Food! Goodness me, school lunches!

[trout501]

My JHS kyuushoku experience has ranged anywhere from "filling" to "not filling" to "kinda nasty." There are often good dishes, though most are mediocre, and nothing is stellar. We're not required to finish everything, but students may get scolded if they leave left-overs.

I just wanted to drop into the thread to give some folks a reality check and say what the most of us are thinking, but nobody's saying. That is that you had better like fish if you think you want to live in Japan. It is literally a staple food here. Not liking - not being able to eat - a whole category of food, that's called being a bad eater. You crossed the line from picky when you decided that you would not even entertain the thought of tasting foods you had never seen, nor eaten before. Honestly, guys. You're too old to be doing this, and the rest of us just feel embarrassed for you.

There will be times - many times - when you are in Japan and being entertained at some person's house. They will offer you fish. They will offer you fish products that are not fish meat. They will offer you seaweed that will smell of the ocean and still other fish products. Are you going to say to these people that you refuse to eat their otherwise perfectly healthy and edible food - food that is fit enough for them to eat, and which they put a lot of thought and effort into making - because you retained an immature childhood prejudice against eating fish? Too "icky" for you? You might want to mull that over sometime in the next 4 months.

[OdysseyOfNoises]

I just wanted to drop into the thread to give some folks a reality check and say what the most of us are thinking, but nobody's saying. That is that you had better like fish if you think you want to live in Japan. It is literally a staple food here. Not liking - not being able to eat - a whole category of food, that's called being a bad eater. You crossed the line from picky when you decided that you would not even entertain the thought of tasting foods you had never seen, nor eaten before. Honestly, guys. You're too old to be doing this, and the rest of us just feel embarrassed for you.

There will be times - many times - when you are in Japan and being entertained at some person's house. They will offer you fish. They will offer you fish products that are not fish meat. They will offer you seaweed that will smell of the ocean and still other fish products. Are you going to say to these people that you refuse to eat their otherwise perfectly healthy and edible food - food that is fit enough for them to eat, and which they put a lot of thought and effort into making - because you retained an immature childhood prejudice against eating fish? Too "icky" for you? You might want to mull that over sometime in the next 4 months.

'The rest of us just feel embarrassed for you'....speak for yourself.

This seems like a rather unnecessary, presumptuous and ultimately a rather vitriolic post. 'Immature childhood prejudice' doesn't really mean anything. A lot of our most immutable traits are formed at that time, and it's very difficult to reverse them. Also, there are certain foods that I personally cannot eat without gagging, and there are a few foods that I can't eat here (fish products are not one of them though). If you've tried a food before and you know it won't stay down, politely refusing and explaining is a far better tactic than threatening to be sick over the toilet in someone's house.

Also, it's perfectly possible to have a diet with no fish here. I don't eat much fish at all, not because I don't like it, but because it's a personal choice.

[trout501]

I can't help if people disagree with me. In fact, I made the post knowing that people would. I'm trying to be as blunt as possible about what I believe to be the reality of the situation so that people can know what to expect and, as I said, get a reality check on it.

You know... there's a difference between not liking a food and not eating a food. Being a picky eater and being a bad eater. Everybody has foods they dislike. That's a given. When you come to Japan you will face a whole lot of unknowns, strange foods and things that look like foods but you can't tell for sure. You're not going to like them all. But if you don't at least try them, and try them with an open mind, you're doing something wrong, and offensive in many contexts. And I say that hoping that people will take it to heart as a well-intentioned warning.

[Jax]

trout, you must've missed all the posts that frequently pop up with comments from vegetarians and people who dislike fish who say that they get by perfectly fine without eating fish. So bluntly telling applicants that it isn't possible and they need a reality check is, imo, giving everyone bad information. Current JETs have posted on here plenty of experiences of getting by just fine without eating seafood. Maybe in your situation you can't, but don't force your experience on everyone else.

[Cytrix]

Obvious troll is trying too hard.

Just come　with an open mind and be willing to try new things and you'll be fine. I love fish but actually don't eat it that much here.

[trout501]

trout, you must've missed all the posts that frequently pop up with comments from vegetarians and people who dislike fish who say that they get by perfectly fine without eating fish.

I didn't miss them.

So bluntly telling applicants that it isn't possible and they need a reality check is, imo, giving everyone bad information.

Who's giving bad information? I never once said that it isn't possible. Just that growing up and learning that "icky" food isn't going to kill you if you eat it, that couldn't hurt people to try doing before they come here.

Maybe in your situation you can't, but don't force your experience on everyone else.

I live in an island nation of people descended from a fishing culture. I assume it's the same for all other JETs.

I don't think anything I said in my post was unreasonable for other people to expect of their own situations. What are people going to do when they're a guest at someone's house, they are offered foods composed of mostly fish, and they refuse because, without even having tasted it, they say that they dislike the taste so much as to be unable to even think about eating it?

Other JETs might be able to get away with not eating fish at kyushoku or ever in Japan, but do Japanese people hold other Japanese people to the same standards as us idiosyncratic gaikokujin? Try asking one of your coworkers what they'd think of another Japanese person who refused to eat fish because it was too "icky."

[vava]

My apologies if someone's already answered this, but do most ALTs get free school lunch at their schools?

I volunteered as an ALT during my study abroad, and I always got free kyuushoku for it, though I was only volunteering one day a week so perhaps that's why.

