Preparing your self introduction 2 - an example - JET programme

So, I just finished doing some little updates to the powerpoint presentation that is my introduction. My high school has just received this years new students, and the new school year is just kicking off. I will be doing my self introduction for each of my 1st year English classes (apparently that is about 5 classes). However, if your about to come on JET, you'll do your introduction for every class :) Don't worry it can be fun, it is all up to you. It is actually one of my favorite things to do.

Anyway, as the title says, I've got an "example" of my slide show presentation. Truth is, i'm not going to upload the powerpoint, it would be useless. Most of it is picture which aren't much use to you. However, I'll walk you through (with nice bullet points) each of my slide and videos I show the students. Hopefully this will give you some ideas.

Ok here we go, a slide per bullet point:

• First slide: My opening slide. I've put a nice green theme (good for New Zealand) for my slides. I started off with some weird picture to grab their attention and a local "Kia ora" (Hello). Generally want to get the attention at this point. You could play a small vid?
• Next slide is my personal info. All the details about me. Age, name, picture, what I studied, my job, etc. They'll probably be interested in your blood type too... I wasn't sure what mine was :S
• With the next slide I explained my life (in simple terms) before Japan with pictures. My home, job, countries I visited before Japan. Only a few pictures, don't want to go on forever about me. 
• Next slide: My country (New Zealand)! Where it is, simple layout, where the hot pools are, pictures of hot pools, volcanoes, and major cities.
  At this point I go into a tourism video about New Zealand. Try find a decent video with a good pace, coverage, music (to keep them awake - plus it can be cultural). Students generally love watching the video. But, try not make it tooo long.
• Next slide! Stats about NZ (at this point I'll remind you to get the audience involved, try not to make it a monologue. For example, ask them to translate the population size into Japanese... can be hard for them sometimes) Populations size, sheep populations size ;), how big the country is compared to Japan, the capital, pictures of the capital. 
  
• Food! This section they love! This slide I filled with all the different foods that you cannot find in Japan (and sometimes they're interested in Japanese you can find in your country!). Ice cream flavors, meat pies, meat, ridiculously sized food portions, lollies cakes, corn fritters, the whole deal. Nothing more cultural than your food!
  Actually, recently I brought some "vegemite". A Australia/New Zealand breakfast spread made from yeast extract. I use it to torture students and teachers alike. Something like that is great. Bring a sampling sticks or something (make sure you know the size of the class!).
• Famous people of New Zealand. I used Flight of the Conchords, a comedy duo. They loved the video.
  
• This next slide I made into a quiz. I broke the class into teams quickly and asked them to tell me what NZ is famous for (sheep, rugby, sports teams, zorb, bungee jumping, etc etc). I went through slides with pictures from Lord of the Rings, King Kong (remake), Sir Edmund Hillary, Last Samurai (filmed in NZ), etc etc.
• Things to do in NZ slide. About everything you can do in New Zealand. E.g. ride in a zorb (big ball thing), Bungee jump, sky dive, jet boat (Hamilton jet invented in NZ), camping, tramping, canoeing, visiting all those sheep. Of course, this is all with picture.
• Now I introduce some of the culture. This slide I introduce the "Haka". A traditional dance usually done before a rugby game by the All Blacks. I showed them a video of this. They loved it! (esp the adidas logo at the end). Sometimes they want to watch it again. Feel free to spread your cultural propaganda ;) It is part of our job.
• More culture and interesting NZ fact. I did a slide about the Maori (the NZ natives) and there buildings, food, etc.
• This slide is all about NZ animals. NZ famous animals (Moko the friendly dolphin), weird animals (giant weta), and just common animals, etc. If you have a cute video i'm sure it'll go down well (reminds me of that cat and dolphin video I saw recently)
      
• Ok, this last part I reserved for some ridiculous/amazing fact they probably wouldn't know. I introduced 2 extinct birds: the Moa (think huge emu), and the Haasts Eagle (eats the moa). Did some comparisons to the leg height of a Moa to a human (think giant KFC chicken leg).
• The last few slides I ended by doing a quiz of the things we had been over. See if anyone can remember the capital of NZ (so far 1 or 2 students haha... suppose it is a hard name).
  

