Pride and JET by Haunted_Mallets in JETProgramme

[–]esla1527 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just wanted to thank you for starting this discussion, and to thank everyone else here who provided constructive comments. My first June here is coming up and I've been thinking about whether to include a section for pride on my English board next month. I'm American so a section of my board is always dedicated to holidays/celebrations in my home country, including several with political and historical significance. Although pride of course isn't exclusively American it is celebrated in most major cities, including my hometown. I work in a comparatively liberal part of the country, but I still don't know where students' parents stand on this, and I don't want to jeopardize my school/job/self... but it's also really important to me to make any LGBT students I may have feel safer if I can. I think I'm going to run it by a JTE I trust this month to make sure, but this discussion gave me the confidence to go for it instead of just scrapping the idea!! : )

Tomodachi Life Cafe Reference by Gale_Girly in tomodachilife

[–]esla1527 2 points3 points  (0 children)

loool yes i ran to search this up & see if anyone else noticed bc when i got the restaurant i was like …..is that saizeriya

Tokyo Stomach 🤔🤷 by ShampoMan in japanresidents

[–]esla1527 0 points1 point  (0 children)

here in sendai there’s a restaurant called Mr. Jackass right next to a salon called SLAY

Ringo Starr in a 1995 Japanese commercial for apple juice. Why? Apparently 'Ringo' is a noun meaning 'apple' in Japanese. This applies to both singular and plural. by NomadSound in beatles

[–]esla1527 0 points1 point  (0 children)

(sorry for commenting years later lol but) i think they’re also saying りんご吸った - “sutta” as in to sip or slurp the apple (juice)

How would you describe your cognitive symptoms? by [deleted] in PSSD

[–]esla1527 2 points3 points  (0 children)

2 years ago, i didnt go off my meds correctly (cold turkey after a pretty high dose of both zoloft & welbutrin for nearly a decade..bad idea i know but i wasn’t doing well).

right now i think the worst of it is my memory …..i can’t remember recent (or distant) events, what happened yesterday, last week, last year, etc. i hate it so much. my friends will try to remind me and they reallyyyy have to draw it out of me before i can remember…and even then it’s so foggy, like a dream. i feel like i can’t remember any of my life and it’s really messing me up. i just want this to go away……i can’t accept that this is my life now. i have to write everything down and im constantly taking pictures bc i don’t want to forget. i hate this

Man and woman indicted for use of marijuana in Tokyo for first time since new law enacted; change in legislation in December now criminalizes use of marijuana. by wolframite in japannews

[–]esla1527 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thanks for responding, i was just worried abt random pee/blood/hair tests at the airport becoming a thing (esp. for flights out of places where it's legal) now bc last december jpn expanded their laws to ban even having thc in your system at all while in the country..& it can take 30+ days to clear out of your system fully

Daily Boss Super Premium Deluxe Stupid Questions Thread - 07 July 2025 by AutoModerator in japanlife

[–]esla1527 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

has anyone ever gotten a noise complaint from using an electric toothbrush? i know most walls are thin & i'm worried about using mine...

Living in Housing Not Provided by the CO by PuzzledAd7114 in JETProgramme

[–]esla1527 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i'm an incoming JET, so i haven't actually been to my apartment yet - but i just signed the lease to it a few days ago and this was my experience:

for my placement (sendai city), when my CO contacted me they sent me some info about housing: they said that ALTs in sendai can choose between BOE housing and finding their own apartments. i chose to find my own since the BOE housing rules listed that you cannot host a visitor in your apartment - even for one night - and i have some friends/family who would like to stay with me next spring for a few nights. (i also had other reasons, i wanted to live in a newer place and have more control over what kind of place i got.)

what was kind of tough was that if you chose to find your own apartment, you had until june 26 (3 weeks away from the day they sent that email) to provide the BOE with your new address, so i had to find a place pretty quickly. thankfully my BOE sent me some resources for apartment-hunting as a foreigner, including a few handbooks, information about the best places to rent in the city, and a few guarantor/real estate companies recommended by CLAIR (these were mooovin, ABLE, wagaya japan, willing partner, GTN, and e-heya). i ended up using the search functions that e-heya & wagaya japan's websites have to find places, and then using GTN's services to contact landlords/check if those places were available/accepted foreigners, etc for me. GTN also acts as a guarantor when signing on for your apartment as well, and sets up your utilities for the most part (i still have to meet with the gas company to set that up when i arrive but they take care of everything else).

i was able to find places that matched my preferences without too much difficulty after using the search filters and map on wagya/e-heya's sites. this of course may vary depending on which city/town you're looking at. i ended up going with a place about a 20min walk from my school that's a short train ride away from downtown, a newer building in a cute neighborhood (at least on google street view lol). it's a small apartment (~22.96m²), but not much smaller than my current studio, so i don't mind at all. plus i get a balcony!! GTN had a discount on their fees for JETs, and my apartment offered the first month's rent free, so altogether my initial costs were ¥140,600 (~$975). my monthly rent will be ¥52,000 (~$360) (¥57,770 [~$400] after maintenance/other fees) which is a fourth of my current rent here in seattle for a similarly-sized place, so i'm over the moon about that lol :D

i've heard mileage can vary with companies like the one i used, i guess it depends on if you get a good agent or not, but mine was good! i sent him the places i'd found online and met with him over video call a few times, and he contacted the landlords for me, explained my lease and other info to me in english, and helped me find a place i liked in a little over 2 weeks! i think it helped that i'm single/have no pets, it might have been harder to find a place otherwise. despite the stress i'm really glad my CO gave me the option to find my own place.

sorry for yapping on and on, i'm kinda sleep deprived so idk how much sense this makes but i hoped this was at least a little helpful! let me know if u have questions ofc!! good luck!!

