E-mail Excerpts

This post is comprised of selections from e-mails I've sent people over the past many weeks. A lot of true things are evoked from spontaneous writing and provoked from the questions that people ask me.


In response to the question, How's Japan?:

Yeah, it's crazy. Okashii (crazy)! I really wish I could sum up how I feel in an e-mail, but I can't. My expressions of how I feel usually end up in the portrayal of a few anecdotes. It's hard to be reflective when the thoughts I have are entirely knew. I don't have the words or phrases yet to tell you how I feel.

My friend Steve asked me to rank on a scale of 1-10 my experience so far and I said it's a 10. That's still true. It's so awesome to be in an entirely new country with an entirely new culture, entirely new language, entirely new consciousness.

My school had sports day on Thursday. All day long kids competed against each other in different events. They had been divided up into 2 teams so points were kept and half the kids technically won, but I don't think there were any group prizes. The top kid in each game got a certificate.

I've been meeting all kinds of people from all over the western world. Since the JET Program employs English speakers from most English speaking countries, I've met people from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, all over the US... It's been so so so cool. I don't know how long I'll stay, but I've already decided on 2 years for sure, and maybe 3 or longer...


In response to information about a book club from a fellow ALT:

Thanks Elaine, I will definitely check it out. I did visit my local library and it has 5 English books. 5. The nearest library with English books is about a 500 yen one way trip, so using the library would hardly be free. Or maybe I'll sell my soul to the digital world and go electronic...


Another comment on my well-being:

I'm doing well, but I really haven't had anytime to think about much, so maybe I'll someday suddenly realize I'm living 10,000 kilometers from home.


In response to a general question from a friend interested in the JET Program:

If you're applying for JET for this next year, the deadline for the application will be somewhere around the end of November or the beginning of December, and believe me, it's a loooong application. Took me a full 2 days to fill it out. Plus you need references, and need things notarized, etc. etc. Start applying the beginning of October and you should be alright. Then there's an interview in some big city around the middle of February (I did mine in Chicago). Maybe there's one in Hawaii, I'm not sure. Actually, I know another ALT (Assistant Language Teacher, what most of the people who apply through JET become) who is from Hawaii originally. His name is Micah. I could ask him if he wants to talk with you if you have any Hawaii specific questions. You won't find out if you're accepted into the program until the beginning of April at the earliest.

Some basics about the JET Program:

Rule #1: Every situation is different. ESID. They pound this into you over and over. Some people end up in Okinawa, some in Hokkaido, some in Tokyo, some in a tiny mountain village, some on an even tiny-er island. Every apartment situation is different. Some are 18 feet by 15 feet big (total, kitchen, bathroom, etc.). Some have 2 bedrooms, and a living room. You may or may not have a western style toilet. You may not have airconditioning. You may have to pay a lot of money to buy things for your apartment ($1000). The school that you'll be teaching at may pay for it all.

2. You may be teaching at elementary schools or junior highs or 1 high school. You may travel and teach at 25 different schools per year. You may have to buy a car, or your school might not let you buy a car. Your Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs) may or may not know English well enough to converse with you.

Hmmm, #2 was a lot like #1.

You may be surrounded by other ALTs, or you may be 2 hours from the nearest "western" person.

I say western because I now have friends from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, England, South Africa, Scotland, Trinidad and Tobago... never thought I would be spending this much time with other ALTs, but it's possible to because of where I live.

Gosh, there's way too much stuff to write about to just write about everything. Your situation could end up being entirely different than mine anyway. But I will definitely try to answer any specific questions you may have. As for me, Japan was such an unknown before I left (and still is) that I didn't even know what questions to ask. So I just applied and waited to see what things would be like once I got here.

Haven't been too many frustrations. Just been taking everything as it comes. New country = totally new things to think about, uncover, discover... got to be studying Japanese...

I have a blog if you want to check it out: http://lutherflagstad.blogspot.com

It's kind of random, but has some more interesting musings, I think anyway.

