HI. It's been a long long time since I've properly posted to this site, and I'm afraid this isn't going to be a proper post. But maybe it will be interesting. I've gotten in touch with my successor, and today I wrote her a long e-mail about life in Japan. In case you're curious:

> 1 ) Did you have any previous knowledge of the Japanese language? If not,
> did you find the lack of language skills
> a huge barrier in the classroom or out in the city?

I studied Japanese for a year and a half at NU, but many of my friends hadn't studied the language at all. I expected my Japanese to improve dramatically here, and while my listening, reading, and vocab have improved, I'm still a terrible speaker. But I think it's my personality. Some friends hadn't studied Japanese and don't study here, and they can pick it up and use expressions very naturally.

I think it will be pretty strange, maybe a little scary when you first get here, but you will pick up the essentials quickly. If possible, study before you come. I would learn katakana and hiragana before you come �Ekatakana will help you read menus since katakana is the script for words of foreign origin (example coffee when read in katakana sounds like 'kohee�E milk is 'miruku�Eand hamburger is 'hanbaaga�E.

Also learn numbers and money expressions. I can send you a list of what I think are essential Japanese phrases, or the ones that will help you most (what time is the next train, what platform, etc.) You really will pick it up quickly, though, and maybe your friends will speak some Japanese, or you can hang out with the 2nd years who speak some Japanese.

People in Toyama might know a few English expressions, but on the whole you can't trust people to understand English the way you can in Tokyo or Osaka. But the people are really friendly, and gestures, maps, pointing and bits of English will get you pretty far.

Once you're here, the best way to learn the language is to take Japanese classes. You have several options for studying Japanese �Ethis is something else I'll address in a later e-mail.

You don't need any Japanese for the classroom. I never speak Japanese in class. The Japanese teachers can take care of that. That said, I completely forgot to tell you about elementary school (it doesn'tadd up, does it? �E3 days at Nanbu, 1.5 days at Oizumi�E. Tuesday afternoons are at Shimizumachi elementary school. The teachers�EEnglish is terrible, and lesson planning and communication are a little difficult. I will tell the English teachers at Oizumi that I think they should accompany you to your first meeting to help translate lesson plans. Beyond that, there's a good website for teaching English at Japanese elementary schools (genkienglish.com), and they have explanations of games and lessons in both English and Japanese.


> 2)How big is Toyama City (population wise)? Is their a sizeable population
> of foreigners, besides JET people? What is the area like?

Toyama has around 350,000 people. There are a fair amount of foreigners �Equite a few Brazilians and Russians, Philippians, Chinese, and some English speaking foreigners, too. Generally, the only non-JET foreigners JETs socialize with are the NOVA or AEON people, who come from similar backgrounds and have similar non-levels of Japanese. There are also a handful of Mormons here on their 2 year mission, and I know some of them from various international events. But they speak great Japanese, have plenty of Japanese friends and are very busy with their work. The other English-speaking foreigners here tend to be high school exchange students, people here on business, or people who have started families in Toyama. It is a city, and I occasionally see foreigners I don't know on the streets. But it'smuch less diverse than Tokyo or another big city�E After being in Toyama for a few months, I find myself staring at foreigners out in the big cities.

The area. It's spectacular. Toyama is an industrial city by reputation (you got the idea from the Lonely Planet). You probably gathered from the Toyama website that they pride themselves on the high quality of living. This is the truth. Standard of living in Toyama is great. The air is clean (especially in the mountains �Eonly an hour away), the water is delicious (hence our soccer team takes the name 'Oishi mizu' (delicious water), the fish is very fresh and good, the rice is good. The people are friendly. The Northern Japanese Alps are amazing, and you can see them from your balcony and from the classrooms at school. It's a big enough city that there are plenty of restaurants, Japanese and western, and there are also plenty of foreign foods grocery stores.