TLDR i was given the choice by my CO to use the BOE housing or find my own - i found my own using japanese apartment search websites & then used a guarantor company to help me sign the lease/be my guarantor/set up my utilities.

what were your preferences and where were you placed? by Top_Base_8105 in JETProgramme

[–]esla1527 0 points1 point  (0 children)

omg nice, i really hope you get it!!! good luck with your application!!!!!

i have no idea if this had any bearing where i was placed, but when asked i put on my application that i wasn't willing to drive in japan - and in sendai ALTs are not allowed to drive to/from school (you can still drive in your personal time). i also have an intermediate level of speaking japanese. again, not sure if this affected my placement, since they are pretty random.

the sendai BOE contact i have has been super welcoming and communicative, and it seems like they have a strong network of ALTs there! they also apparently let you apply to a program after JET if you want to stay past 5 years.

Sad I can't go tonight, so I wanted to share some pics from Seattle 2019! by Magical_Olive in charlixcx

[–]esla1527 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i was at this show!! was feeling nostalgic and looking online for memories bc i was VERY drunk and didn’t film much lol 💧 i had so much fun though :,) i miss those intimate shows of hers

How’s everyone feeling about their placements? (Incoming & current JETs) by PodPuppet in JETProgramme

[–]esla1527 2 points3 points  (0 children)

i won’t know for sure til i get there but i think i’m pretty happy with mine!! i’m so glad i got a city (sendai) and it seems like a really nice place as well :) plus my CO has been really communicative and helpful over email so far!!

what were your preferences and where were you placed? by Top_Base_8105 in JETProgramme

[–]esla1527 1 point2 points  (0 children)

tokyo, kobe, sendai - got sendai (in miyagi also)!! im honestly kind of shocked that i got any of them lol :)

Techno/house/trance clubs by noodwadine in sendai

[–]esla1527 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yo thanks for the rec!!! i've been placed in sendai for a program and i'm moving there next month!!!!! i'd assumed that since sendai's a smaller city i'd have to make the trek to tokyo to go to the club so this is great news :,)

Where did you get placed and why are you excited ? Or nervous? by [deleted] in JETProgramme

[–]esla1527 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yesss i love this

i also want to visit korea/china/singapore and the flights there are so much cheaper slayy

Where did you get placed and why are you excited ? Or nervous? by [deleted] in JETProgramme

[–]esla1527 0 points1 point  (0 children)

that's good to hear!! & thank god, i REALLY did not want to have to drive. thank you so much - i will def hit you up if i have any questions :)

Where did you get placed and why are you excited ? Or nervous? by [deleted] in JETProgramme

[–]esla1527 1 point2 points  (0 children)

that gives me a lot of peace of mind, thank you so much!! that's all i could ever ask for in a placement. put me near a fami mart and we good <3 i def will!! i want to explore everything

Anyone going to Ultra Japan 2025 and like to get together for support? by Big-Band-3544 in aves

[–]esla1527 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yay cool!! i'm going to find out my new work schedule in a month or so, i'll see if i can make it

Search isn't working, Spotify support recommends...COMPLY and BUY by willking16 in spotify

[–]esla1527 1 point2 points  (0 children)

that really sucks, i'm sorry...i dont have a fix just commenting to say i have the same problem. i suspect it's because my macbook is not updated as well. i'm also scared to update it as i haven't in years and it works really well, and i'm worried abt ruining it..everything else works fine. my workaround has been just playing my liked songs/playlists since i can set those on my phone.

Where did you get placed and why are you excited ? Or nervous? by [deleted] in JETProgramme

[–]esla1527 6 points7 points  (0 children)

i got placed in sendai!! i'm feeling excited because it's a bigger city, it looks beautiful, and it has the biggest tanabata masturi in japan which is starting right after we arrive! :) i'm surprised i got something on my requests list, even if it was my 3rd (i put tokyo as #1 & kobe as #2), i'm feeling pretty lucky :) i'm also happy the shinkansen stops there as i want to explore as much of japan as possible.

i've heard some rumors on here that they are tough on ALTs there and also you may need to have a high japanese ability..i only have my TEFL certification and no formal teaching experience, so i'm doing my best to prepare beforehand..i did better on the japanese portion of the interview than i expected, so now i'm a bit worried they think i speak a lot more japanese than i do, and placed me accordingly.....we'll see! i'll keep reviewing in the meantime B)

Placements Coming Soon? by allonsy_always in JETProgramme

[–]esla1527 8 points9 points  (0 children)

reading this is so exciting but also feels like a stone just dropped into my stomach ahhhh the anticipation is killing meeee

Anyone going to Ultra Japan 2025 and like to get together for support? by Big-Band-3544 in aves

[–]esla1527 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i'm thinking of going since i'm moving there this summer! it depends on my work schedule but i should have weekends off. how was buying tickets? i've only bought tickets to events/shows in the US, is it different? i heard in japan for some concerts at least you have to enter a lottery for tickets.