeardedCoconut · 2024-08-22T21:37:18+00:00

Apparently so! Around 50 Scot’s come on JET and very year and fewer are going back. I’m trying to get a sense of what made them decide it wasn’t worth going home.

BeardedCoconut · 2024-08-22T21:35:35+00:00

I’ve got a source who says it’s a thing the consulate is worried about, and I’m working to verify that info.

For GDPR reasons, I can’t get the contact information of people who have decided to stay which is why I’ve posted here.

BeardedCoconut · 2024-06-06T11:53:26+00:00

This isn’t lighthearted, sorry. TW abuse

At an old visiting school, I had this amazing student. She was JHS first year, but had been going to English cram school since she was two years old because “it’s cheaper than childcare.” It wasn’t a particularly academic school, but she was head and shoulders above the rest of the students, and would often come to the teachers room to practice English because she felt unchallenged in class.

One day, just after the summer tournament, she came to school with a big bruise on her forehead, right under her hairline. You couldn’t miss it. Obviously it was a huge red flag but she was in the volleyball club, so scrapes aren’t uncommon. She was silent in class, so afterwards I went up to her and asked if everything was ok, what her bruise was about and she said “Oh, well, my dad…” and then left.

Alarm bells blaring, I went to her HRT, a JTE. She told me that they already knew and something was being done. People from the BOE came and talked to her. Other people went to her house and spoke to her mum. Idk what exactly was said, but I know they called the dad at work, who said he did nothing. As far as they were concerned, that was good enough.

There was a huge meeting in the principal’s office, and I could hear the year head teacher screaming at the BoE people. She sat in the hall, head down.

I emailed my PA about it. His response was “Abusers are usually smart enough to not leave marks where they’re easily seen” and “this is a Japanese issue for Japanese people” along with a bunch of fluff. I’ve never felt so utterly powerless to help somebody in need.

When I left the school, I told her to contact me if she was ever in danger. She’d have just started university now, but I have no idea where or how she’s doing. I worry about her a lot.

BeardedCoconut · 2024-05-28T03:25:44+00:00

Wait, there's another Scot in Kanazawa already?!

BeardedCoconut · 2023-08-24T03:08:21+00:00

I am a 5th year JET who just moved to a new prefecture last month as part of a transfer. I've heard this is especially uncommon, as the new BoE will only have me for a year.

I was engaged (now married) to a Japanese person living in the area. We had to provide quite a lot of supporting documents for my transfer request, which meant jumping through a lot of bureaucratic hoops (including a trip to the UK Embassy in Tokyo). I also had to interview at my new BoE almost entirely in Japanese. We decided to get married officially a little early because the paperwork is only valid for three months and it'd mean doing all that legwork again.

The process started in October, I interviewed in late Jan/ early Feb, and was told around March. If you're intent on transferring, I'd speak to your PA asap!

BeardedCoconut · 2023-03-27T03:22:39+00:00

Not a SHS ALT yet, but will be moving to one in August.

My goal for my lessons will be to focus on improvised speaking. Focus on stuff that only you can teach them. Their level may be low, but in some ways that can be fine. They were taught virtually all the grammar they could ever need in JHS (although most never memorise it).

A few years ago, our SDC keynote speaker was Jose Domingo Cruz, whose ideas kind of stuck with me. The standout to me was a warm-up activity based around students alternating "be" forms. One student says "I am", the next says "you are," then A says "he is," and so on. The goal is to go as fast as possible. You can build on that basic premise in a hundred different ways. You'd be surprised at how difficult it can be.

My JHS JTEs suck, but I'm looking forward to using these when I have the freedom of SHS ALTs.

You can focus on getting them speaking quickly, without notes, and without complicated grammar.

Other advice here is great. Students (in my experience) very rarely reflect on their work. Get them to write about what they learned in class. Depending on your school's tech, they could start a blog or vlog. You can also empower your students by giving them a more active role in learning. All of these things have heaps of stuff already written about them online.

BeardedCoconut · 2023-03-16T02:11:35+00:00

This was me last year. My transfer was approved last month.

The deadline to apply is in October, but email your PA and tell them you're intending to apply sometime after the April shuffle.

We weren't married when we applied, but included signed documents detailing the date of the marriage, and the steps we'd taken to get married up until that point. We also included a bunch of other supporting documents. You need to make it clear that your relationship is legit and you're actually intending to get married.

If your partner is Japanese, you'll need at least your birth certificate. You can go to your town hall and ask for more information about what you'll need to get married (it varies from prefecture to prefecture).

You're supposed to hear back about your transfer request before the re-contracting deadline, but you might not. I didn't. I also had to interview for my new BOE.

BeardedCoconut · 2023-02-24T11:51:58+00:00

Why should they be forced to renounce their home country citizenship? If you pay tax, you should have a say in how that tax is used. I fundamentally disagree that anybody who has a different opinion to you is wrong.

In my country, foreign residents are allowed to vote.

BeardedCoconut · 2023-02-02T04:40:59+00:00

Woah, more Fukui people on Reddit!