So yeah, that is how my powerpoint goes. Hope you get some ideas for your own. You will probably have a lot of time to work on this during the school summer break, so don't worry to much. Get some pictures, info, and stuff before you leave your country, if it makes it easier. 

Sakura (cherry blossom) in Nagasaki (plus a Sakura song)

So, it was just the end of May. That means the 桜 Sakura (cherry blossom) is starting to fade away. At school this is a time when some teachers are transferred to new schools. Perhaps it is not the best time for some teachers. However, it is a exciting time for others (as they get to leave, or are happy because they get to stay). Some ALTs supervisor are transferred... sad day. I, however, have been lucky, my supervisor and the teachers I'm close to are staying. Unfortunately some of the younger teachers were transferred.

Anyways, during Sakura it will be common to see families or companies set up picnic style under Sakura trees. Some will go all out with BBQ, chiller and all. I went up 立山 Tateyama (Tate hill) in Nagasaki for "Hanami" (Cherry blossom viewing). Here are some photos:

Here is a song which is kind-of related, Sakura by Funky Monkey Babies (a popular Japanese band at the moment):

The greatness of Japanese convenience stores （konbini コンビニ）

So I just want to share a bit about the wonders that await at your local convenience stores. I find it a whole lot more convenient than the ones back home. I not really sure where to start so i'll just throw it all out there.

Well, I've actually just come from the convenience store because I forgot to order lunch at school. I walked away with a Pizza roll (one handed pizza sandwich thats rap tasted like an Indian bread...good) and a small pack of cold Kimchi  (a Korean fermented vegetable dish). In all it probably cost me about 300en. It was actually a humorous visit. As soon as they saw the Pizza they asked if I wanted it heated. Yes. While taking my cash one of the older men asked how I was with chopsticks. The typical question for the gaijin. But it is nice, since mostly they don't make small talk around these busy places. I didn't want to be to cocky and say i'm awesome, so I just said I ate a lot of Chinese food before I came. Really, I should have prepared something more witty over the past 8 months. Pizza was done before i'd even finished paying. Back to school I go.

Anyway, I'm not sure what that story accomplished.

Ok here is what you can look forward to (and what you have to try):
Sorry, I love bullet points...

• Nikuman, Anman, Pizaman, Kare-man. These things typically sit up the front in warm steamer. Take a look at the below picture to get an idea of what it is. Typically a sweetish steamed bread filled with something like Niku (meat, the original but always good), Anko (red bean paste, not as sweet as the Chinese ones but good), Piza (pizza), Kare-(curry flavor).
  
  
• Pan (bread) - you can get a whole variety of sugar filled bread, donuts, pancakes, curry bread, melon pan (a common favorite). There are so many varieties it is crazy. Plus you can get your normal sandwich in the fridge. Such classics as egg and salad, ham, etc etc.
• Onigiri (rice ball) - Rice balls are a great snack. Feel a lot more healthy after eating one of these instead of the sugary bread. Many many flavors... Salmon, tuna & mayo, chicken, pork, sour plum, vegetable ... many that I haven't even tried. 
• Oden - So i'm going to use a dictionary def. here "oden (various ingredients, such as egg, daikon, or konnyaku stewed in soy-flavored dashi)".  Idea is: you get a disposable bowl filled with warm soup and add fried, and stewed ingredients such as daikon (radish), egg, etc etc. I haven't tried this yet, but it looks healthy and tasty. It is tempting on those slow winter days. 
• Alcohol, tobacco. Easily available at most konbini. Alco-beverages range from beer to Japanese sake, shochu, whiskey, mixed drinks etc. 
• Nomimono (drinks) - drinks aren't hugely surprising. You will find a whole lot more tea in general. Coffee is available cold or hot (in a can). There is a bit coffee variety. You may be surprised that Coca-Cola actually makes green tea and western tea here. Energy drinks aren't the same as the Red Bull kind. Energy drinks here are smaller and potent. Not really targeted from daily drinking (but then no energy drink should be a daily thing). You will find some interesting drinks such as Calpis (just try it, can't explain), and green tea Cola.
• Candy, Lollies - Again, nothing to surprising. You will find some interesting flavors here. Most sought after is usually green tea chocolate (for me and my friends anyway). Chocolate blocks are not as big as back in New Zealand.
• Fresh fruit... some will have fresh fruit.
• Magazines, manga, etc - You can find ... all sorts of magazines here. It is usual to see the students reading manga in the morning while waiting for school to start (at least I hope they're reading manga).
• Other things you can do - Some bills payments can be made at konbini. They simply scan the barcode and you press a big green button on the touch screen, hand over the cash, and done. ATMs are available in all the konbinis I've been too. Also, sometimes other machines such as photocopiers and a ticket machine or something. 