That said, Toyama is a little boring. People here are families - many cool young people go to Tokyo, Yokohama, for their college years and a few working years before returning to Toyama to live in their parents - houses and raise families. There are some bars in the city, but they are a bit spread out, so most of the JET social life takes place in neighboring Takaoka city, where the bars are all in the same little strip. BUT, hopefully next year the Toyama JETs will be tighter than this year (out of all the people in Sunshine, I only hung out with 2 - this year Toyama was pretty cliquey, and the Toyama JETs didn't like to go out as much as JETs in other areas). The shopping in Toyama is okay, but overpriced. There is one club, where they occasionally have live Ska/Reggae concerts that rock, but the norm is cheesy dance music at a high price (so I've heard, I've only been for the ska nights).

But please don't get discouraged. My friend and I were talking the other day how Toyama is a little dull, but we think it's great for the life of a JET. The people are very friendly, you get special attention as a foreigner which overall is nice, and the lifestyle is cheap, comfortable, and laid back. Biggest perks - Kyoto's 3 hours by train, Kanazawa is an hour, Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya are 4. So you can take an easy weekend trip to the city, and return to your affordable, comfortable, beautiful home for the workweek.

> 3) At Nanbu Jr. High- How many classes do you teach in a week? Do you
> team-teach in all your classes there?

A good week is 4-5 classes a day. I like to be busy teaching. But lately the norm has been 2-3 classes a day. When I first got here, I would teach between 3-5 classes a day unless there were midterm tests or some festival. But in the winter it slowed down as we neared graduation, then there was a long break of classes during spring break, and since spring break I haven't taught so much at Nanbu. One reason is probably that my supervisor is pregnant, and takes a lot of vacation. So a lot of my classes with her have been cancelled (my one class today was cancelled because she's not here). The 1-nensei teacher is brand new �Eher first year of teaching �Eand I think I don't have as many classes with her since she's still figuring it out for herself a bit. 3-nenseis were supposedly busy preparing for the school trip, but I don't really see why that's an explanation for no TT classes. ??

Here's a good time for me to go through the teachers and talk a bit about their teaching styles.

Nanbu: 3-nensei. Kenda-sensei. Around 31, female, single, volleyball coach, has around 8 years being a full-time teacher, is really really nice, cool, and I think she's a really good teacher. I've had some fantastic team-teaching classes with her. We do the planning together, but she's a little more dominant. I think she likes to have a fair amount of control over her class, but I think this is the sign of a good teacher. She has clear goals with the students and with individual classes, and lessons are generally tailored towards these goals. She's very open to my ideas, though, and often we will toss out an idea for a class and work with it together until we're somewhere we both like. She also is really creative and takes risks �Emy favorite class I've taught with her was last year when she was teaching 1-nensei. I came into class and started without her �Ethe students were stunned �Ehow could they understand me? But I started writing on the chalkboard and teaching. About 5 minutes later Kenda-sensei comes in in a monkey mask, and I scolded her for being late. Then, she walked around the class kicking desks, swatting at students, taking their things, and throwing them around the room. She wouldn't stop until the students told her 'Don't hit!�E etc., with me along to coach them. It was great. Followed by a telephone conversations with paper cups and string. Such a fun class. We usually share responsibility for materials preparations. Her English is very good. She is the leader in the classroom (she uses a fair amount of Japanese for instructions).

2-nensei: Suzuki sensei. 35, now pregnant with her 3rd child. Excellent English (the best of any JHS teachers I've met) She's very nice, down to earth, and has a great sense of humor. We work together to plan lessons - usually we both bring ideas to the table, sometimes she'll rely on me more heavily for ideas. I'm not going to write too much more since you won't be teaching with her : - ( . I am usually the leader, and she uses English for instructions.

1-nensei: Hasegawa-sensei. 23, her first year teaching. Her English isn't so good, so she's pretty shy around me even though we sit next to each other. I don't know her very well yet, since she is new as of April. I have only taught with her twice - both times we did lessons I had already used at Oizumi, and I was the leader in the classroom. I get the impression she speaks a lot of Japanese during class. But she's really fun and bubbly, and I am sad she wasn't here when I first arrived - she would have been fun to go out with, etc.

