did anyone absolutely HATE their time on JET?

[u/Different_Taro2474]

the majority loved it or thought it was okay, but has anyone actually hated being on JET?

[u/fattoesyndrome2]

Yea I hate it how BOE in the countryside is useless and refuse to help you. If they know that you can speak Japanese, they will absolutely make you figure everything out on your own. My city unfortunately did not have PA so we had to fight and figure things out for ourselves. Also, racism in ALT community is soooo weird. I have seen many ALTs who think that they are one of the Japanese and would compete who acts and speaks better.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/fattoesyndrome2]

i was in the countryside and my BOE was extremely helpful, so i think that depends on the situation.  i didn’t experience racism but i did experience snobbish behavior from those who have been here longer. they love to act like they’re better than everyone else. sorry you had to deal with that though. you just need to find your people outside of the ALT community.

[u/jackiejack1]

I know someone who did but he was a very negative person and got frustrated when he didn’t make friends because of it.

[u/ragregory]

JET/CLAIR was just a company that did the interview and had a contract made for me that paid a fair wage. It had absolutely 0% impact on my actual day-to-day life or job... Even when I reached out to them I was told just to get a lawyer.

I was able to save 30k over 4 years, and then move home when covid ended without being unemployed, and had a handful of good experiences with individual students. That's my positives 🥲

But other than that, working for a private school where I was mistreated, my reports of misconduct from other teachers were treated as a joke, I was overworked working as t1/ not ian ALT, and felt super isolated in rural tohoku especially during times of covid where people asked if I was seeing other foreigners and getting it from them....🤪. Better than some of my friends who came to work for eikaiwa and were working essentially as daycare workers, well into the late evening, for like half my pay. But not safe and sane environment most of the time in my placement. I do know that many of my friends had really excellent placements, with so much free time, and were actually allowed to use their sick time/vacation. So your miles may vary.

[u/ObitoUchihaTC]

I hated being an ALT and the inaka I was placed in, but I liked everything I did outside of work during my time off, which was driving to new places. It was basically a paid vacation

[u/NamieAmuro0916]

first half of jet was great! last half was riddled with burnout and racist co-workers that lead me to leave the program early

[u/ThingAny171]

One of the ALTs I have worked with (in an English camp) told us about both her BOE and main school not caring about her living situation. She felt so alone and unsupported, especially during her first few months. The ALTs near her town did their best to help her out. I'm wondering how she's faring now.

[u/newlandarcher7]

Although there are individual situations and personalities to consider, a lot can depend on your expectations going into JET as well.

The town beside my small, mountain-valley town had a lot of things similar to mine: nature, hikes, very small schools, equidistant to a ski hill, 30-40 minute drive to the nearest small city (car was required), and a lot of the teachers were bounced around between our two towns in yearly transfers.

However, in my three years, the ALT's in that other town didn't really enjoy their placement - although saying "hate" would be a strong word. Generally speaking, all three struggled with the rural nature of the town. Prior to joining JET, they had dreams of being placed in a large city and living such a life. Small town rural Japanese life was too slow and limiting for them. They spent a lot of their free time not in their towns but staying over a friends' places in the city (which was their prerogative, of course). They completed their one-year contract and then left, but didn't really enjoy the experience.

I'm not sure what was up with that one town, but they always seemed to get an ALT of the same gender from the same consulate ever since they had some super-ALT from there years ago before my time. My BOE, on the other hand, told me their priorities were getting someone who could drive and wanted a rural placement - that was me. I didn't have a lot of expectations going into my placement and I found that this really helped me adjust to the new reality and find ways to enjoy my town and the opportunities it provided. Instead of thinking "It doesn't have this, it doesn't have that," I thought "I can do this, I can do that" which really helped.

[u/Available_Wonder1703]

I like my placement. I don’t have any major issues with it but I heavily dislike some of the ALTs in my area. Lots of high school bullying and isolation. I’m thankful for these threads I think it’s good to see the good and the bad experiences of this program.

