School Ceremonies in Japan (End-of-Year)

In Japan, ceremonies (式, oshiki) constitute a deeply embedded component of Japanese culture and play an essential role in the country's customs. Their uses here extend beyond universal celebrations like weddings or religious rituals; they include events such as the Japanese tea ceremony, Coming-of-Age ceremony, New Year's ceremony, and more. They are also an essential part of work life. And as a teacher in the public education system here, I've been able to learn first-hand just how important they are in schools.

One of the busiest times of the year is during the early spring months. In March, the end-of-year ceremonies occur, followed by a short spring vacation for students. Then, in April, the beginning-of-year ceremonies take place (I actually touched on some of this in my very first blog post a year ago). All levels of schools have similar ceremonies, but for simplicity sake I'm going to focus on those at the junior high school level.

The main ceremonies (in order of occurrence) are included in the following list. The ceremonies in bold (end-of-year ceremonies) are the ones I'll be covering in this post, but I'll be sure to come back to the others in my next entry.

• Sotsugyōshiki (卒業式), Graduation Ceremony
• Shūryoshiki (修了式), Closing Ceremony
• Rininshiki (離任式), Farewell Ceremony
• Shinninshiki (新人式), Welcome Ceremony
• Shigyōshiki (始業式), Opening Ceremony
• Nyūgakushiki (入学式), Entrance Ceremony

Sotsugyōshiki (卒業式), Graduation Ceremony

The first ceremony in March and the first on my list is the Graduation Ceremony, Sotsugyōshiki. This is for students in their third year of junior high school who are graduating and moving on to high school (in most cases). It's a major accomplishment for the young teenagers because of the significant effort they must make to get accepted into their high school of choice. 

Students bow before and after receiving their diploma

Unlike the U.S. (from my experience) where we basically entered public high school based on proximity to home, Japanese students have to pass difficult entrance exams to do so. And contrary to general perceptions in the U.S., the high school you go to Japan is much more likely to have a lasting influence on your career. Students who don't pass exams cannot enter public high schools, so often must resort to expensive but (ironically) less-prestigious private schools. Another option for students is to enter a more career-specific school (like trade schools). If none of these options work out, then their life as students will essentially come to a close; Japanese public schools don't allow students to repeat grades.

Preparation for the big day is extensive and the amount of practice still surprises me; when I was a student in their shoes many years ago, we only had one practice. Maybe it's warranted though, as Japanese students have quite a lot of responsibilities in the ceremonies. All students have to memorize and sing several chorus songs; they must know the general timing and parts of the ceremony, and must be able to present themselves properly. Select students also must memorize their own speeches. Teachers even make students practice swiftly standing and sitting in unison. I don't know if all schools are this strict, but I believe the substantial amount of practice is common.

All students in the school sing several songs in the ceremony

Graduation day finally arrives in early March. It begins with a short speech and then goes straight into the diploma conferment ceremony in which students are summoned to the stage and are handed their diploma. This is very similar to the way this is done in other countries; the notable exception being that students bow instead of shaking hands with the principal upon receiving their diploma. Once all students have their diplomas, the graduation ceremony continues with speeches, chorus singing, and the presentation of messages from students. The speeches are pretty standard and consist of the types of language like "you've worked hard", and "good luck". The chorus singing is impressive though; the entire student body must participate actually puts in a great deal of effort. I never listen to this kind of music in my free time, but I love hearing it during these ceremonies and events. I'll admit, the boys' singing can be a little rough on the ears at times but the girls' have always amazed me with their voices. Lastly, groups of students from both the graduations classes and younger grades read aloud "messages" for each other, which can consist of memories, sport club accomplishments, etc. At the end of the ceremony, the graduates walk out of the gymnasium while everyone gives them applause.

Japanese JHS Diploma

Once the ceremony has finished, all students, parents, and teachers gather outside for a final send-off. As students say their goodbyes and depart the school, everyone claps and cheers them on again. Many also take photos with their friends and teachers. In my case, parents call me over so they can take pictures with their children. I'm obviously happy to do this, but it prevents me from getting any pictures with my own camera. So this year I made sure to at least grab a few before they went outside.

Publicly posting photos of students is generally prohibited and some people can be really strict about it. Thankfully I have permission to post this one below and I'm glad to finally put some real faces to the stories I write about (if you've read my blog for awhile, you see I avoid directly or clearly showing any students' individual faces in photos).

