Plus you get ample time off, reimbursed for most work related travel, you are very close to cool countries in SE Asia and Australia, and it's really cool.

The application process starts in September and I made my final decision when they laid off someone at work who I thought really did a good job. I realized they had no loyalty and decided to start opening some options for me. I thought of bartending school and then moving to the Keys, or finding something to do in Vegas, or staying in Atlanta but finding a totally different career path.

Then 9/11 came and I decided I rather be out of the big target country and in a neutral out of the way place.

Ironically now North Korea is threatening to bomb Japan. Who knew, just can't win.

Application - I had to fill out this long application, have two people write reference letters, get a physical, write an essay on why I want to do it, gather all my transcripts from every school I attended, and then wait. This was in September.

Interview - Finally in Feb they told me I was accepted to get an interview. There was no way to prepare for the JET interview as the main purpose is really to find your breaking point and how you react. They hit me at different angles with worst case scenarios. One interviewer actually said some people stand up and say "I don't need this job, I don't so you can kiss off". Doubt she got in. The interview was early March I think.

Short List - didn't really get this part, but it is typical Japanese. It said "Congratulations you are on the short list for acceptance, this almost always happens". The three statuses are supposed to be accepted, alternate, rejected. So apparently the short list was a new thing in between accepted and alternate. I knew people who were flat out accepted and some that were alternates. -3 points for vagueness. This came in mid May (although they said it would come mid April).

Placement - Finally in early June I was emailed and told I would be in Fukushima Ken as a prefectural JET. Which means I would be employed by the BOE as opposed to one specific school. Not sure of the up side or down side of this yet, though I hear prefectural JETs get more time off. Woo Hoo.

Final details - My predecessor emailed me as did my new supervisor around mid June. David was the guy in my place now who I would be replacing. He said everything there was pretty cool and I gave him a list of 1.5 million questions. He answered them all and I had no worries about the transfer.

The apartment itself has two rooms each with 6 tatami mats. Each room is about 8 feet wide by 10-12 feet long. There is a remote controlled Air Conditioned/Heater and two overhead lights. There is a big kitchen, as well as a shower/tub room and a toilet room. I have a washer but have to hang my clothes out to dry.

 Pictures

My favorite restaurants are two sushi kaitens (conveyors), a fried meat place, three curry rice places, a really bizarre Malaysian type place, and sadly McDonald's.

 Pictures will come soon.

The job for the most part consists of me either acting as an assistant teacher and speaking English a lot, or acting as a Human Tape recorder and repeating sentences over and over. I am usually in 2-4 classes a day and might stay after to assist with extra activities. A native speaker can really help students learn.

While at school I say Hello or What's up to every student I pass. I try to get them to talk to me about anything. I gave them an email address and maybe %1 have written me, but at least it's not zero. I feel a good connection between my base school students and me. I try to act in between a teacher and a student. I'll help them along when they need it and tell them to be quiet as well.