I'm in the middle of my fourth week teaching now, and it's had its ups and downs.
I have two schools, a Junior High and an Elementary school. I teach first, second, third years, and two special needs classes at JHS and fifth and sixth grade at ES. Next month I will teach Kindergarten for the first time which should be fun.
My introduction classes seemed to go down pretty well in every class. I found that I went through it a bit too fast and had too much time at the end of class, so I definitely need to work on my timing. The kids are all really funny and sweet, and when I'm out and about I hear tiny voices shout 'Aiona-sensei! Hello!' I guess that's what happens when you live really close to school in a smaller city.
Unfortunately after just one introduction class and one regular class, my Elementary school complained about me to Interac. They said I wasn't preparing well enough. I was really disappointed. They didn't even give me one month to get used to life in Japan, get used to a job I have basically no experience for.
My trainer came to the school, and it turned out the previous ALT was really good and had a lot of experience and the teachers were comparing me to her. Unfortunately for the school, I'm not just a malfunctioning robot that Interac can just come and fix, so they're going to have to give me some time to improve. I did get a lot of awesome advice from the trainer and I know what I have to improve. I need to have better voice projection, I need to explain instructions to the kids better, and generally just have more confidence. As much as I learned from him coming to school and helping me teach some classes and plan lessons, it really stung that I wasn't given a chance. And I feel kind of awkward around the teachers knowing that they are disappointed in my performance.
On the other hand, the Junior High school are pretty good. There's a lot less for the ALT to do at JHS. In elementary, you're pretty much expected to handle the whole class and the teacher just sits and watches. At JHS, in my experience so far, the teacher does the lesson and they just get the ALT to read out the English vocab and passages. I'm basically a human tape recorder. The only exception to this is my special needs classes, where I have just been thinking up fun games and activities for the kids, and the teacher mostly deals with discipline. The staff at my JHS talk to me a lot more than my ES, and I feel a lot more like I'm part of the school. Some of the teachers even invited me to dinner.
As for outside of school, I really haven't been doing much. I've been so tired from having this new kinda stressful job that at weekends I pretty much just sleep and watch TV. There isn't all that much to do here, but I did discover a cool bookstore/second hand game/DVD/CD store that's a 15 minute walk from my flat and is open till midnight every day. It's really nothing like the Japan I'm used to. When I lived in Tokyo, I could just jump on a train and go to any kind of shop or bar or restaurant, I went to music performances and saw stuff like Kabuki. And it was way easier to meet people. Apart from teachers I haven't met anyone Japanese here. Unless you count the pizza delivery guy who seems to recognise me now! I haven't decided yet if I want to go live in a big Japanese city once I've been here a year. I do miss Tokyo.
Well it's not even been a month since I moved to this city so we will have to see what happens!
Wednesday, 29 April 2015
Tuesday, 7 April 2015
Living in Inaka (middle of nowhere)
I have been crazy busy for the past 4 days! I was informed last minute that on Thursday the 2nd I would have to visit my new schools to introduce myself, so early in the morning I got on a train and saw my placement town for the first time. It's pretty!
From my window it looks like a really small town, but in fact the population is about 80,000 people. There doesn't seem to be much to do, there are a lot of houses spread over a wide area. I'm hoping I made a good first impression at my schools: I was basically introduced by someone who works at Interac and didn't have to say or do much myself, but the Junior High school asked me to come back and be part of their staff photo shoot which was pretty nice. They also already prepared a desk for me.
The next day I had to come back on the train very early in the morning with all my stuff to be introduced to the Board of Education and start moving in to my new apartment. The other new ALT in my town and I were told what kinds of things the city wants to improve in its English classes. Apparently, test scores for English here are very low so we have our work cut out!
The other ALT had already moved in a few days ago, but we both had to sort out bank accounts and stuff so after meeting the Board, we waited at the station for an IC to help us out. They are basically contracted by Interac to help set up phones, bank accounts, register at the city office and whatever you need. Our IC was sooo nice. She is a housewife who once a year helps new ALTs settle in to their new towns. There are problems with Interac but I think it's awesome they contract people like that. They really try to soften the craziness of moving your entire life over to Japan. They translate your housing contract, offer counselling, emergency numbers- basically anything you need they can help you out somehow.
The post office ended up being overly bureaucratic and we spent a couple hours there so we couldn't get phones that day. But I went to the phone shop with the other ALT the next day and we managed just fine (I think!) with our combination of Japanese skills.
