The School Experience

What is it like to work as an ALT?  Before coming to Japan, it seemed everyone had a different opinion on working at schools in Japan.  I found this odd since everyone had the same job as an ALT.  Seven months in, it all makes sense: your experience depends entirely on the school for which you work.

What Should I Pack for Japan?

There's one very important thing to remember: If you're moving to Japan, you can't constantly ship stuff from the States.  Although you're comfortable with a variety of brands, realize that people in Japan (and other industrialized nations) have comparable alternatives, if not identical.  It's nice to bring some things--toothpaste, Advil, etc--but at some point they may run out and you'll have to make do.  So I provide this list as mere suggestions at what to pack, and ask you to bear in mind Japan does have most things you need.  You might just want to make settling in a tad more comfortable.

First School Visit [ALT]

Wondering what to expect on your first school visit with Interac?  I'm currently an ALT for Interac, working in the city of Toyama within the similarly named prefecture of Toyama. (In fact, when I tell people I live in Toyama they have no idea where that is. I tell them it's a prefecture and they get very surprised!)

Interac's contract directly forbids any mention of my schools by name, so although I can't share exactly where I work, there are a few things I can say--my impressions of the schools, what levels I teach, and so on.

Moving to Japan (Officially)

To inject a personal post into a personal blog, it's time I mentioned that I am actually moving to Japan in the very near future.  As in Sunday.  ... Which is in a couple days.  Holy crap, where did the time go?

Applying for a Japanese Work VISA

Applying for a Japanese work visa involves a trick any alchemist would be proud of: transmuting a CoE (Certificate of Eligibility) into a VISA (Very Impressive Script of Actuation).  Okay, visa isn't actually an acronym, but you do need a CoE before you can get a working visa for Japan.

Click 'read more' to unravel the secrets of the secrety things!

The Cost of Moving to Japan

I did a post a little while ago which showed the cost to get to my then-current point of Interac's placement process.  The post was largely uninformative and probably a large disappointment to anyone thinking they could actually learn something.  Fortunately, I have decided to make it up to any and all future ALTs by creating a brand new chart!  So if you're thinking about applying to Interac and you're curious about how much money you need, from start to finish, look no further!

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.

AEON Application and Interview Process

I've applied for AEON (pronounced "ee-on", don't get it wrong at the seminar!) twice; the first time was just to see what would happen.  AEON is an eikaiwa as well, focusing on teaching small groups (5-10) of various ages depending on the group.  I probably know the most about this company given that I applied twice.

Gaba Application and Interview Process

For those of you who wish to work for Gaba, you must understand what the company is about.  Gaba is an eikaiwa based primarily around Tokyo.  Each instructor teaches one student at a time, usually an adult, in basically 50 minute segments.  Gaba specializes in customization; instructors must be able to customize lessons to a student's interests and career.  If you prove you can do this, you're a BIG step toward getting an offer.

Start the Countdown!

Hello boys and girls!  You may or may not know me; My name is Ben Brannan and teaching in Japan is my dream!  This blog is meant to document my journey to, and through, Japan.  I also hope to inspire and help others who wish to do the same!  I will be working as an ALT and teaching English--anyone else looking to do this can definitely learn from my coming experience!  But how did a rogue computer scientist end up getting a job in Japan?