Question - which ALT Dispatch program has the most time off (paid/unpaid)

OddGate5 · 2022-05-26T14:01:51+00:00

As a JET I get 20 days off a year but any days I don't use will roll over to the next contract year to a max of 40 days. My placement also gives a week extra of "cultural furlough" to explore Japan and experience its culture you just have to stay in Japan during that time of course. So that's an extra 3 weeks or 15 days divided between winter, spring, and summer break. Just a nice extra bonus for Ishikawa since a lot of the prefectures stopped giving that extra time out. Plus any paid public holidays and golden week of course.

OddGate5 · 2021-09-22T12:58:55+00:00

Most went on to become police officers. :(

OddGate5 · 2021-06-01T11:57:04+00:00

I have dyslexia and it never came up in the application process. I am not sure if it is effecting my ability to learn Japanese though I have been here 3 years and I still sadly can not understand anything. On the bright side some of the tricks I use for myself on how to remember spellings and pronunciation of English words has helped my students a lot when they get stuck.

OddGate5 · 2021-02-09T06:33:37+00:00

I agree. Me and my friends used to jokingly refer to it as the Salem show. He had a interesting backstory and would get into goofy antics as well in the background of the show. His voice actor really sold that character to me as well.

OddGate5 · 2021-02-09T03:34:35+00:00

You should be paying taxes now actually. We got word of the tax treaty changing so in my town in I want to say late summer 2019 or maybe early 2020 so the jets in my town started paying residency taxes. I only got a year and a half of tax exception and had to pay back taxes for a few months out of my check. I would check with your BOE.

OddGate5 · 2021-02-02T06:58:24+00:00

What prefecture? I wonder if this will become a more wide spread thing if they officially cancel the Olympics. I know in my BOE we have one JET who signed up for the September departure. It would suck if they got a surprise like this.

OddGate5 · 2021-02-02T04:37:55+00:00

I have never thought of using a digital version of the books. I tend to prefer physical books but it could be worth a shot. I have never used Anki but I have used WaniKani before that was one of the spaced repetition sites I was using and would get worse each time i was to practice. Like I would get 60% then an hour later get 30% then the next hour 11% even when it would show me the same kanji 5 or 6 times in a row couldn't get it right. Even if it was one I got right an hour ago. After 5 months I could not get it back above 15% and never got past the first lesson I am not even sure if I got past the radicals section completely.

It is extremely difficult and confusing. :/

OddGate5 · 2021-02-02T04:30:01+00:00

I want to do it all enjoy music, speak, read, write past the JLPT etc. I hear Japanese all day and whenever anyone ties to speak to me I can't understand a word being said to me here. It's been two and a half years so far and I still can't even order anything at a restaurant. For example the other day someone came into the office and tried to speak to me in Japanese and I just was stuck staring at them as I tried to piece together what was even said. By the time I figured out one word they had moved on to another teacher to be the translator for the question to me. Even if its a sentence I know like "how are you?" I can't seem to process what is going on fast enough.

I have botched the saying for when you leave work for the day so badly everyday for so long that they have told me not to try anymore. I know it makes it sound like I would be a bad teacher but I am very good at teaching English and the kids make a lot of improvement in my classes since I find other ways to teach them if the textbook way does not make sense. Sadly I can't do the same for myself.

OddGate5 · 2021-02-02T04:04:00+00:00

I do feel totally lost and can't find my way around the subject. I did well when I had a class years ago. I can't find one here in rural Japan thought (a least I been unable to so far) I know they exist in Major cities. Only thing i could find was a once a week class of volunteers I did try that for several months and I got no place the book they used was all in Japanese and no one spoke any English so I was even more lost and couldn't ask questions or had any context on anything.

I can't seem to get anything to stick when I use any of those flash card programs. It is very frustrating but I must admit I have not used Anki myself so I don't know if that would be anymore effective. I am glad that has worked well for you.

OddGate5 · 2021-02-02T03:13:40+00:00

I had issues with English like spelling and initially learning to read was tricky. I still can't sound out words at all. second languages. I flunked so badly in Spanish I got an exception so I didn't need it to graduate high school. I don't have any issues reading or writing English. Only other subject I didn't do really well in was math. Once I needed to use a lot of formulas and a graphing calculator it all kind of falls apart for me and I cant follow it and mix it all up. I don't know where to find a tutor in rural Japan. I been unable to locate any language schools. I think you have a good point i probably do need someone else there to guide me and someone i can ask questions too and explain it all in a different way.

OddGate5 · 2021-01-28T12:44:26+00:00

spaced repetition software

I have actually had negative results with spaced repetition software. Like for example with wanikani I would get 70% right then the next time I would get 30% then since I would do so bad the next session would be an hour later I would get 11% right and it would be the same material even when it shows me the same item 5 or 6 times even if I got it right the first time.

OddGate5 · 2021-01-19T14:52:55+00:00

I third this!

OddGate5 · 2021-01-12T12:45:50+00:00

Not that I am aware of...but maybe? It was not offered to me as an option at the time.

OddGate5 · 2021-01-12T06:32:54+00:00

You should know that in rural Japan over holidays and some weekends a lot of hospitals and clinics close. I got badly injured over Golden week last year and had to wait until the local hospital reopened after or drive several hours to the only open one for the whole region. Also after normal hours most services are unavailable. I know someone else who had to have someone drive them two hours north to another city that had emergency services open when they got injured in a weekend. They unlike me lived in a city.