I didn't really have much time to settle in before my first day. I was provided with a starter kit for about 10,000 yen which had a futon, duvet, stuff like that so I could get by, but I bought a rice cooker and a toaster oven myself. I have to make my own bento for dietary reasons so that was pretty much necessary. I am in a Leopalace, and it's surprisingly nice, the rent is low and it comes with internet.
From my window it looks like a really small town, but in fact the population is about 80,000 people. There doesn't seem to be much to do, there are a lot of houses spread over a wide area. I'm hoping I made a good first impression at my schools: I was basically introduced by someone who works at Interac and didn't have to say or do much myself, but the Junior High school asked me to come back and be part of their staff photo shoot which was pretty nice. They also already prepared a desk for me.
The next day I had to come back on the train very early in the morning with all my stuff to be introduced to the Board of Education and start moving in to my new apartment. The other new ALT in my town and I were told what kinds of things the city wants to improve in its English classes. Apparently, test scores for English here are very low so we have our work cut out!
The other ALT had already moved in a few days ago, but we both had to sort out bank accounts and stuff so after meeting the Board, we waited at the station for an IC to help us out. They are basically contracted by Interac to help set up phones, bank accounts, register at the city office and whatever you need. Our IC was sooo nice. She is a housewife who once a year helps new ALTs settle in to their new towns. There are problems with Interac but I think it's awesome they contract people like that. They really try to soften the craziness of moving your entire life over to Japan. They translate your housing contract, offer counselling, emergency numbers- basically anything you need they can help you out somehow.
The post office ended up being overly bureaucratic and we spent a couple hours there so we couldn't get phones that day. But I went to the phone shop with the other ALT the next day and we managed just fine (I think!) with our combination of Japanese skills.
I didn't really have much time to settle in before my first day. I was provided with a starter kit for about 10,000 yen which had a futon, duvet, stuff like that so I could get by, but I bought a rice cooker and a toaster oven myself. I have to make my own bento for dietary reasons so that was pretty much necessary. I am in a Leopalace, and it's surprisingly nice, the rent is low and it comes with internet.
Leopalaces do vary, many people have a bed on a mezzanine level, and some apartments have more features than others, but I think I got a pretty good one. It was built in 2009 so it's very new looking.
Here's the view from my front door. In that bamboo grove there's a pretty creepy shrine.
On Sunday I found my way around town a bit in preparation for my first day at school. It takes 20 minutes to walk to my Junior High school, and 8 minutes to my Elementary School. Most people here seem to drive, I am kind of considering learning.
So on my first day I went to my Junior High school, and took part in the entrance ceremony. It involved a lot of bowing, and I did a short self-introduction in front of the 2nd and 3rd years. Other than that, I just had to look busy in the teacher's room. I made a lot of notes from the Interac manual, and eventually I got sent home early. The teachers were all really nice to me. I only have preparation time this week, so I won't be teaching anything until next week. 16 hours of sitting in the teachers room await, yay. I keep getting introduced as 'Iona, the new ALT who is from the same country as Ellie from the drama Massan'. I guess I will be hearing that for a while.
On Tuesday I went to my Elementary school. They did not invite me to their opening ceremony, so I had even more time to spare. I wrote so many notes my pen actually ran out of ink. I had to stay from 8:30 until 4:30. I think the first week is probably pretty frustrating for everyone because you just have opening ceremonies and tonnes of paperwork. I feel kind of bad being paid for it but I guess they didn't have to tell me to come in.
Apart from school, a major part of my life so far has been my stuff arriving from Amazon. I'm so amazed at the mail service here. I missed the deliveries, so I called this English automated line and my stuff arrived one hour later. The next day it was a different company who didn't have an English line but I just guessed what I had to do and ten minutes later my stuff arrived. Pretty damn impressive.
So I think that's all I have to update with for now. I guess I should change the title of this blog from 'Almost an ALT' to something else. I don't feel like much of a teacher yet though.
Monday, 30 March 2015
Being a Tourist in Nagoya
Now that training is over, and I don't move into my new apartment until Friday, I've decided to spend this week being a tourist. I have been to Nagoya before, but I was just visiting a good friend and we didn't actually see any of the famous spots.
On Saturday I went to Tsuruma Park, where lots of people were enjoying the cherry blossoms and getting drunk in the sun.
I also went to Loft in Sakae, and discovered that they are doing an Adventure Time Promotion! It seemed like most people didn't know what it was, I kept hearing people saying things like 'wow what's this? It looks kind of fun'.