Nanbu's students: as I said in the last e-mail, they are pretty studious and smart, but a little more hesitant to speak in class.

Oizumi �Ethe English teachers are Ms. Murashita and Ms. Iiguchi. Both are new as of April �EMs. Iiguchi is substituting for Onnegawa-sensei who is pregnant. But I don't think Onnegawa-sensei will be back for a few years. If you get a chance to meet her, I encourage you to: she's really interesting. She took a little getting-used to (very un-Japanese, very blunt and opinionated, I think she's hilarious), but once I got to know her a bit I really enjoyed talking to her. I think she's part of some cult religion, but that's besides the point. Ms. Murashita is very quiet. I don't think her English is very good. I also don't know how she is as a teacher. Since I team-teach with both her and Iiguchi-sensei, Iiguchi-sensei seems to be the person who is more involved, and Murashita sensei kind of stands off to the side. She sits next to us at Oizumi.

Iiguchi-sensei is also new as of April. She comes from my friend Brian's school, and was good friends with Brian �Ethey still have dinner together, etc. She's in her 40's, married, no kids, and chooses to be a substitute teacher so she can change schools every year (you'll learn about this system �Eteachers must take a test to become permanent, otherwise they change schools every year. Ms. Hasegawa is also a substitute teacher). Her English isn't great, but she's friendly, well-traveled, and likes ALTs.

Oizumi - Tsubosaka-sensei is the gym teacher/administrator. She's in her 40's (but don't tell her you know that - I thought she was much younger until she told me), married with kids, but I would never have guessed based on her personality - she's really cool. Doesn't fit into my idea of the Japanese housewife at all. Maybe because she's a gym teacher, she speaks really loud in class. I thought it was strange at first, but I like it, and think it's pretty funny. She really likes English, and studies it on her own just for fun. She talks to me all the time outside of class, and I've noticed she uses English all over the place in her normal job, which I think is really cool �EI saw a memo signed in English 'by Tsubosaka' or random English words on the staff chalkboard at school 'or' instead of the Japanese word, etc. Anyways, she has a really great personality and sense of humor, and she's fun to talk to.

Oizumi students - really genki (energetic, lively). One class of 2-nenseis is rough, some bad boys, but I'm working with the English teachers to figure out what to do in this class. And you'll be teaching them with Tsubosaka-sensei, who doesn't tolerate bad behavior. They're not very good at English, and higher-energy activities are usually better.

> 4)At Oizumi Jr. High- How many classes do you teach in a week? (i believe 4
> but i want to be clear on this :)

6 classes �ETuseday I teach 1-nensei 3rd and 4th periods (Tuesday afternoon is 2-3 elementary classes), Thursday I teach 3-nensei 1st and 2nd periods, 2-nensei 3rd and 5th periods. Your schedule will be different, but you will most likely teach 6 classes a week.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are the busier days, and there's not a lot of time for planning or grading. But I really enjoy these days, and it's nice to work hard.

> What is the elective that you team-teach with the gym teacher? How many days
> a week are you at Oizumi?

It's not really an elective - it's just technically called that since it's not an English class. MOMBUSHO (the Japanese government education branch) administers the number of classes for each subject per week at a Junior High. There are 3 English classes a week. In addition, there are elective classes. But Oizumi doesn't have enough teachers or probably diversity of students to offer various electives (at Nanbu students can choose advanced English, science, math, etc., or remedial subjects), so instead all the students take another English class, which is the class I team-teach with Tsubosaka-sensei (the gym teacher, also an administrator at the school �Enext in line after the vice-principal).

I basically plan these lessons like TT lessons, with less emphasis on the textbook and more emphasis on whatever inspires me at the moment. It's good to practice the grammar they're learning, but I also like the freedom to do cultural lessons or more artsy lessons.


> 5) Is all of your work team-teaching?

Technically. Elementary school is more like teaching with a Japanese assistant who really has no idea what's going on.

> 6)Do you supervise any school clubs, such as the English club?

No. There is not an English club at either school, and no interest in one.

> 7)Have you done any translation work ?