Ok enough! They are great. That is all. My breakfasts while travelling around Japan were mostly at the konbini. It'll give you a taste at what is on offer here anyway.

Day in the life of a JET participant on the JET Programme

So here I am in the morning, drinking Sencha (a type of green tea) after just getting into the office. Recently it has been pretty quiet due to haruyasumi 春休み (spring holiday/break), so I have time to kill. Hopefully I can share a bit about the life of a jet. While I said "day in the life" of a JET, it is hard to explain what an average day is like because there is so much variety. I'll try go over a bit of everything. Plus, it doesn't just stop with school, there are many other things you'll likely be involved in.

Ok, firstly, the kinda daily run down and happenings during school season:

I generally get start by catching my bus around 8am. I need to be at school, at my desk, and ready for the morning meeting by 8.25am. Sometime you'll probably find yourself wanting a stop by the konbini (convenience store) for a Salmon Onigiri (riceball), really sugary pan (bread), and coffee.

The morning meeting: At my 2 High schools this starts at 8.25am (though not during school holidays). At this time the Principal (Kouchou-sensei) and the Head-teacher (Kyotou-sensei) will be in the Shokuin-shitsu (staff room) to kick off the daily meeting. It'll start with a group "Ohayou Gozaimasu" (Good morning) and bow, and then later the meeting will end with a group "Yoroshiku Onegai-itashimasu/Onegai-shimasu" (Lets do our best kind-of feeling) and bow. They will go over all the important daily events in this meeting (as well as special schedules etc). I usually get a weekly print out of important events (as does all the staff, of course in Japanese). Pay attention, even if you don't understand. Ask your supervisor if you need to do anything, but usually it'll be ok, you'll get the hang of sensing weird schedules after a while.
Anyways, after this 5-10min meeting the home room teachers will go and see their classes for a short time. I usually use the remaining time before 9am to prepare if I have any 1st period classes.
After this there will be the classes. My school has 6 50minute classes. Last class ends about 3.25pm. Followed by cleaning. The time I can leave is 4.10pm, although, sometimes I will be at English club.

Classes: Classes start at 9am and they last for 50mins each (with a 10 min break between). So generally at my High school I have about 10-13 classes a week (or less, or more). This is only when we have "normal" teaching days. Other days I will have significantly less (which feels like a lot of the time sometimes). This can be due to: the last year students graduating, testing periods, holidays, sports days, etc etc. Because JET is working in a school environment, it all depends on the school year. So, at the minimum, I have no classes. At the maximum I have had about 4 classes in a day (rare). Again, this depends on your school, how many schools you have, type of school, etc etc. I know quite a few that are in my position, but I do know of some that have many classes.

While you're not in classes: You will probably be working on preparing for the weeks classes, catching up with your English teachers, perhaps helping students with English (always been fun), studying Japanese, planning out your week/next week, making games, talking with other teachers, etc etc. Again depends on what is happening in the school.

Other things apart from in the classroom: I help out everyday with supervising the end of day cleaning (of 1 bathroom); many have after school clubs (I personally try and help at the English club); In the summer you will likely be involved in the annual sports day; my school will sometimes go and clean the neighborhood for a good 2 hours; marathon days; etc, etc
Generally just want to give you the idea that you won't be stuck in the classroom your whole JET life.

Ok, so far it has been about things at the school, but another event that seems frequent (esp right now as some teachers leave around end of March each year)....Enkai! (Casual or formal party). So these Enkai things... you will probably have one for your arrival (perhaps some time after), when teachers leave, when new teachers come, for the younger teachers, for the English teachers, for graduation, end of the year, start of the year, お疲れ様 otsukaresama (thanks for the hard work) parties, season parties, for the sake of having one (get it haha... sake... sake - the alcoholic beverage). Anyways, lots of parties. Many you really should attend (because they are more official), but then some feel more optional. It is great to go and get to know who you work with. You don't have to drink much (as I carefully watch how much I drink), but be careful, in Japan it is almost always all-you-can-drink. Also, if it is official, there will almost always be people that ask you to come to a ni-ji-kai (second party)... and then maybe a san-ji-kai (third party). So do be careful about how much you drink because usually it will be all-you-can-drink and 2 or more parties.