Yeah, shoot me some more e-mails with specific questions.This really is the cush job. I get paid $2600 US a month to do a little bit of teaching and spend my free time being in a different country!


My own initiated e-mail to a friend back home:

Teaching has been going alright, don't really know what I'm doing, so lesson planning has been hard, but the execution has been fun. It's all around a pretty easy job, so quite a bit of free time to get out into my surroundings and explore. We're not paid to just teach- we're expected to learn about Japanese culture, learn the language, get to know our neighbors, get involved in the community, be friendly, and to give people here access to our own cultures in very direct ways.

Having said that, I have spent quite a bit of time with English speaking ALTs from all over the world- I now have friends from New Zealand, Scotland, Canada, All over the US, Ireland, England, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Australia... it's crazy.

I have my first Japanese language class tonight...

I'm also helping out every other week at a English/Ministry outreach class. We teach English and then share a Bible message. Had the first one this past Friday, so looking forward to see where that goes. There really are hardly any Christians here, less than 1% of Japanese natives are Christian, and probably less than 5% of the ALTs (people in my position) if that. But I've had some really good conversations people and got to give away one of my Bibles the other day- I exchanged literature with one of my new friends Mike from Australia. I gave him the Bible and Blue Like Jazz and he gave me "The God Dillusion." I read the first 60 pages last night, pretty interesting. I actually agree with the author on a lot of his points, but disagree with the conclusions he draws from them. Basically so far he's been saying religion (all religion and all supernatural belief) is bad because look at all the horrible things that religious people have done in the name of religion. My first reaction to that book has been shame for my self and my fellow Christians whose behaviors have hurt Christianity and God's image grievously. He keeps bringing up quotations from "Christians" which state things that are very unbiblical. It's often said that the worst thing going for Christianity today is Christians. Uff Da.

But the best thing going in the world for Christianity (outside of the Holy Spirits work himself!) is Christians too. We can really show God's love through the way we treat people. I am responsible to know my faith and to know God, to know the Bible and to talk about it with other people. Building on that base I have decided I will do only 3 things: Pray, Listen and Love. Pray because only the Holy Spirit can do any of the convincing, listen because it is the best way you can show someone you care about them, and love- to love people tangibly.

Alright, this e-mail got longer than I thought it would, I guess I was thinking outloud...out-type? Anyway, I have to get to class pretty soon.


Writing to another friend back home:

I had a CRAZY weekend- rode the train about 2 hours away Sat. afternoon to go to this Australian bar where I met a bunch of other ALTs to have a few brewskies and watch the international rugby championships. Only ended up watching 1 game before having a really long conversation with one of my new friends about Christianity and Buddhism and Evolution and Creationism. I definitely have found that these conversations are usually not fruitful, and this one was no different. There were no hard feelings, but it's just that neither side is ever going to win the argument- if anything the worldly view is going to win more often because we're living in the world which is controlled by the prince of the air, Satan, and he's going to do what he can to make sure secular ideas are the most popular. A common saying goes, "Rarely are people argued into the kingdom- It is more often love that brings them there." Also Romans 2:3-4 talk about how it's the Lord's kindness that leads us to repentance.

I have decided that I shall choose to do only 3 things: Pray, listen and love. Praying because only the Holy Spirit can actually do any convincing, listening because it is the most important thing you can do to show someone you care about them, and loving tangably through the things you do.

Getting back to the night, we then went to karaoke where we sang for about 3 hours (until 4 am when they kicked us out of the room) then went to Denny's (yes they have Denny's) where I had spaghetti because their breakfast menu doesn't start until 7am. Then we caught the first train back east at 5:35am. I slept for a bit and also talked with Luke (my friend who I was talking with before) about dating, esp. dating people from foreign countries, which aparently he's had a lot of experience with. (Luke himself is from New Zealand. He's 29).

Alright, that was my weekend. I will sign off for now, but in a few days I'll have internet at my house, woooo!!!!


