Other JETs
One question I’m sure some of you have had, and one that I have had from the beginning is, “What will the other JETs be like?” Well we’re a mixed, yet fun crew, that’s for sure. There are people from all over the world, but the highest percentage- something like 65% come from the United States. We’re all in the same boat here, and it seems like those people who have experience with the Japanese language are having just as difficult a time adjusting as those who have no Japanese language experience. Being an older JET does pose it challenges. First, I feel it’s a bit harder for me to connect with the majority of folks who are just out of college. One must admit, age 22 and age 32 are very different life stages. However, I have been so impressed by how bright and worldly everyone is- many have more foreign travel experience than I do. I think it takes an extraordinary person to leave the comforts of home and go life in a foreign country, no matter what the age of the person. Most of these folks wanted to take risks, step into the unknown, learn about themselves, and give themselves to the mercy of those potentially helpful people in another country and that takes a special kind of person. I feel honored to be in the presence of the other JETs for this very reason. The second difficult thing about me being an “older” JET is that I’ve had time to establish myself and craft my life into something that I’ve wanted… and leaving that life was very difficult. Having lived in Japan for even just a month now I am discovering so many things that I took for granted, and finding so many things that I miss. For me, this has been, if I may venture to say, as step down from my life in the states. The quality of my comforts here are just a little less, and of course, what did I expect? This leads me to begin uncovering these questions: Is the quality of my life defined by how comfortable I am? By how nice my car is? By how big my house is, or how clean it is? If that’s the case then I have a lot of reexamining to do while I’m here in Japan about my life, what I value and what’s important to me. What’s REALLY important. And maybe that’s why I’m here. But no, these creature comforts don’t weigh heavily on me, I’m not constantly lamenting what I once had at all. In fact, I think I’ve always been very adaptable and have adapted to this life already and find that I am very happy. But these were thoughts that entered my mind and I must examine those, certainly. I don’t feel I’m a materialistic person at all, I guess it’s just that in life you begin to create and build around you how you want your life to be, and just as I was starting to recognize that I was becoming established in this at home, I took off to live in another country and start anew. I guess what I miss is what I was building at home, that’s all, and it’s difficult to start that all over here. Part of me wants to by a dryer for my house here, so I don’t have to drive 15 mins into the next town over to spend the $8 or so to dry my clothes. But then I think, “why should I buy such a spendy item here when I have one of those at home? Why don’t I just ship my $ home to get a better dryer in Oregon when I return.?” Interesting thoughts that need further examination. So this is the second challenging thing about being an older JET- I guess you could call it the loss of the feeling of being established. But boy, on the flip side, it sure is an exciting and refreshing feeling to have that fresh start and to just go with the flow. I think we lose that as we become older and more established in our lives. 