JET vs Interac: An Objective Comparison

When comparing JET vs Interac, there are many different factors to take into account.  For the curious, enterprising ALT, I'll give the short answer:  If money's your game and you're feeling lucky, apply to JET.  Or go to Las Vegas.  Is there really a life changing difference between JET and Interac?  No.

In the first collaborative post between myself and The Sushi Complex, read on for the full comparison between JET, a government-run ALT provider, and Interac, the representative for private ALT dispatch companies!

A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower (Henshall)

In preparation for Japan, and hopefully in an effort to avoid culture shock, I've decided on a collection of books to help me understand the country in which I'll hopefully be spending the next several years of my life.  I narrowed the important aspects of Japan down to only four:  History, Culture, Etiquette, and Politics.

For history, I chose Henshall's brief book A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower.  I needed a book with a good balance between detail and brevity, and Henshall seemed to fit the bill!  After finishing, I had a good understanding of Japan (probably as good as any Japanese major remembers a few years out of school, heh).

Interac Deferral: The Aftermath

The new count down has started--and this one will be a long one, I'm sure!  I just got an e-mail from Interac asking if I am still interesting in working for them in the Spring 2012 semester.  I obviously accepted!  You can check this post from time to time for changes as I will update this with every major milestone.

So if you accepted a job with Interac but got deferred, here's what you'll be looking at!

The Sushi Complex

The Sushi Complex: I am a foreigner. And according to one of my second grade students I am from Foreign. To him, Foreign is a country because all that exists...

A little one off update to anyone who may stumble across this page: My good friend Lauren recently set up her own blog. Not only has she already spent a year teaching in Korea, she has now moved on to Japan! I find her to be insightful and hilarious, so you might want to visit her blog until I move to Japan in March!

Happy reading!

Interac Deferral

Received Monday July 25, 2011 at 4:21am EST

Dear ALT,

We appreciate that you have been waiting patiently now for news of your relocation to Japan. So it is with regret that we are writing to advise you of your current status with Interac Group, and your available placement options and what this means for you now and in the future.

Permanent Resident Living Abroad

For those who don't know, I'm a U.K. citizen living in the U.S. as a permanent resident.  I have a greencard which allows me to live and work here.  Unfortunately, I never became a U.S. citizen so I've faced quite a few hurdles in order to get myself to Japan.  I'd like to cover some of these for anyone who may be in a similar situation.

Interac Application and Interview Process

After getting an offer from both Gaba and Interac, I chose Interac in order to be a larger part of the community.  I mentioned this at the interview and it seemed to go over well :)  It's also something I fully believe in.  I didn't want to be another eikaiwa monkey, I honestly wanted to embed myself into this new environment.  Since I'm working for Interac, I'd rather not spill the beans on the whole process, but I can provide a timeline for other anxious Interac applicants, and some general advice.