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Other Helpful Advice


 


 

The attitude towards women in Japan can be a bit prehistoric. It may get on your nerves. But remember, you are a foreigner that is sharing your own culture. Gals, don't do anything that you don't feel is appropriate, and don't take any crap. Guys, go over and make your own tea or coffee once in awhile, and be a gentleman.

Start a journal of your feelings and experiences as soon as possible. It will be valuable for multiple reasons.

Your predecessor should be getting ahold of you, but if for some reason he or she has forgotten what it was like to be in your shoes, feel free to try and get ahold of them. They will be your number one source of information.

You will have free time. So, bring along your CD/MP3 collection and a selection of good books including some self study items. Your experience will broaden your horizons on many fronts. With a bit of travel to a larger city books in English can be bought, but at a higher price. Also, any must-have periodicals should be set up for distribution to your new address in Japan before you come. JETs in the ken also trade books and videos a bit.

As for videos, most of you will have a VCR (yes, highly outdated but still there) and a video rental store nearby. You will grow to cherish your time at the video shop, but be careful not to rent the movies dubbed into Japanese. If possible, it is also a good idea to have a friend send you a few things over periodically. Be careful of DVDs if you happen to have a Japanese DVD player as DVDs from other regions are not compatible with the Japanese players.

Bring along your musical instruments - They will prove valuable as teaching aides, ice breakers, and leisure time activities.

As far as work materials are concerned, bring any and all information on your country, yourself, and your family. Pictures, maps, flags, and statictics are highly useable items for your introduction, which you will repeat ad nauseium. Bring along a load of stickers from home as well. Jr. high kids can never get enough. Videos of yourself or distinctive TV are great, too. As far as teaching materials are concerned, you will find that there is a lot of in-country support once you get here, and you can always dig around the ALT resource section of our links page to find some helpful teaching aids.

Things You Should Probably Know About Home

  • Basic school calendar and ages of students for different school levels
  • Interesting statistics
  • All about holidays
  • Various laws (cut off ages, etc.)
  • National/State bird, plant, fish, sport, etc.
  • Common meals at home
  • What your country/state is famous for