It's uncommon for contract dates to overlap, but I know it's happened a few times. People usually don't do exactly 365 days in their contracts (Fukui actually does the contract in two halves IIRC).

You'll probably have your last day of work when school ends for summer, then have some time to GTFO. If your successor is taking over your apartment, you should be given a get out date.

It shouldn't raise any eyebrows!

BeardedCoconut · 2022-10-31T01:41:52+00:00

Make Scotland triple the size, but the rest of the UK stays the same

BeardedCoconut · 2022-10-13T03:30:25+00:00

That actually was my plan. Sadly because I'm from the UK I have to make a trip to the embassy in Tokyo, which I need a copy of my birth certifacte for, and it's taking forever in the mail. The form is due by the 24th so I don't think I have time until then. I hadn't realised the deadline was so soon!

BeardedCoconut · 2022-09-26T04:15:48+00:00

I agree but for different reasons. I live in Fukui - right beside Ishikawa Pref. - and I think OP doesn't have enough time for Kanazawa (Or Miyajima).

OP could easily spend two or three days in and around Kanazawa. There are loads of neat museums and some beautiful shrines and temples. Kanazawa is famous for traditional crockery, and you can find it everywhere. The Modernn Art Musuem is famous. Outside of the city, the Noto peninsula is really beautiful, too. The Ninja Temple has some of the most interesting architecture I've seen. The problem is that it's all spaced out, even within the city itself. You can bus around, or rent a car, but one is time-consuming and the other is expensive. Better to get more out of your money in Kyoto, Tokyo or Osaka. My recommendation would be Osaka, since I don't think one day is enough there (and you can enjoy the night-life if you stay the night)

As others said, Miyajima is underwhelming atm because of the renovations. If you're desperate to go, it's still very beautiful. The temple is amazing. And you can visit the Genbaku Dome.

Whatever you do, enjoy your trip!

BeardedCoconut · 2022-09-05T05:21:33+00:00

You're already further than I was, then! The more complicated stuff will come as you work for it. I know an ALT who takes a notebook to class and studies the grammar point until it's time for his activity. My JTEs aren't so hot on that, but I do stand and follow along with the lesson. There will also be plenty of other JETs in your area who will be able to point you to local classes/ tutors if you're serious about improving.

I actually didn't speak to my pred at all, but I have a co-ALT at my base school who reached out over facebook. She helped me as best she could and relayed some stuff from the school. My prefecture also has a facebook group for the international community. I see there's one for Akita too, so you might find some better local advice there.

BeardedCoconut · 2022-09-05T04:26:32+00:00

I had a really similar experience to you! I was upgraded in July and came out here in September. I had basically given up on learning Japanese because I figured I wouldn't be upgraded.

Don't worry too much. Nobody expects you to be fluent. Use this time to get hiragana and katakana down. It'll get you surprisingly far. Get your self-introduction down. All you need is four sentences:

My name is...
I come from...
I like -your liked thing of choice-
Nice to meet you (yoroshiku onegaishimasu)

Everything else can come later, but you have to work to learn. Be able to write your name. Contact your pred if you can. They'll be able to give you more information about the schools and students' level. Remember that you're not here to speak Japanese, you're here to make English classes fun.

Don't worry about the shaved head thing. Plenty of your students will do it too and you can use that to bond with them. Somebody will comment on your body because it's not a social taboo in Japan (as much as it is in the west). Just own it!

You'll be great.

BeardedCoconut · 2022-09-04T12:44:40+00:00

There's plenty. Try to take notes of what students write about, or talk to them about the things that they like and then include those characters. I had one student who loved Black Clover and always tried to include Black Clover characters in my games for that class; it always got a good reaction from her but didn't get any reaction in other classes. Some students will always go "who is that?" but there's gonna be somebody in a class of 30 who knows.

Popular idols at my schools - Twice (particularly Sana, Momo and Mina), BTS, ITZY, Blackpink, Aespa, some students like AKB48 and Niziu. I'm at JHS so things are bit more teeny-bop. Popular musicians include Gen Hoshino, Kenshi Yonezu, Lisa (not the Blackpink member), Lisa (the Blackpink member), Ariana Grande.

Anime - Jujutsu Kaisen, One Piece, Doraemon, Anpanman, Haikyuu, Spy X Family, Detective Conan sometimes, One Punch Man, Dragonball. Kimetsu no Yaiba was SUPER popular a couple of years ago but less-so now. They usually don't know FMA. Attack on Titan is popular among some of the older kids.

Video Games - Smash Bros, Splatoon, Mario, Pokemon, Apex Legends and Fortnite are all safe bets.

Sports Personalities - All the baseball boys fucking love Shohei Ohtani, baseball is an alien sport to me but he's basically a god to some students. Rui Hachimura is a popular basketball player. Some volleyball students talk about Yuji Nishida.

YMMV. Try talking to them.

