Home / Main / PA Mar 06
In this edition:
1. New-look website! With more stuff on it! Woo!
2. Regional Reps jobs up for grabs
3. Returning JETs
4. Sexual Harassment
5. Safety in Japan
6. Making it through March
1. New and improved website.
Well, I say new and improved, but what I actually mean is new colours and some different banners at the top. Oh, and some nice pictures at the side. Prettier, at least! Things you might be interested in content-wise are the Restaurant and Shopping Guide, which I finally finished putting into an easily browsable version, maps to all the meeting venues which will come in handy in April and also - The Team Teaching Handbook Online! OK it's not there yet, but when you get your copies at school in April, you'll also get an email from me with the password to access the document files online. It'll be easy to browse and find what you're looking for. More info to come.
2. Regional Reps positions becoming available.
This year all 4 of the regional rep positions are going to be available to recontracting JETs. Your current rep will email you all a couple of weeks before the regional meetings, letting you know what the role involves. If you are interested, you should email your rep, and also think of a short "speech" which you will use to convince the other people in your region to vote for you. If there are 2 or more people interested then you'll give your speech at your regional meeting, and then there will be a vote. You'll find out the results after the meetings are all over.
3. Returning JETs
Yes, I know it's 5 months till you leave, but they're going to go quickly. After the regional meetings I'm going to email out both the "Returner's Handbook" - with lots of info on things that you need to do over the next few months, and the "Successor Information Booklet" which you ARE going to be nice and fill in for your successor, aren't you. In the meantime, it's time to start looking at what you want to throw out/sell/keep and think about how you're going to go about it. Ask at school about places to take larger rubbish...read the section on the website about the flea market... look into shipping companies. Also start going through that paperwork and get it in order - tax and pension stuff is especially important over the next few months.
Have fun!
4. Sexual Harassment
See the guides and info section for a document that was put together by Ian Woozley, SPA in Niigata. Hopefully you'll never need to deal with sexual harassment while you're here - but it can and does happen, so it's best to be prepared. Please take the time to read through it, and feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions or need to talk to someone about related issues.
5. Safety in Japan
Whether you're in the city or deepest inaka, you always need to think about your own safety. When it comes down to it, Japanese people are going to be curious about you because you're different. This can show itself in both good and bad ways, and unfortunately the bad outweighs the good. Not wanting to tap in to your paranoia or anything, but you do need to be aware that you're usually being watched as you go about your daily business. You might not recognise the people who you pass everyday, but you can be almost certain that they recognise you! Your routines can become well known so try to vary things such as your route home from work.
From a privacy point of view, you may want to be discreet when it comes to overnight guests if you don't want to get to work the next day to be told all about it. If you dry your clothes in a public place such as a garden - consider keeping underwear indoors if you don't want it inspected or stolen! Also, as the weather is becoming warmer, you're going to want to have windows and doors open a lot more. Investing in blinds or shades is a good idea if your apartment/house is overlooked or on the ground-floor (1st floor). If you're on the ground-floor and feel uncomfortable you do have the right to move. One last note on privacy - make sure that your school/office knows that it is NOT ok to pass on your personal information (address, phone number etc) to people who might enquire about it (including other teachers) - they should always check with you first.
Moving on to safety - common sense but lock your doors and windows, especially at night. As well as the obvious safety risks, it's not uncommon for someone to ring your doorbell and open then door, because in Japan they don't count the genkan as part of the private home. You probably feel differently however, so lock your doors whether you're in or out of your apartment. When you're in your apartment at night avoid doing things like getting undressed near the windows if it's lighter inside than outside! When you're out and about vary your routes - especially if you walk home from work/the station/wherever alone at night.
It's a good idea to work out where the nearest police box/station is for emergencies. Memorize emergency telephone numbers or keep copies next to the phone. If you have any nice neighbours nearby, work on getting to know them so there's someone trustworthy nearby should you need their help.
You need to remember that Japan isn't a safe country. I think we do all feel safer here than in our own countries, but there are still stalkers, perverts, attackers, muggers etc out there. In Japan sex-related incidents are relatively high so take care not to put yourself into any dangerous situations... you wouldn't accept a lift home from a stranger in your own country, so don't do it here. Don't walk home at night - get a taxi. After enkais and parties, be careful about who takes you home. I know all of the above sounds really obvious but I think we do let our guard down here. I think a little healthy paranoia is necessary to keep yourself safe!
The above is a pretty sobering read, but it's something they drum into us constantly at PA training. There are incidents relating to JETs safety every year, and we want to do our best to keep you safe. If you have any questions or want to talk about anything, let me know.
6. March :(
If you're an ALT, especially SHS, you're probably going to find that March is a slooooow month. The lack of work combined with the not-quite-good-yet weather is a bit depressing... try to keep yourself busy...and that doesn't mean wasting all day on the boards! If you're leaving - why not look into what you're going to do after JET. If you're staying - study Japanese so your nampa techniques are better next year. Either way - think about starting up some kind of English club or message board before your new ichi nen seis arrive next month - if you get the go-ahead you can nab some of them before they join another club. Also in a couple of weeks time your teachers are going to be going over the new English timetable. If you don't know about this meeting - ask and find out!! I think it's important that you're there so you can have some kind of input. Once you know what you're going to be doing you can sit down with your JTEs and start to plan what you'll do next term. Last of all (my favourite) - go on holiday! If you have enough nenkyuu and you're not missing anything important, why not see a bit of Japan or other nearby countries. You do have to take nenkyuu but it's a LOT cheaper than golden week. Having said all that, after a few weeks I'm probably going to be bashing my head off my desk, so if you have any other suggestions - please share!