Where were you in Japan as a JET and when?
I was a JET from 1997-98 in Osaka-fu. I worked at Mihara High School and Yao High School, both schools outside of Osaka. I believe Mihara High School has since closed.
What sparked your interest in applying for the JET program?
I was an Asian Studies major at Tufts and had spent my junior year at Nanzan University in Nagoya. I also was involved in teaching Japanese to elementary school students in the Medford and Somerville Schools and knew that education was a field I was passionate about. By the time I began thinking about what I wanted to do after college, the JET Program was an obvious choice. I very much wanted to return to Japan to continue my Japanese studies while gaining experience in the classroom.
What are some of the things your prefecture is known for? e.g. food, hotspots, etc.
Osaka is an incredible place to spend time- its vibrancy, fast pace, and food culture are renowned all over Japan. The Hanshin Tigers is a popular baseball team and watching a game at Koshien cannot be beat. Not only is the city an incredible place to shop and to eat okonomiyaki and takoyaki, but its people are among the most friendly you will meet. I quickly made friends with people in my local community and became part of the small suburb surrounding my train station. I was incredibly lucky to live in a suburb of the city that was only 30 minutes outside of Namba and Shinsaibashi.
Did you pick up any of the regional dialects? What are some of your favorite words or phrases?
I still use Osaka-ben when I return to Japan. While okini and maido don't roll off my tongue as much as standard Japanese, I still feel pretty comfortable using verb endings that end in -hen. It definitely raises some eyebrows if I use it outside of the Kansai region!
If you were to return to live in Japan, would you choose to live in that same prefecture?
I often think about where I plan to live when I return to Japan and the Kansai area is top on my list. In fact, last April I brought my husband and twin boys back to the area I spent time when I was a JET and they were huge fans of Osaka. It is a place that is near and dear to my heart and I still have friends from my time on JET in the area, who I see when I am in Japan. To me, it is a second home.
How has your connection in relation to Japan changed since living in Japan?
I have been incredibly lucky to build a career in teaching around my understanding of Japanese language and culture. After I returned from JET, I completed my MA in teaching Japanese and started the Japanese program at Brookline High School in 1999. Brookline's first sister-school relationship with a school in Japan was with my mentor from JET (who worked at that time at Nagano High School in Kawachinagano) and we visited each other's school for many years until his retirement.
Now, we have a sister school with Kyoto Gaidai Nishi High School in Kyoto and I bring high school students there every other year (and host students from Kyoto in Brookline), so I still regularly visit Japan. While I only teach one class of Japanese now as the World Language Curriculum Coordinator, sharing my love of Japanese is something that I think about everyday in my work! My experiences on JET and studying Japanese have been some of the most important and transformative parts of my life and they changed my understanding not only of Japan but also of myself.
Thank you, Rachel, for sharing your JET story!
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