Never. Would never be asked. Sometimes I have the Japanese teachers help me with English - Japanese translation.

> 8)Has the school allowed you to use your vacation time during school breaks
> (which coincide with the big Japanese national
> Holidays)? How many vacation days did you get?

Nanbu's great about vacation. We get 20 days of Nenkyu (paid leave). I've taken 4 days during the winter holidays (I went home for 2 weeks), 3 days during spring break to go to Taiwan, a half-day some random Wednesday afternoon (while school was in session) to meet a guy in Kanazawa (I didn't tell my school why, and they didn't ask. I just asked about a week in advance if I could take nenkyu that afternoon, and they said yes�E You don't have to give a reason to take nenkyu, just make sure you ask in advance. If you're traveling, you need to tell them where and fill out a form with dates and places you're going, I think this is mostly for your protection). I also took a week off school (when I would have been teaching) to travel with my parents. So essentially, they're very very cool about it. I'm taking more time off when my sister comes this summer.

Plus, they're really nice about sick days. I've gotten pretty sick twice - strep throat once, influenza once. They give me sick leave, no questions asked (for about 3 days each time). Plus, if I'm sick and really not feeling well at school, they've told me I can just go home and nothing technical is done about it.

They were very kind about summer vacation �Ethis summer at Nanbu I would go home at lunchtime, and at Oizumi I would only stay an hour or two, or once the office lady took me to a flower arranging class. At the end of winter vacation, when I was back and school wasn't in session yet, Oizumi also told me not to come in one day I was supposed to work, and then told me to hanko (stamp) in the book that I had come.

So they're great. The people you will work with are really really nice, reasonable people. Very straightforward, down to earth. They're used to many ALTs, and I think they're very understanding that we want to travel.

There is a feeling of jealousy in the staff room if I mention I went to Tokyo for the weekend, of if I talk about the various countries I've visited. It's not bad, a little difficult to explain. I think the people here don't travel as much. They have families, they live in Toyama, and Kyoto, only a 3 hour train ride, is a major yearly trip for them. It is very expensive to travel in Japan, so that's a big reason people don't travel too much (it's also expensive to get out of Japan, since it can be a 200 dollar train ride to the nearest international airport). We ALTs make plenty of money, have a lot of free time, are young, adventurous, and like to do things. We go see movies, eat out at restaurants, travel spontaneously, etc. For these reasons, many teachers with more school and family responsibilities are jealous. But, that's why we're here - to travel. And the paycheck is enough to keep us here - I think it's not so much a reflection on the job we do at school, but the fact that we’re in Japan, living in a foreign culture, in the first place. Plus, we recycle a good portion of these paychecks back into the Japanese economy : - ) .


> 9) Do you teach any adult evening english classes?

Not by contract. Some JETs pick up these conversation classes (eikaiaw), on the side. I recently volunteered for one at the international center (and was thanked with a 5000 yen book certificate), and I had a lot of fun. I would try if you get the chance �Eit's a good way to meet some random Japanese people and hear about their experiences. A breath of fresh air from the conversations at JHS (What did you have for breakfast?)
Plus, staying busy is a good way to fend off homesickness/loneliness.

I'm going to go off on a slight tangent here: I am the kind of person who thrives on being busy. I have a ton of interests, and like to have my time filled, so I assumed I would naturally be the same way in Japan. When I got here I took Japanese lessons once a week and joined they gym across the street, but I wasn't aggressive about finding things to do and starting up new activities, even though I was really interested in taking Japanese cooking classes and learning a Japanese martial arts. I advise you to find a few things you're interested in and get involved as quickly as possible.


> 10) What time is your work day over with?

Technically 4:15 pm. Lately, since I haven't been busy, I've been leaving at 4:15. But previously, when I had been more enthusiastic about school, I would occasionally stay till 6ish to work on things, or go hang out and watch a club sport. When I'm busy, I'll leave around 5-ish on average. It starts at 8:30, but I'll come early if I need to finish preparations. I usually leave home between 7:30 am and 8.


> 11) What do JETers do in their freetime?