Posted with permission; picture of me with graduating students, 2014

The students above are really good kids; they represent some of the graduating students who were most interested in English and I'll definitely miss their enthusiasm next school year. One of my favorite things about teaching is getting to know students and hearing about their ambitions in life. I've always felt like teachers (of any subject) have great opportunities to inspire children and put them on the right direction as they grow. It's been a nice experience.

Shūryoshiki (修了式), Closing Ceremony

The closing ceremony takes place about two weeks after the graduation. Since the third year students already graduated, only the first- and second-year students are in attendance, along with teachers. It's also shorter and more straightforward than the graduation ceremony. The principal or vice principal gives a quick speech, the students sing the school anthem as well as the Japanese national anthem. At the end of the ceremony, the student affairs chief (教務主任) and/or the student guidance chief (生徒指導主任) come on stage to warn students to behave themselves during the spring vacation. At my schools this often includes yelling to get their point across to the handful of knuckleheads in each class.

Students sing the school anthem during the closing ceremony

Rininshiki (離任式), Farewell Ceremony

The farewell ceremony is specifically for all teachers and staff who are leaving once the current school year has finished. School transfers are the most common reason for this, but occasionally other reasons may exist such as retirement or moving far away. There's a few interesting things I've learned about this.

Work transfers seem to be a pretty dominant characteristic of Japanese work life just as ceremonies are. I'm referring to work transfers in the sense of moving to a new location. From my experience, these seem to be common in many full-time jobs regardless of whether it's a company, public school system, or other working context. Around this time of the year, a number of teachers leave when they are transferred to new schools in the area, who are then replaced by transfers from other schools. How transfers are determined is not an exact formula and there are various reasons why they may occur. Nonetheless, they do not signify anything bad.

Teachers cannot request to be transferred on their own. For example, if a teacher wishes to move to another part of the country, he or she cannot transfer to the public school system in that region. According to my teachers, this still isn't allowed even for the purposes of marriage, taking care of elderly parents, etc. So unfortunately the only option would be to quit, and hope to get hired elsewhere (not an easy task in Japan).

At any rate, the farewell ceremony is for any teachers and staff who are being transferred. The entire school, including the recent graduates, attend this ceremony. The school members are honored by entering the gymnasium to applause, and then they proceed to seats set up on stage. After an opening speech, a student (or several students) approach the group of seated teachers and staff and present memorized messages to each person, thanking them for a job well done and good luck in their future. A bit later, each teacher then individually gives a speech to the whole school, reminiscing on their days at the school and the fond memories they have gained.

Again, students sing several songs. For the leaving teachers, it's the last chance for them to sing the school anthem and the last ceremony in general at that particular school. After another speech, the teachers walk out of the gym to another round of applause. One the ceremony is over, students at my school (divided into three large groups based on grade) meet one more time with the leaving teachers from their respective grades for a less formal, final goodbye.

End of the School Year

After the last ceremony, the school year is officially over and students excitedly run out of the school to freedom (although some have to stay for scheduled club activities). For the teachers, we have a special lunch together. And a few days prior we will have had a big work party (宴会, enkai) to celebrate as well.

The spring vacation gives the students a nice little break, but unfortunately for teachers, we still have to work! Anyway, that's all about the end-of-year ceremonies. In my next post I'll follow up with the beginning-of-year stuff.

Snow Festivals in Northern Japan

In my last post, I described the impressively snowy winters up here in Aomori. I detailed some of the challenges the city faces as well as some of the opportunities presented by such conditions. One of the "coolest" benefits of having so much snow is that cities can put on some nice snow festivals (雪祭り, yuki matsuri). So for my last winter-related post for the season, I'm going to highlight some of the snow festivals I've been to in northern Japan.

I'll focus on four snow festivals here. The first one I'll cover is generally considered biggest and most famous in Japan, which takes place in the city of Sapporo (札幌), located in Hokkaido Prefecture. I'll also touch on Otaru, a small city near Sapporo. The following three festivals I'll write about are smaller, more regional ones found in Aomori City (青森市), Hirosaki (弘前), and Yasumiya/Lake Towada (十和田湖). It's a good mix but certainly not all in the region. Other notable events I never had a chance to see are the Iwate Snow Festival (Iwate Prefecture), Namahage Sedo Festival (Akita Prefecture), and Yokote Snow Festival (Akita).

