Aspiring US JETs 2012

[ume no hana]

Early Departure:
I hope y'all get your results soon! You would leave in about a month! so exciting!

[merkypie]

Early Departure:
I hope y'all get your results soon! You would leave in about a month! so exciting!

Nervous but exciting! I hope we EDs get in too!

I don't know. I rather enjoyed For Fukui's Sake. The author has a great writing style, a fantastic sense of humor, and several of the anecdotes that made me think about things I'd never considered before. Although, I do wish he would have spent more time talking about what it was like teaching and less time talking about all of his hiking trips.

@Merkypie - I'm the same way! I keep checking my e-mail on my phone during breaks at work. If by some miracle I make it into the early departure picks I can finally relax a little bit. lol

I think the book is bland but that's because I've stalked so many JET blogs/vlogs that it seems like I'm reading another JET blog. Also, the pacing is a bit awkward. One minute we're talking about this and the next about something else. But, then again, I don't read too many autobiographies. lol

I stalk my email so much now. Ahahaha. Every time I hear that "ding" I think its an email from the consulate ;_; Then I check and its a email from my ice rink or Jo Anne coupons ;_;

no, but really, I hope we get in.

You and me both ;_;

[Cliodhna]

I gotta say, midterms are making March fly by. I just realized this evening that tomorrow is already wednesday, holy $%^&.
Even so, I don't think I've ever been more paranoid about midterms in my life before, because suddenly screwing them up has actual real-life consequences- i.e. no pass, no graduate, no JET. It's not a fun kind of stress, haha.

[erinmarie]

March is moving along faster than I expected as well.

Me and my friends are all doing this project together where we each write a complete novel in one month. And before you freak and say you can't do it, know that it really isn't that hard to do.

If you want to write a 50,000 word novel (about 200 pages), you need to write 1600 words a day. That takes me about an hour or two. What makes the writing process slower is the temptation is to edit everything you write. But if you leave the editing till later and solely focus on writing, It goes by very quickly.

On the weekends we have overnight writing parties. We get together on Friday and write for two hours straight. Then, we hang out and talk about our stories for an hour. After that, we write for another two hours. Basically we repeat this cycle all night. These parties offer you a chance to get ahead in your schedule if next week is extra busy, or to catch up if you've fallen behind. The writing parties are also great encouragement and accountability.

It's been a lot of fun. I would totally suggest it to anyone who wants to distract themselves. Take your forum time/obsession time/TV time and do something useful and challenging. Your novel doesn't have to be published and it doesn't have to be good, it just needs to be complete. You do your best and challenge yourself. If you continue writing, your novels get better and better until you have one you are proud of!

we are following this method if anyone is interested.
http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Im about a fifth of the way finished already! Its pretty hard to believe.

[Eternal Icicle]

before you freak and say you can't do it, know that it really isn't that hard to do.

Tell us this again once you're finished. 15-30k words is typically where people get hung up.

[chomuch]

If you don't mind me asking, what is the point of nanowrimo? I've heard of the name plenty of times over the past years, and I'm wondering what the motivations are for the writers. Do the novels get published and proceeds go to a charity/relief-fund/something to that nature? Is it a competition of some sort?

[Cliodhna]

If you don't mind me asking, what is the point of nanowrimo? I've heard of the name plenty of times over the past years, and I'm wondering what the motivations are for the writers. Do the novels get published and proceeds go to a charity/relief-fund/something to that nature? Is it a competition of some sort?

I think there might be some competitions related to it and some people do publish, but mostly the point is to get people to go out there and write. So many people always say, "Ha! I could write a better book than that!" or, "I could totally write a book!" etc., so national novel writing month is an excuse to actually get out there and act on that inclination while having an international support group when you run into writer's block.

[GriffN]

About Early Departure, my interview panel oddly asked me what I would do if I was accepted for early departure. I didn't check the box for early departure, so I figured it was a mistake on their part. Since there will be so few early departures and so many people applying, I can't imagine they'd send someone who didn't volunteer for it.

If you don't mind me asking, what is the point of nanowrimo? I've heard of the name plenty of times over the past years, and I'm wondering what the motivations are for the writers. Do the novels get published and proceeds go to a charity/relief-fund/something to that nature? Is it a competition of some sort?

Nanowrimo (google that sh**! )is more of a writing event/exercise than a competition. As long as you write 50,000 words, you're declared a winner. No prizes or awards. The philosophy is 'quantity over quality.'

The goal is to get motivated and have fun. Motivation/inspiration/drive is what writers are always battling with, so it's like a workout. Exactly like erinmarie said: "If you continue writing, your novels get better and better until you have one you are proud of!" Personally, I think you need to agonizingly crank out a few hundred thousand words until you can be comfortable with writing as a 'craft.' This is a cool way to get there.