There are lots of options. Hmmm�E I think for this answer I'm going to let you in on my online journal sites. This is coming with a serious disclaimer�EI want to give you as much information as possible about the job and situation, but please take my opinions/impressions of life here with a grain of salt, as I’m sure you'll come and form your own. Of course don't feel obligated to read them (but I know I would have devoured my predecessor's, so I'm expecting you'll do the same)�E

The site I worked on since the beginning: http://sbroshar.blogspot.com


> 12) How do you categorize or describe the work that you do at Oizumi and
> Nanbu? Is it all team-teaching? Do you regard yourself as
> a human English speaking dictionary?

Nanbu- team-teaching. Oizumi �Eteaching. Elementary �Eteaching. I tend to be the dominant force in my classes, probably because I have a lot of freedom planning them. With Kenda-sensei she's usually the dominant force. It really depends on the lesson, who planned it, and how it's planned. Never and English speaking dictionary. See above for info on individual teachers�Estyles.

> 13)How much imput do you have in the classroom planning of the course?Are
> the head English teachers interested in your ideas or imput?

I don't have very much input in the scheme of ordinary English classes, especially when I came in halfway through the year. But at the year change, I did implement some long-term ideas for participation rewards. Actually, last year I designed the 3-nensei advanced elective at Nanbu�EI had an idea for a class to make English commercials. Kenda-sensei was the teacher, and she liked my idea and wanted to do it together. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of opportunities to plan it together �EI planned it myself but didn't have the right information from her about scheduling, etc. Basically, my plan didn't work because classes were rescheduled, cancelled, etc. Plus other technical problems. I liked the challenge of planning the class myself, but for it to work I would have needed a lot more cooperation, and we were both busy with our other English classes.

> 14) Are your weekends free or do you spend 3-5 hours on Saturday during
> work-related activities?

Free weekends. If we have a sports festival on Friday, we get the following Monday off.

> 15) Have you participated in any school trips or activities?

Nope, never been invited on school trips L.

> 16) Have the other English teachers been free with information about school
> policies, activities, events, or scheduling?

They are good about scheduling �Eat each school I know my schedule for the entire month. At Nanbu, Suzuki-sensei (pregnant supervisor), makes the schedule. At Oizumi, Murashita-sensei makes it, but it's pretty much always the same.

Activities and events you have to pry out a bit, mostly because they just forget. I can read a bit of Japanese, so I can usually figure out what's going on by looking at the chalkboard, but I think you'll be able to figure it out without Japanese. At both schools, if the hours are shortened or rearranged (probably the case around 50% of the time), it will say on the chalkboard. If there are a bunch of things written, just ask what's going on. It's best if you look out for yourself �Eevery morning ask an English teacher what's going on for the day.

> 17) Is the apartment monthly rent 54000 yen before or after the city subsidy
> kicks in?

We're paid every 15th, and the rent is taken out on the first. So I'm not sure if it's before or after�E When we get here you will have around 1000 dollars in key deposit. Within the first two weeks of being here, a random 1500 dollars will appear in your bank account �Ea small gift from the city BOE to cover 'start-up expenses�E : - )

> 18) How much money do you pay in monthly bills, such as electric, gas,
> telephone? An estimate would be great.

Electric �E5000 yen. Gas �Ebi-monthly at around 3000 yen I believe. I have a cell phone which is around 7000 yen. These bills are all taken out of the bank account, and this is all set up the first day in Toyama. (Except for the cell phone, you might have to wait until you have your alien registration card to get your phone �E1 or 2 weeks) I also use an international callback service for my cell phone, which is billed in US dollars to an American credit card �E20-30 dollars a month.

> 19) Do you know if I'm taking over your lease?

I assume so, yes. Actually, no. You're taking my apartment, but I'm not sure how the lease works. I think the BOE has signed a lease with the building, and we are kind of subletting from the BOE.

> 20) what items did the apartment come with? Was it furnished with a futon,
> stove or burner, refrigerator, t.v., or heater,?