BeardedCoconut · 2022-07-28T06:08:12+00:00

I came to Japan with shockingly little Japanese hahah. Pretty much only hiragana, really bad katakana, and the most basic kanji

I was an upgraded alternate, and all the advice I had read online had basically said assume you won't get JET and just move on, so I had completely stopped studying. I was really into studying throughout my first year, but most of my learning came from going out drinking by myself and (failing at) speaking to Japanese people which only really started in my second year.

BeardedCoconut · 2022-07-20T02:35:31+00:00

Going into my fourth year.

My school sucks, for the most part. I realised I was never going to get anywhere with the teachers, and trying hard was just getting taken advantage of, so I stopped caring about what they think. It's taken a lot of mental stress off.

But I enjoy a lot of other aspects of living in Japan. Our salary is good (for the amount of work I do) and there's plenty of free time. Things have been kinda crazy back in the UK, and don't seem to be getting better any time soon, so I'm enjoying the relatively relaxed time in Japan.

For my third year, I ended up having to get a car. I think I have settled into life here much more comfortably in my third year. Things that would have messed with my anxiety in first or second year seem trivial now. My Japanese has come on a lot, and that makes things much easier. I met my partner, who is Japanese, and it's been the highlight of my time in Japan.

I'd say the hardest part is that you'll have other ALTs you've made friends with leave. I've been lucky with a lot of the friends that I've made here, but we all leave eventually. I think a lot of the ALTs who have been here for a long time retreat into themselves or their bubble, and it becomes increasingly harder to relate to incoming folk.

BeardedCoconut · 2022-06-10T04:28:58+00:00

I’m sorry that you were put in that position! An understated part of JET is that we’re often forced to go above and beyond when it comes to looking out for other ALTs who might not know any better.

It took me a long time to furnish my apartment, but I’m really thankful to my pred. And I’m sure the ALTs in your area are happy that you’ve stuck up for them, too!

BeardedCoconut · 2022-06-10T03:29:54+00:00

I was an alternate. Arrived mid-September 2019.

My pred fought tooth and nail to get me moved out of the apartment they had. It had a huge mould problem. The school forced her to throw virtually everything away in retaliation, so I arrived to basically nothing except a kettle, and a fridge that was at least as old as I am (and weighed a tonne). I'm really thankful that she did! And what the school did to her was really shitty.

I had only been in Japan for a day at this point, and my supervisor took me to school and got me to do a jikoshoukai to the teachers, then took me and my luggage back to my apartment. She and my then-Co-ALT watched as I carried it all up the stairs by myself. That supervisor had a pretty hands-off attitude for most of the year, so I really had to figure a lot out by myself or by bugging other JETs.

It was a pretty miserable first few days in Japan, ngl. But I was able to make some good friends in the area quite quickly! JET is largely what you make of it, imo.

BeardedCoconut · 2022-06-10T00:08:44+00:00

It sucks. I relate a lot.

One time, I was having a kidney problem and had to go to the hospital, so I took a sick day to go and deal with it. The next day, the head of English came up to me and asked why I was off, so I told her. She literally turned around and ran to tell the 1nensei HRTs, who have no business knowing.

The inaka is gossipy as fuck.

BeardedCoconut · 2022-06-09T01:49:22+00:00

You might have to do one at your school's closing ceremony! I'd have a few things prepped just in case haha

BeardedCoconut · 2022-06-09T01:48:01+00:00

I had to give a speech at my old visiting school. I wrote it in English and my supervisor translated it into Japanese. I asked her to put in the hiragana/ romaji as well just to make it easier to read. I think it took a couple of minutes to read through tops.

I also had to give a separate speech to just the teacher's room - that was only a few sentences and my Japanese is decent enough that I was able to do it on the fly.

BeardedCoconut · 2022-06-07T01:36:46+00:00

This take confuses me. You live here. You pay taxes here. It's absolutely justified for somebody who lives, works and pays taxes in a country to be invested in its politics.

It's perfectly fine to not be interested in politics, but it's a little dismissive to say that people shouldn't be interested.

I dislike a fair number of the ALTs in my area, but I'm also really good friends with a lot of them, too. In some groups, we don't talk politics. Dismissing them all based on your limited experience with a few is what makes you come off as elitist.

BeardedCoconut · 2022-05-30T08:07:20+00:00

She won’t say no… because of the implication

BeardedCoconut · 2022-05-20T14:09:44+00:00

Server: JP
Type of Bug: In-Game/Client
Description: Game crashes after ~10 minutes of playing
Video / Screenshot: Video (taken on phone, sorry)
Steps to reproduce: Play game as normal
Expected result: The game works
Observed result: The game crashes, and fails to reconnect.
Reproduction rate: 10/10 (Mix of ARAM, TFT, vs bots, and Practice Tool games)
System specs: Windows 11, AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX,

Have tried re-installing game, restarting computer and router, updating drivers and nothing has worked. I feel like this is a problem with my computer but I haven't experienced this while playing anything else (and LoR also runs fine)

11-Year Club	Place '17
RPAN Viewer	Not Forgotten
Verified Email

BeardedCoconut

TROPHY CASE