[OdysseyOfNoises]

It's rare for Senior High JETs to get lunch. I know that no-one in my prefecture does.

[EricaHartmann]

My apologies if someone's already answered this, but do most ALTs get free school lunch at their schools?

I volunteered as an ALT during my study abroad, and I always got free kyuushoku for it, though I was only volunteering one day a week so perhaps that's why.

Have not heard of a single person who gets school lunch for free.

[AVN]

My apologies if someone's already answered this, but do most ALTs get free school lunch at their schools?

I volunteered as an ALT during my study abroad, and I always got free kyuushoku for it, though I was only volunteering one day a week so perhaps that's why.

Have not heard of a single person who gets school lunch for free.

I've only heard of people getting free lunches when it's a visit school that they don't go to very often. These are usually High School ALTs when they visit ES or JHS a couple of times a year.

[ladama]

My apologies if someone's already answered this, but do most ALTs get free school lunch at their schools?

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Sorry, couldn't help myself. But I would said most ALTs definitely do NOT get free lunch.

Most schools (JHS and elementary schools at least) have all their teacher pay a bit of money each month, I guess you could call it monthly dues or fees. It's around 10,000yen a month, and it's for not only school lunch, but also for things like tea, snacks and newspapers for the staffroom, for enkais (well, for part of it. check out the current jet forum for a thread about enkai prices >.<), and for gifts. Some ALTs are asked to pay this, but I think a lot of them are only asked to pay for school lunch.

I taught at 2 junior high schools (not at the same time, me and the other ALT in town switched every term) and I paid for school lunch. One school charged me by the number lunches there were that month (like 250yen per lunch or so) the other just charged me a flat rate per month, around 5000yen. I also visited elementary school 3 or 4 times a month, I didn't have to pay, but they would get a little money from what I paid the JHS.

[vava]

Ohhh okay. I thought that would be the case. I guess that was the perk for volunteering.

[Siyris]

My apologies if someone's already answered this, but do most ALTs get free school lunch at their schools?

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Sorry, couldn't help myself. But I would said most ALTs definitely do NOT get free lunch.

Most schools (JHS and elementary schools at least) have all their teacher pay a bit of money each month, I guess you could call it monthly dues or fees. It's around 10,000yen a month, and it's for not only school lunch, but also for things like tea, snacks and newspapers for the staffroom, for enkais (well, for part of it. check out the current jet forum for a thread about enkai prices >.<), and for gifts. Some ALTs are asked to pay this, but I think a lot of them are only asked to pay for school lunch.

I taught at 2 junior high schools (not at the same time, me and the other ALT in town switched every term) and I paid for school lunch. One school charged me by the number lunches there were that month (like 250yen per lunch or so) the other just charged me a flat rate per month, around 5000yen. I also visited elementary school 3 or 4 times a month, I didn't have to pay, but they would get a little money from what I paid the JHS.

You pay a man each month o.O. That seems insanely expensive to me... but that might be a inaka vs bigger town sort of thing? I pay for my lunches each month... each of my two schools count how many lunches I've had that month and tell me total. For me, it's 300 yen per lunch at JHS and 247 yen per lunch and ES.
At my school the tea and whatever are free for the taking, as are any of the snack-like omiyage that are in one of the cabinets. However, there is an expectation that every once in a while you will supply a box of tea for the teacher's room yourself. I usually end up totaling 5000 yen a month in fees for lunches (including both schools) and tea stuff.

[AVN]

My JHS lunches cost 270 and my ES lunches cost 230. Then at my BOE I pay 1000 yen for coffee and tea each month. I pay approx 4000-5000 yen for my lunches.

[ladama]

Most schools (JHS and elementary schools at least) have all their teacher pay a bit of money each month, I guess you could call it monthly dues or fees. It's around 10,000yen a month, and it's for not only school lunch, but also for things like tea, snacks and newspapers for the staffroom, for enkais (well, for part of it. check out the current jet forum for a thread about enkai prices >.<), and for gifts. Some ALTs are asked to pay this, but I think a lot of them are only asked to pay for school lunch.

I taught at 2 junior high schools (not at the same time, me and the other ALT in town switched every term) and I paid for school lunch. One school charged me by the number lunches there were that month (like 250yen per lunch or so) the other just charged me a flat rate per month, around 5000yen. I also visited elementary school 3 or 4 times a month, I didn't have to pay, but they would get a little money from what I paid the JHS.

You pay a man each month o.O. That seems insanely expensive to me... but that might be a inaka vs bigger town sort of thing? I pay for my lunches each month... each of my two schools count how many lunches I've had that month and tell me total. For me, it's 300 yen per lunch at JHS and 247 yen per lunch and ES.
At my school the tea and whatever are free for the taking, as are any of the snack-like omiyage that are in one of the cabinets. However, there is an expectation that every once in a while you will supply a box of tea for the teacher's room yourself. I usually end up totaling 5000 yen a month in fees for lunches (including both schools) and tea stuff.

You should read what I wrote more carefully I didn't say school lunch was 10,000yen/month, I said, at my school at least, and from many others I've heard of as well, that all the teachers paid about a man in various fees, roughly half of it went to school lunch (so 5000yen), and the rest to a bunch of other things. I personally didn't have to pay this full amount, but I've known JETs that have. And yeah, the tea's free for the taking, but somebody bought it.