On Sunday I decided to be a bit more cultural and headed over to Atsuta Shrine in the morning. It was raining pretty heavily but I still got to see a few traditional wedding processions. It's a really beautiful shrine, and apparently the legendary sword Kusanagi is kept there but only the emperor gets to see that.
It's not just this big shrine, there are lots of smaller ones around, so after I explored a bit and wrote on a wooden Ema that I hope to be a good ALT, I jumped back on the subway and went to Osu Kannon, a temple dedicated to Kannon who is a Boddhisatva of compassion.
People say there isn't much to do in Nagoya but despite the fact I have visited a lot of shrines and temples, I really liked these ones. The atmosphere was pretty amazing, even compared to shrines and temples in Kyoto.
Osu Kannon is surrounded by a shopping area. I didn't buy anything but I met a cute dog, and discovered another temple right in the middle of one of the main shopping streets which was a bit of a surprise.
Today was Monday and I went to Nagoya Castle with one of my new colleagues. It's not the original castle, because that was destroyed during the war but it's still a cool place to visit. We wandered through Meijo Park to get there- a bit of a walk but it was nice day.
The inside of the main castle is a museum showing items that survived the war. If you go to the very top there are some cool views of Nagoya:
They are still working on renovating the castle and its grounds- it won't be finished until 2018- but it was a nice way to spend a sunny day.
I'm planning on going to Inuyama this week which apparently has the oldest castle in Japan. I was thinking of going to the Totoro House tomorrow which has an exact replica of the house in the movie, but it requires buying a ticket from Lawson and it's kind of far away so I might do something else in the city instead. After this week I won't be far away from Nagoya anyway so it's no big deal.
Nagoya isn't so bad!
On Saturday I went to Tsuruma Park, where lots of people were enjoying the cherry blossoms and getting drunk in the sun.
I also went to Loft in Sakae, and discovered that they are doing an Adventure Time Promotion! It seemed like most people didn't know what it was, I kept hearing people saying things like 'wow what's this? It looks kind of fun'.
On Sunday I decided to be a bit more cultural and headed over to Atsuta Shrine in the morning. It was raining pretty heavily but I still got to see a few traditional wedding processions. It's a really beautiful shrine, and apparently the legendary sword Kusanagi is kept there but only the emperor gets to see that.
It's not just this big shrine, there are lots of smaller ones around, so after I explored a bit and wrote on a wooden Ema that I hope to be a good ALT, I jumped back on the subway and went to Osu Kannon, a temple dedicated to Kannon who is a Boddhisatva of compassion.
People say there isn't much to do in Nagoya but despite the fact I have visited a lot of shrines and temples, I really liked these ones. The atmosphere was pretty amazing, even compared to shrines and temples in Kyoto.
Osu Kannon is surrounded by a shopping area. I didn't buy anything but I met a cute dog, and discovered another temple right in the middle of one of the main shopping streets which was a bit of a surprise.
Today was Monday and I went to Nagoya Castle with one of my new colleagues. It's not the original castle, because that was destroyed during the war but it's still a cool place to visit. We wandered through Meijo Park to get there- a bit of a walk but it was nice day.
The inside of the main castle is a museum showing items that survived the war. If you go to the very top there are some cool views of Nagoya:
They are still working on renovating the castle and its grounds- it won't be finished until 2018- but it was a nice way to spend a sunny day.
I'm planning on going to Inuyama this week which apparently has the oldest castle in Japan. I was thinking of going to the Totoro House tomorrow which has an exact replica of the house in the movie, but it requires buying a ticket from Lawson and it's kind of far away so I might do something else in the city instead. After this week I won't be far away from Nagoya anyway so it's no big deal.
Nagoya isn't so bad!
Training
I have just started to relax a little after a pretty stressful week of training. I arrived on Sunday the 22nd, and straight away on the following Monday I went to my first day of training. I'm going to quickly go through what training involves:
Most of that first day was paperwork. We got big folders of documents to go through and confirm that we had received everything, from manuals on teaching and safety, to insurance documents and schedules. I don't think I was the only person who was totally confused!
I will be working under a Gyomu Itaku style contract which means that the teachers cannot instruct me on what to do, I only take orders from Interac. It seems pretty confusing but hopefully it will make more sense with time.
In the afternoon all 20 of us at training filed in and out of a health clinic to get chest x-rays which is pretty standard. I was totally wiped out after this first day and I fell asleep at 5pm.
Tuesday was when we learned about elementary school. It was pretty fun. We went through each section of a standard lesson and were picked 'at random' to perfom each part in front of each other. I was told I needed to work on my voice projection and genkiness. My luggage arrived on this day.
