Week one - Flying from the Uk to Japan, Interac training week.

I'm writing this three weeks into my journey into Japan as it's been a busy few weeks and I've now had time to reflect on how things have gone so far. Long story short It's been amazing so far, my apartment's in a great location, my schools and students are great (so far) and I've made some good friends.

My journey started with a 6am alarm, followed by breakfast and multiple bag checks to make sure I'd packed everything i needed.

I was then driven to York train station by my dad, met a friend for a coffee and said goodbye as i boarded the 8:23 for Manchester airport. After safely arriving in Manchester Airport i waited for an hour for the Qatar airlines checkin desk to open. A few hours later i boarded the flight which was destined for Doha. I arrived in Doha after a decent flight with a large selection of in flight movies to keep me entertained. I had an hour to change flights, and i managed to get to the boarding gate for my next flight within 25 mins, as the airport is mainly designed for people transferring flights. I then boarded the flight to Shanghai, which was another easy flight. Arriving in Shanghai i went through the routine again and found my checkin desk, went through security and boarded my flight for my final destination, Osaka.

My Samsonite suitcase and Minaal backpack.

Doha Airport

Shanghai Airport

I landed in Osaka at around 9:30pm, I was in a bit of a rush as i knew the subway system in Osaka shut down around 11:30pm and I'd be getting a train into the main station then transferring to another line to get to the hostel where I'd be spending my first night in Japan. I went through immigration  and my visa/passport was accepted and i received my Gajin (Foreigner card). I then sped up as it was getting later and i didn't want to miss the last train. After catching my train to Osaka central and dashing about to find my connecting line i made the second to last train to the station where my hostel was located. 

Stepping out from the underground station it hit me how hot and humid it was, i was sweating a ridiculous amount after lugging my suitcase about. I found my hostel and checked in and had a well needed shower and change of clothes as I'd set off from home 36 hours before. The next day i got the Shinkansen (Bullet train) to Okayama City. I departed the station into my new city, for at least the next 6 months. I met with the Interac trainers at the meeting point along with another Interac ALT who arrived at the same time. We were taken into the hotel and met up with the other ALTS that were going to be teaching in Okayama.

I won't go into the training into too much detail as i may do a separate post about the training later. The training was essentially a 5 day crash course in teaching English and Japanese culture. It was a good chance to get to know the other ALTS and let friendship groups emerge. Three days into the training i moved into my Leopalace apartment. I was driven to the apartment by one of Interac's English/Japanese speaking employees. Stepping into my apartment was like stepping into a sauna. It was hotter than it was outside i instantly broke into sweat, after putting the air conditioning on for 5 minutes it quickly cooled down, which was a relief. I'd pre ordered a futon so there was one waiting for my in a box ready for me to unpack. There was also a bike ready and waiting for me so i can bike to my schools, and its great for exploring the city.

Sleeping area

Ladder that leads up to sleeping area

Cooking/ Washing machine area/ door to shower

Main room

My bike

When i moved into my apartment there was still two days of training left, so i had to commute into the city for the training. I was amazed when i realised my station was only a 7 minutes walk away from from house and only one stop away from Okayama central, and only takes 3 minutes, i couldn't have wished for a better location. When i got the chance to have a ride about the next night i realised how close i was to the local shops, within 5-10 minutes i was within reach of a huge shopping mall with a supermarket, drug store and a 100 yen store. To get tall the essentials for my apartment i did all my shopping at 100 yen stores, buying everything from school supplies to plates and cutlery.

The next day at training we were given our mobile phones that we'd signed up for and we were also given information about out school schedule, i found I'd be teaching at a junior high school and two Elementary schools. the last day after training we did a summer camp with some first year junior high students, doing a skit and doing some basic games in English.

In my next post I'll be writing about my schools, students and how I've found living in Japan.

Arigatou gozaimasu.

I'm moving to Okayama !

So its finally been confirmed where I'm going to be teaching in Japan, a city called Okayama , which is the capital of okayama prefecture.

My contract in Okayama city is for 8 months, after which I'll be relocated to another city, hopefully nearby so i don't have to spent too much on relocating. From talking to people on facebook that I've contacted though Okayama facebook groups everyone has nothing but good things to say about the city, which is good to hear.

It's about an hour away from Osaka on the train, and close by to Shikoku so i can hopefully take some trips across.

After i confirmed that i was happy with going to Okayama city i booked my flights. As the training is going to be held in Okayama I'm going to be flying to Osaka rather than Narita airport in Tokyo. I'm flying with Qatar airlines as they fly from Manchester, have a reasonable baggage allowance (30KG) and their flights are reasonably priced. 

Source: Google maps

Okayama City

Okayama is famous for many things , one of its main attractions is the beautiful Korakuen garden it houses, which can be seen pictured below.

Source: Stephen L - Tripadvisor

Another of Okayamas attractions is its castle, originally built in 1597 destroyed in 1945 and rebuilt in 1966 (According to wikipedia)

Source: http://www.digital-images.net/Gallery/Scenic/Japan/Castles/Okayama/okayama.html

INTERAC - Application process and interview

This post is designed to give you an insight into the application and interview process involved with Interac. If you are unfamiliar with Interac, they are a dispatch company who recruit English teachers from all over the world to teach in Japan.

The first step in applying to Interac is to go onto their website www.interacnetwork.com and click the APPLY NOW button. You then create a login profile which you use to login each time you want to update the application or add a document.

The online application involves the following main components;

- General information about yourself age, dob etc

- A 2500 Personal statement 

- Education history

- Work history

- Reference contact details

- Heath information

I spent a few days going through everything on the application to make sure it was all correct and i didn't have any spelling mistakes. I also spent a lot of time writing the personal statement, as this is a big chance to sell yourself and tell Interac about yourself.

A few days after i submitted the online application i received an email inviting me to have a phone interview, it was scheduled for three weeks time. I prepared for the phone interview by researching facts about Japan and going through my personal statement. The interview went well, it consisted of the recruiter giving me some basic information about teaching in Japan and what's expected from an ALT. She also asked me questions about why i wanted to teach and why i had an interest in Japan, it lasted about 20 minutes.

The day after i had the phone interview i was informed i passed this stage and i was invited to a seminar/interview, i was glad to see there was one in my city (York) so i didn't have to travel down to London. The interview was scheduled for two and a half weeks later. I was given information about what the seminar/interview involved so i could prepare beforehand.

There would be an information session from the recruiter to give us information about living and working in Japan, a one-to-one interview and we would have to give a demo lesson, this would consist of an introduction - pretending we had arrived in Japan and were meeting the teachers for the first time, we would have to read from a script, give a primary school walm up and a quick demo lesson on directions for a middle school class. 

The day of the interview came and i dressed up in my best suit and got to the interview location about 20 minutes before we were due to start. I found two other interviewees waiting in the reception area so i had a chat with them until the recruiter arrived. As there was only five of us (including the recruiter) we had the info session on some sofas in one of the lounges. We had a chat for a while, explained why we wanted to go to Japan and answered a few questions. We then had a grammar test, which covered a few grammatical structures, differentiating between the passive and active voice and correcting some spelling errors.
We then went up individually to a hotel room with the recruiter so we could do out recorded intro and demo lesson. As i'd practiced mine about 20 times i remembered it all and didn't mess any of it up. We were then give two sheets of A4 with some interview questions to answer for the recruiter to have a read through and we finished with a one to one interview for each of us.

Exactly a month after the interview i received an email from INTERAC offering me a position to start in August ! It would normally have been faster but i had a delay from one of my references.