[miami_coordinator]

About Early Departure, my interview panel oddly asked me what I would do if I was accepted for early departure. I didn't check the box for early departure, so I figured it was a mistake on their part. Since there will be so few early departures and so many people applying, I can't imagine they'd send someone who didn't volunteer for it.

Yeah, that's definitely a mistake. If you didn't request it and you didn't get your Certificate of Health and FBI Background Check in by January 31, there's no way you could be considered for Early Departure.

Probably that interviewing committee either had a bunch of people before you who DID request Early Departure, or they may not have understood how the process works (this is brand new for most countries this year, so many interviewers may not be aware of what is involved with it).

[erinmarie]

If you don't mind me asking, what is the point of nanowrimo? I've heard of the name plenty of times over the past years, and I'm wondering what the motivations are for the writers. Do the novels get published and proceeds go to a charity/relief-fund/something to that nature? Is it a competition of some sort?

Like others have said it is for motivation, its aimed at youth and meant to help them get motivated about writing. Some books eventually do get published. "Water for Elephants" was originally a nanowrimo. The focus isn't necessarily on quantity over quality, It's more about perseverance, completion, and setting goals and obtaining them.

I really started doing it as a favor for my friend. She is an excellent writer. I have read many of her stories. The problem is she never ever finishes. So I brought this idea to her, to help her stay focused and motivated. She graduated from college a few years ago and still doest know what career she wants. I feel very strongly that her career should be in writing, because she loves it and has a lot of talent. Funny thing is I'm enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would.

before you freak and say you can't do it, know that it really isn't that hard to do.

Tell us this again once you're finished. 15-30k words is typically where people get hung up.

Well thanks for the encouragement.

[tashikanakoto]

So I promised myself I wouldn't go on this forum until April... and now I've been back almost every day!

I'm trying to work on my senior thesis on LGBT rights and the US Congress... goal is to have 50 pages by next Saturday. I have 25 now! So that is taking up a lot of my time.

[mobiuschic42]

AHHHHHHHHHH
Early departure email jumpiness: I got an email that had the word "Japan" in the subject line and my heart skipped like 3 beats...and then I realized it was an "ad" asking me to upgrade a Japanese learning Android app I had downloaded...ugh.

[Eternal Icicle]

before you freak and say you can't do it, know that it really isn't that hard to do.

Tell us this again once you're finished. 15-30k words is typically where people get hung up.

Well thanks for the encouragement.

I didn't mean to be discouraging per se. It's just a good thing to know that if you get stuck, it's normal. But it also irks me when someone claims something they haven't even done is "easy," because it diminishes the accomplishment of everyone who has done it. Writing a novel isn't easy! Almost all writing is hard work, and so if you finish 50k words in a month, don't explain that it was easy-- if it actually was, everyone would do it. If you complete it in a month, be proud of yourself for a monumental accomplishment. If it takes you longer, be equally proud of yourself.

[GriffN]

Yeah, that's definitely a mistake. If you didn't request it and you didn't get your Certificate of Health and FBI Background Check in by January 31, there's no way you could be considered for Early Departure.

Probably that interviewing committee either had a bunch of people before you who DID request Early Departure, or they may not have understood how the process works (this is brand new for most countries this year, so many interviewers may not be aware of what is involved with it).

Thanks, m_c.

So I promised myself I wouldn't go on this forum until April... and now I've been back almost every day!

I'm trying to work on my senior thesis on LGBT rights and the US Congress... goal is to have 50 pages by next Saturday. I have 25 now! So that is taking up a lot of my time.

I forbid myself from looking at anything JET related unless I've practiced Japanese for two hours that day (and if I break the rule, I double the practice). Like a pre-paid swear jar.

Might be a tall order for those trying to graduate, though :\

[Boogerghost]

I'm trying to work on my senior thesis on LGBT rights and the US Congress...

Maybe the wrong place to discuss this, but this IS The Mega Thread of Everything, and at this point we're just passing time. If you go on the program do you think you'd want to put one of those GLSEN "safe space" stickers up somewhere for the students, maybe with a Japanese translation? Or maybe not those specifically, since you can't control whether all the other staff are "supportive and inclusive," but perhaps one of those "I'm an adult you can talk to about this" signs? If I'm accepted and work with pubescent kids I might try breaching the subject of reaching out/trying to offer support as an ally, though I realize it's a difficult subject in Japan. I wouldn't push it if the school seemed resolutely against it, but as educators of a sort I think it could be a good opportunity for us to encourage some grassroots access to information and support (even if it's in broken Japanese).

Anyone have experience in this area? Similar networks that exist in Japan? Reasons why it's a good idea? Reasons why it would go terribly wrong? Comments?