2004JET

From: "Justin!" <justin@ellsworthlink.net>
Date: Fri Nov 21, 2003 7:52 am
Subject: Introduction


Even though there are no members yet, I thought I'd start off by
introducing myself....

My name is Justin, and I'm a senior at Michigan State, studying
International Studies, with an Anthropology cognate and an East Asian
Studies specialization. Through a program through Lansing Community
College, I did a work/study program called Japan Adventure, where I
lived in Shiga-Ken for 9 months. I worked on a cruise ship called the
Michigan Boat, which did lunch and dinner cruises on Biwako (The
largest lake in Japan - about 3/4 the size of Lake St.
Clair...Although that point of reference is lost on non-Michiganders).
I'm dating a girl that I met there - she is currently going to LCC,
learning English, and we both plan on returning to Japan next year,
pending the JET results. I'm really looking forward to possibly
getting the chance to return. It's a beautiful country. I'll have
more interesting things to say when it's not 2:48 in the morning. But
hey, I'm not going to knock the latenight thought process...That's
what got me to start this group.

2004JET

From:

sjsamurai007 TomMiskey@h... </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Sat Nov 22, 2003 6:24
am</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: An oldtimer</font>
<tt>Hi there. My name is Tom Miskey. I was on JET from 1996-98, in
Wakayama-ken (south of Osaka). I saw the announcement on the JET-L
list and decided to join in case I could be of any help in answering
questions, offering advice, etc.

Good luck to everyone!

2004JET

From:

thatsasin thatsasin@y... </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Mon Nov 24, 2003 5:07
am</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: applying for Hyogo Pref.</font>
<tt>Hi all. My girlfriend and I are currently working on our JET
applications and trying to decide on a placement request. We are
leaning toward Hyogo prefecture, since we both spent a month in Kobe
for a study abroad session and got to see a bit of the surrounding
area (Kyoto, Himeji, Osaka, Nara, and so on). Also, I spent another
month in Sendai afterwards and while it was nice, I definitely
prefered Kobe.

If anyone wants to share experiences they"ve had with living or
working in Hyogo prefecture, I"d love to hear them. I"m especially
curious about how big Hyogo is; I"ve looked at maps, but it"s hard to
tell whether we"d have easy access (say, 45 minutes to an hour on a
non-Shinkansen train) to Kobe and other nearby cities no matter where
in Hyogo were placed. We would definitely prefer to have access to
these cities, not only for familiarity, but because we"re both
vegetarians and the larger cities might be the only places we can go
to get certain vegetarian grocery items (I did a search and there"s
apparently a handful of vegetarian stores in Kobe).

sjsamurai007, since you lived nearby, maybe you could help me out, or
just tell me about your general experience in the region. Any
information would be helpful. Our second and third choices right now
are Kyoto and Nara prefectures, and we"re trying to decide if we
should switch one of them to the first choice or choose somewhere else
entirely. Ah, decisions.

2004JET

From:

Justin! justin@e... </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Mon Nov 24, 2003 7:14
am</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: Intros, Placements, Etc.</font>
<tt>I"m glad this group is growing at such a quick rate. I think it
would be great if all of you could introduce yourself - whether you
are an applicant this year, an alumni offering your expertise, where
you"re from, and whatever else you want to add. I already wrote a
brief intro of myself (The 1st message, it can be seen in the
archive on the group site).

To respond to the previous message, I don"t have all that much
expertise, but I think Hyogo is a good first choice if for no other
reason because you"re most likely to get it - There are more
openings in Hyogo than any other area except Yokohama. I think all
of your 3 first picks are great - I lived in the Kansai area for 9
months (Otsu...15 minutes from Kyoto) and there are plenty of big
cities within an hour or so if you are somewhere in that area
(Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto). I"m curious, are you prepared for the
possibility that you and your girlfriend could get placed far from
each other? I"ve seen posts on forums about that happening - I
don"t know what the chances are, but I think they"d be the best if
you were in an area with many openings such as Hyogo.