Wednesday was junior high school, and I was congratulated on improving my voice projection! We were learning so much so fast that I started to get really stressed. I wish that training had been two weeks instead of just one. I hung out with some coworkers and we went to karaoke.
Thursday was high school, and I don't have any high schools, so I went to the immigration centre with someone going to the same city as me because we needed to change our visas so we can teach kindergarten. Nothing too hard, just had to sit in a hot crowded room and wait for a number to flash up. Then I had to prepare for the test of the week: we all had to perform 15 minute demo lessons in front of each other.
So Friday was pretty much just those demo lessons. I was nearly last and everyone was really stressed and tired. My lesson was an elementary grade 3 'I like ~' class. I had flash cards of animals, and at one point I had to get everyone into groups, and they took turns making impressions of animals that the others had to guess. At this point everyone just got really hyper and I lost control of them! A class of 20 adults, and they just got crazy! It was kind of sweet. It relaxed the people who had to perform after me at least. On Friday we also had to do drug tests and had a wee presentation about not doing drugs or drink driving.
So yeah I was pretty stressed all week. But the trainers, and my colleagues are all really nice and I feel pretty lucky. I've heard horror stories about Interac branch offices and about the trainers but I definitely like mine. It was grueling having training about a job I'm totally unqualified for, 8 hours a day for 5 days. It reminded me that I'm getting myself into something I'm really unprepared for. But I'm sure it will be okay.
Most of that first day was paperwork. We got big folders of documents to go through and confirm that we had received everything, from manuals on teaching and safety, to insurance documents and schedules. I don't think I was the only person who was totally confused!
I will be working under a Gyomu Itaku style contract which means that the teachers cannot instruct me on what to do, I only take orders from Interac. It seems pretty confusing but hopefully it will make more sense with time.
In the afternoon all 20 of us at training filed in and out of a health clinic to get chest x-rays which is pretty standard. I was totally wiped out after this first day and I fell asleep at 5pm.
Tuesday was when we learned about elementary school. It was pretty fun. We went through each section of a standard lesson and were picked 'at random' to perfom each part in front of each other. I was told I needed to work on my voice projection and genkiness. My luggage arrived on this day.
Wednesday was junior high school, and I was congratulated on improving my voice projection! We were learning so much so fast that I started to get really stressed. I wish that training had been two weeks instead of just one. I hung out with some coworkers and we went to karaoke.
Thursday was high school, and I don't have any high schools, so I went to the immigration centre with someone going to the same city as me because we needed to change our visas so we can teach kindergarten. Nothing too hard, just had to sit in a hot crowded room and wait for a number to flash up. Then I had to prepare for the test of the week: we all had to perform 15 minute demo lessons in front of each other.
So Friday was pretty much just those demo lessons. I was nearly last and everyone was really stressed and tired. My lesson was an elementary grade 3 'I like ~' class. I had flash cards of animals, and at one point I had to get everyone into groups, and they took turns making impressions of animals that the others had to guess. At this point everyone just got really hyper and I lost control of them! A class of 20 adults, and they just got crazy! It was kind of sweet. It relaxed the people who had to perform after me at least. On Friday we also had to do drug tests and had a wee presentation about not doing drugs or drink driving.
So yeah I was pretty stressed all week. But the trainers, and my colleagues are all really nice and I feel pretty lucky. I've heard horror stories about Interac branch offices and about the trainers but I definitely like mine. It was grueling having training about a job I'm totally unqualified for, 8 hours a day for 5 days. It reminded me that I'm getting myself into something I'm really unprepared for. But I'm sure it will be okay.
Monday, 23 March 2015
The Journey
I'm sitting in my hotel room a day after I arrived in Nagoya. The journey was a little stressful but I'm here so it's all good.
I flew from Glasgow to London Heathrow Terminal 5, then took a bus to Terminal 3, then flew to Helsinki Vantaa, then to Nagoya Centrair. Getting from Heathrow Terminal 5 to 3 wasn't as bad as I thought it would be- the website for Heathrow says the connection takes 90 minutes but it really doesn't. The bus stop was a ten minute walk from where I got off the plane, it took about 15 minutes to get to terminal 3. Then I had to go through security again which was a pain but it only took about 20 minutes max. Then I just walked to my gate which was maybe 10 minutes away. Heathrow is vast and it's annoying walking around.
I found security to be extremely rude, not to me, but to a guy in front of me who obviously didn't speak very good English. He didn't understand what the security guy was saying to him and instead of taking his time and explaining clearly, the security guard was patronising, spoke fast, and said things like 'no why are you doing that, did I tell you to do that?' I am not a fan of Heathrow.