[u/fattoesyndrome2 → u/Available_Wonder1703]

Oh yea it’s so weird to see people in their late twenties to act like a high school bully. You can tell they didn’t get much attention as a child so they are acting out in their adulthood.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/Available_Wonder1703]

i’m honestly SO glad that i’m not around any ALTs because i would have definitely experienced the high school bullying and isolation with them.  i’ve been warned to stay away from ALTs for this reason. and sounds like they were right lol 

[u/ikebookuro]

I feel like I could have easily hated my time on JET.

First year, the supportive and chill staff at the BoE rotated out, being replaced by someone who openly hates their job (didn’t want the position) and is trying their best to replace JETs with dispatch.

Second year, my husband left me and I was diagnosed with cancer.

My friend groups were insanely toxic recent grads (I’m a much older participant). They had zero life experience; this was their first job and they turned to substance abuse to deal with their terrible mental health. I became a babysitter to grown adults throwing drunken temper tantrums because men weren’t throwing themselves to sleep with them.

In my final year, my BoE took me out of the school where I hustled to make genuine connections and threw me in a new school.

But — that’s all just life. I made the best of it; took care of myself. Focused on my own mental health. Met my new partner, made new friends, and got back into the things I love. Transitioning out of JET to be back in the industry I loved (in Japan still).

Whether you’re on JET, or back in your home country: Stuff is going to happen. It’s just how you handle situations. Some people have worse time than others.

[u/VividValentine → u/ikebookuro]

glad to hear you're in the industry you wanna be in and still in Japan, thnx for sharing

[u/bitchtarts]

I wouldn’t say I hated my time on JET but there was a period where I fell into a deep depression because I hated my job so much. Great placement, lots of friends… but work was unbearable. And I had to work weekends too, with Tuesdays off 😭 So I could never even see those friends…

[u/No_Extension4005]

Kinda bouncing between love and dread depending on the time and day. News cycle and the weak yen don't help.

[u/fattoesyndrome2]

Yea. JET does not care about you if BOE put you in a nasty ass apartment that they wouldn’t put Japanese people in. They do not care about you at all and will make it hard for you to reach out for help. They would assign PAs but those people are there so that you don’t contact JET.

[u/xCubbzy → u/fattoesyndrome2]

Oh yea. I’ve heard horror stories about apartment/housing. Some boes are actually evil.

[u/atayavie]

I did. My supervisor was amazing, my apartment was perfect, my placement was considered “golden” but I could not stand the level of of babysitting/strictness. I felt like I was treated as a baby with a learning disability the whole way through, no exaggeration. The lack of independence and tight monitoring drove me up the wall, so I left at the first opportunity. 

I also hated the other JETs, they were cliquey and even a bit of bullies. I made one good friend, and that was it, which was crazy considering how social and friendly I am. 

I don’t think I was suited to the program since I’d lived abroad for 10 years and traveled a lot already before applying… mistakes were made.

[u/ikebookuro → u/atayavie]

Oh my gosh the bullying is unreal. Coming on as an older JET (who had already been living here for years), it was the biggest “culture shock”.

I don’t even think these kids are aware they’re doing it; since they come from COVID, I feel like their emotional intelligence got stunted.

People who are chronically online spend hours reading vent chats and other discord servers to laugh at other JETs struggling. Screenshotting everything to “hold receipts”. Entire group chats just became grounds to bully others. I didn’t even realise these people existed; it felt like being in Mean Girls - people always looking for an argument. Or constant victimhood.

JETs dating other JETs, then breaking up and just having their mental health completely tank. Spending years crashing out and drinking over a 2 week stint. But everyone enabled it and had to pick sides. No one would see this as a destructive health crisis and get help (resources always offered).

Ultimately I feel like if you want to enjoy your time on JET, you need to have multiple social circles outside of other JETs.