Right now my largest concern also deals with my girlfriend. We"re
engaged, but she is Japanese, so she will certainly be able to
live/work in Japan. Will we be able to live together? Otsu was my
first choice because that"s where she"s from. That wouldn"t be so
bad living in a different place as long as she"s near, but it would
be a bit more difficult if I were placed in the Tokyo area or
something. Is the decision on whether we can live together made by
JET, CLAIR, the city I would work for, or individual landlords?

Reading David McConnel"s Importing Diversity: Inside Japan"s JET
Program a very small percentage of those accepted were married or
engaged in "87 and "88 (I"m only to Chapt. 3) I wonder if this is
because less people who are attached try such an endeavor, or if
it"s something JET interviewers try to stay away from...

2004JET

From:

Thomas, Nicholas D nicholas.thomas@i... </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Mon Nov 24, 2003 9:41
am</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: RE: [2004JET] Intros, Placements, Etc.</font>
<tt>Hi,

My name is Nik, I live and work in London (England) and I am applying for
JET this year. My application is nearly complete, I just have the essay left
to go (Arrgh.)

If anyone knows of any resources which might help in writing the essay, with
tips or ideas etc. that would be greatly appreciated. Justin: Does that
book, JET, importing diversity.. have any information that might help with
the essay, and the application in general? I think I might try to pick a
copy up after work today.

Anyway, back to the introduction. I am 24, so not quite fresh out of uni,
and I have been working for the last 3 years since graduating. I have never
been to Japan, but I do speak some Japanese, and I have some family
connections to Japan with my brother"s wife being Japanese.

Thanks, and good luck everyone with their applications.

Nik

2004JET

From:

Peter Honigmann foleyhonigmann@s... </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Mon Nov 24, 2003 4:05
pm</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: Re: applying for Hyogo Pref.</font>
<tt>Hey there. I cannot offer any info on the location itself, but I
would just tell you that you need to be aware of the high
probability that you and your girlfriend will not be placed together.

I went over with my wife and we got the same town, but being married
is still no guarantee you get posted together.

We knew another couple who were engaged and were posted about 70
miles apart, which did not seem like much, especially in the US when
you have your own car. But it turned out to be quite the ordeal, as
one of them was in the country without direction train access. So
they did not get to see each other as much as they liked.

Just thought you might want to keep that in mind.

--- In 2004JET@yahoogroups.com, thatsasin thatsasin@y... wrote:
Hi all. My girlfriend and I are currently working on our JET
applications and trying to decide on a placement request. We are
leaning toward Hyogo prefecture, since we both spent a month in
Kobe
for a study abroad session and got to see a bit of the surrounding
area (Kyoto, Himeji, Osaka, Nara, and so on). Also, I spent
another
month in Sendai afterwards and while it was nice, I definitely
prefered Kobe.

If anyone wants to share experiences they"ve had with living or
working in Hyogo prefecture, I"d love to hear them. I"m especially
curious about how big Hyogo is; I"ve looked at maps, but it"s hard
to
tell whether we"d have easy access (say, 45 minutes to an hour on a
non-Shinkansen train) to Kobe and other nearby cities no matter
where
in Hyogo were placed. We would definitely prefer to have access to
these cities, not only for familiarity, but because we"re both
vegetarians and the larger cities might be the only places we can
go
to get certain vegetarian grocery items (I did a search and there"s
apparently a handful of vegetarian stores in Kobe).

sjsamurai007, since you lived nearby, maybe you could help me out,
or
just tell me about your general experience in the region. Any
information would be helpful. Our second and third choices right
now
are Kyoto and Nara prefectures, and we"re trying to decide if we
should switch one of them to the first choice or choose somewhere
else
entirely. Ah, decisions.

2004JET

From:

Peter Honigmann foleyhonigmann@s... </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Mon Nov 24, 2003 4:13
pm</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: A brief intro</font>
<tt>Hi All:

I am a past JET, and have joined just to help you out as much as
possible. Also, I am hoping to start my own JET Alumni group outside
of the Chicago area, so I figure making a few contacts cannot hurt.

