JET Programme Series: Another Trini in Onomichi - Adiola Chase
2021/12/10
JET Programme Series: Another Trini in Onomichi - Adiola Chase
Hello! My name is Adiola Chase, originally from Marabella, Trinidad and Tobago (South! South! South!). I spent a rewarding three and a half years at the University of the West Indies, and emerged with a BSc. Accounting. Academics wasn’t all that I acquired at UWI, but also a love for Japan, its language, it's food and its culture. I’ve been interested in Japan since I was 12 years old and I always knew that I wanted to go to Japan eventually. That interest in Japan has remained, even to today.
I spent my secondary school and university days taking advantage of the opportunity to be involved in Japan related events. For example, in secondary school, our club, The Japanese Cultural and Lingual club held a culture day in 2013, we visited the Centre for Language Learning as a field trip and even toured a Japanese Naval ship in 2014. During university, I took advantage of Japanese classes at CLL and formally studied the language, completing the three levels available, as well as attending cultural events and participating in their annual speech competitions.
The defining moment would have been attending the student exchange between UWI and Sophia University in 2018 where I was afforded the opportunity to learn more about Japan and its culture in just three weeks. One of our courses was about the education system in Japan. I still remember that same course lecturer who also shared my love for Pocky. I fondly remember visiting an Elementary School and a Junior High School and thought to myself, ‘I want to experience this and more’.
I thought to myself, what other way to be acquainted with another’s culture, than to immerse yourself in it? I’d always been interested in Japan, and at 22 years, despite years of indecisiveness with regards to what I wanted to do in life, applying for the JET Program was one thing I was absolutely certain of. And that I did.
Here we are, almost a year after submitting my application, and I am about to start my new life in Onomichi City, Hiroshima. It’s a hilly port city, and although I dislike hills, and love walking, the food is a plus to look forward to and I’m looking forward to all the nooks and crannies in Onomichi to be discovered.
You may wonder, “Why give up a career in Accounting to teach English in Japan?” and my response is ‘Why not?” Not everyone takes a traditional route with regards to what they studied and where they go after they graduate with their Bachelors, and I chose this route, one I’m very satisfied with. Of course this decision wasn’t made on a whim but it's the path I’m taking from hereon.
I must close off by expressing words of appreciation firstly to my number one supporter, my mom. She has always let me make my own decisions and has always stepped in to offer her opinion if she thought I was going astray. I like to also thank the rest of my family, my friends, and my church community who have been supportive of me, especially as its a big decision I’ve made this time. I have to also thank Mr. Rajalal and the rest of the Embassy staff who have been through a lot to get us all to Japan, despite the many challenges we have been facing over the past couple of years globally.
Hello Japan. Hello Winter. Hello Onomichi.
JET Series: Another Trini in Onomichi (Japanese Embassy's Facebook)
JET Programme Series Archives
I spent my secondary school and university days taking advantage of the opportunity to be involved in Japan related events. For example, in secondary school, our club, The Japanese Cultural and Lingual club held a culture day in 2013, we visited the Centre for Language Learning as a field trip and even toured a Japanese Naval ship in 2014. During university, I took advantage of Japanese classes at CLL and formally studied the language, completing the three levels available, as well as attending cultural events and participating in their annual speech competitions.
The defining moment would have been attending the student exchange between UWI and Sophia University in 2018 where I was afforded the opportunity to learn more about Japan and its culture in just three weeks. One of our courses was about the education system in Japan. I still remember that same course lecturer who also shared my love for Pocky. I fondly remember visiting an Elementary School and a Junior High School and thought to myself, ‘I want to experience this and more’.
I thought to myself, what other way to be acquainted with another’s culture, than to immerse yourself in it? I’d always been interested in Japan, and at 22 years, despite years of indecisiveness with regards to what I wanted to do in life, applying for the JET Program was one thing I was absolutely certain of. And that I did.
Here we are, almost a year after submitting my application, and I am about to start my new life in Onomichi City, Hiroshima. It’s a hilly port city, and although I dislike hills, and love walking, the food is a plus to look forward to and I’m looking forward to all the nooks and crannies in Onomichi to be discovered.
You may wonder, “Why give up a career in Accounting to teach English in Japan?” and my response is ‘Why not?” Not everyone takes a traditional route with regards to what they studied and where they go after they graduate with their Bachelors, and I chose this route, one I’m very satisfied with. Of course this decision wasn’t made on a whim but it's the path I’m taking from hereon.
I must close off by expressing words of appreciation firstly to my number one supporter, my mom. She has always let me make my own decisions and has always stepped in to offer her opinion if she thought I was going astray. I like to also thank the rest of my family, my friends, and my church community who have been supportive of me, especially as its a big decision I’ve made this time. I have to also thank Mr. Rajalal and the rest of the Embassy staff who have been through a lot to get us all to Japan, despite the many challenges we have been facing over the past couple of years globally.
Hello Japan. Hello Winter. Hello Onomichi.
JET Series: Another Trini in Onomichi (Japanese Embassy's Facebook)
JET Programme Series Archives