Jikoshokai Corner
Today we would like to introduce one of our hard working events coordinators!
Please introduce yourself with your name, prefecture, and years spent on the JET program.
Hi! My name is Christy Go and I was on the JET Program as an ALT from 2014-2016 in Higashine City in Yamagata Prefecture. Yamagata is a sister state of Colorado and is famous for beautiful mountain scenery, snowy winters and fruits, especially cherries! Higashine City is known as the “Kingdom of Fruits” and we even had the emperor and his wife come to pick cherries one summer. Higashine is also famous for hosting the Sakuranbo Marathon in June every year where runners come from across Japan and even abroad to participate in the race and a cherry pit spitting contest!
What made you want to apply to the JET Programme?
When I was young, my dad brought some VHS tapes back from the library called “Video Letter from Japan.” It was an educational docuseries that covered different topics like, “Life as a Japanese Elementary Student” and “Cultural Experiences in Kyoto.” I really loved seeing what life was like in another country and that really got me interested in Japan. I heard about the JET program at an Anime Convention in middle school and it became my goal to apply after college. I am a music educator but also minored in Japanese in university, and after my student teaching in the US and England, I started my journey on JET!
What was your most meaningful experience on JET?
There’s so many it’s so hard to pick one! I think something that stands out is working with the Board of Education in Higashine to transform one of the elementary schools into an English Focus School. The population of one area of town is not very big and instead of closing the local school, they opened it to open-enrollment and made English the focus with ALTs participating in all subjects, doing push-in English lessons, participating in school events and daily activities, field trips and festivals. It was wonderful getting to know all the staff and students really well (there were only 50 students!) and really cultivating a love of English and an interest in the world from a young age. I noticed that all the students at that school were more eager and bold to participate in English lessons during English camps or when they moved up to middle school because of their experience in Elementary. It was really rewarding to be a part of planning the curriculum and working with school staff and the Board of Education to make the school a success.
What are you most looking forward to as a JETAARM board member?
I love that the JET community is one big family and I hope to continue to support that! Coming back from JET is a difficult process and I struggled with reverse culture shock and depression with moving back home and starting a new job. Add the pandemic and I feel that people are just starting to get back into socializing and making meaningful connections. My hope is to have a variety of events to give JET alums fun experiences, but also to re-engage with the JET community and also work on Japan-America relations in the Rocky Mountain region!
Answer a fun question of your choosing (favorite food/most surprising/embarrassing story, etc)
The question I choose is: “What is an amazing cultural memory you have from JET?”
I had the amazing opportunity to study Tea Ceremony during my time on JET and my teacher was a fierce 90 year old woman named Hosaka-Sensei. She didn’t speak any English, had a regional accent and would laugh when my legs fell asleep from sitting seiza during lessons. Though she was strict, she was incredibly patient and kind and really loved sharing her expertise with us and made me part of her tea ceremony family; even gifting me with a kimono at the end of my time in Japan! I remember she always boasted about the health benefits of matcha and once lamented about how she will live so much longer than her husband because she drank matcha and he didn’t. While she was talking, he sneezed in the other room! I always wondered why she didn’t just give him matcha too!