I have lived in Japan for three years, a year at a time and each
time I was doing something different and living somewhere new.
Basically I started as a high school exchange student in Chiba
prefecture, then became a private English instructor on an island
south of Okinawa, and then worked for JET from "95-"96 in Kochi-
city.

After my first trip I majored in Japanese at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, which is what made me decided to go back two more
times. I met my wife in college, so she came with me for my last two
visits and had a great time.

That"s the basic info on me. I must say I am rather envious of you
all, because it has been 7 years since I have been back and I am
rather homesick for the place.

Peter

2004JET

From:

Justin! justin@e... </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Mon Nov 24, 2003 5:21
pm</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: Re: Intros, Placements, Etc.</font>
<tt>Nik,

I read about the book on another forum, and have only finished the
first two chapters of it. It seems like it"s basically an
anthropological view of Japan"s international relations vis-a-vis the
JET program. However, it does provide some valuable information
concerning what the interviewers are looking for and various
statistics. I believe it would have been good for me to have read it
before writing my essay, but what"s sent is sent, eh? :) Is the
Application due date the same in England as it is in the United
States (Dec. 5th)? From what I"ve heard, the earlier you get it in,
the better chance you have of getting an interview.



--- In 2004JET@yahoogroups.com, Thomas, Nicholas D
nicholas.thomas@i... wrote:
Hi,

My name is Nik, I live and work in London (England) and I am
applying for
JET this year. My application is nearly complete, I just have the
essay left
to go (Arrgh.)

If anyone knows of any resources which might help in writing the
essay, with
tips or ideas etc. that would be greatly appreciated. Justin: Does
that
book, JET, importing diversity.. have any information that might
help with
the essay, and the application in general? I think I might try to
pick a
copy up after work today.

Anyway, back to the introduction. I am 24, so not quite fresh out
of uni,
and I have been working for the last 3 years since graduating. I
have never
been to Japan, but I do speak some Japanese, and I have some family
connections to Japan with my brother"s wife being Japanese.

Thanks, and good luck everyone with their applications.

Nik

2004JET

From:

Thomas, Nicholas D nicholas.thomas@i... </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Mon Nov 24, 2003 5:50
pm</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: RE: [2004JET] Re: Intros, Placements, Etc.</font>
<tt>The deadline here is November the 28th, 5PM GMT. So in a word, no.

I have less than a week to finish the essay, and deliver the application to
the embassy. Luckily, I virtually go past the Japanese embassy on the way to
and from work, so hand delivering it within the deadline will not be a
problem.

I guess I should have done the essay and submitted it by now. Still, I just
churned out 800 words or so off the top of my head, so I am not too worried.
It"s mostly crap, but It should form the basis of a decent essay when I get
a chance to go over it.

Anyway, I"m off home now. Gonna see if I can pick up a copy of that book on
the way.

See you

Nik



-----Original Message-----
From: Justin!
To: 2004JET@yahoogroups.com
Sent: 24/11/2003 17:21
Subject: [2004JET] Re: Intros, Placements, Etc.

Nik,

I read about the book on another forum, and have only finished the
first two chapters of it. It seems like it"s basically an
anthropological view of Japan"s international relations vis-a-vis the
JET program. However, it does provide some valuable information
concerning what the interviewers are looking for and various
statistics. I believe it would have been good for me to have read it
before writing my essay, but what"s sent is sent, eh? :) Is the
Application due date the same in England as it is in the United
States (Dec. 5th)? From what I"ve heard, the earlier you get it in,
the better chance you have of getting an interview.



--- In 2004JET@yahoogroups.com, Thomas, Nicholas D
nicholas.thomas@i... wrote:
Hi,

My name is Nik, I live and work in London (England) and I am
applying for
JET this year. My application is nearly complete, I just have the
essay left
to go (Arrgh.)

