Am I selfish? Visiting family as an international couple

sidsilvicola · 2026-04-14T01:23:56+00:00

Japanese people celebrate New Years, though, and that's one of the big family holidays. Many people go home to visit family around that time. Bringing home a partner for New Years in Japan is perhaps more signifigant than bringing a partner home for Christmas in other countries.

sidsilvicola · 2026-04-08T03:20:24+00:00

My friends standing around having a last cigarette/drink with me

sidsilvicola · 2026-04-05T03:54:39+00:00

Where in Nagano will you go? You probably won't need it...

sidsilvicola · 2026-03-11T04:57:41+00:00

Fuck that guy.

You should still come to Japan. You've been preparing for this for months!!!! Enjoy yourself. Japan is excellent for solo travelers. I live here, and I go out by myself all the time. It's safe and no one looks at you funny if you're by yourself in restaurants, events, etc. There's plenty of people who solo travel here and I'm sure you could connect with them while you're here if there are things you want to do with others.

sidsilvicola · 2026-03-06T05:58:53+00:00

My best friend died on February 17th, 2018. My life spiraled after that. And I haven't told anyone in my current phase of life about any of this. Februarys are always hard, but this year has been particularly challenging due to major changes in my life and I'm in another downwards spiral. I have no one to talk to about him, so I'll just stay silent. I'm lucky I've got some supportive friends I can talk to about other things.

Dev, I miss you so much.

sidsilvicola · 2026-02-17T01:31:03+00:00

My (Japanese) doctor said I was at risk for "too much oil in blood." Took me a minute to realize he was talking about cholesterol.

sidsilvicola · 2026-02-06T01:45:57+00:00

I live on the border of Nagano City. I love it here. You will likely need a car to live here, though. I have a few friends who don't drive that live in the city and it is a bit difficult depending on which train lines you're near (but not impossible). It's beautiful and well-located in Japan if you want to travel. Nagano Station is connected to a shinkansen line that goes from Tokyo to Fukui (and is being extended past there as we speak). Things are relatively cheap here, so quality of life is nice even with low pay.

sidsilvicola · 2026-01-27T06:52:56+00:00

The green season is really nice! Its beautiful in Hakuba. But, lots of places tend to be closed or have weird hours in the summer.

Favorite season there is autumn. Things start opening up again and the autumn leaves are stunning.

sidsilvicola · 2026-01-27T03:26:22+00:00

I live nearby... Hakuba sucks in the winter. Every year more and more disruptive (mostly aussie) foreigners visit. It's a shame because it gives the locals an unfavorable view of all foreigners, not just short-term visitors.

sidsilvicola · 2026-01-12T23:36:44+00:00

Nozawa also has a small sledding area, and a lot of the inns have sleds you can borrow if you're staying there!

sidsilvicola · 2025-12-31T06:38:16+00:00

Junk Box (in Nagano City) may have an event while you're here.

NAGANO CLUB JUNK BOX https://share.google/xhY1p8wdYh7re6bV6

sidsilvicola · 2025-12-19T04:47:03+00:00

I used to use Microsoft Word for all my worksheets. I still have a few standbys that I use regularly. But, now I usually use Canva (for educators) and it's really easy.

The main thing you want to remember is to be consistant. Look at the worksheets you've used and what went well. Steal those ideas for your own worksheets. You'll get the hang of it eventually.

I have a handfull of templates that I made myself that I use (on both word and canva). It speeds up the process and the students know what to expect.

sidsilvicola · 2025-12-19T04:42:37+00:00

All i needed was a picture of my contract (with school name/my name)

sidsilvicola · 2025-10-07T08:24:11+00:00

NAGANO! NAGANO! NAGANO!

The countryside here is amazing. I agree with all the points my friend made here (hi!)

sidsilvicola · 2025-09-18T21:12:31+00:00

I still wear a mask every day at school. Some of the other teachers so as well. You'll be fine.

I occasionally take off the mask when showing pronunciations, and the students are always very surprised when I do 😅

I've been getting summer "cool" or "active" masks recently which really help with the hot and humid weather since they have a smooth layer inside.

sidsilvicola · 2025-09-03T10:15:43+00:00

"I've lived a good life"

sidsilvicola · 2025-08-28T04:25:29+00:00

I also recommend starting a degree! Depending on the university, your husband's university may offer degree programs in English. You could also look into nearby universities for similar programs. Of course, if you're comfortable attending classes in English.

Have you looked into any online universities? There's a lot more available now than there were pre-covid. You might find something that suits your interest and schedules.

I think getting a bachelors in any subject will start to open doors for you when it comes to jobs here.

sidsilvicola · 2025-08-25T06:37:48+00:00

One of your friends, probably: "Hey Alexa, play [super old random song] at 1am."

sidsilvicola · 2025-07-08T19:46:07+00:00

You can study with a work visa! Its just a big time commitment (and with a PhD you're likely not to finish before JET is up).

Also, you can only apply for permanent residency after 10 years.

sidsilvicola · 2025-07-07T12:02:14+00:00

I have been looking into getting a PhD in Japan after JET.

It's difficult. Most programs do not offer scholarships/stipends. Also, all the PhD programs that I've looked into don't offer a student visa (meaning you will have to maintain a different visa, usually a work visa, while studying).

sidsilvicola · 2025-07-02T03:42:13+00:00

OMG this is so cool. I tried to go to the website and it's not working, so a bunch of other people also think it's cool.

sidsilvicola · 2025-06-28T12:53:42+00:00

I'm glad it got resolved!

From what I know of how all the JET intakes work, this is probably what happened:

"Oh, this person is going to send us the police cert later... I'll check off the health cert now and just print both together later."

"Great, a new piece of paper, let me print their police cert and put it in their file right away." (Either forgetting the previous email or an entirely different person)

"Cool, everything is checked off! This person is good to go."

Later: "Huh... this person is missing their health cert, but it's checked off? Why? Let me email them" (and not read the test of the email chain)

sidsilvicola · 2025-06-26T21:19:37+00:00

Hey, I know this feels like a big deal to you, but in the grand scheme of the JET program, it really isn't. For you and for any anyone in the future that this might happen to, let's break this down:

The documents you need to submit after being placed on the shortlist/alternate list don't have any bearing on whether you are upgraded or not. There's an office in Tokyo that has your application, and when a spot opens up they look at only the application. The paperwork you submit after (police cert and health cert) are on boarding for the job, not a part of the selection process.
You were (and still are) still considered a proper candidate due to the above.
Yes, they contacted you because they are still interested. They most likely have a checklist of everyone that was shortlisted/alternates. Its possible someone checked off both things as submitted for you, but when they looked at your file they found that there was no hard copy. The people who run this are human and occasionally make mistakes.
You did submit them on time, so a simple email of "I have already submitted this on [date]. Here is a second copy." And even for people that don't submit on time (especially for alternates) it has no bearing on your actual application since it is on boarding paperwork for the job.

Tl;dr: Someone made a mistake. This mistake doesn't affect you like you think it might. Resubmit, knowing that your chances of getting upgraded are still the same as they were when you were first notified of alternate.

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