Jet Programme Series: Hello Hiroshima! - Jessica Persad
2022/7/19
Jet Programme Series: Hello Hiroshima! - Jessica Persad
I am finally in Japan!
To be honest, between orientation activities and the emails exchanged in preparation for arrival at my placement, I was mentally preparing myself for all the stress of settling in. I anticipated a few sleepless nights and spontaneous grey hairs from having to set up the apartment, a bank account, Internet etc. All while adjusting to a new job and the nuances of living in a foreign country.
But that stress never came.
I arrived in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima, to a now cohort of 20 ALTs (myself included) from various countries and cultural backgrounds. All of whom were, and still are, eager to help the newbies settle in. Within the first couple of days, preparing all the essential services and documents went smoothly and I slept worry free in preparation for my first week. Kind of. While I wasn’t overwhelmed by the process of settling in, I was nowhere near prepared for how cold spring could get. Yes, spring. I would’ve never thought that 20 degrees would cause me so much trouble. Safe to say I’m dreading winter, but for now I plan to treasure the heat.
I got lucky arriving just before Golden Week. An incredible opportunity to relax and explore my new home, right? Well, I was the only ALT that didn’t take nenkyu (paid leave) to have the entire week off. I was positive I had sabotaged myself from being able to make the most of the week. However, one of the perks of Fukuyama City is the convenience of transportation. Taking the train and shinkansen for the first time, I was able to visit Okayama Prefecture and Hiroshima City, something I didn’t expect to do so early on, in two consecutive days. Witnessing the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Atomic Bomb Dome in person was a sobering experience and climbing to the top of Hiroshima Castle was a trip to both the past and present with each flight of stairs.
More recently, I met up with a fellow Trini Hiroshima JET and attended the Rose Festival. This festival is the most anticipated event in Fukuyama City (AKA Rose City) and was held for the first time since the pandemic. What started as an effort to promote hope after the destruction of WWII, has now become a crucial part of the city’s legacy. In the weeks leading up to the festival the entire city was carefully decorated with roses. From the station to the pavements, even the inside of the buses. On the weekend of festivities, I, along with crowds of people, enjoyed walking through the parks filled with roses from around the world, food and drinks and live performances.
These experiences made a great warmup conversation with students. I’m currently assigned to 4 schools (2 Elementary and 2 Junior High Schools), which I get to by bus, train, or bicycle. The initial reactions of the students varied a lot, some were eager to come up and chat while others were super shy. I think most of them have grown a lot more comfortable with speaking to me now as they went from softly saying “Oh…eigo no sensei” to yelling “JESSICA-SENSEI!” around school. During my self-introduction classes I taught them about Carnival (the blue devil always getting the biggest reaction), our beautiful beaches, the Pitch Lake and weather. The main event however remains bake and shark. I always have them guess what kind of meat they think is used and the astonishment after the reveal never gets old. I’ve even been called “Shark-sensei”, a nickname I will proudly own.
Overall, my experience so far has been incredible. I’m fortunate to have been placed in such a welcoming and comfortable environment, it feels like I’ve been here for more than two months, and I can’t wait to share more of my journey.
JET Series: Hello Hiroshima! (Japanese Embassy's Facebook)
JET Programme Series Archives
To be honest, between orientation activities and the emails exchanged in preparation for arrival at my placement, I was mentally preparing myself for all the stress of settling in. I anticipated a few sleepless nights and spontaneous grey hairs from having to set up the apartment, a bank account, Internet etc. All while adjusting to a new job and the nuances of living in a foreign country.
But that stress never came.
I arrived in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima, to a now cohort of 20 ALTs (myself included) from various countries and cultural backgrounds. All of whom were, and still are, eager to help the newbies settle in. Within the first couple of days, preparing all the essential services and documents went smoothly and I slept worry free in preparation for my first week. Kind of. While I wasn’t overwhelmed by the process of settling in, I was nowhere near prepared for how cold spring could get. Yes, spring. I would’ve never thought that 20 degrees would cause me so much trouble. Safe to say I’m dreading winter, but for now I plan to treasure the heat.
I got lucky arriving just before Golden Week. An incredible opportunity to relax and explore my new home, right? Well, I was the only ALT that didn’t take nenkyu (paid leave) to have the entire week off. I was positive I had sabotaged myself from being able to make the most of the week. However, one of the perks of Fukuyama City is the convenience of transportation. Taking the train and shinkansen for the first time, I was able to visit Okayama Prefecture and Hiroshima City, something I didn’t expect to do so early on, in two consecutive days. Witnessing the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Atomic Bomb Dome in person was a sobering experience and climbing to the top of Hiroshima Castle was a trip to both the past and present with each flight of stairs.
More recently, I met up with a fellow Trini Hiroshima JET and attended the Rose Festival. This festival is the most anticipated event in Fukuyama City (AKA Rose City) and was held for the first time since the pandemic. What started as an effort to promote hope after the destruction of WWII, has now become a crucial part of the city’s legacy. In the weeks leading up to the festival the entire city was carefully decorated with roses. From the station to the pavements, even the inside of the buses. On the weekend of festivities, I, along with crowds of people, enjoyed walking through the parks filled with roses from around the world, food and drinks and live performances.
These experiences made a great warmup conversation with students. I’m currently assigned to 4 schools (2 Elementary and 2 Junior High Schools), which I get to by bus, train, or bicycle. The initial reactions of the students varied a lot, some were eager to come up and chat while others were super shy. I think most of them have grown a lot more comfortable with speaking to me now as they went from softly saying “Oh…eigo no sensei” to yelling “JESSICA-SENSEI!” around school. During my self-introduction classes I taught them about Carnival (the blue devil always getting the biggest reaction), our beautiful beaches, the Pitch Lake and weather. The main event however remains bake and shark. I always have them guess what kind of meat they think is used and the astonishment after the reveal never gets old. I’ve even been called “Shark-sensei”, a nickname I will proudly own.
Overall, my experience so far has been incredible. I’m fortunate to have been placed in such a welcoming and comfortable environment, it feels like I’ve been here for more than two months, and I can’t wait to share more of my journey.
JET Series: Hello Hiroshima! (Japanese Embassy's Facebook)
JET Programme Series Archives