If anyone knows of any resources which might help in writing the
essay, with
tips or ideas etc. that would be greatly appreciated. Justin: Does
that
book, JET, importing diversity.. have any information that might
help with
the essay, and the application in general? I think I might try to
pick a
copy up after work today.

Anyway, back to the introduction. I am 24, so not quite fresh out
of uni,
and I have been working for the last 3 years since graduating. I
have never
been to Japan, but I do speak some Japanese, and I have some family
connections to Japan with my brother"s wife being Japanese.

Thanks, and good luck everyone with their applications.

Nik



To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
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2004JET

From:

Peter Honigmann Jr foleyhonigmann@s... </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Mon Nov 24, 2003 5:53
pm</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: Re: [2004JET] Re: Intros, Placements, Etc.</font>
<TT>Nik,

I read about the book on another forum, and have only finished the
first two chapters of it. It seems like it"s basically an
anthropological view of Japan"s international relations vis-a-vis the
JET program. However, it does provide some valuable information
concerning what the interviewers are looking for and various
statistics. I believe it would have been good for me to have read it
before writing my essay, but what"s sent is sent, eh? :) Is the
Application due date the same in England as it is in the United
States (Dec. 5th)? From what I"ve heard, the earlier you get it in,
the better chance you have of getting an interview.



--- In 2004JET@yahoogroups.com, "Thomas, Nicholas D"
nicholas.thomas@i... wrote:
Hi,

My name is Nik, I live and work in London
(England) and I am
applying for
JET this year. My application is nearly complete, I just have the
essay left
to go (Arrgh.)

If anyone knows of any resources which might help in writing the
essay, with
tips or ideas etc. that would be greatly appreciated. Justin: Does
that
book, "JET, importing diversity.." have any information that might
help with
the essay, and the application in general? I think I might try to
pick a
copy up after work today.

Anyway, back to the introduction. I am 24, so not quite fresh out
of uni,
and I have been working for the last 3 years since graduating. I
have never
been to Japan, but I do speak some Japanese, and I have some family
connections to Japan with my brother"s wife being Japanese.

Thanks, and good luck everyone with their applications.

Nik
<BR

2004JET

From:

brento1138 bsilk@s... </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Tue Nov 25, 2003 5:09
am</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: introducing myself - Brent</font>
<tt>Hey there, thought I would follow Justin"s example and introduce
myself. I too have applied for this JET program for 2004/2005 and
think it would be the coolest thing ever if I got accepted. Aside
from being a huuuuuuuuge fan of Samurai moveis (akira kurosawa"s da
man, and look out for the Last Samurai with Tom Cruise too), I"ve
always thought Japan would be a neat place to live for a while to
give me some inspiration for my writing. I"m a script-writer, and
write in all kinds of genres... right now I am writing a script for
this small little film company called neo classic pictures, which you
will probably never ever hear of. *sigh*. Anyhow, I am going to
university right now, majoring in Communications at SFU. I make
electronic music as a hobby. What do I want to do in the future?
Film, travel, teaching English, writing, DJ-ing and music making,
communicating... who knows! Something along those lines.

Back to Japan. I like the food, the culture, the people I have met
from there seem great! I"ve never been a foreigner, or should I
say Gaijan, before, so I think it would be an experience. I"ve
never even been overseas before, so going into a structured thing
like JET would be beneficial as I am sure I would have no idea how to
get around in Japan and communicate somehow without knowing
Japanese!! I"d be lost.

I recently bought the book by Lonely Planet on Japan, and have
started reading up. I"ve also got a book which introduces you to
Japanese language... so I"ve been reading it here and there, but
won"t really get much use out of it until I am actually there in
Japan. *crossing my fingers* So I will recommend these two books:
Lonely Planet Japan, and Read Japanese Today!

So yeah! If I meet anyone on this message board, hope to see you in
Japan! Good luck.

