As some of you may well know, my interest in Japan and the JET Program largely stems from my passion for history. During my time at Gustavus, learning about the modern experience of Japan, especially the radical trajectory the nation took to become a modern nation-state, influenced my decision to peruse Japanese as a language and to eventually study abroad in Japan last year at Kansai Gaidai University (located in between Osaka and Kyoto). Unfortunately, my semester in Japan was cut short as the earthquake, tsunami, and radiation fears led to a mandatory evacuation mid-March. Despite the abrupt end to my studies in Japan, however, it reinforced my desire to learn Japanese and about Japanese culture. Thus, the JET Program offers a fantastic opportunity to continue my cultural journey.
Another reason I am so grateful to be in this program is that the process to get accepted has been a long and arduous procedure to say the least. The JET application (which consists of roughly 10 million forms) was released around late September and I turned in my written applications around mid-December. After about one month, I heard back from JET that I had made it to the interview stage of the process at the Japanese consulate in Chicago. After the most nerve-racking trip to Chicago of my life, I arrived at the consulate and did the best I could. Then, after two long agonizing months, I heard back that I had been accepted! After sending in about 10 million more forms in April, I again had to play the waiting game again for about two more months to hear where JET placed me in Japan.
Last June, I received notice that I had been placed in Noto, a small village of about 20,000 people in the prefecture of Ishikawa. Here are some maps to give some perspective.
The highlighted part of the map is my prefecture of Ishikawa, located on the west coast of Japan facing China and Korea.
The highlighted area here is Noto (according to Wikipedia Noto is the result of several villages merging over time)
At first, I was a little apprehensive upon hearing I had been placed in such a rural and relatively isolated area. However, after doing a bit of research into Noto, I started to grow more and more fond of it. One of the highlights from the Wikipedia page was a section that talked about the Abare Festival, also known as the "fire and violence festival" in English. Evidently, the festival basically consists of hordes of drunken Japanese men carrying a shrine, lighting it on fire, and then proceeding to beat the ever-loving shit out of it in a river, which pretty much sounds like the most amazing thing I've ever heard. Also, I read how the area has some really spectacular scenery and great seafood (being so close to the ocean), two things which I really love. Furthermore, upon hearing wonderful things about Noto from current JETs, my predecessor, and my board of education, I can now say that I am irrevocably thrilled to be going here! (I'll talk more about Noto in the next post).
Anyway that does it for my first post. I am currently typing this from my cabin with internet connection speed so slow I might as well be in a black hole. Suffice to say, posting pics will take a while, and I want to post a few of Noto and Ishikawa. I will try, in between saying goodbye to all my dear friends and family, to post once more before I leave.
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