By: Harry Stoneley

Culture shock, perhaps not particularly shockingly, is something more than likely to affect anyone moving abroad. It really should not come as too much of a shock. Perhaps cultural overload is a better description. In some cases, cultural fatigue also seems appropriate.

The JET Programme prepares us for this in a number of ways, including the staging system, and it is said system that this article seeks to question. Here in Tokushima, this categorization process has entered the daily lexicon of many first year JETs. “Nani-nani is Stage two-ing, we should probably give them a hand” or “Eugh, she’s still so Stage 1. It’s nearly Christmas for Heaven’s sake”.

For those who don’t remember, the JET Programme defines the stages thusly:

Stage 1: Initial Euphoria. I’m sure we all did this. Reference the times you said “OH MY GOD! They have X,Y,Z here” or screamed “Kawaii” at something.

Stage 2: Irritation and Hostility (Culture Shock). “JET participants often feel homesick and have negative attitudes towards the host culture”. Again, something many can empathise with.

Stage 3: Gradual Adjustment. “Participants start to adjust and the culture seems more familiar”

Stage 4: Adaptation and Biculturalism. “Participants are completely adjusted to the host culture and may even experience reverse culture shock upon returning…home”

Of these, Stage 3 is the one which really wrangles. Using gradual adjustment as a stage seems to suggest that it’s something JETs only experience after going through Stages 1 and 2.

Surely however, Stage 1 and 2 are Stage 3? In what way can a JET adjust without seeing both sides of their new host culture? In order to adjust we must first experience all we can, and then get over any hostility we have towards parts of a culture which we feel are alien.

It seems almost tautological, or in the very least conflicting, to offer “Gradual Adjustment” as a subheading under the umbrella of “Cultural Shock”. Living through cultural shock is by its very definition gradual adjustment.

The other key problem with this system is its rigidity. By segregating cultural adaptation into four stages, the JET Programme system seems to limit the way in which it expects us to individually experience cultural change. What is clearly intended as a helpful guide can at times seem like more of a hindrance. As ALTs, many of us will have had days where, upon coming home, we curl up, go to bed and nap to forget the time the 3rd year terror asked us if we played sex or a lesson unravelled before our very eyes. “What am I doing here?” we ask, how on Earth does one “play sex?”

On a similar note, there are days when we bound through our front doors (taking care, of course, to remove our shoes), whip up some tasty soba and nibble on Matcha flavoured Pocky in the interim until, dreaming only of cherry blossoms and Anpanman, we drift into a blissful slumber. Japan is wonderful, and if I could marry Mt. Fuji and elope with it to Okinawa on the Shinkansen, then I swear on Ichiiro’s life I’d do it tonight.

These are, of course, exaggerated extremes. But it is these extremes that the Staging system seems to try to pigeonhole us into. Sometimes, we simply come home and feel as if another day at the Board of Education has been completed. The trouble is that these days are not separated by months, or even weeks. Monday, Tuesday; Happy Days. Wednesday, Thursday; Scouring the internet for cheap flights home.

JET’s staging system seems to limit participants to being in only 1 category at a time, progressing slowly up the scale (a step by step process), when in reality many of us find ourselves somewhere between all four simultaneously. Cultural adjustment is a fluid process, not something to be pigeonholed. A more fluid approach would be infinitely more applicable.

Of course we can discard this advice, as we can with any advice that seems irrelevant to us. But to hear it at orientation, when the majority of JETs are so susceptible, can leave an impression. As a result of this, it is perhaps something that the JET Programme may wish to take into account when lecturing next year’s intake of JETs. Rather than simply stating what we’ll be feeling (we know that, after all, we’re feeling it) perhaps some of the reasons could be paired with suggestions as well. Ultimately we all know as individuals what makes us happy, but when you’re at your lowest ebb, sometimes all you really want is a nudge in the right direction.

It would be a fool who expects to move abroad without some culture shock. Furthermore, in comparison with anecdotal evidence from other, similar, schemes across Asia, the JET Programme does at least warn us, but a rigid stage hierarchy is both inaccurate and disconcerting. Particularly when the likelihood remains that we’ll find ourselves perpetually between all 4 stages. Preparation for cultural shock is vital, but a staging system is not the way to go about it.

By Robert John Bliss

We JETs are a lucky bunch.  We are well-paid.  For many of us, our rent is paid for or subsidized by our contracting organizations.  ALTs get to teach adorable children all the time.  CIRs get to be involved with the community and in improving and maintaining international relations.  We’re given several paid days off each year.  In other words, we have an amazing job!  I think I reflect the feelings of many of us when I say I’m always looking for ways to give back to the Japanese community which has given me so much.  Here in Tokushima, we’ve found a great way to do just that every year.

It was my great pleasure to be the lead coordinator for this year’s Child Welfare Center (CWC) Christmas visits in Tokushima prefecture.   A CWC is a home for kids who, for whatever reason, cannot be at their own home for some length of time, whether it be for a few hours a day, for days at a time, or simply all the time.  Every year Tokushima JETs (as well as other volunteers) donate their time and money to give something back to our community by volunteering at these homes.  We visit six CWC homes all around the prefecture in early December and spend two hours with the kids there.  We play games and chat.  At the end of the visit, Santa comes to give each kid a present.  Each home has between around 15 and 70 kids.  This year, we bought gifts for 235 kids.  Each gift is around 1,000 yen, meaning we raised about 235,000 yen for gifts this year.  It’s an absolute delight for everyone involved.  The kids are always excited to have us visit and spend time with them and, of course, to receive their presents.  We’re always happy and excited to be making a difference.  And the kids are great!  Who WOULDN’T want to spend time with them?