2004JET

From:
2004JET@yahoogroups.com </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Tue Nov 25, 2003 5:32
am</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: New poll for 2004JET</font>
<tt>
Enter your vote today! A new poll has been created for the
2004JET group:

Have you participated in JET already?

o Yes
o No


To vote, please visit the following web page:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/2004JET/surveys?id=354158

Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups
web site listed above.

Thanks!

2004JET

From:

sjsamurai007 TomMiskey@h... </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Tue Nov 25, 2003 8:32
am</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: Re: applying for Hyogo Pref.</font>
<tt>Regarding Hyogo, I really liked it. You"re right that Kobe is a
very international city, and so is Osaka, but you should be able to
find vegetarian food most places. Many devout Buddhists, especially
the monks, are vegetarians, so the concept is not unfamiliar to the
Japanese people, though they will probably think you too are doing
it for religious reasons.

You get to put down 3 choices for placement, so I"d recommend
putting down all 3 prefectures. It shows that you are especially
interested in the Kansai area... I put down 3 Kansai prefectures
(Nara being my 1st choice), and although I was in Wakayama-ken
officially, I was literally a 15 minute bike ride from the Nara
Pref. border. They try to do their best in placing you as close as
possible to where you want to be.

There are plenty of trains throughout Japan, and I think most places
in Hyogo will be 45 minutes or less to Kobe. You also have the
option of requesting the city size you want, so if a bigger city is
to you liking, indicate Urban.

Good luck!

2004JET

From:

atuin22 atuin22@y... </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Tue Nov 25, 2003 9:39
pm</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: Location</font>
<tt>Greetings all,

I"m among this year"s JET applicants, and I"d be grateful for some
advice on places to live in Japan. Ordinarily I"d be open to most
any location, but I"m applying with my girlfriend and I"d like to be
within a reasonable (in time and cost) distance from Tokyo because a
good friend of mine is living there. So, based entirely on my study
of maps, Shizuoka, Saitama, Chiba, and Yamanashi are my current
targets. Could someone help me narrow these down? Any information
or insight is welcome.

Also, I noticed Justin mentioned that Yokohama had the most openings.
Are there more details on that, and has anyone been to Yokohama?

Thanks for your help,
Steve

2004JET

From:

nlpenstand penstand@e... </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Tue Nov 25, 2003 11:09
pm</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: hello</font>
<tt>Hello

A little self introduction. I"ve been out of school for a few years
and started thinking about the JET program a few months ago. And have
been all over the web looking for JET info. I"m currently taking
Japanese class, it"s slow going though as I have real trouble
memorizing vocabs. Never been to Japan but am very excited about the
prospect of living there.

In any case, regarding what people have posted. I have read the
Diversity.... book, and I think it gives you a very good background
on what they"re looking for. (e.g. emphasis on cultural exchange
rather than teaching japanese). If you google enough, you can find
other people"s essays and what not on the web.

What I"m having trouble with is picking a prefecture/city. I really
don"t do well in cold weather so I"m thinking of picking Kyushu. But
I don"t know where in Kyushu since I"ve never been there.

The other thing is the ALT situation in general, and I think this info
is kind of hard to find since ESID. But I would like to be in a
prefecture where there are good JET support system set up and I"m not
the only one out there....Every school/prefecture/city/etc is probably
different, but I wonder if some prefectures/cities are better than
others in how they utilize their JETs. I"m not looking to teach a
class by myself but I wouldn"t want to have nothing to do for 8 hours
a day either....


nancy

2004JET

From:

Peter Honigmann Jr foleyhonigmann@s... </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Tue Nov 25, 2003 11:26
pm</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: Re: [2004JET] hello</font>
<TT>Hello

A little self introduction. I"ve been out of school for a few years
and started thinking about the JET program a few months ago. And have
been all over the web looking for JET info. I"m currently taking
Japanese class, it"s slow going though as I have real trouble
memorizing vocabs. Never been to Japan but am very excited about the
prospect of living there.