Anyways, that is a lot and yet I feel I have gotten no where. Let me know questions and i'll answer them below ;)
Cheers.

My thoughts about buying your first cellphone in Japan

So, I came to Japan some time ago, and have had a while to think about what I should have done when first buying my cellphone.
At one point in this blog I said it may be a good idea to buy a Nintendo 3DS and get the Japanese dictionary software instead of buying a Japanese Electronic dictionary. However, it would be far better to buy a decent cellphone right from the get-go. So, for starters, there is 3 main cellphone providers in Japan: Docomo, Au, and Softbank. Asking around, I can't really find many differences in quality/service (this may be different if you live far from the cities in the mountains next to a rice field). However, Softbank in particular seems to focus on smartphones (IPhones, etc)

To cut this short my advice is... think about what you will need during your time in Japan. You are paid well, think about what new things you want to acquire in the next year or two. So, if you wrap all this up in to what you cellphone could potentially do, what do you get? For myself, I found after a while I wanted/needed a Electronic Japanese dictionary (with Kanji input of course), and a way to check up Japanese sentences/travel info. Thinking about this, perhaps it would have been best to get an Android (hint hint, bias here) or Iphone which has dictionary apps for free or cheap, and good internet capabilities. That way you can input kanji by the touchscreen, etc etc.

Also more advice, forget the gimmicks that Japanese phones offer. There is so much packed into some of these phones, but in reality you may never use it. For example, water-proof phones. How often do you plan to submerge your phone in water? If your prone to dropping things in the toilet, this may be actually useful. Many other games/apps/tools loaded by the provider end up never being used. Built in camera? Surely useful, but don't go overkill. A handheld will always be better, and a good one isn't hard to come across in Japan. Solar phone? Good from trampers (hikers), but if you don't do that regularly you can always charge it every night. Ok, get the idea. Don't buy the phone for a gimmick. Check out that it has what you want, you are likely to get a 1-2 year contract. So make sure, if you want a alpha keyboard, that it has a software/hardware one. Does it have access to those apps you want, etc etc.

Also, for those that have signed up and want to change your contract, I have heard (needs confirming) that some providers (Softbank) will pay-off your current contract (on another network) and sell you a phone cheap. Check it out at the nearest store or something if you really want to change.

Omiyage (お土産）- about bringing gifts(souvenirs) for your fellow teachers - First months with JET programme

So you've probably heard about people brining souvenirs from their home country to give to their fellow teachers. This is a part of the culture in some ways, and is a good idea.
In Japan the word souvenirs can be translated as "Omiyage" お土産.
I knew about this a bit before I came, thanks to my embassies introduction. In Japan, buying Omiyage while your away on holiday & business trips to give to your co-workers is a normal thing. Generally the Omiyage are not that expensive in Japan (１０００円ー２０００円） When I go on holiday around Japan I usually grab some Omiyage for my co-workers just before I leave the city.
I say all this just to give you an idea of the culture you'll be coming into. The teachers aren't expecting you to give them anything, it is just a nice gesture and shows you understand the culture. As in Japan, you don't need to bring a expensive Omiyage from your home country. Usually Omiyage here are boxes (20-30 pieces) of small food items local to places in Japan. If you have some peculiar food in your country it might be a good idea to try and find a small box of them.
I went to a local souvenir store and brought many small cheap items (not tacky, but cheap). I brought a nice Paua shell letter opener for the Kouchou-Sensei (principal), and a small plate with a scene on it for Kyoto-Sensei (head teacher). For the teachers I worked with I brought small key chains (accessory culture here is big ;) of New Zealand animals/famous things. I brought some local soaps (Kiwi fruit soap, Manuka honey) for my supervisor (some Japanese will regularly use their bath).
So pretty much, I brought some small interesting items for the key people i'll be working with. You can't buy something for every teacher, so if you can bring something to share (like I said, 20-30 piece pack deal) then that'll be good. Also, some people may have many schools, if that is the case then maybe just buy small things for a few key people or just a pack of home country food to share around each school. Also, check about how many staff members you have in your staff room (職員室 Shokuin shitsu). I usually need about 2 packs of Omiyage to go around my main school. Yet, my previous school 1 pack would easily suffice.