I really loved seeing Finland from the air. I didn't know much about Finland, and I was kind of surprised to see that it doesn't look very solid which sounds weird but
here's what the south part looks like on google maps.
My first two flights were with BA and were pretty standard, small cramped plane, cabin crew were friendly enough. I was pretty impressed with my Finnair flight though. Let me show you some of my pictures and videos of Finland and then I'll talk about the flight a bit:
I flew from Glasgow to London Heathrow Terminal 5, then took a bus to Terminal 3, then flew to Helsinki Vantaa, then to Nagoya Centrair. Getting from Heathrow Terminal 5 to 3 wasn't as bad as I thought it would be- the website for Heathrow says the connection takes 90 minutes but it really doesn't. The bus stop was a ten minute walk from where I got off the plane, it took about 15 minutes to get to terminal 3. Then I had to go through security again which was a pain but it only took about 20 minutes max. Then I just walked to my gate which was maybe 10 minutes away. Heathrow is vast and it's annoying walking around.
I found security to be extremely rude, not to me, but to a guy in front of me who obviously didn't speak very good English. He didn't understand what the security guy was saying to him and instead of taking his time and explaining clearly, the security guard was patronising, spoke fast, and said things like 'no why are you doing that, did I tell you to do that?' I am not a fan of Heathrow.
I really loved seeing Finland from the air. I didn't know much about Finland, and I was kind of surprised to see that it doesn't look very solid which sounds weird but
My first two flights were with BA and were pretty standard, small cramped plane, cabin crew were friendly enough. I was pretty impressed with my Finnair flight though. Let me show you some of my pictures and videos of Finland and then I'll talk about the flight a bit:
A very good friend of mine said she was worried transferring at an airport in a country where they don't speak English so I took this next photo to show that it's nothing to worry about because there is plenty information in lots of languages at any airport. I've been to Amsterdam Schiphol and Helsinki Vantaa and in both airports they had more English than Dutch/Finnish, and despite not speaking those languages at all, I got around easily. Those airports are definitely easier to get around than Heathrow despite not being in English speaking countries.
So I got on the plane to Nagoya, and the first thing I noticed which I thought was awesome is that they have a camera attached to the front of the aircraft and you can watch what the pilot can see. I watched the sun rise over China.
The plane also has the normal flight tracking stuff, and also these cool dials:
Maybe I'm easy pleased but I really like seeing stuff like this.
I was really surprised, if this flight tracking is correct, we flew over North Korea!
The flight took less than 9 hours, which is pretty bearable compared to the 12 hour flights you can expect from Heathrow. I quite like splitting the flight into sections instead of having one long flight but other people may differ. I suppose it's a bit more stressful having to make more connections, and of course there's one big risk which did not pay off for me: my baggage didn't make it.
Unfortunately my checked luggage is currently lost, and I'm waiting for Finnair to contact me. I really hope they find it because it has all the clothes I own. I am moving to Japan, so it has a lot more than what you might take on holiday. I showed you guys what I packed the other day and if it doesn't show up then I've lost all that. Finnair have told me they will reimburse me 70 euros to buy clothes in the meantime which is pretty nice of them.
Apart from that, my journey went pretty well. I couldn't check in to my hotel until 3pm so I headed over to Sakae to buy some clothes from Uniqlo and sat in Starbucks to use the internet. In a couple hours I will be going for my first day of training so that should be exciting.
Friday, 13 March 2015
Applying for Interac
The process for applying to work with Interac is a lot easier than I was expecting, but it may seem daunting if all you know is that you want to teach English in Japan. I was considering Interac and JET, but the application process for JET is quite complicated, and I was not comfortable with the fact that you have to disclose your entire medical history to them. I don't think it affects your chances of getting the job, but I find it quite bizarre that they want to know every medical issue you have ever had. I don't know how the applications for other similar companies work such as Altia Central so of course, do your research before you decide whether or not to apply to any English teaching company.
This screenshot is from the registration form that you fill in. The only requirements that Interac have is that you have a degree (or are expected to achieve one very soon) and that you have been taught English for 12 years. That means that if you have gone to school in an English speaking country, or gone to an international school which teaches you in English for 12 years then you qualify. This includes primary school, high school, and university. You don't need anything like a TEFL qualification or any teaching experience, though I'm sure it helps.