In any case, regarding what people have posted. I have read the
"Diversity...." book, and I think it gives you a very good background
on what they"re looking for. (e.g. emphasis on cultural exchange
rather than teaching japanese). If you google enough, you can find
other people"s essays and what not on the web.

What I"m having trouble with is picking a prefecture/city. I really
don"t do well in cold weather so I"m
thinking of picking Kyushu. But
I don"t know where in Kyushu since I"ve never been there.

The other thing is the ALT situation in general, and I think this info
is kind of hard to find since ESID. But I would like to be in a
prefecture where there are good JET support system set up and I"m not
the only one out there....Every school/prefecture/city/etc is probably
different, but I wonder if some prefectures/cities are better than
others in how they utilize their JETs. I"m not looking to teach a
class by myself but I wouldn"t want to have nothing to do for 8 hours
a day either....


nancy


<BR

2004JET

From:

penstand@e... </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Wed Nov 26, 2003 12:00
am</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: Re: [2004JET] hello</font>
<tt>
Hello.

yeah, my first choice was Okinawa. I"m originally from Taiwan and that"s very
close to it so it"s really ideal. (Yet another concern, I"m not sure I could be
a very good cultural ambassador....I"ve been in the US many many years, but I
don"t know if I can tell you all about American culture...., Though at the same
time, I think that"s what traveling gets you to do. You don"t even realize you
have a culture till you have another culture to compare it w/....Anyways,
probably off topic here.)

In any case, I think Okinawa would be too hot for me. Yeah yeah, one shouldn"t
be too picky about weather, it"s part of the experience. But given a choice,
I"m looking for something that"s not too hot nor too cold. :) According to
Lonely Planet, Kyushu suppposedly was famous for its ceremics, yet another
draw.....

nancy


--- On Tue 11/25, Peter Honigmann Jr foleyhonigmann@s... wrote:
From: Peter Honigmann Jr [mailto: foleyhonigmann@s...]
To: 2004JET@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 15:26:14 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Re: [2004JET] hello

html body


DIV Nancy: /div
DIV /div
DIV If you are looking for a warm climate I would suggest Okinawa. It has very
nice weather, and the island will have quite a few JETs as well as other
foreigners if you should desire their company. /div
DIV /div
DIV I lived on Miyako island, which is quite south of Okinawa, and loved it.
While I was not there for JET, I did meet all the JETs on the island, of which
there were about 8 I believe. While I recommend Miyako because it is so nice and
tropical, the draw back is the cost and time to travel to the mainland. But
Okinawa would be better because it is so much closer. BR BR B I nlpenstand
penstand@e... /i /b wrote: /div
BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style= PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px;
BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid TT Hello BR BR A little self introduction.
I"ve been out of school for a few years BR and started thinking about the JET
program a few months ago. And have BR been all over the web looking for JET
info. I"m currently taking BR Japanese class, it"s slow going though as I have
real trouble BR memorizing vocabs. Never been to Japan but am very excited
about the BR prospect of living there. BR BR In any case, regarding what
people have posted. I have read the BR Diversity.... book, and I think it
gives you a very good background BR on what they"re looking for. (e.g. emphasis
on cultural exchange BR rather than teaching japanese). If you google enough,
you can find BR other people"s essays and what not on the web. BR BR What I"m
having trouble with is picking a prefecture/city. I really BR don"t do well in
cold weather so I"m
thinking of picking Kyushu. But BR I don"t know where in Kyushu since I"ve
never been there. BR BR The other thing is the ALT situation in general, and
I think this info BR is kind of hard to find since ESID. But I would like to be
in a BR prefecture where there are good JET support system set up and I"m
not BR the only one out there....Every school/prefecture/city/etc is
probably BR different, but I wonder if some prefectures/cities are better
than BR others in how they utilize their JETs. I"m not looking to teach
a BR class by myself but I wouldn"t want to have nothing to do for 8 hours BR a
day either.... BR BR BR nancy BR BR BR BR /tt BR BR TT To unsubscribe
from this group, send an email
to: BR 2004JET-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com BR BR /tt BR BR TT Your use of
Yahoo! Groups is subject to the A
href= http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Yahoo! Terms of Service /a . /tt
BR /blockquote
br