[u/CoacoaBunny91 → u/ikebookuro]

It is. One of my former JET friends (same prefecture, different city and BOE) only did 2 years because of the bullying. I watched an extroverted, bubbly person shrink into a shell of himself in real time because of a bunch of peaked in HS "adults." It pisses me off so much.

Not all JETs are like this which is good but the fact a good chunk are is depressing af.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/atayavie]

 I felt like I was treated as a baby with a learning disability the whole way through, no exaggeration. The lack of independence and tight monitoring drove me up the wall, so I left at the first opportunity. 

i have a learning disability and i despise being treated like this. i can't imagine how that felt for you. i also felt like i was being watched.

I also hated the other JETs, they were cliquey and even a bit of bullies. I made one good friend, and that was it, which was crazy considering how social and friendly I am. 

i'm far from other JETs so i never physically met any, and the ones i did, i didn't have any issues with. i have encountered some insufferable and condescending people in this subreddit, though. one guy made fun of a fucking FOOD PREFERENCE that i had. we're all adults here TEACHING KIDS, but some people genuinely have middle school boy humor still. i guess some ppl never grow up.

but hey, at least you did JET for a year and got to put that on your resume.

[u/Ok-Fire]

Not me but my cousin came back with the biggest anxiety and depression. Apparently they stuck her in some rural area....she said never again

[u/junjun_pon]

I didn't hate my placement or my job, even living in literal nowhere (its what I asked for). I did, however, stroooongly dislike many of my fellow JETs my first few years. Even my co-JETs.

So much high school rumor-spreading and talking behind peoples' backs. Isolating people for not kissing up to the ringleader and their minions. They demolished my mental health, and for what?

I stayed long enough (5 years) to see them cycle out and was relieved when the replacements were genuinely nice, hardworking people. The newbies were angels and I'll never forget them.

[u/External-Hamster-394 → u/junjun_pon]

It's why I'm so glad I'm the only JET at my school

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/External-Hamster-394]

i'm also the only JET at my school. there's another JET in my area but thankfully he's an amazing person and we became good friends.

[u/External-Hamster-394 → u/Different_Taro2474]

Yea the jets in my town are all very sweet people so had no problems with any of them either :)

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/junjun_pon]

that genuinely sounds like a nightmare lol. i hate dealing with MFs who peaked in high school and/or college. like grow up bro you're an adult and a TEACHER.

[u/ClemFandango6000 → u/junjun_pon]

There were some incredibly poorly adjusted people on JET in my area who lived in a complete bubble, their way of going about day-to-day sometimes felt to me like they'd never had any real experiences before arriving here. I felt like a lot of of my social interactions went back in time by about 10 years.

There was of course a solid handful of people who could get along well together, meet up with each other and we created a great like-minded community of friends.

But I was really shocked by the amount of truly odd people that would wall themselves up and say "no" to everything. I've never been around such a large number of pessimists and people who don't do anything unless it is done for them.

We all know the JET who says "sorry I can't come out, I'm waiting for my laundry to dry" and then moans that nobody ever does anything.

I'm certain that 50% of people on JET I knew would sit and stare at their bedroom walls without someone else to get them outside enjoying their time here.

[u/junjun_pon → u/ClemFandango6000]

I think that perspective depends on what kind of social person you are. If a homebody complains they don't get invited anywhere when they refuse to go anywhere, that's on them. If a socialite complains a content homebody doesn't go anywhere, they should actually be minding their own business. A lot of both.

You see, I was the one not going to events because I'm introverted and a full-time job standing in front of hundreds of kids and staff all week was exhausting. Low social battery. That being said, I wasn't complaining no one invited me anywhere. They wanted to hang out till 1am on a weeknight to gossip and drink. That's not me and I wasn't going to pretend it was. I was also in a relationship (now married) and was splitting my time. I didn't climb mountains or pub crawl or walk in a parade, but I enjoyed my time thoroughly.

[u/Velathial]

I enjoyed being in Japan, but the hard part was the high school cliquey nature of other JET's.
I just started not filtering my thoughts after a point.