Sapporo Snow Festival (さっぽろ雪まつり)

The Sapporo Snow Festival is an awesome spectacle that draws millions of Japanese and foreign visitors every year. According to the official website, the first festival was held in 1950 and featured just a few modest snow statues built by high school students. For the next couple decades, the festival grew in scale and popularity. It became internationally known in 1972 when the city hosted the Winter Olympic Games; two years later it began the International Snow Sculpture Contest which various countries still participate in today.

Currently, three sites are used including Odori Park, Tsudome, and Susukino. Odori Park is the main festival area which stretches from east to west through the center of downtown Sapporo. The site features the biggest snow and ice sculptures, as well as a variety of fun events. Tsudome is the second largest site and consists two areas; you can take a rest inside the community dome, or play in the outside area that has huge snow slides and snowrafting. Lastly, Susukino is the area specifically dedicated to ice sculptures and features a few additional events like the Ice Sculpture Contest. At night, many areas are beautifully illuminated.

During my visit there in 2013, I became friends with a university student there named Shodai and stayed in his apartment for a few nights. He was an great host and showed me around which was really nice. I also meet a lot of other friendly people as well during the trip, both new and old friends. I have many lasting memories from this trip.

Sapporo Side Trip - Otaru

Otaru is a small city about 30 minutes northwest of Sapporo that also has it's own winter festival. It's significantly more modest than the Sapporo festival but is quite charming. The city itself is known for its historical buildings and arts and crafts industries. I won't go into detail but just wanted to mention that I volunteered here and it was a lot of fun! I helped prepare the grounds for visitors and built small snow lanterns, which we later lit with candles. One of the prettiest things to see here is the canal, which is filled with floating candles and looks very beautiful at night.

Aomori City (青森雪祭り)

Although it's the capital city of the prefecture, the snow festival here is relatively small and not exactly a "festival" in the traditional sense. Unlike the other events I'll discuss below, I've never seen any food vendors nor live entertainment featured (this could be have been different in the past or may be different in future years, I'm not sure). Either way, I think it's safe to say it's the smallest and least famous snow festival out of the ones I'm discussing, but still worth including because I live here.

The main displays and sculptures are built in the Aomori Station Park (青森駅前公園), which is basically an open space near the station. Other decorations are also located on the other side of the station, next to a culture and tourism facility called Wa Rasse (ワ・ラッセ), "the House of Nebuta" (Nebuta Festival). The layout and sculptures are new every year, keeping it pretty interesting for local residents. In addition to the designs specifically created for the snow festival, related winter-themed decorations and structures are displayed near Wa Rasse.

Hirosaki Snow Festival / Snow Lantern Festival (弘前雪灯篭祭り)

Hirosaki is famous for it's cherry blossom viewing in the spring, but also offers some nice views during it's snow festival in the winter. It's takes place at the Hirosaki Park (castle grounds) and features snow lanterns, mini kamakura (igloo-like snow huts), large and small snow sculptures, various food vendors, and more. During select nights, illumination events are held and is highly recommended.

Earlier, I briefly mentioned Nebuta Festival in Aomori City. This is just one of several such events in the region; Hirosaki has it's own version called Neputa, and another nearby town has yet another called Tachi-Nebuta. Each are unique in presentation but all depict similar themes and styles characteristic of Aomori Prefecture. In the Hirosaki Snow Festival, much of this imagery can be seen, such as in frames of snow lanterns (above) or walls of displayed artwork (below).

Hirosaki is also known for some historic buildings and Renaissance-style architecture. During my visit to the snow festival, there was a large model of the old Hirosaki City Library. The library (real one, not snow one) was built in 1907 to commemorate the victory in the Japanese-Russo War. Today, it's a museum near the castle you can check out, or see the snow version at the snow festival.

Snow sculpture of the former Hirosaki City Library

Lake Towada Snow Festival / Winter Story (十和田湖冬物語)

The Towada Winter Story is a snow festival held in the town Yasumiya, but the event is usually described by it's geographical location near Lake Towada (hence it's name). This is not to be confused with Towada City (45 km away).

The festival here is said to be one of the bigger ones in the Tohoku region, but I thought it felt a bit compact on my visit (in 2014). Yet there's a lot of interesting things to explore there. It features some neat illuminations, a few big snow sculptures, and a fireworks show. There are also live performances by Tsugaru shamisen players, as well as performances with namahage (生剥). Namahage are demon-like creatures from Japanese folklore (portrayed by men in costumes), who's purpose is to scold lazy or disobedient children. I don't have any pictures of this but I found it to be really interesting so check out the link if you want to learn more about it.

