Leaving Home

I have gone out of the country once in my life (so far) when I went studying abroad in Japan for one month. I was with a group of 19 other students and the professor from our school. Initially it was a little bit hard to adjust since it was the first time some of us left American soil and entered into a foreign territory with a vast change in environment and people. I experienced the language barrier that came along with the culture shock since the host family I was living with didn’t understand English that well. But I was able to overcome those difficulties with the help of my professor and the group of friends that came along with me therefore making the transition easier.

However, the idea of living there for a year with no professor or your friends from the States to help you when you are stuck in the middle of nowhere can be a bit frightening. As mentioned in an earlier post I applied for the JET Program as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) teaching English for a year in Japan. Initially I was anxious to see if my application was accepted and received an email confirm I was one of the thousands in the U.S. to have passed the application round. I was happy to make it into the interview round and now anxiously wait for interview session that is less than two weeks away. While I prepare myself mentally for the upcoming day, in the back of my mind I can’t help but wonder if I can survive being away for a year.

I have read some of the previous JET applicants’ experiences in the program and it was a bit disheartening. Many felt homesick for the first few months and some suffered through some difficulties of their job, complained about where they were living, the language barrier, and so on. In the beginning I felt confident that I would be comfortable living in another country for a year. I am currently one step closer to reaching that goal I had set to achieve after I graduate this semester. But it got me thinking if I would be strong enough to overcome such a big obstacle in my life as there will be times where I cannot keep on intruding on my host family for assistance and my friends that I had made while abroad. In my mind I feel I can but deep inside there is a bit of fear of what has yet to come. Even though I have a little bit of fear inside, I will think about that when I get accepted into the program officially as the interview is the roadblock that I need to pass through to make it to the other side.