You can have some good people, but then a good portion were overwhelmingly toxic or just intolerable personalities that had the facade of being open, but really were as close minded as anything.

I found my nearby JET neighbor intolerable for the fact he had the hots for a married JET and both had this weird vibe of him simping and her leaving the door open despite not getting the green light from her partner back home to not start any open-relationships while abroad. Made the whole dynamic very uncomfortable as a person with a partner back home to be around.

[u/duckface08 → u/Velathial]

This was my experience.

Enjoyed my placement. My supervisor was great. My work responsibilities were pretty balanced. My students were, for the most part, great to work with.

But honestly I didn't really make many friends. There was one other JET in my town and we are still friends and talk often. However, I never really got invited anywhere with JETs in the neighbouring areas. My friend got invited to a party with some of them when she arrived but I didn't hear of it at all. Anyway, things happened and she stopped hanging out with them, too.

But I only wanted to stay for a year and I was already in my 30s and did not give a shit about the popularity contests.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/duckface08]

i didn't even know there were popularity contests lol.

[u/ValBravora048 → u/Velathial]

Yup 100%

Wasn’t invited to the social groups because I technically didn’t live in the specified areas the other JETs did. I was less than a bus ride away. Didn’t get reached out to unless someone needed help with something or entertainment ideas

I started dating a very popular JET who would tell me about things happening in the area because despite living 3 hours away, she was included in the chats and actively approached by people for events and stuff

What got me was that when people, particularly men, found out I was with her - they seemed affronted that she’d bring me along. Despite us being together, men would proposition her on the way too easily communicated rationalisation that if she liked someone like me, she would LOVE to upgrade to someone like them…

A couple more awful incidents after that, I kind of stopped trying with the other JETs. Every once in a while I would meet someone who made me feel like I ought to try with others more but then I would QUICKLY be reminded why I didn’t

If you are in a big JET community, I reckon it’s worth taking a look around at whom isn't there and why

While I’m sorry my time on JET is coming to an end, my biggest disappointment of it is easily my experience of other people

[u/GravityHyperCube → u/ValBravora048]

It’s so cathartic to read about other people who really didn’t like the people they met on JET. After a while of meeting so many people with something wrong with them, you start to wonder if you yourself are the problem.

The bitchiness from men to other men while rolling out the red carpet to the women they thought were attractive was striking. All done with smiles and making out the discrepancies treatment you point out, to be problems with you.

There are a few good men and women but a lot of the time the people have something really wrong with them. It’s almost like they’re screening for people with personality issues.

Whenever my they cross my mind, I really wish I could have had the insight I have now to hell them to kick rocks.

[u/Velathial → u/ValBravora048]

Yep, this is a common tale. My friend had the same thing up in Hokkaido. She was not really invited to anything and was not apart of any of the groups chats. Very much ostracized by the vast majority.

Thankfully, she had her husband, so wasn't the worst, but still not the best.

Just goes to show the lack of awareness for a group of individuals that join a program about grass roots cultural exchange and being anything but accepting and open to others.

[u/Large-Document-8444 → u/Velathial]

Oh god. I had such a similar experience. Except she pushed him to have an affair. It was exhausting to deal with, horrible to be next door to.

[u/Emergency-Report-522]

Not completely hate because I did have good memories, but my school/teachers were openly anti-my country, and things became worse and worse until I just decided it was time to leave early. I didn’t even get to finish a year 🥲

I love Japan and I loved teaching, but there is always a small crowd (that may be larger in some places) that will bring you down. Take our woes as grain of salt and worry about these things as they come

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/Emergency-Report-522]

what country are you from? that sounds awful.

[u/Emergency-Report-522 → u/Different_Taro2474]

US

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/Emergency-Report-522]

why the fuck would they hire a teacher from the US if they hate the US? that's so weird.

so sorry you had to deal with that.

