The Application

I had taken Japanese for two years in high school and had miraculously retained my knowledge of hiragana. Once I got my gig as a high school English teacher I took the opportunity to pester my colleague and friend who taught Japanese and ask him ALL about Japan. He was patient and obliged for months before recommending I attend a seminar evening in mid September on the JET Programme. I was initially reluctant because I was comfortable with the familiar but once I saw that there was free food AND it was held at the mayor's fancy office - I was in! I'm also glad we had to RSVP as it held me accountable for actually showing up. Upon arrival I nervously used my stale Japanese to greet the friendly JET representatives and made the most of the information provided. We heard from a JET alumnus about his experience and then Skyped JETs in my town's (Lower Hutt) sister city of Mino City in Gifu Prefecture. It must have been fate because a friend from university was on the other line! I was also stoked to find out that it is really easy for a spouse to accompany you.

The JET Programme then dawned on me as an opportunity I would like to pursue. I became dedicated to researching online via blogs and vlogs about the experiences available and excitedly awaited the release of the 2017 application. Some of my favourite online resources are: Abroad in Japan, Caradventures, Simon and Martina, Ange Abroad, and Cubicle Throwdown.  During this time I also took up Japanese lessons at my local embassy.

Applications opened at the beginning of October and closed 28 November. Two months sounds like a long time but trust me - it was needed! The application has multiple parts which include the application form, statement of purpose (essay), criminal conviction form, and all necessary documents to be certified. The application form allows you to select three prefectural preferences and whether you'd prefer urban or rural (keep in mind that you won't necessarily get your request). This required a lot of thought as I had to consider all 47 prefectures of Japan, local points of interest, proximity to public transport, and factor in what my non-JET husband could do for work. I settled on a rural placement (in the hopes of hitting the jackpot with subsidised rent) in 1) Wakayama 2) Yamanashi 3) Osaka. The SoP was much harder to write than I first thought. You must talk yourself up, describe how you deal with challenges, what attributes make you suitable for the programme, explain why you picked JET, explain why you'd like to go to Japan, and any relevant work/language/culture. Oh and did I mention it cannot be longer than two typed, double spaced and size 12 Times New Roman pages? I was extremely fortunate to have my friend proofread my rambling and condense it into a concise "pick me!" essay.

I reread the application instructions to ensure I had followed their very specific instructions to the letter and then anxiously drove to the embassy to personally submit my application. The JET administrator, Xan, was a smiling font of knowledge and kindly offered to check through my submission to make sure I had everything in the correct order etc. She gave it the all clear and I walked out relieved that I had handed it in with one week to spare. 

Then the waiting game began until I would find out in mid January whether I made it through to the interviews or not...

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