“Lunch?” repeats the JET alumnus, leaning forward and cocking his head. “Well, school lunch wasn’t too bad,” he relays, “It was balanced, at least.” A slow, sheepish grin spreads across his face and crinkles his eyes. “I mean, like… it was a lot healthier than my usual instant curry sauce on spaghetti dinner,” he shrugs.

Hiroshima-ken JET alum Natalie Oram answers some questions about what she’s been up to post-JET and how the JET experience has helped her.

Hiroshima-ken JET alum Jason Letts answers some questions about what he’s been up to post-JET and how the JET experience has helped him.

Hiroshima City JET alum Joe Meadows answers some questions about what he’s been up to post-JET and how the JET experience has helped him.

Feel like you can’t change anything you don’t like about your job? Don’t wait around in limbo during the downtime between closing and opening ceremonies. It may seem like you have nothing to do now, but this is the best time to actually remedy what ails you and to implement new ideas. All it takes is some patience and perseverance.

One visit a month to the orphanage does wonders. The anticipation that builds up from one visit to the next is dumbfounding. I’ll have kids not pay attention in class just to ask me when we are coming back and what we’re going to be doing. That right there is how I know we are making at least a bit of a difference. There’s expectations there, excitement. There’s a lot that we can’t do for these kids, but by giving a little time and a little effort we give them at least one bright spot every few weeks.

A short video documentary about Onomichi City.

Top ten tips picked up by a JET who attended the 2011 Conference for Returning JETs.

A few days after I was rejected for a Softbank credit card I received a letter in the mail from a credit card company. It stated in the politest keigo possible that I was not eligible for a credit card. Does this sound familiar to those of you who have tried (and failed) to get a credit card in Japan?

You wake up at 4 am. You eat vegan food, and only before noon. The two pieces of fruit you can eat during the rest of the day are a treat. No drinking, flirting, touching, reading, listening to music, exercising (except walking), or even speaking for 10 days. Does that sound like heaven or hell…?