After this part, you will fill in a detailed application form which asks you to write a personal statement and provide two references, your educational history, your ability with languages, any certificates you may have such as TEFL, work experience, preferences for location and level of school you would like to teach at, and background checks. You must tick boxes stating that you are happy to undergo a drug test, that you have no criminal convictions in the last ten years and that you are aware that some medicines that are legal in the UK/US etc are not legal in Japan.
Please, please do your research if you take any medicine! People have been arrested and deported from Japan because they tried to take adderall and drugs like that into Japan. It does not matter if you are prescribed it in your home country, you will get in a lot of trouble if you take it to Japan. Even pseudoephedrine which is in many cold and flu medicines is not allowed in Japan. Do not take any chances, do your research!
Two days after I submitted this form, I received an email from Interac inviting me to a phone interview. For me this was via Skype, four days after I received the email, but I think some people get a regular phone call. I really don't like phone calls so for me, this was really stressful, but in the end it wasn't too bad. They don't ask you any hard questions, mostly just what you already wrote in your application form. Before this interview, you should read the FAQ on the Interac website and make sure you can sit somewhere quiet and with good reception/wifi so that you can do your best in the phone interview. It should be someone from your local regional office who calls you, so time differences shouldn't be a problem.
Another ten days after my phone interview, I was invited to a face-to-face seminar! I was emailed a list of locations and dates that my regional office will travel to and was able to choose which was best for me. I am in the UK, and the possible locations I was offered were London, York, Leeds, Edinburgh, Preston and Cardiff. I picked a date about 12 days after my seminar invitation email arrived.
Now this is probably the most daunting part of the application and it definitely requires quite a lot of preparation. You must prepare a demo lesson that you will perform on camera. The only person watching for me was the interviewer who gave no feedback at all, so I had to pretend that kids were asking me questions and stuff. I had to state my name and location, read from a short paragraph in English to show my pronunciation was good, then a basic warm up lesson for Primary school children. I read flash cards that said things like 'dog' and woofed, or 'run' whilst running on the spot. It was very embarrassing! Then I had to do a directions lesson aimed at Junior High School kids. I messed up a bit so the interviewer let me do it again. So don't worry too much about getting it perfect. This video will be sent to the head office who make the final decision on whether or not you have been successful.
Other than the demo lesson, the face-to-face seminar is pretty relaxed. You do need to turn up in smart clothes, and I would recommend using the kind of suit you might wear in Japan to show you have done your research. Take out any visible piercings you may have because they will not be allowed in Japan as far as I have been told. Two other people were interviewed at the same seminar as me in Edinburgh, and we all had a chat with the interviewer about Japanese culture. The interviewer told us what to expect and got us to fill out a questionnaire which was part grammar test, part personality test I guess. It asked things like what we would do if there was a family emergency back home, would we leave our job etc. It wasn't very hard. You will be sent an email with more details about what to do during this seminar so don't worry about the preparation until then. There is also a short individual interview. The recruiter I met was very friendly and the whole process was relaxed. It wasn't like they were trying to scare us or make it hard.
At this point you will also have to provide documents for Interac such as your degree certificate, proof of graduation, passport photos, a detailed resume, a criminal background check (Disclosure Scotland for me), and a copy of your driving license if applicable. I do not drive, it is not necessary for working for Interac, though preferred. This is all required in order for your Certificate of Eligibility to be sent to you, so the sooner you sort it, the sooner you can get to the next stage of the process.
Another 12 days passed and I received an email with my Offer of Employment. As you can see, this whole process is pretty quick, especially considering Interac employs so many people from so many different countries. I applied in October, which is a good time to apply if you want to go to Japan the following spring. However, they do accept applications all year round.
I signed the Offer of Employment document and that was me, officially going to Japan to teach English. You have 5 days to decide if you want to accept.
The next part is painfully slow! My offer came in November, and it wasn't until mid January that it was confirmed that I would arrive in Japan in March. Then nearly another month passed until I was told where my placement was, another week to learn what date I should arrive in Japan. I was invited to a facebook group where everyone can talk about various Interac related things and try to find other people placed near them.
In February I was given log-in details for online training, which consists of watching videos, reading documents and answering multiple choice questionnaires. Pretty easy stuff. And finally, my Certificate of Eligibility which allowed me to apply for a visa was sent out via FedEx in mid February, with my arrival date the 22nd March.
Applying for a visa is pretty easy, you just take the CoE to your local consulate with an application form and passport sized photos and they will take your passport and stick the visa onto a page in it. This does take a few days, and you can either come back for it or you can have it posted to you if you live far away. Some places also require a small fee for the visa. For me this was £20.
