@Hashi Thanks so much for the welcome! I was on a little island that was part of Kure City, which on the mainland is 45 minutes or so from Hiroshima City. On my little island, I was close to three hours away, adding in train and bus waiting times. I was there for three years, so I surely have some nuggets of wisdom to offer. ^^ I had a very good time with my kids. I hear that with budget constraints for BOEs (well, Kure City’s Board of Education, for sure), my two junior highs and two elementary schools seem like a dream compared to a lot of schedules. I was able to be a weekly guest teacher compared to a monthly or bi-monthly teacher like a lot of my fellow Kure JETs.

Anyway, ask me anything!

@Raven Hey, good morning! I’m Southwest Tennessee, very close to the Mississippi river. I barely had one full class of Japanese before JET: most everything was self-study. And you’re not required to know Japanese before going, but it sure pays to want to learn if you want to get around on your own at all. If you’re on this site, you’re light years ahead of the young lady or gentleman fresh off the tarmac with no foundation at all. When you’re hearing it every day (and when you’re in survival mode ^^;), you pick up a lot of things very quickly. Close to half of the fifteen people who came to work in Kure City my first year arrived with close to zero knowledge. And they made it out alive. I know they did. I see them online sometimes.

Don’t discount applying to JET completely. Hit me up if you have some questions about it. I can share my (limited) experience. (This goes for everyone here!)