How Did I Get Here?
Two years ago I had the summer off, had some money to spend, and wanted to take trip. I wanted to go somewhere very far away and very different, so it came down to Russia or Japan. I picked Japan, bought a ticket and made my plans. I spent a few days in the Ginza district of Tokyo, the most modern, brightly-lit, and active area, then went to Mt. Fuji for a couple of days, then spent a few more days in the Ueno district of Tokyo, which is an older, quieter part of town with big museums, etc. It was absolutely wonderful to say the least. While I was there, I met an American from Seattle (the only American I met on the whole trip) that was in the JET programme, and she told me all about it. I'd never heard any details about it, but most folks in the US have at some point heard something about people going here and there to teach English, so it sounded familiar.
Shortly after my return to the US I moved to Tampa, Florida as I had planned for months. I was teaching for 5 years in Jackson, Mississippi beforehand but things weren't working out the way I wanted, so I split. I found a part-time teaching job in Tampa at Hillsborough Community College, which I loved. But, it was part-time. I taught Earth Science and Environmental Science, and got a job working part-time for the City of Tampa Water Department to help pay the bills, too, all the while hoping that the part-time teaching job would turn full-time.
After a year and a half of teaching there, the answer was still the same. "Budgeting won't allow any full-time hires, for a quite a while." So, I applied for the JET programme, had an interview at the Japanese Consulate in Miami, and was offered a job in May. There was no hope of getting on full-time at school, or for the City either, for that matter, so here I am! I should add though, that I did apply for several other teaching positions in the US before making up my mind to come here, but nothing worked out. It is terribly difficult to get a teaching job at a college, even when you have 7 years experience and have taught several subjects.
When you apply for the programme
you are allowed to indicate whether you want to live in an urban or rural area
and can choose 3 cities/areas to live in. However, nothing is guaranteed, as
you end up being placed wherever they need you. I wanted a city in a warm area,
near the sea - and I got that. I had picked some big places like Fukuoka City
and did't get any of my actual choices, but they got me pretty close. Yukuhashi
has 70,000 people and is also only 15 minutes by train from Kitakyushu, which
has over 1 million people. I'm also less than an hour from Fukuoka City, which
also has over a million, too. It's definitely warm here, and I'm 2 miles from
the water. Home - for a while at least.
My last class in the US, Earth Science Lab at HCC