One of the coolest things (if I may use that pun again) to do is stop inside the Kamakura Bar. I mentioned before that kamakura are igloo-like structures. At the Towada festival there are two bars (at least in 2014) which you can enter, sit down, and get a few cocktails in glasses made of ice.

Kamakura Bar at Towada Winter Story

Lastly, the area has some great onsen (hot springs) and hotels nearby, even within walking distance to the festival. Spending the night at one is definitely worth considering if you plan on going to the festival.

Winter in Aomori - Record Snowfall, Mt. Hakkoda, Biking & Snowboarding

When the first snowfall comes to Aomori each year, I know my life is about to change for the next four months. For me, it's the first sign that winter (冬, fuyu) has really begun. The landscape gradually becomes soft, white, and powdery. The busy streets get jammed up with traffic as car headlights fade into the icy winds. The smaller roads become empty and quiet. Less people go out. More people stay inside. For many, the kotatsu (炬燵, small covered table with underneath heating unit) becomes a sanctuary. In a place like Aomori where the snowfalls can be so heavy, the winter season is not something to be taken lightly. But at the same time, it's also a spectacular sight to behold.

Road leading up to Mt. Hakkoda in Aomori City

If you are new to my blog or need a refresher as to where Aomori is located, here's a map of Japan below showing the location. Also specified is Aomori City, where I'm currently living and the region I'm writing about here.

Map of Japan and Aomori Prefecture

By the Numbers

Aomori is sometimes called the snowiest inhabited place on earth. That's a pretty bold claim, but official records from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) suggest there may be some truth behind it. Below is a table directly from JMA which shows various climate data for Sukayu Onsen (酸ケ湯, Sukayu Hotsprings), in Aomori City. It's written in Japanese but I've written English translations of some key data points. The numbers on the far left of the table indicate each month starting from January to December.

Average snowfall data for Sukayu Onsen, in Aomori City (source)

Road near Sukayu Onsen

It may be hard to believe that over 17 meters (58 ft) of snowfall could even be possible. However, there are three points to keep in mind. First, the location of Sukayu Onsen is partway into the mountains and not representative of snow levels directly in the city itself. Second, occasional periods of melting occur which keeps overall snow levels in check. And third, the stated numbers are for the average yearly total snowfall, not average height. So what about snow records within the city itself? For that, I've included the following table.

Average snowfall data for Aomori City, Japan (source)

As you can see, snow levels in the actual city are still impressive, but not quite like that of the mountains. And just as I mentioned above, there are always periods of melting throughout the winter, so actual snow heights never get close to reaching the yearly average total snowfall numbers. In other words, it's not like there's ever 6 meters (20 ft) of snow on the downtown streets at one time.

From My Eyes

If you asked me what was the highest snow height I have ever personally seen and experienced in the middle of the city at one given point in time—not including man-made piles of snow—I would probably say around 100 cm (3.3 ft) of pure snow. If you include accumulated snow on sidewalks added by snow plows or people shoveling, I would add about 60 cm (2ft) to that number. Now, if we are talking about any snow piles around the city, I've seen some that have likely reached 450 centimeters (15 ft) or more. But regardless of how you look at it, I think most would agree that the snow can be pretty intense here.

Sidewalk in Aomori City

My first two winters here were definitely intense. I haven't confirmed this but I remember hearing that several records were even broken during those years. On the contrary, this most recent winter (which is towards the end now) has been significantly weaker than the previous ones. Aside from a few big snowstorms, the levels never really got out of control in the city (in the mountains, I don't know). I guess the caveat here is not all winters are created equal.

Okidate River in January

Aomori's winter season has also been featured in the news in recent years, with stories from sources such as the Huffington Post and the Guardian.

Snow Removal / Management

It seems like a pretty boring thing to write about, but it has been interesting to see how the city deals with so much snow every winter. It may not be as simple as you think.

Some of the innovative ways is by using heated pavement and seawater to prevent snow from accumulating in major traffic and pedestrian areas. To my knowledge, the seawater system is only incorporated on one major downtown road in the city. It uses tiny sprinklers built into the road which constantly spray the road, keeping it wet but free of snow and ice. Heating systems are slightly more common, but are never used for roads. Instead, these are incorporated into a few of the main sidewalks and pedestrian bridges in the downtown areas. Some apartment complexes and businesses also use them. 