And now it's 9 days until I get on a plane to go to Japan.
This screenshot is from the registration form that you fill in. The only requirements that Interac have is that you have a degree (or are expected to achieve one very soon) and that you have been taught English for 12 years. That means that if you have gone to school in an English speaking country, or gone to an international school which teaches you in English for 12 years then you qualify. This includes primary school, high school, and university. You don't need anything like a TEFL qualification or any teaching experience, though I'm sure it helps.
After this part, you will fill in a detailed application form which asks you to write a personal statement and provide two references, your educational history, your ability with languages, any certificates you may have such as TEFL, work experience, preferences for location and level of school you would like to teach at, and background checks. You must tick boxes stating that you are happy to undergo a drug test, that you have no criminal convictions in the last ten years and that you are aware that some medicines that are legal in the UK/US etc are not legal in Japan.
Please, please do your research if you take any medicine! People have been arrested and deported from Japan because they tried to take adderall and drugs like that into Japan. It does not matter if you are prescribed it in your home country, you will get in a lot of trouble if you take it to Japan. Even pseudoephedrine which is in many cold and flu medicines is not allowed in Japan. Do not take any chances, do your research!
Two days after I submitted this form, I received an email from Interac inviting me to a phone interview. For me this was via Skype, four days after I received the email, but I think some people get a regular phone call. I really don't like phone calls so for me, this was really stressful, but in the end it wasn't too bad. They don't ask you any hard questions, mostly just what you already wrote in your application form. Before this interview, you should read the FAQ on the Interac website and make sure you can sit somewhere quiet and with good reception/wifi so that you can do your best in the phone interview. It should be someone from your local regional office who calls you, so time differences shouldn't be a problem.
Another ten days after my phone interview, I was invited to a face-to-face seminar! I was emailed a list of locations and dates that my regional office will travel to and was able to choose which was best for me. I am in the UK, and the possible locations I was offered were London, York, Leeds, Edinburgh, Preston and Cardiff. I picked a date about 12 days after my seminar invitation email arrived.
Now this is probably the most daunting part of the application and it definitely requires quite a lot of preparation. You must prepare a demo lesson that you will perform on camera. The only person watching for me was the interviewer who gave no feedback at all, so I had to pretend that kids were asking me questions and stuff. I had to state my name and location, read from a short paragraph in English to show my pronunciation was good, then a basic warm up lesson for Primary school children. I read flash cards that said things like 'dog' and woofed, or 'run' whilst running on the spot. It was very embarrassing! Then I had to do a directions lesson aimed at Junior High School kids. I messed up a bit so the interviewer let me do it again. So don't worry too much about getting it perfect. This video will be sent to the head office who make the final decision on whether or not you have been successful.
Other than the demo lesson, the face-to-face seminar is pretty relaxed. You do need to turn up in smart clothes, and I would recommend using the kind of suit you might wear in Japan to show you have done your research. Take out any visible piercings you may have because they will not be allowed in Japan as far as I have been told. Two other people were interviewed at the same seminar as me in Edinburgh, and we all had a chat with the interviewer about Japanese culture. The interviewer told us what to expect and got us to fill out a questionnaire which was part grammar test, part personality test I guess. It asked things like what we would do if there was a family emergency back home, would we leave our job etc. It wasn't very hard. You will be sent an email with more details about what to do during this seminar so don't worry about the preparation until then. There is also a short individual interview. The recruiter I met was very friendly and the whole process was relaxed. It wasn't like they were trying to scare us or make it hard.
At this point you will also have to provide documents for Interac such as your degree certificate, proof of graduation, passport photos, a detailed resume, a criminal background check (Disclosure Scotland for me), and a copy of your driving license if applicable. I do not drive, it is not necessary for working for Interac, though preferred. This is all required in order for your Certificate of Eligibility to be sent to you, so the sooner you sort it, the sooner you can get to the next stage of the process.
Another 12 days passed and I received an email with my Offer of Employment. As you can see, this whole process is pretty quick, especially considering Interac employs so many people from so many different countries. I applied in October, which is a good time to apply if you want to go to Japan the following spring. However, they do accept applications all year round.
I signed the Offer of Employment document and that was me, officially going to Japan to teach English. You have 5 days to decide if you want to accept.
The next part is painfully slow! My offer came in November, and it wasn't until mid January that it was confirmed that I would arrive in Japan in March. Then nearly another month passed until I was told where my placement was, another week to learn what date I should arrive in Japan. I was invited to a facebook group where everyone can talk about various Interac related things and try to find other people placed near them.