Also, if you want to try some Japanese, this phrase might come in use as you hand someone a small gift: これはつまらない物ですが、どうぞ。　Said like: Kore wa tsumaranai mono desu ga, douzo. Literal: "This is a uninteresting thing, but please take it." Translation: "This is only a small thing, but please take it"

Anyways, nothings to hard about this. Just understand that it is nice to include people in where you have been by buying them small Omiyage (also you might be involved in good conversations as you hand out your first Omiyage to staff).

Let me know if you have any other tips.
Cheers.

A few things I wish I brought

• Weird food that rivals the Japanese Natto (fermented soybean). If they try an inflict Natto on you then whip out some of your own countries terrible food to let them try.
• Some crazy as tea flavors. They love tea here, so if you have some crazy as tea flavors, it might be good to take out on a rainy day.
• Chocolate. The chocolate portions you can buy are pretty small here, it might be nice to surprise someone with how generous the chocolate portions are in other countries (bear in mind that it may be frying hot summer when you arrive).
• As I said above, small local foods that all the teachers can try.
• Bring a few local recipes with you. Cook them up one day and bring them along to a party or share it at work.
• Energy drinks are a lot different here. I was surprised to find they were nothing like "Red Bull", V Energy drink, etc, etc (I have actually been able to find Red Bull in a few convenience stores). Still, I miss my Guarana hit.   

Preparing your self introduction - JET programme

So before you even leave Japan you will surely be told that you have to do a self introduction to each of your classes. Hearing this I was pretty nervous... how do you do an introduction for 50minutes to High school students! Ahhh.

But, honestly, this will be even easier than your actual classes you face later on (not that they are hard either). It really is up to you.

So, I did all my introductions with Powerpoint (check with your supervisor if this is available to you) in a Audio/Visual classroom. You'll have a long time to prepare because of the Summer break, so here are a few pointers I thought the students found interesting (beer in mind....hahaha... that I was presenting this to high schoolers).

• The students love looking at picture of your countries strange food. I come from NZ so it is nothing extraordinary, but they loved it. I made a slide full of interesting foods. Ice cream flavors not available here, pies, etc etc.
• A slide of all the things my country is famous for (I made them guess for points). Gives a good overview of the country.
• I used my countries tourism video. It was about 5 minutes with a great overview of culture and scenery. 
• Pop-culture from my country. Comedians, movies, songs, etc. I included a video from Flight of the Conchords (very funny), a tralier from Lord of the Rings (while pointing out that it was all in NZ).
• Things in your country that are slightly different from Japanese things. Saying there was Onsen in NZ, wow! Hotpools, boiling mud, etc, was very interesting to them. Point out some similar things between Japan and your country then destroy that similarity by telling all the differences. Yes, we wear swimsuits in our Hotpools!
• Things which are so different in your country that they're alien. 
• Brief history of something interesting in your country. I did some extinct birds. The Moa. I compared the size of a human to a drum stick (englarged KFC) to a human. Wow, it is the same size as a fully grown man! Then, tell them that some giant eagles (Haasts Eagle) used to eat these other birds. What! The other bird was already soooo big!
• Cultural dances, songs, sports. I included a video of the All Blacks (NZ rugby team) performing the Haka (cultural dance... I guess). They loved it, and knew about it. Amazingly some girls really got into it and asked for it to be played a second time. They loved the big Adidas logo at the end.
• I built a few quiz into my powerpoint to make sure they were listening.

Of course, after all of this, you still have to introduce yourself. Make sure they know a little about you, who you are. The above are just a few examples of what I did, but you know, craft something for your students interests. Think of the 50minutes as 10 5minute slots (although you may use 5 minutes due to greetings and other unknowns, and another 5 for questions already). What 10 categories (or just interesting things) can you share about your country, yourself? 

Ok, last thing. Also, for your first time, prepare something in case you have extra time: a 5 min video, small game, country quiz, speech, whatever.

Let me know if you have any questions about your intros.