2004JET

From:

Justin! justin@e... </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Wed Nov 26, 2003 1:38
am</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: Colors</font>
<tt>I"m trying to change the color scheme to something that is easy for
everyone to see and doesn"t hurt any eyes - Since all computers and
eyes are different, let me know if there are any problems with the new
scheme (I plan on not changing the colors after I get something
acceptable).

Thanks!
Justin

2004JET

From:

thatsasin thatsasin@y... </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Wed Nov 26, 2003 5:10
am</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: Re: applying for Hyogo Pref.</font>
<tt>Thanks to everyone who"s helped me so far. I think my girlfriend and
I have settled on Hyogo as our first choice, and probably Kyoto and
Nara prefs. as our second and third.

Peter, did this engaged couple you knew request to live together in
the same apartment, or just near each other? I wonder if that affects
one"s chances of being placed with their significant other. Also,
while my girlfriend and I are not engaged, we"re wondering if we
should say we are in order to convince the JET panel that we"re
serious about our relationship. Thoughts?


--- In 2004JET@yahoogroups.com, Peter Honigmann
foleyhonigmann@s... wrote:
Hey there. I cannot offer any info on the location itself, but I
would just tell you that you need to be aware of the high
probability that you and your girlfriend will not be placed together.

I went over with my wife and we got the same town, but being married
is still no guarantee you get posted together.

We knew another couple who were engaged and were posted about 70
miles apart, which did not seem like much, especially in the US when
you have your own car. But it turned out to be quite the ordeal, as
one of them was in the country without direction train access. So
they did not get to see each other as much as they liked.

Just thought you might want to keep that in mind.

--- In 2004JET@yahoogroups.com, thatsasin thatsasin@y... wrote:
Hi all. My girlfriend and I are currently working on our JET
applications and trying to decide on a placement request. We are
leaning toward Hyogo prefecture, since we both spent a month in
Kobe
for a study abroad session and got to see a bit of the surrounding
area (Kyoto, Himeji, Osaka, Nara, and so on). Also, I spent
another
month in Sendai afterwards and while it was nice, I definitely
prefered Kobe.

If anyone wants to share experiences they"ve had with living or
working in Hyogo prefecture, I"d love to hear them. I"m especially
curious about how big Hyogo is; I"ve looked at maps, but it"s hard
to
tell whether we"d have easy access (say, 45 minutes to an hour on a
non-Shinkansen train) to Kobe and other nearby cities no matter
where
in Hyogo were placed. We would definitely prefer to have access to
these cities, not only for familiarity, but because we"re both
vegetarians and the larger cities might be the only places we can
go
to get certain vegetarian grocery items (I did a search and there"s
apparently a handful of vegetarian stores in Kobe).

sjsamurai007, since you lived nearby, maybe you could help me out,
or
just tell me about your general experience in the region. Any
information would be helpful. Our second and third choices right
now
are Kyoto and Nara prefectures, and we"re trying to decide if we
should switch one of them to the first choice or choose somewhere
else
entirely. Ah, decisions.

2004JET

From:
<a href="ymsgr:sendIM?dynamisx">
</a>
Matt dynamisx@b... </font>
<font size="-0">Date: Wed Nov 26, 2003 10:14
am</font>
<font size="-0">Subject: Hello!</font>
<tt>Hi everyone!

My name is Matt Griffiths. I live in Swindon, UK. I sent my
application off nice and early, and used the web submission thing,
and I"ve got my interview this Friday. I"ve requested Kinki, Chuba,
Kanto regions, in that order. As you see, I"ve not really any
preference, but I"m hoping for somewhere reasonably central.

Anyway, nice to meet you all, and wish me luck!

Matt