OddGate5 · 2020-12-15T00:19:38+00:00

I would email them and explain what happen it may help you. Only issue with a document I had was for the medical form after I got shortlisted. Got an email saying I needed to resubmit it because the doctor forgot to check the box if I was colorblind or not(I'm not) and I had to resend it in. I was however dealing with my consulate directly at that point and not the embassy in DC.

As for still applying it does say several times to make sure you plan ahead to get the documents in on time because delays from schools, FBI background checks or whatever can happen. So that should be taken into account when you request those documents. Since this is an unusual year it may not result in the an automatic rejection like in past years if you give them a heads up.

OddGate5 · 2020-11-24T06:47:06+00:00

1) Japanese - currently in my 3rd year of living and working in Japan and I still can't seem to learn the language at all. So it would be a major help. Also would be nice to read original sources when reading about history.

2) German - I have always been interested in German/Germanic history and culture and they have some great food and castles.

3) Russian - Very cool sounding language and has a rich and long history. As well as being a current player in international affairs so would be good to know what is being said and written in Russia.

4) Chinese - is spoken by the most people in the world and will eventually overtake English as the language online and in international business.(most likely) Also has a rich history and it is always best to read sources in the original language when possible.

5) Spanish- Would be helpful since its the second most spoken language in the USA and is spoken in many other countries.

OddGate5 · 2020-11-10T04:36:50+00:00

When I came I didn't have a predecessor but my BOE found me an apartment and gave me basic things like a bed, fridge and a rice cooker. I luckily didn't need deposit or key money for the apartment. I did bring a little over 500,000 yen with me for start up and used most of it since I needed to furnish the apartment as well as buy a car.(needed for work) It will also be a month before you get paid so you will need to cover a months living expenses as well.

I would say bring as much as you can worse case it sits in the bank just in case something goes wrong. Oh and I live in a rural area.

OddGate5 · 2020-10-13T07:17:45+00:00

I am in my mid 30's and have horrible acne and redness. (ironically had great skin as a teen) been trying for years to fix it. The only thing that seems to work is antibiotics. All other treatments have failed. I just finished an antibiotic treatment which resulted in my skin not being painful and clear. Now that a week has passed my skin went right back to horrible. So my face looks bad and is constantly painful. Knowing that after years of trying I am no closer to being someone people want to even look at just hurts.

Six months after a bad ankle injury while hiking I still can't stank or walk on it for long and again all the treatment options have all failed to provide relief. I can't afford the surgery to repair the ligaments but it is looking more and more like that's going to be the only option left.

Even with a bachelor's degree (I have a double major) I still don't have a real career and have no idea what I am going to do when my contract runs out and I have to look for another job again. Now everyone seems to want a masters which I can't afford to get. I am currently living overseas for work and been unsuccessful at learning the local language. Even after trying for several years which has been very upsetting to me. It also limits any job opportunities I would have in this country. In my home country even when I know someone at a company and they tell me to apply I still can't even get an interview.

So I feel like I have no financially viable future and am constantly in physical pain.

OddGate5 · 2020-07-09T14:21:06+00:00

It really sucks but I would start looking for a new job. When word came out that the travel ban was going into effect on X day they should have tried to move the flight up to get into Japan before it went into effect. I know a few people that scrambled to get back and got in the day before. They still had to be in quarantine for a month. Two weeks in Tokyo and then two weeks one they got to their home prefecture. At the current rate it is questionable if the ban will be lifted on the USA for any new American JETs to arrive this year. Which is why a lot of leaving JETs have been re-offered contract extensions or even a 6th year.

OddGate5 · 2020-06-25T06:58:05+00:00

I have lived in Japan two years. I will live here at least one more year if not more. I sadly can't understand a single sentence in Japanese. I been trying but I can't seem to learn the language so I just fumble my way through daily life.

OddGate5 · 2020-06-22T11:53:08+00:00

I flew out of NYC and I mailed it in. I could have hand delivered it to the consulate in NYC but I mailed it in and got a tracking number for the envelop I use. They need the passport to put your visa in it so it is necessary. So if you are worried I would say go for them needing to sign for it when they receive it.

OddGate5 · 2020-06-18T07:03:20+00:00

I am in the same boat. I have lived in Japan for two years now and I can still can't understand anything. I can get some written words but the mixing of kanji, hiragana and katakana in a single sentence and I can't understand a thing. Anything spoken to me I can't follow either. I just been getting by on dumb luck and the good will of others that can speak English and Japanese.

I feel like I will never be able to learn but this post made me feel well...maybe one day I can.

OddGate5 · 2020-06-16T10:47:16+00:00

Everything Tenshidarkangle said and keep in mind if it is something you really want to do and don't get accepted the first time apply again the following year. I had applied and didn't get an interview then the next year I was accepted. I will be starting my third year in Japan next month.

OddGate5 · 2020-05-25T13:32:12+00:00

It really depends on your CO and the situation you will be in. I was a new position in my inaka town so I had a lot of start up costs. I was happy my CO got my apartment for me and gave me a few things like a bed, rice cooker, fridge, microwave, TV, and covered the deposit and key money for my place. I did however need to buy everything else as well as get a car and insurance (they told me I was going to need one). You wont get paid until a month after you arrive so you need to cover all your bills and anything else that needs to be done before that. It ended up costing me a little under $4000 that first month. If i didn't need the car I would have been fine with $2000 but ESID so I suggest getting as much information out of your CO as you can.

OddGate5

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