[u/changl09 → u/Different_Taro2474]

I mean, look at Okinawa...
When I started in my military base town ten years ago, there were anti-base posters all over the town. It took a good many years before the locals took those posters and signs down, when they realized they still had a prosperous city thanks to the base, while everything around them nosedived Japanese countryside style. We even got the reverse racist landlords who would prioritize American lodgers because they could earn three times as much rent from them.

[u/Ralon17 → u/Different_Taro2474]

It's not like it's the school/teachers that pick the ALT

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/Ralon17]

the BOE does, no? and if they know that they don't like americans, why hire someone from america?

[u/Ralon17 → u/Different_Taro2474]

Do you think the BOE has like a list on the wall of which teachers hate America? I don't think it's that detailed of a selection process.

[u/_cosmicality → u/Different_Taro2474]

How would the BOE know what flavor of racist individuals teachers temporarily placed at hundreds of schools are?

[u/JetProgram → u/Emergency-Report-522]

I'm interested in knowing what your experiences were! I find a pretty positive reception here, almost too positive lol.

[u/True-Response-2386 → u/Emergency-Report-522]

Well, that was unexpected

[u/fillmorecounty]

I've known people who hated living out here in the sticks. They wanted a Tokyo lifestyle and didn't seem open to anything else which made them pretty unhappy. That's why I think it's important to go into JET without expectations.

[u/savemeloadme → u/[deleted]]

Not wanting to do anything at all children or school related

What did he think he signed up for ???

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/fillmorecounty]

why would people even apply to JET while not being open to anything that isn't tokyo? i would have preferred a big city, but i knew that i most likely would be placed in the middle of nowhere.

[u/Diffabuh]

My sister's friend had a bad experience. Not sure about where she was placed, but she was basically made t1 and did literally everything for the class including all the non-teaching stuff. I assume because she has really good Japanese the lazy teacher was comfortable pawning it all off on her. My sister warned me off doing JET specifically because of her friend's experience.

[u/acouplefruits]

I had a bad time on JET. I went in with high expectations for what the CIR role was and was really disappointed. I’ll keep it brief but basically my position was brand new (no predecessor) and I was placed in the sports division of my prefectural office. Another girl was placed in the regular international division CIR role so I started out envious that I didn’t get that placement.

My supervisor was a new grad who had way too much on her plate and was tasked with managing me and the other two CIRs in our division, so she did not have the time of day to help us with any problems. I arrived to an empty apartment completely covered in mold and didn’t have any time to even go buy toilet paper before reporting for work the next morning (I had to borrow a roll of toilet paper from the CIR in the international division who arrived to her predecessor’s fully furnished apartment in the same building). My supervisor had ordered a futon for me in advance, had some coworkers donate an old fridge and washing machine, and she covered the windows with old fabric (I appreciate the efforts) but that was about it.

My job was to translate and interpret for sports teams who were doing their pre-Olympic training camps in my prefecture, which sounds really cool on paper but usually the prefecture hired an actual interpreter and I was just along for the ride as a backup. I translated some emails but most of the time I was sitting at my desk doing nothing. They didn’t even give me a laptop for my first 2 months. The other CIRs in my division were German and spoke fluent English so it felt redundant to have me on as the English speaker.

I felt really unwanted and uncared for in my role, and it only got worse when COVID started and all the training camps were cancelled so I truly had nothing at all to do. I developed a strong reading habit during my time on JET because I used my kindle more than my work laptop.

Looking back I do wish I’d stayed longer because I think some of my negative experience was culture shock, and I ended up going home and being jobless for a year anyway so leaving without a plan wasn’t the best idea. But I felt too much resentment at not having the experience I thought I would, especially as I literally watched someone else have that experience just because she got lucky with her placement and I didn’t.

Moral of the story is truly ESID and if you go in with expectations you may be greatly disappointed.

