Upgraded to Shortlist!

That's right, I am officially Shortlisted!! On April 18th 2018 I received the email that I had been upgraded to the Jet Program Shortlist!!! I'm still in shock and haven't yet gotten used to calling myself a "shortlist candidate." Ahhh its a great feeling though to finally make it into the program that I spent so long working towards.  There is so much to do and so little time! I can't believe it!!! 😁😁

JET Alternate Hell: Week 2

It's officially Week 2 of JET Alternate Hell and I am still surviving...but barely. Well, its not THAT bad, but it is very difficult not to constantly check my email and phone for any missed calls.  In the back of my mind, any missed call could be THAT call...although it usually just ends up being some annoying telemarketer. *sigh*  Well, its not like I don't have enough to keep me busy. I have about 1.5 months until I graduate and I have midterms and then final exams to study for. I also have ~100 middle school essays that need to be graded for my part-time job and dog, family, and friends to keep my mind off of things. Nevertheless, I will be checking my email incessantly (over these next few months) and hoping for the best...😅

Now Entering JET Alternate HELL

After weeks of refreshing my email, I finally received my long awaited JET Interview results on March 26th, 2018.  Annnnnnddd....I am a JET ALT Alternate....which is good, but kind of gives me the feeling of studying my ass off day and night for an important exam and only getting a C grade. Although I am good enough to pass, I'm not quite good enough to make the definite Shortlist. I mean, I can't complain since I wasn't outright rejected (thankfully) but...its hard for me to get excited about possibly spending the next 9 (!) months waiting for the email/call that could change my life.  After months of waiting, I get to look forward to even more waiting. I feel like I am in the longest, most boring, and worst waiting room ever.  AGHHHH!!!!!

🔥🔥🔥Welcome to JET Alternate Hell. 🔥🔥🔥

What do I do now? Well, I plan to wait as patiently as I possibly can. I will focus my attention on the following things to avoid thinking too hard about JET:

• turning in all required Alternate paperwork
• saving money
• graduating college
• paying down student loans
• relearning the Japanese I've forgotten
• finding a temporary job/internship
• debate when exactly I should give up on JET and accept my previous AEON job offer
• playing with my puppy
• spending time with my friends and family
• actually follow through on keeping up with this blog
• obsessively searching for any sign, hint or Blue's Clues on the internet that will tell me when/if I will be upgraded to JET Shortlist

Yep, these 9 months will go by quickly I'm sure. 👌

JET Program Timeline

As mentioned, the JET Program is the best of the best when it comes to teaching abroad in Japan. Because it is a government-backed employment program, it offers the best in salary, housing, insurance and other benefits for potential JETS. However, the benefits that make the JET Program so special also make it a highly competitive program to get into.  According to the JET Program website, “Typically, 4,000-5,000 applications are received each year from U.S. applicants. Of these, 1,000-1,100 will be selected for participation on the JET Program.” ( https://jetprogramusa.org/about/)  Even in the best of circumstances, only 25% of applicants will make it to the mythical “Shortlist” – which means nearly guaranteed placement into the JET Program.

In addition to highly competitive statistics, the JET Program also have a very long and detailed application process. This process begins in the Fall and applicants who are accepted will enter the program in the late summer of the following year.  The application consists of an a detailed general application form, a two page essay, two letters of recommendation (LOR), and a few other documents.  In a future post, I will go into detail about the essay, LORs, etc and will probably provide my own essay as an example of what JET might be looking for. For now, here is a timeline of my progress so far in the JET Program application process (*keep in mind that this timeline is based on my experience of the West Coast/San Francisco consulate and it may be different for other cities/countries):

2017-2018 JET Program Application Process Timeline

Late September 2017:  Application Opens (Totally wasn’t expecting it to open until October so I was very surprised!)

November 9th 2017:  Online Application Due 

November 18th 2017:  Mailed Hard Copy of Application is Due to Washington D.C and LORs must be submitted online (This day was nerve wracking for me because my second LOR writer did not submit his letter until a mere 5 hours before the deadline -_-‘ )

January 9th 2018:  Received Notification of an Interview! (At first I was very excited, but then I realized I need to begin preparing for it immediately :o)

– On January 12th I was able to select a time slot for my interview. All of the interviews for the SF group were to take place on Jan 31 – Feb 2 and between  9:30am – 5pm

February 2nd 2018:  My Long Awaited Interview takes place in San Francisco at 1:45pm(Purely by chance, I had also scheduled my AEON Group interview for the very next day, Feb 3rd)

March 26th 2018: SF Consulate Interview Results are Out! –> Alternate JET Candidate  Although I am a bit disappointed, I am very optimistic I will be upgraded in the near future!!

April 13th 2018: Reply Form for Acceptance of Alternate/Shortlist Status and Photocopy of Passport Due to Consulate

April 18th 2018: Upgraded to Shortlist! 

June 8th 2018: FBI Check Due to Consulate

July 5th 2018: Proof of Graduation Due to Consulate

Welcome to My Blog

Hello All! I am so happy that you’ve stumbled upon my blog on page 15 of your google search! My name is Ashia Austin and I am starting this blog to catalogue each step of my journey towards living and working in Japan – my dream country.  I have studied Japanese for over 5 years (although if you try to speak to me in Japanese, I’ll probably just give you one of those confused tilted head puppy dog stares :P) and studied abroad at the University of Tsukuba from 2014-2015. My time in Japan was the happiest and most transformative of my life. Japan is like a second home to me. For those reasons and many more, I’ve decided to live and work in Japan for the next 2-3 years as an English Language Teacher.  This blog will not just be cool way for me to write down my experiences, but also a way to help you in your journey towards a similar goal. I hope to fill this blog with detailed information about the various applications, interviews, and other processes that I will be going through to reach my ultimate goal – living and working in Japan as an English Language Teacher.

I hope you find this blog to be helpful in the pursuit of your goals!

Cheers,

Ashia 

Hello!

My name is Ashia and I am an aspiring English Language Teacher in Japan.

Here are a few facts about me:

• I’m 27 years old and fit the description of an Aquarius to the T (yes I’m one of those people who reads their horoscope and sometimes semi-believes it will come true
• I’m Cali born and raised
• I’m a huge Pokémon fan (Pokefan?) and there will most likely be some content about that on this blog
• I love cute Japanese things and will MOST certainly include those things in this blog!
• In Spring 2018 I will be graduating from California State University, Sacramento with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Biology and a minor in Japanese
• I’ve been studying Japanese during my entire (ridiculously long) time as an undergrad and I love it (and wish I were better at it)
• As cliché as it sounds, my year abroad studying at the University of Tsukuba CHANGED MY LIFE.
• I will probably be quite terrible with updating this blog, so…keep your expectations low my friends… :p

Thank you for visiting!