I'm sure it all sounds very convenient, but unfortunately these systems are actually pretty rare (likely expensive). So for the most part, snow removal is done the old fashioned way, by snow plows, snow blowers, and basic shovels and elbow grease.

Unfortunately, there's very little free space where snow can be moved in the city. People can start but pushing it into the roadside gutters (accessible grates allow people to do this pretty easily). When these fill up or are not available, people must find another location. I often see older folks just toss the snow off their own driveways into the street where cars repeatedly smash it down. 

Snow plows also have few places to put snow as there's typically little or no room on the sides of streets. The solution is for teams of large bulldozers and heavy duty dump trucks to remove the snow and dump it into the sea nearby. In the aftermath of particularly huge snowstorms, the city has entire operations going on during the night while most people sleep. I've seen this with my own eyes a few times and it's pretty wild. 

I thought the city had a good grasp on snow management this year. But for the two previous years, all of their efforts simply weren't enough to handle the snow. Most of the time, they didn't have enough resources to remove the snow quickly enough before the next snowstorm hit. Which brings me to describe the last way people deal with snow here... by just letting it pile up and saying "the hell with it!".

Still Biking in Winter

People think I'm crazy, but I still ride my bike in the winter no matter what the conditions. Honestly, I do it out of necessity as much as I do it because I really want to. I have to get to work and the gym somehow. I could take the bus which is always late, slow, and stresses me out. Or, I could ride my bike and know exactly how long it's going to take me and save a lot of time. The exercise is a bonus. I wear good quality layers to stay warm and my bike is snow-ready. It's definitely not for everyone. It can be tough and sometimes dangerous depending on the situation. But alas, I'm not everyone ;-)

Last year I even participated in a winter bike race called the Snow Aomori Enduro 3-hour Challenge Cup, and with a 4-man team we got 2nd place!

Snow Aomori Enduro Race 2013, 2nd place finish

Snowboarding on Mt. Hakkoda

Snowboarding at Mt. Hakkoda

With all the snow we get here, one of the best things to do in the winter is snowboarding and skiing. And one of the best places to do it is at Mt. Hakkoda (also seen in my Autumn in Aomori post). The mountain is known for having some excellent powder and I can attest to that. The weather can also be treacherous though, and nice bluebird days are very rare. I was lucky last year to go on one of those perfect-weather days.

Each season in Aomori is unique and has a lot to offer. I'll admit that winter is one of the more difficult seasons to really appreciate because the weather can so extreme, and the days are so short and grey. Despite these points, it offers some amazing opportunities to see things others may never have a chance to see. It can provide a one-of-a-kind experience and toughen your skin, and your spirit. I probably wouldn't want to live in an environment like this forever, but I feel fortunate to have spent several years learning how to adapt to it and enjoy it's beauty.

After JET Conference

Fellow JETs and I outside of the Pacifico Yokohama

In late July of 2011, I was very fortunate to join the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET). Over the past few years, I've gained an special experience as an assistant language teacher (ALT) working in Aomori, Japan. Now, my time in the program is coming to a close and I'll be finishing my contract exactly three years after it began. 

For anyone unfamiliar with JET, it's a program that places native-English speakers in public schools throughout Japan to assist in teaching the English language as well as fostering multicultural understanding in the country. In addition to ALTs, two more main job positions are available in the program, coordinator for international relations (CIR), and Sports Exchange Advisors (SEA); but I think the latter is rare as I've never met a single SEA. At any rate, the JET Program began in 1987 in cooperation with government agencies in Japan and several other countries; it has now grown to over 4,000 participants coming from 40 countries. As the website summarizes, "it was started with the purpose of increasing mutual understanding between the people of Japan and the people of other nations. It aims to promote internationalization in Japan’s local communities by helping to improve foreign language education and developing international exchange at the community level."

For participants like myself, the After JET Conference is a great event to help us prepare for taking the next step in our lives. The yearly conference is held in late February and takes places at a large convention center called the Pacifico Yokohama. It spans two days and only participants in their final year are allowed to attend. I thought the conference was quite good; here's a quick summary. 

Day 1

First, it kicked off with an opening ceremony, featuring representatives from the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). One of the speakers was Shinji Urabayashi, currently the director of the Exchange Programs Division MOFA. This was followed by an introduction of the JET Alumni Association (JETAA), in which Sarah Parsons, currently the National Chair of JETAA, spoke about how to get involved with the association and the support it can offer us. Lastly, two keynote addresses were given; the first by Anne Good, the president of Eureka!, a company offering executive, career, and life coaching services, and the second by Adam Komisarof, professor at Reitaku University.

