Jet Programme Series: An Orange Slice of Life - Troy Roberts
2022/4/11
Jet Programme Series: An Orange Slice of Life - Troy Roberts
Hi Hi! My name is Troy Roberts. I am twenty-two (22) years old…formerly hailing from Trincity, Trinidad & Tobago. I am a recent graduate of the University of The West Indies St. Augustine, where I attained my BSc. in Economics whilst minoring in Business Management (Hons). Shortly after writing this, I will be making my way to my new home in Imabari City, Ehime.
My interest in Japan stemmed at a young age, bonding over popular Hayao Miyazaki films such as “Spirited Away” and “Howl’s Moving Castle” with my father. Being a graphic designer, he often looked at Japan’s talented works as a benchmark for self-improvement. Because of this, I was always curious in understanding the underlying feeling that drove his fascination for Japan and its marveled animations.
For me, this wouldn’t become fully evident until university. To escape the persistent math and stats which plagued my undergraduate degree, I turned to the Centre for Language Learning (CLL) to study Japanese. Up until that point, my knowledge of Japan was very limited and skewed towards what I had seen in media growing up. I was therefore pleasantly surprised by how vast and intricate the culture truly was whilst taking late evening classes there twice a week.
Ultimately, studying Japanese was one of the more enriching aspects of my university experience. I met and interacted with peers spanning various ages and walks of life, all sharing a common interest in language learning. With everyone’s motivations for studying the language being different, I still felt a real sense of belonging over the three years studying Japanese there. In addition, it also afforded me some incredible opportunities that I wouldn’t have been exposed to had I done something else. Experiences such as representing my country in a cooking competition, helping host Japanese themed events within and outside of campus, in addition to testing my language proficiency by taking part in the annual speech competition held in partnership with the embassy of Japan.
The crowning achievement in all of this though was being featured on local Japanese television to discuss the popularity of manga and anime series, Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba) and my reasons for taking interest in Japanese media on a whole.
With former teachers and friends taking part in the JET Programme coupled with regular visits from the embassy promoting it favourably, my interest in the programme was solidified.
So, after graduating and spending a brief internship to get me acclimated with the “World of Work” …all with a pandemic ever-present, I am now making my way to Ehime prefecture…located on the smallest of the four main islands of Japan, Shikoku. From my research on Ehime, it seems like a very laid-back prefecture. With a warm to mild climate mirroring that of Trinidad & Tobago (honestly grateful I’m not dealing with snow) sprinkled with lots of picturesque sights throughout that are easily accessible by bicycle. They are well-known for producing lots of Mikan (oranges) and even have an adorable mascot called “Mikyan” which is a combination of said oranges and a dog. Given I am a huge dog person, I approve of Ehime’s mascot already!
Imabari in particular is the second largest city within Ehime, just north of Matsuyama (the largest). They are known as a shipbuilding city, which also happens to make about 60% of all of Japan’s towels. I’m very much looking forward to having more oranges and towels to know what to do with in the coming months of my journey. But more than that, I am eager to learn more about my placement and Japan as a whole.
Even navigating the minutiae of daily life in Japan where nothing particularly interesting happens reflects a concept from one of my favourite genres of anime called “Slice of Life”. However, I know that even indulging in the seemingly mundane tasks that come with living in a new place will be its own reward…since I’ll be doing them in Japan.
Looking towards the future I am unsure where exactly post-JET will take me, but I am positive it would be rooted in Economics or Business. The industrial powerhouse that Japan is, I’m keen in learning why they are renowned for excellent customer service and a stellar work ethic. Having the opportunity to work in the educational sector as an ALT and witness firsthand the traits and skills instilled in the youth there will augur well for me regardless of what I decide to do afterwards. I do plan however to impart as much Trinbagonian culture as possible, so I hope the people of Ehime are ready!
