Livin' in the Inaka

Those were the words I saw printed in big bold letters by my name at Tuesday's meeting. What I thought was a poor translation note for ALTs not recontracting for another year turned out to be a quite accurate announcement that I, and my fellow ALTs of Nanto City, will "not be replaced." More and more BOEs in Japan are dropping the JET Program due to budget cuts and switching over to the popular Interac, a temp staff agency that employs private ALTs in Japan (Interac is more affordable for smaller Boards with less money, but not without good reason ). This is the third city in our region of Toyama that's made the switch-over to private ALTs and I assume it's happening elsewhere in Japan as well. It's put us in a tight spot, since now we're possibly left with a house full of 16 years worth of ALT junk to dispose of. Makes me wonder though...if this trend continues it might be the beginning of JET's demise. Which might not be a bad thing imo. We ALTs are ...

I never thought it'd happen: spring has come to Toyama. According to the obsessive national cherry blossom forecast Toyama should be in full bloom in 2 weeks time. Has it really been a year since I got back from China to find all my colleagues changed over (I still see the current teachers as "new"), my desk changed, and all my little 6th graders turned into studious junior high students? It's happening again. Deja vu This time though spring brings with it a harsh reality I can no longer evade. I'm on a downward run to the end of my JET contract. Four months! and not a clue where I'll be. It's rather terrifying. Here are my options as I see it: 1. Stay in Japan. This would mean finding a job in the city unrelated to teaching. Not an easy task considering I've let my Japanese skills rot to nothing since graduating. Seriously, you'd be surprise what you lose when you're academically unmotivated. That and I think Japan and I need some time apart. ...