The BOE gives all JETs a washing machine, TV, heater, fridge, (I assume the stove/burner is included in the apartment), and a vacuum. Our vacuum sucks, I'll try to have them replace it for you. I tried to have them replace it for me, but they just came and fiddled with it, and told me to try again and if it really didn't work they'd replace it. It's over 10 years old!!!

In addition, I bought quite a few things from my predecessor and have added to it a bit myself. The apartment is another area I'll cover in detail in a later e-mail. Layout, furnishings, the neighborhood, etc.

> 21) Is their a wash machine in the apartment complex?

One in our apartment! Only cold water wash, and put all your clothes in nylon bags (there will be some under the sink when you get here). If you want to spin dry your clothes, the laundry mat is half a block away, costs 100 yen for 10 minutes, and is open 7:30 am till 11pm.

> 22) Did you have to pay any money upfront, such as a key deposit, for the
> apartment?

Around 1000 dollar key deposit, plus maybe one months rent. They will tell me this info officially in the next few weeks, and I'll pass it on then.

> 23)What is a tatami room :) ?

Tatami are Japanese-style mats. They feel nice, look gorgeous in the sunlight, and are more comfortable to sleep on than the floor (I have a bed, but prefer to sleep on the futons on the floor, another thing to be covered later).

> 24) Any teaching aids you can suggest I bring, such as English as Second
> Language activity books?

No. I really wouldn't bother bringing teaching books. You can buy good activity books here from AJET, and there are plenty in the apartment and at your desk at school. Bring materials from home �Epictures, prizes, stickers, postcars, picture books, etc.

> 25) Should I really bring extra toothpaste, stick deordant, and maxipads or
> tampons?

YES. I brought enough of all mentioned items to last me the year. My friends thought I was ridiculous for packing one suitcase nearly full with supplies and omiyage, but now theyre stuck with shitty Japanese tampons and I'm loving my tampax. Toothpaste and deodorant are also essential. I would bring allergy medicine, even if you don't think you'll need it. Note about customs: the JET handbook makes it out that it's really hard to smuggle things into Japan. Don't bring illegal drugs. For real. But do bring any other kind of prescription you feel like. I've been into the country twice, my parents have been in once, and every time Japanese customs just ask to see a passport and wave us by. They are friendly, and possibly a little afraid of foreigners. You can also get out of things by not speaking Japanese. Just shrug and smile.

> 26) Did you find the Prefecture orientation helpful?

Hmmm. Hard to say. There was a good demonstration class. One day was spent hiking Mt. Tateyama �Ethat was great! There are plenty of meetings when you first get here. Things are very organized �Eyou will get handbooks on living in Toyama, restaurant and shopping guides, maps, information on garbage, Japanese lessons, anything technical relating to the job (paperwork, etc). They really hold your hand throughout the whole process. Plenty of teaching resources, example lesson plans, ways to network and meet other JETs, parties, etc.

> 27) do you teach or visit any elementary schools in Toyama City?

Yes, see above.

> 28) what is the weather like in Toyama city? Does the area usually get heavy
> snow? Is it very humid in the summer?

Ahh, the weather. Hmmm. Very important question. Toyama's weather sucks a bit. It's very similar to Cincinnati, probably a little warmer. And much more humid. It will be sweltering when you get here �Eyou will bike somewhere and by the time you get there sweat will be dripping down your neck. That's why all Japanese wear neck towels. J If you don't bring one to school, they will all ask you where it is. I didn't, and still haven't caught on to the trend. Fall is nice. Drier, less rain, not too hot. Winter is gross �Enot too cold (coldest is around 32 degrees), but very wet and slushy. Which makes for decent but slushy snowboarding only 50 minutes away by train (winters are great- I went snowboarding nearly every weekend). There's excellent snow in Nagano- Happo 1, the great Olympic resort, is a little over 2 hours by car.
Spring is very pleasant �Esunny, not too humid, but for some reason the view of the mountains isn't so good. Now we're entering the rainy hot season �Eit's humid and warm, and it's raining today, but I don't mind yet, so far.