From left: Shinji Urabayashi, Sarah Parsons, and Anne Good

In Anne Good's keynote titled, "What's Next?", she focused on strategies that we could implement to discover the right career path for us after JET. She emphasized the importance of, "passion, drive, and enthusiasm," and talked about the different things we should be considering. She suggested to ask ourselves questions like, "what energizes me?" and "who inspires me?" I thought it was a good keynote address and a lot of points she made were reaffirmed in other parts of the conference.

Adam Komisarof, professor at Reitaku University, giving his keynote

Next, Adam Komisarof presented his keynote address, "Re-entry Preparation & Reverse Culture Shock." He discussed a lot of excellent points; perhaps the most interesting to me were the realities facing us when we return home. Most of us have had incredible experiences and when we go home, our first inclination is to want to tell our family and friends all about it. But in many cases, it will be hard if not impossible for these people (no matter how close to us) to relate to our experiences, and thus simply may not care. This point really hit home for me, because I've experienced it myself. For people that have never lived abroad for an extended period of time, it seems difficult for them to get truly engaged in such discussions. That would be one of my biggest fears about returning home; not having anyone to relate to about an experience that's really changed my live in a lot of ways. But I suppose this is just one of the reasons why the alumni association can be such an important community for us. Although I may not be returning home just yet, I don't see it not happening at least sometime down the road. Back to the conference...

After all of the presentations and speakers, the first day was capped off with a career fair. This included 27 organizations and businesses. One of the surprises for me was the lack of teaching-related jobs, which is more of what I'm personally looking for at this point. But it's also a reminder about how few JETs actually have teaching-specific backgrounds, and instead come from all kinds of different fields. Despite the fact that nothing particularly jumped out at me, I thought it was a worthwhile experience to talk with representatives of the various companies.

Day 2

The next day was composed of three main parts: a panel discussion, one-on-one career consultation sessions, and career field presentations.

The panel discussion was lead by four professionals and former JET participants, including Crispin Chambers (Head of Japanese at Tavistock College), Leah Gowron (Director of Alumni Relations at the Montery Institute of International Studies), Eric Korpiel (Recruiting Senior Consultant at Robert Leonard Consulting), and James Santagata (Principal Consultant at Career OverDrive!). They covered a wide range of topics such as current job market situations, possible areas of continued study, and suggestions on how to use the JET experience for our future careers. I thought this was a great session and I took lots of notes. One of the overarching themes I picked up was to "think outside the box" to a large extent. This includes things like asking professionals in the field to meet for informational interviews, or trying to go direct to employers for work rather than waiting for a specific job opening to become available. They also gave some good points on how to modernize one's résumé or CV, and how to go through the interview stages successfully.

During the one-on-one consultations, I actually met with Eric Korpiel who was part of the panel discussion I just mentioned. I had just 15 minutes, but I found it to be useful and it was nice to have the opportunity to chat individually with him about his background and hear his advice for me.

The career field presentations were the last thing on the schedule for the conference. There were five time slots so were had chances to see many of the different sessions. A few I attended were "Entrepreneurship," "Social Media," and "Finding Employment in Japan." The one I really found fascinating was the entrepreneurship session presented by Jeffrey Char (Representative Director for J-Seed Ventures, Inc.). I've already talked in length about the conference so I won't go into detail here. But basically I was thoroughly impressed with his Mr. Char's down-to-earth, honest advice and hearing about how to got to where he is now--very successful and loving his work.

Impressions

I almost always like professional conferences. I feel like I can learn new things and rekindle my career-related motivation if it has somehow faded. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that I thought the After JET Conference was great. The speakers did a nice job of giving us authentic advice and points. I felt like they were really there because they wanted to be. My only gripe was that there was a major lost opportunity to network with other JET participants. Most participants came with others they already knew, and from my observations generally just stuck together instead of trying to meet new people. Unless you were to just go up to someone randomly and strike up a conversation, there weren't any chances to meet other JETs. Despite my efforts to talk to a few new people on the first day, I was generally disappointed because I would have loved to talk with others in similar situations as me. The final thing I'll say is that the conference was a big reminder that my time as a JET really is winding down, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel some serious melancholy about it. But all good things must come to an end, and I know it's time for me to move on, keep challenging myself, and experiencing new things.