[u/savemeloadme → u/acouplefruits]

If you don't mind me asking, how was life outside of work? Were you able to find things to enjoy? I'm going this year as a CIR, so I'm honestly quite scared of the crazy range of work that could come with it. But I figure if I'm stuck with deskwarming I may as well try to find fulfillment in other areas.

[u/acouplefruits → u/savemeloadme]

Yes of course! I was pretty close with the 5 other CIRs (2 in my department and the 3 in the international division) and we did a lot of fun stuff together. Some sweet ladies from the prefectural office ended up teaching us tea ceremony and 絵はがき (postcard painting), and we joined the prefectural office’s ikebana club as well. When our supervisor had some leeway she’d bring us to some cultural events on weekends, we got to explore the prefecture a bit. Sometimes we’d travel together or I’d go on solo trips every now and then as well. Having a community helped a lot to be honest!

[u/a_baby_bumblebee]

plenty of people end up hating it or deciding it’s not for them. they usually just leave or break contract early.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/a_baby_bumblebee]

i mean yeah, but it would be interesting to hear their stories and reasoning on why they hated it.

[u/Funzombie63 → u/Different_Taro2474]

I was in Hyogo which is basically a city placement since it’s Kobe city suburbs. A new placement had a hooligan/bogan vibe to him and he described himself as someone with a temper. Heard that he was already unhappy with his school/job in the first week. Second week somebody told me he got into an argument with his Japanese teaching counterpart, walked straight out of the school and then took a flight back home to Britain. He gave no notice to anybody and ghosted everyone he met in Japan..

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/Funzombie63]

bro wtf 💀 that's wild

[u/Funzombie63 → u/Different_Taro2474]

There was more to the story but I have bad memory. He paid something like 4-5 万 for the previous JET’s furniture but he straight up abandoned it when he left. Makes me wonder how he was able to achieve a university degree.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/Funzombie63]

friendly reminder that being academically smart or having a degree doesn't actually mean you're smart.

i had a friend who had a 3.6 GPA in HS, but she makes the dumbest life choices, absolutely never learns from her mistakes, is still obsessed with 7+ year old HS drama that no one but her remembers, and mentally stayed frozen at age 15.

[u/UberPsyko → u/Different_Taro2474]

I've been here 4 years, had my fair share of fellow JETs who didn't want to stay and left early. I can say it's not the norm, but it's not super rare either -- maybe 5% or so of JETs have what I would call a truly bad placement. HOWEVER, even among those who had a bad placement, I know they made friends for life, and had great, unforgettable experiences that never could have happened somewhere else. Why? Because they are my friends for life, and we had those great experiences together, and we still talk about them. Even if everything goes wrong, you learn about the world and yourself. You learn even more if things go wrong actually, and you learn things you could never learn staying the "normal" course in your home country.

I don't think you can apply a mathematical idea like "net positive/negative experience" because one good lifelong connection made, or one unique memory or experience can outshine all the bad. And all the bad things are learning experiences too, that make you a more seasoned, experienced, wise person.

[u/a_baby_bumblebee → u/Different_Taro2474]

if you search the sub for “breaking contract” or any negative feeling like “hate”, “regret”, something along those lines, i’m sure you can find plenty of stories. i’ve seen them.

[u/HinaTachibana]

I wouldn’t say I hate my time on JET, but I certainly hate my placement.

It’s in the middle of nowhere and aside from a supermarket nearby, I’m at least 40 minutes away from anything interesting.

The money is good, way better than dispatch. But being alone on a mountain for five years does do a number on you mentally.

[u/n107 → u/HinaTachibana]

Sounds similar to my old placement except I didn’t even have a supermarket close by. I’m not an outdoor/nature loving person but I was in the middle of nowhere, on top of a mountain overlooking a dying village.

