Arrival and Training Period

                         The 12 of us finally arrived at Narita airport. Thanks to Delta Air for the comfortable and hassle-free flight. We didn't have problems with the immigration too so we looked for Interac's staff  right away and we quickly found him at our meeting place.

                        Our eyes wandered freely as we rode on a limousine bus to Tokyo. We still can hardly believe that we were already in Japan. Dream came true indeed! The sudden change in temperature reminded us that we were no longer in our tropical country.

                       
                         We stayed at Korakuen Garden Hotel in Bunkyo-ku,Tokyo. Each of us was given a nice room. That was my first encounter with a Japanese bidet, it's definitely life-changing! haha Everyone was hungry so they looked for a restaurant as soon as we dropped our luggage but I stayed because I was waiting for my best friend who I haven't seen for four years. The hotel staffs called me when she arrived, it was quite hard for me to understand them. My best friend explained later on that they are Chinese, most of the guests in that hotel are Chinese too. Anyway, I was quite emotional when I saw her but we only talked for a short time because it'll be the start of our training the following day.

                         There were four free breakfast sets to choose from; American style, Japanese style and Chinese style porridge and noodles (no picture). Most of us liked the Japanese style; salmon, rice and miso soup.

                         Someone from Interac picked us up and guided us to the office, it was only about 15 minutes away on foot. The training period started and we were all busy with our demo lessons. I can  never forget our head trainer, Cedric, the South African guy who is quite strict but seriously knowledgeable in his field of expertise. I think of him as someone like my professors in university, he might be harsh in giving comments but I really learned a lot from him. I'm very grateful that he was one of my trainers.

                        During lunch time, we ransacked Japanese cheap restaurants and convenience stores. I didn't have much money so I only bought onigiri. It's cheap, filling and easy to eat. I wasn't good at using chopsticks yet so it's quite shameful  and annoying to go to restaurants whenever I'm really hungry.

Ready, Set, Go to Japan!

                         Newly-hired ALT? Congratulations! Now there's the nerve-wracking waiting period before deployment so it gives you nothing but stress. Well, relax and use that time in preparing yourself before going to Japan.  I made a list of things that you can do before starting your journey as an ALT. 

                           

1. Research about Japanese people and Japanese culture so you can know what to expect in this country. Study Nihongo too, being able to speak and understand survival Japanese can make a big difference! Memorizing katakana and hiragana can also make your life in Japan less miserable.
2. Prioritize the papers (birth certificate, marriage certificate etc.) that you have to bring with you. Also, know how to pay your taxes and or insurance in your home country.
3. Get a driver's license. It'll be hard and expensive to get one in Japan. For those who will not have driving contracts, you can probably practice riding a bicycle because it might be needed in your placement. 
4. Remember the things that you have to bring; medicines, toiletries, pictures that can show your country's culture for future lessons etc. 
5. Try to get a credit card. It's very hard for foreigners to get a credit card in Japan. Japanese usually use cash but credit cards will be great for online transactions such as buying flight tickets.
6. Think of the money that you have to bring. Where are you going to change it to Japanese yen?
7. Learn how to cook for yourself. Try to bring the ingredients from your country that you probably can't find in Japan. One more thing, start using chopsticks! You can practice this skill by picking up grains of rice (it took me three months to get used to it). 
8. Think of how are you going to connect to your family and friends online once you arrive in Japan. You might also want to start cleaning up your social networking sites.
9. Beautify yourself, it’s pretty expensive in Japan. 
10.  If you still have much time, travel! It might be hard for you to go home again and you'll always regret not being able to go to place you always want to visit.

                         On a different note, Japan finally opened its door to Filipino English teachers. I'm always thankful to everyone (Chesham Recruitment Agency and Interac) who exerted much effort to make this possible. Luckily, I was included in the first batch of Filipino ALTs who were dispatched to Japan. Imagine our excitement, fear, joy and stress for being the pioneers. 

(sorry for putting those weird glasses,haha)

Good luck to all of us! Gambarimasu ne! ;)