I am very blessed to have such great support system of family, friends and teachers who’ve stood with me for so long. As this new chapter of my life begins, I’d therefore like to profusely thank Ambassador Matsubara, Ambassador Hirayama and the embassy staff for this invaluable opportunity. またね、スイートT&T!
JET Series: An Orange Slice of Life (Japanese Embassy's Facebook)
JET Programme Series Archives
My interest in Japan stemmed at a young age, bonding over popular Hayao Miyazaki films such as “Spirited Away” and “Howl’s Moving Castle” with my father. Being a graphic designer, he often looked at Japan’s talented works as a benchmark for self-improvement. Because of this, I was always curious in understanding the underlying feeling that drove his fascination for Japan and its marveled animations.
For me, this wouldn’t become fully evident until university. To escape the persistent math and stats which plagued my undergraduate degree, I turned to the Centre for Language Learning (CLL) to study Japanese. Up until that point, my knowledge of Japan was very limited and skewed towards what I had seen in media growing up. I was therefore pleasantly surprised by how vast and intricate the culture truly was whilst taking late evening classes there twice a week.
Ultimately, studying Japanese was one of the more enriching aspects of my university experience. I met and interacted with peers spanning various ages and walks of life, all sharing a common interest in language learning. With everyone’s motivations for studying the language being different, I still felt a real sense of belonging over the three years studying Japanese there. In addition, it also afforded me some incredible opportunities that I wouldn’t have been exposed to had I done something else. Experiences such as representing my country in a cooking competition, helping host Japanese themed events within and outside of campus, in addition to testing my language proficiency by taking part in the annual speech competition held in partnership with the embassy of Japan.
The crowning achievement in all of this though was being featured on local Japanese television to discuss the popularity of manga and anime series, Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba) and my reasons for taking interest in Japanese media on a whole.
With former teachers and friends taking part in the JET Programme coupled with regular visits from the embassy promoting it favourably, my interest in the programme was solidified.
So, after graduating and spending a brief internship to get me acclimated with the “World of Work” …all with a pandemic ever-present, I am now making my way to Ehime prefecture…located on the smallest of the four main islands of Japan, Shikoku. From my research on Ehime, it seems like a very laid-back prefecture. With a warm to mild climate mirroring that of Trinidad & Tobago (honestly grateful I’m not dealing with snow) sprinkled with lots of picturesque sights throughout that are easily accessible by bicycle. They are well-known for producing lots of Mikan (oranges) and even have an adorable mascot called “Mikyan” which is a combination of said oranges and a dog. Given I am a huge dog person, I approve of Ehime’s mascot already!
Imabari in particular is the second largest city within Ehime, just north of Matsuyama (the largest). They are known as a shipbuilding city, which also happens to make about 60% of all of Japan’s towels. I’m very much looking forward to having more oranges and towels to know what to do with in the coming months of my journey. But more than that, I am eager to learn more about my placement and Japan as a whole.
Even navigating the minutiae of daily life in Japan where nothing particularly interesting happens reflects a concept from one of my favourite genres of anime called “Slice of Life”. However, I know that even indulging in the seemingly mundane tasks that come with living in a new place will be its own reward…since I’ll be doing them in Japan.
Looking towards the future I am unsure where exactly post-JET will take me, but I am positive it would be rooted in Economics or Business. The industrial powerhouse that Japan is, I’m keen in learning why they are renowned for excellent customer service and a stellar work ethic. Having the opportunity to work in the educational sector as an ALT and witness firsthand the traits and skills instilled in the youth there will augur well for me regardless of what I decide to do afterwards. I do plan however to impart as much Trinbagonian culture as possible, so I hope the people of Ehime are ready!
I am very blessed to have such great support system of family, friends and teachers who’ve stood with me for so long. As this new chapter of my life begins, I’d therefore like to profusely thank Ambassador Matsubara, Ambassador Hirayama and the embassy staff for this invaluable opportunity. またね、スイートT&T!
JET Series: An Orange Slice of Life (Japanese Embassy's Facebook)
JET Programme Series Archives