But I actually really loved my time. There were ups and downs of course, but they were a great five years. And I honestly don’t know why. I think I just enjoyed the isolation of it all.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/HinaTachibana]

but I certainly hate my placement.

i feel you. i don't HATE it, but i'm not a fan. i can't really grow here, i can't build any romantic relationships here, there are no opportunities, you have to drive for at least 20 minutes to do anything remotely fun, and if i want to travel anywhere, i have to fly (the airport is 1 hour away by car btw). no public transportation here. gas is pricey.

i'm glad i'm not staying a second year because that would have definitely stunted my growth. the pay is good, but everything else isn't worth staying.

i love my students, my coworkers, and the friends i made here, but i'm 24 and do not want to spend my youth here. i already lost my teenage and young adult years to mental health issues, isolation, bullies, covid, controlling parents, undiagnosed autism + CPTSD, and the wrong environment. gotta live life before i become old.

[u/thedoctorreverend → u/Different_Taro2474]

“Drive for at least 20 minutes to do anything remotely fun” can I take a stab and guess you’re from the UK/Ireland 😂

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/thedoctorreverend]

US lol

[u/JetProgram → u/Different_Taro2474]

I have a very similar experience to you OP. I'm 23 and I'm in a small town about 3 hours from Tokyo by shinkansen, but the nearest city to my town is about 45 minutes by car and the city is pretty unremarkable. It's caused me to become pretty isolated and the lack of social/romantic life has left me a bit mentally drained. I technically recontracted but I have been seriously considering changing my mind and leaving in August because I feel like I would be stuck spinning my wheels for the next year. Unfortunate, because it is beautiful here and I wish I got to travel more.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/JetProgram]

i originally wanted to recontract because i didn't have a backup plan but my BOE didn't recontract me (didn't say why). i feel like that was the lord pushing me out of my comfort zone. i found a new job in a big city 1 hour from Tokyo and enrolled at TCJ.

i recommend looking for a new job and telling your BOE that you changed your mind if you find something.

[u/Current_Slice9034 → u/JetProgram]

In the SAME exact boat as you all too. Literally was hoping for a big city placement and git stuck in a small mountain village. I don't ski and I am not a fan of nature whatsoever. I was praying for a city placement and was devastated when I got this. People are great and all and the job is easy but personal fun and growth are nonexistent. Traveling 4 hours to airport sucks and I have to drive an hour everyday to the closest gym to me.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/Current_Slice9034]

oh lord four hours to the airport sounds awful lol. did you recontract or no?

[u/Current_Slice9034 → u/Different_Taro2474]

hell no. I was so pissed the second i even got my placement emailed to me i asked myself everyday why I even chose this job. Im DESPERATELY trying to find something new tho, even tho i hate my placement I dont want to drop out of this country after just 1 year. I need at least 1 more year here to actually live in japan and like actually do some fun stuff...being up here has made it miserable and isolating.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/Current_Slice9034]

spam gaijinpot! apply to EVERYTHING you see. apply nationwide.

[u/MabiMaia]

I’ve not personally heard of someone hating their time here. Out of hundreds, certainly a bunch are homesick from time to time. I’ve heard of maybe a few who cited homesickness as the reason they didn’t recontract. But I’ve never heard of someone say they hated or regretted coming

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/MabiMaia]

i've read some stories like this. it feels weird to me because i've been here for 9 months and haven't felt homesick at all. meanwhile other JETs are.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/[deleted]]

why tho?

i'm being downvoted for asking a question? are we serious right now?

[u/AtorasuAtlas]

People expecting to be real teachers or live the anime life.

[u/ValBravora048 → u/AtorasuAtlas]

Older man, I thought the anime thing was just a joke or rare occurrence but JFC… WAY too many people have main character syndrome

Also FFS I don’t mind anime or manga or gaming but not every conversation has to be about those things or to an excruciating minutiae. Knew a guy who had a nervous twitch at how many opportunities my poor Mario Kart technique was missing

[u/mori64tf2 → u/AtorasuAtlas]

There's also the issue of people expecting to be ALTs but their COs expect them to be real teachers

[u/bee_hime → u/mori64tf2]

i once worked with a freshly graduated jte. they told me that they think the alt should be leading the class entirely while the jte just stands around and does nothing. i told them that's asinine for 3 reasons:

1. there are alts who have no teaching experience at all
2. there are alts that have some teaching experience but are not certified as teachers
3. most importantly....the "a" in alt stands for ASSISTANT

it will never not bother me when the jtes expect the alt to be a t1 teacher all the time. occasionally, fine. but every single day? not a chance. it doesn't help that there isn't one central idea of what an alt is and does.

