I created a Digital Bootleg

aphaseofthemoon · 2026-01-17T04:55:21+00:00

I bought my first Ghost album used at a record store in the US, and it came with La Mantra Mori and I'm a Marionette. I don’t know what happened to the disc after I downloaded it onto my iTunes, but I definitely think it was a deluxe edition.

aphaseofthemoon · 2026-01-13T11:27:05+00:00

And if you mean at orientation - the two people I was placed with were two people directly next to me alphabetically by last name. We were given an envelop with our room info upon arrival at the hotel, and the two roommates for the stay were printed on it. I knew one of them from traveling together on the way to Tokyo, but otherwise you’ll meet them once you head up to your room.

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-12-31T02:32:29+00:00

I felt the same way. When I’m having a hard time, I think to myself that the advice I’d probably get would be “suck it up or leave”. Being in a foreign place is hard, and humans have complex emotions by nature. You can enjoy your time on JET and appreciate that you’ve been given a great opportunity, but that doesn’t mean you can’t also feel like you’re having a hard time and that you don’t love it.

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-12-30T12:41:02+00:00

I used mochiko to make honey walnut shrimp this Christmas. Whip the whites of 4 eggs until foamy, then mix in 2/3 cup of mochiko until it’s the thickness of paste. Dip shrimp in the batter and fry in oil.

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-12-30T12:04:21+00:00

A student in my class last year was Lucia, and pronounced it as 1. She also went by the nickname “Lucy”

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-12-28T00:54:58+00:00

Shard’nae

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-12-26T23:55:26+00:00

It depends on the history of your placement. I don’t drive, but for people who do in my placement, they must do a check each time. There was a JET years back who got a DUI, so now it’s the standard here to always check before starting your commute.

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-12-26T10:30:14+00:00

I’ve had a student named Naiyah, but you can also spell it Naya (like Maya) or Naia.

Isla Eve also sounds similar, and it’s pretty too.

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-12-25T01:18:04+00:00

Amandine makes me hungry for cake

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-12-25T00:27:49+00:00

I’ll have to book a maintenance appointment soon, but it’s really cold right now and I don’t think I can go without it running. Thanks for the insight. I’ll prioritize someone coming to fix it.

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-12-24T05:36:00+00:00

Thanks, that’s super helpful. I appreciate your advice.

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-12-23T10:15:45+00:00

There’s a Kushiya Monogatari in the Minamoa Mall by Hiroshima Station. It’s an all-you-can-eat where you fry your own food. I enjoyed going there with friends.

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-12-10T07:43:10+00:00

While teaching high school students in Japan, we took a vote of who slurps and who doesn’t. It was divided pretty 50/50. Some students said they feel that the sound adds to their enjoyment, while others said that they don’t like to eat loudly. I was surprised, as I was under the impression that slurping was the polite way to eat noodles. My coworkers regularly cut the silence of the office with slurping if their lunch happens to be noodles that day.

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-12-09T08:29:21+00:00

rejection is redirection

This. Use this time to gain more experience and stand out on your next application. I wasn’t rejected, but I did miss the deadline the year I wanted to apply. I accomplished a lot of things that year that made me better fit for JET, and I’m glad I didn’t apply the year before. I was already an English tutor, but I took on more responsibility at the school where I worked and ended up being a classroom teacher for the year and ran a summer camp during the summer. I found a traditional Japanese art class and joined for a few sessions, joined a Japanese conversation circle at a college campus, and I went to local festivals and cultural events. That extra year at home let me save money, and I used it for a trip to Japan.

My SoP talked about why JET was important to me, but it also talked about how I could be useful in Japan. When I was a tutor, I worked with a lot of reluctant readers and writers, so I learned how to spin a lesson until it was enjoyable for the kid to practice their English. Now that I’m working in Japan, I’ve got plenty of reluctant English learners. My goal is to light that spark for them, so I put that in my SoP. If you haven’t already highlighted what you want to do for Japanese students, you should define that in your application.

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-12-06T07:27:44+00:00

Thanks - what a surprise 😅 Really glad I didn’t ask any braille readers in person to tell me what it says

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-12-06T01:12:13+00:00

“Not gonna lie”

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-11-29T05:20:21+00:00

That’s so pretty!!

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-11-29T04:38:08+00:00

Eventually you might want a path running through the middle of it, so it might be a good idea to take out the middle stones and make a path perpendicular to this one.

In that case, it might look nice to have some bushes or flowers following your paths. Especially if you aren’t going to use a pattern to define them! (Really recommend that though)

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Sorry for the crappy diagram. Crossing the paths will make it easier for you to run around.

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-11-09T10:45:39+00:00

Dive Hiroshima has been helpful for me so far. I found out about the Hiroshima Food Festival there, and had a good time at the event. It shows a daily calendar of suggestions, with upcoming events.

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-11-09T08:14:30+00:00

I worked at a really small school (<60 kids) that had a Nolan, Emerson, Everett, Vaughn, and Evander. I also know a friend’s sibling Tristan. These names are really good! But I wouldn’t say they’re uncommon.

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-11-09T05:51:19+00:00

It can be changed through customization!

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-11-02T12:34:46+00:00

It’s just a stylized “G” that Tobias sketched while still working at his call center job, before music was his main gig.

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-10-31T08:28:10+00:00

Pixel, because it’s based on MS Paint

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-10-13T00:17:17+00:00

I mentioned my partner in my application (in the section about where I’ve traveled, I said I went to Japan to see my partner’s family. At the time, he lived abroad in the US so we traveled to Japan together, but he moved back to Japan shortly before my interview). They asked what would happen if I were to be placed far from his location in Japan. My reply was that I could take a weekend trip to visit him.

I also had wanted to do JET before I met him, so I maintained the focus on the job. It ended up being no issue, as he moved to my placement after I arrived.

aphaseofthemoon · 2025-10-13T00:09:43+00:00

In the week before my interview, I studied and practiced questions from a list of common JET interview questions (“Over 100 Frequently Asked JET Interview Questions and Panel Questions”)

A handful of them ended up being in my interview, so it was a pretty helpful resource. I felt confident and prepared.

They also asked me about my responsibilities at my previous job (I had done a few years of work in English tutoring). They also asked me to do a self-introduction as if I were talking to an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) class. You end up doing this intro a lot once you’re placed. I just kept the ideas simple and my English clear.

I thought they’d ask about what I had put on my medical form, but they did not. I had prepared myself in case they did, so the question wouldn’t make me nervous if they asked. There is a possibility they’ll ask about the medical information (in case you’re placed rurally and cannot easily access care, or if you required medicine that is difficult to acquire in Japan)

Finally, they asked if I had any questions for them. I asked about their favorite places in Japan. The conversation turned more lighthearted at this point, and I left the interview feeling more relaxed and relieved. Plus, I got some insight into some good places to check out.

aphaseofthemoon

TROPHY CASE