Ontario / Oita Prefecture

Well, it’s finally happened… After the years of university, months (read: year) of going through the JET application, and the whirlwind flight from Canada combined with that insane three day Tokyo orientation we’ve made it.

We’re in Japan. We have students, and a desk in a Japanese office, and sliding doors in our apartments. We have new friends: our Japanese teachers, our fellow JETs and our neighbours. We also have many challenges: the language, the culture, the teaching responsibilities, the isolation in our little apartments at night and possibly the melancholy these things can cause.

But don’t fret! Don’t lose your identity in all these changes. With the wonders of the internet all your friends and family back home are virtually in your arms. And all the new people around also care about you and your well-being!

And somewhere in all this I somehow stumbled on the opportunity to edit this newsletter. I think JET SET is a really great way to stay connected with the Canadian in all of us, and I hope that you enjoy our efforts! I wanted to thank the other new JETs that made this possible: Melissa Choi, who is managing the communications side and making
ridiculous crosswords; Lambert Ditner, for doing layout and finding mysterious poems; Alissa Guerassimenko, who is going to make sure that this paper arrives in everyone’s mailboxes; and all those who helped out by writing articles!

Patrick J.J.
Your friendly neighbourhood editor!