In February I was given log-in details for online training, which consists of watching videos, reading documents and answering multiple choice questionnaires. Pretty easy stuff. And finally, my Certificate of Eligibility which allowed me to apply for a visa was sent out via FedEx in mid February, with my arrival date the 22nd March.
Applying for a visa is pretty easy, you just take the CoE to your local consulate with an application form and passport sized photos and they will take your passport and stick the visa onto a page in it. This does take a few days, and you can either come back for it or you can have it posted to you if you live far away. Some places also require a small fee for the visa. For me this was £20.
And now it's 9 days until I get on a plane to go to Japan.
Wednesday, 11 March 2015
How I packed
It's fewer than two weeks until I go to Japan to become an ALT in a medium sized town in Gifu. A lot of my fellow Interac newbies have been stressing about how to pack, how much to take, stuff like that. Today I'll be showing you how and what I packed.
Here is my main luggage, mostly full of clothes, omiyage, and a few children's books.
In the pockets on the front of the suitcase I will keep things like underwear and belts. I also have an empty backpack in the big pocket on the front which is no good for travelling but good for daily use once I'm in Japan.
In the backpack I have:
Here is my main luggage, mostly full of clothes, omiyage, and a few children's books.
This is the only checked luggage that I will be taking with me. There is an allowance of two items of checked luggage with my airline (Finnair) but I really don't want to carry so much stuff with me. I definitely think this is enough.
My suitcase contains five shirts like this one, mostly white but also blue and grey. I will be teaching a junior high school, a primary school, and a nursery. I doubt I will be dressed in a suit all the time for primary and nursery school, so I am going to wait until I am in Japan to buy more work clothes. At least that way I know the clothes will be suitable, and I won't end up wasting space. I am considering bringing a travel iron because these shirts are going to be a mess by the time I get to Japan!
I have heard that 'realia' is really important for teaching English, so here's my Nessie plushie to teach kids about Scotland with.
According to the Finnair website, checked baggage must have dimensions of no more than 158 centimetres so I will have no problems there- my suitcase is less than a metre in length.
However the allowance for weight is 23kg, and that's exactly how much mine weighs. Bit worrying but I'm sure it will be fine.
Next is my carry on luggage. This backpack will contain one suit, in case my checked luggage goes missing, my laptop and important documents, some electronics like my 3ds, stuff like that. I will probably stow this one overhead on the plane.
And here is the luggage I will probably put under the seat in front of me on the plane. It has this really cool bit at the back which allows it to be attached to my big suitcase for ease of carrying.
As you can see below, it has a few things I might use on the plane like a couple books, my headphones, glasses, and it also will contain my passport and electronic Japanese dictionary.
Here is a list of all the clothes I have in my checked luggage:
- 5 work shirts
- 3 pairs of trousers, semi casual
- flip flops
- semi casual shoes
- several strappy vest tops for wearing under shirts
- 3 casual dresses
- workout clothes
- leather jacket
- 6 t shirts
- 3 casual button up shirts
- pyjamas, one set
- 2 jumpers
- 2 loose knit jumpers
- 2 cardigans
- 3 pairs leggings
- 1 skirt
Other items:
- map of the UK
- make up
- 5 books for leisure
- 3 educational books for kids
- 2 books for studying Japanese
- omiyage: shortbread, tablet, rock, rugby scarf, nessie plushie, flag
- items that mean something to me, like a teddy and a souvenir from my sister
- 5 sticks of deodorant
- throw to protect items on top and because I like it
In the pockets on the front of the suitcase I will keep things like underwear and belts. I also have an empty backpack in the big pocket on the front which is no good for travelling but good for daily use once I'm in Japan.
In the backpack I have:
- black blazer
- black trousers
- black heeled shoes
- white shirt
- underwear
- paperwork including flashcards for training, degree, etc
- laptop
- 3ds
- misc personal items
And finally the holdall:
- headphones
- passport and travel documents
- glasses
- plushie
- painkillers
- plug adapter
- denshi jisho
- nexus 7
- portable hard drive
- chargers
- couple of books
- wallet
I am still considering buying a travel iron, since my work clothes will look pretty disheveled by the time I get to Japan, indoor shoes for school (might buy them in Japan) and more Scottish food for teachers. If I was not worried about carrying lots of luggage, I would take more books, but I like to travel light so I might get the books when I come back to the UK for a holiday or something. It's not that big a deal anyway. I am pretty satisfied with how I have packed but if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!
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