Jet Programme Series: Live and Direct from the Kansai region - Emily Forde
2022/7/25
Coming to you live and direct from the Kansai region, Kainan City, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. I was placed in Kainan City, one of the cities in Japan known for Mikans. I’ve even had a chance encounter with our city’s mascot, Kainyan who is just the cutest if I do say so myself, one Saturday morning at Kainan Station. Kainan City is beautiful and it is the perfect combination of rural and Urban it sometimes reminds me of Diego Martin. The people are warm and friendly and are always curious about which country I’m from as there aren’t a lot of foreigners in Kainan city. The people I’ve met so far have been so welcoming. I’ve had conversations about T&T and Japan with random strangers on the bus, at the laundry Mart and at the gym! All of them were eager to try out their English and I was happy to listen to their story. It always makes me laugh when their first guess as to my country of origin is Canada and the confusion and sometimes recognition on their faces when I tell them that I am from Trinidad and Tobago. Everything has become familiar to me it feels like a second home already. The mountains remind me so much of La Pastora that I get a wave of nostalgia and then the realization that I’m actually here, living in Japan, in another country, on the other side of the world!
Teaching in Japan has definitely been a learning experience but, the kids’ enthusiasm to learn English makes it a fun one. This term, I was given 5 Junior High Schools which means I’m at a different school every week. While this has limit the opportunities to bond and form meaningful relationships with the students, especially with the covid restrictions in place, I have been able to interact with the students via the daily cleaning activities, I even joined in a game of dodge ball with the first years, I got the opportunity to watch a taiko performance and even attempt playing the taiko drum, which isn’t easy by the way. I always enjoy going to my schools. I love hearing the random shouts of ‘hello!’ and ‘good morning!’ from the students as they pass by. I have also been able to converse with the teachers in Japanese, hearing that my Nihongo is jouzu whenever I speak Japanese always makes me laugh since my Nihongo is certainly not jouzu.
Despite the pandemic, I made it my business to get out and experience what my prefecture Wakayama had to offer. I guess you could say ‘ My foot was hot’ the moment I landed and rightfully so! After waiting almost two years and enduring two weeks of quarantine I couldn’t wait to get out and explore. At first, I started small. I went to places that were closest to me like, Kimiidera Temple, Koya san, and Wakanoura Bay. I’ve also been to Wakayama city where I visited Wakayama Castle and had an encounter with a Ninja, we’re both unharmed luckily. If you know me you know I love ramen and so after reading that Wakayama ramen, also called Chuka-soba (a pork bone-soy sauce broth with thin noodles) by the locals, was once voted the best ramen in Japan I was eager to try it. The famous ramen restaurant, Ide Shoten, did not disappoint it is so delicious and flavorful it’s one of my favourite things about Wakayama ‘it rel lash’ as we would say. I also tried other local cuisines like Shirasudon (whitebait on white rice with a touch of soy sauce) and of course mikan! I regret to say that I have yet to make mikan chow but soon I will. I’ve seen Nitama (the Kishi Station’s Stationmaster) and Yontama in Kinokawa with Adiola, I went to Marina city in Kainan, an amusement park with a Mediterranean-style port town, and hiked to Ame no mori in Kainan city with another Kainan ALT.
My time in Japan so far has been an adventure, like a rollercoaster there have been many ups and downs but the ride, while scary at times is always thrilling. I haven’t made a lot of friends since, the usual avenue one would use to make friends has been closed off due to the virus. However, I’m slowly expanding my circle. I’m looking forward to meeting more people and sharing my culture and I am also looking forward to learning more about my prefecture and Japan.
JET Series: Live and Direct from the Kansai Region (Japanese Embassy's Facebook)
JET Programme Series Archives
Teaching in Japan has definitely been a learning experience but, the kids’ enthusiasm to learn English makes it a fun one. This term, I was given 5 Junior High Schools which means I’m at a different school every week. While this has limit the opportunities to bond and form meaningful relationships with the students, especially with the covid restrictions in place, I have been able to interact with the students via the daily cleaning activities, I even joined in a game of dodge ball with the first years, I got the opportunity to watch a taiko performance and even attempt playing the taiko drum, which isn’t easy by the way. I always enjoy going to my schools. I love hearing the random shouts of ‘hello!’ and ‘good morning!’ from the students as they pass by. I have also been able to converse with the teachers in Japanese, hearing that my Nihongo is jouzu whenever I speak Japanese always makes me laugh since my Nihongo is certainly not jouzu.
Despite the pandemic, I made it my business to get out and experience what my prefecture Wakayama had to offer. I guess you could say ‘ My foot was hot’ the moment I landed and rightfully so! After waiting almost two years and enduring two weeks of quarantine I couldn’t wait to get out and explore. At first, I started small. I went to places that were closest to me like, Kimiidera Temple, Koya san, and Wakanoura Bay. I’ve also been to Wakayama city where I visited Wakayama Castle and had an encounter with a Ninja, we’re both unharmed luckily. If you know me you know I love ramen and so after reading that Wakayama ramen, also called Chuka-soba (a pork bone-soy sauce broth with thin noodles) by the locals, was once voted the best ramen in Japan I was eager to try it. The famous ramen restaurant, Ide Shoten, did not disappoint it is so delicious and flavorful it’s one of my favourite things about Wakayama ‘it rel lash’ as we would say. I also tried other local cuisines like Shirasudon (whitebait on white rice with a touch of soy sauce) and of course mikan! I regret to say that I have yet to make mikan chow but soon I will. I’ve seen Nitama (the Kishi Station’s Stationmaster) and Yontama in Kinokawa with Adiola, I went to Marina city in Kainan, an amusement park with a Mediterranean-style port town, and hiked to Ame no mori in Kainan city with another Kainan ALT.
My time in Japan so far has been an adventure, like a rollercoaster there have been many ups and downs but the ride, while scary at times is always thrilling. I haven’t made a lot of friends since, the usual avenue one would use to make friends has been closed off due to the virus. However, I’m slowly expanding my circle. I’m looking forward to meeting more people and sharing my culture and I am also looking forward to learning more about my prefecture and Japan.
JET Series: Live and Direct from the Kansai Region (Japanese Embassy's Facebook)
JET Programme Series Archives