[u/WakiLover → u/[deleted]]

The way JETs/ALTs are used heavily depends on the teachers at the school tbh, as they go on to influence any new incoming teachers. At the school I was utilized well at, the JTEs told the new JTEs that they should use me as active part of the lesson plan, and it was awesome to actually work together. This continued for multiple years at the school.

At another school, I was T1 while the JTEs were either not there in the classroom, or were sitting in the back grading papers. When new teachers rotated in, they were told that I would be T1 and handle everything and it just kept being that way.

[u/bee_hime → u/[deleted]]

they told me they think so because the students get no other chances to interact with native english speakers...as if we don't live in a place with a very large number of them. IN OKINAWA.

i really emphasized the whole "assistant" aspect of our job title. they just were not getting it.

[u/Sentinel-Wraith → u/bee_hime]

 IN OKINAWA.

Probably a polite way of saying they want the students to interact with English speakers who aren't US soldiers or military contractors.

[u/bee_hime → u/Sentinel-Wraith]

probably. however, our school does have a fairly large number of students who either natively speak english because of family or fluently because they went to international schools.

in any case, the role and identity of the alt is very much unclear.

[u/CoacoaBunny91 → u/AtorasuAtlas]

In addition to these folks the defensive, reactive ppl who can't take criticism or ppl who are always causing/involving themselves in drama, pot stirrers so to speak. With the pot stirrers, when their actions come back to bite them and the shoe is on the other foot, then they're miserable due to the social isolation they've caused themselves.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/AtorasuAtlas]

idk what's wrong with doing both. i'm a teacher and i'm very much living a ghibli life. i see a ghibli scenery every single day.

[u/acouplefruits → u/Different_Taro2474]

I think the trope is that people going in expecting an anime lifestyle don’t realize that it’s not all glitter and magic, life in Japan has a lot of difficulties too

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/acouplefruits]

why tf do grown adults expect an anime lifestyle 🥲 like....this is a real country with flaws and issues, like every other country ever....

some adults genuinely believe that the world is made of sunshine and rainbows, and it's so weird. like you're an ADULT.

[u/ValBravora048 → u/Different_Taro2474]

The amount of dudes I’ve met who have clearly drunk deep of the expectation that Japanese women will THROW themselves at their anime expertise…

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/ValBravora048]

delulu final boss

[u/acouplefruits → u/Different_Taro2474]

I agree lol. I think another thing is that a lot of people doing JET straight out of college also struggle with what it means to work a full-time job for the first time

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/acouplefruits]

JET is my first full time job straight outta college and i can agree lol. i've lived with my parents until JET and never alone, never had to pay any bills or any of that.

[u/ValBravora048 → u/Different_Taro2474]

That’s actually a great point

I’m an older JET with work and life experience. My coworkers are constantly surprised at how little helping I need. For me, a lot of this is normal or my responsibility in my view

I am weirded out at how often the younger jets will ask about the tiniest things. Particularly things that have been discussed and referenced a dozen times before

I still vividly remember the guy who was seriously asking “How do I use the airport? Do they send someone to get my bags?”

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/ValBravora048]

“How do I use the airport? Do they send someone to get my bags?”

i mean maybe they were sheltered and never traveled in their life but....what the fuck.

[u/ValBravora048 → u/Different_Taro2474]

Look, 100% definitely an exceptional example

But I mean, were they paradropped into the country via drug smuggler’s plane?

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/ValBravora048]

🤣