I’m very proud of all the Tokushima JETs who volunteered their time, energy, and money to making these visits an amazing success.  I’m especially proud of the 5 individual JETs who went the extra mile and volunteered to coordinate the visits of individual homes and of the 5 JETs who volunteered to coordinate gifts for each home.  I’d also like to express my great appreciation and gratitude for the Tokushima chapter of Smile Kids Japan, which was founded this year by Tokushima ALTs, for coordinating the visit for the 6^th home.  As much energy as I put into these visits, they put in far, far more.  I simply could not have done this without all of them.

I encourage everyone in every prefecture to try to give back to their communities in whatever way possible.  Volunteering at homes for disadvantaged kids is just one way (which I highly recommend).  But there are so many other opportunities out there for those who will take them.  For our part, we in Tokushima are hoping to expand the efforts of Smile Kids Japan in our prefecture and visit more CWC homes, more often.  We also produce and perform an annual musical play at no charge to the audience.  The play is in simple English with some Japanese as well.  It is met with great enthusiasm each year by the Japanese community.  So give back to your community anyway you can.  Whether it’s helping those who need it or just bringing smiles to people’s faces.  Our communities have given each of us so much.  The best way to say thank you is to give something back.

By Julia Mace
3rd Year ALT

In 2006 seven Towns on the west side of Kagawa Prefecture combined to make “Mitoyo City.” It took several years, but an International Exchange Association was born out of that merger and since that time, the Mitoyo City International Exchange Association has worked tirelessly to create a wide variety of events and activities to promote International Exchange in rural western Kagawa. The thing that I find unique about our little exchange association is how diverse we strive to make our events. It’s not just about Japanese people interacting with Canadians and Americans; it’s about Italians chatting with Koreans, Chinese teaching Indonesians how to make gyoza, Dutch sharing art with Bangladeshi, and Spaniards hiking up mountains with Brazilians.
Every year we have a wide variety of events: children’s parties, cooking classes, language exchanges and picnics. But one of our most popular events is the Mitoyo City International Christmas Party. In 2009, we held our first Christmas Party along-side about 80 guests from seven or eight countries. But this past Holiday Season we partied next to 150 guests from over ten countries!
Our Program is designed to be diverse and entertaining for people of all ages and nationalities. We start off with an international food buffet and speed greetings where you have to meet someone from at least three different countries than your own (name tags bearing everyone’s country of origin make this a pretty fun and easy activity).

Next, we teach about “the reason for the season” with a home-made video of the Nativity Story featuring the staff from the International Exchange Office and resident ALT’s. Aside from being an embarrassing blight on my Facebook page, this video is as informational as it is funny and now features subtitles in our local dialect of Japanese, Sanuki-ben. Next, we really get the party started with a live band and dancing. This is followed by a presentation of Japanese culture. This year we featured a Yosokoi dance troupe who taught us to dance like Salmon (I can still hear the leader shouting, ue shita ue shita shita ue shita ue ue shita!). There’s a more mellow music set as we cool down, followed by the much anticipated raffle for the presents under the Christmas tree. When all the presents have been handed out, we make groups and have the “International Christmas Quiz.” This is always everyone’s favorite part of the Party. It’s a quiz of 15 questions about how Christmas is celebrated by different cultures around the world. Every team has members from different countries, so together they try to figure out whether or not banana trees are used as Christmas trees in parts of Africa, or if Santa’s coat is really blue instead of red in Russia. To top off the party, we do a sing-along of Jingle Bells. The catch is that we sing it in four different languages, and the last go-around has everyone singing it in their own language no matter what it may be! A group photo wraps up the Party and by the end of the night, everyone’s mouths are tired from singing and smiling and mothers carry their already-sleeping children out over their shoulders.

It never ceases to amaze me how such a small collection of rural villages gests so excited about International experiences. The shy Japanese exterior quickly washes away to reveal genuine interest and curiosity in new customs and new ways of thinking. The result: a great time had by all!

I fully expect the event to reach 200 people next year and our international attendance to become even more diverse. Everyone is welcome, of course, so perhaps you’ll consider joining us next year, too!

By:Mari Rueter and Harry Stoneley

There’s singing, dancing and acting aplenty, but this is no enkai or bunkasai; it’s not even an Elementary School lesson. This is the Tokushima AJET Musical, the jewel in the Tokushima AJET crown; three grueling months of rehearsal, 5 shows across the prefecture, blood, sweat, and the occasional tear.

This year’s production Beauty and the Beast, the 18th musical such adaptation, brings together a ragtag group of JETs, private ALTs and local friends. From the script to the choreography, via each individual stitch on every last costume, everything is organized by the Tokushima JET community. Now you may be wondering, how does one go about putting on such an event for their own community? Well, it all began a long time ago…

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