In response to questions from a friend who is also teaching abroad:

Yeah, it's been a challenge, especially in planning lessons. But in all honesty, this is a easy job and they treat me really well. I put in my 8 hours a day, then I get to go home and think about other things... like how to eat and clean and withdraw cash and ride the trains and where to find friends and how to bike in all the rain and how to use the squat toilets and on and on! Luckily the JET Program is very supportive and there are lots of other foreigners from Australia and England and Scotland and Ireland and South Africa and Canada and New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago even! that have set up a network with each other so I definitely haven't been lonely- actually I have been TOO busy. There's so much to do and see. Last night I was sitting in my room after an all nighter of bar/watching rugby/karaoke/Denny's and thinking that I just want to settle into a normal life here. So hopefully that will pan out somehow in the next couple months! I have a blog if you're interested at all, it's on my profile. Otherwise I post lots of pictures, so they're there too.

My different classes run the gamut from very shy to very genki (excited/active) and from entry level English to high intermediate or low advanced. I've only been teaching 1 week, so we'll see how things continue to go. I live in a teacher housing apartment- slightly old, but lots of space. It's been very hot and humid, and I just recently got airconditioning, so I've been sweating a lot. But that's normal- everyone carries around little sweat towels and dabs at their faces and necks.

Well, I should probably get back to work- right now I'm writing a speech for one of my students who will memorize it for a competition on the 22nd. Let me know how you're doing from time to time too.


Another response:

Things are going well. I am doing my self-introduction lesson plan 10 times this week and into Monday. I lucked out and really only have to plan 3 different lesson plans per week, and then just teach them several times. Lesson planning is definitely the thing I am the least experienced at so therefore enjoy the least. Once in the classroom though, I feel great. The levels of English ability runs the gamut- I have a class of first year, lowest test score kids and third year kids in the special English Course class. But the high school I'm at has a high level in general with well behaved kids, so it will be a pleasure teaching them. I have planned one other lesson for next week, so need to do 2 more before the end of tomorrow!

I have been doing well with God too. I have read about half of Knowing God by J.I.Packer and just finished Blue Like Jazz the other night. I would highly, highly recommend Blue Like Jazz if you haven't read it already. Very honest and very real. I identified with the guy a lot at least... Also I am reading Matthew. I have taken my Bible out to the Sea wall a couple of times and sat there and read while the waves crashed on shore.

There is a typhoon approaching my coast of Japan tonight... high winds, lots of rain and BIG waves...


Same....:

Yah yah, it's going well! I only have internet at school, I won't at my apartment until Sep. 14th at the very earliest- the bureaucracy of getting internet is reDICulous, but oh well. I got my foreigner's card yesterday and a cell phone, which is tiny. Makes the razr look clunky and FAT. I said it- pictures to follow. I liked your comment on the hashbrowns by the way.

It is crazy here and I can see myself getting lonely in a couple of months. I'll be missing life at the Wigwam. But- I've met some cool people here already, and hopefully we'll become friends.


E-mail to my sister Hannah:

I got your letter today! Thanks for the picture. I will put it on top of my tv. And hopefully on top of my new tv when I buy one at a "recycle shop." Basically, Japanese people are really afraid of buying anything used. So if someone uses a TV for even a week and then doesn't want it, you can buy it for a fraction of the price. People even put perfectly fine working electronics out on the curb to throw away if they are moving or something.


One of my first e-mails from Japan, to a friend back home:

Japan is great! I:m still in orientation in Tokyo, and tomorrow I will head off to my prefecture. Check out my blog:http://lutherflagstad.blogspot.com

Thanks for writing- everythings a blur right now and I:m really, really tired. It:s almost midnight now, and I:ve gotten like 4 hours of sleep each night. something crazy just happened on this japanese keyboard, so this post might look weird! Enjoy your summer


Wish I could have included many things written in Instand Messages too. Well, I suppose I have to save some things for Interpersonal Communication, right? Not everything is meant to be shared with the world...

Luther