Friday, April 13, 2012

How it All Started...

perhaps this is a little premature, but after all my purpose here is to document my entire journey before, during, and after the JET program.
when i was 18 years old, i went to osaka as a high school exchange student. although i went home early, i started looking into other ways of returning to japan. as one of the most well-known programs, JET was easy to find. when i was 19 i started university, with the idea of applying to JET once i had finished my degree lingering somewhere in the back of my mind. however, that same year i got pregnant and when i was 20 i had my daughter, yana. i felt that having a child had ruined any option of returning to japan, especially on a cultural exchange progam like JET.
a few years later, when i was 22, a high school friend of mine applied and was accepted to the JET program. my old interests were rekindled. i spent the next few days immersing myself in websites and blogs, trying to scrounge up information. i discovered that perhaps my dreams could come true and maybe, just maybe i could become a JET. but i would have to work hard. i still had 2 years left in my degree and it certainly wouldn't be easy to get my family to japan, let alone go through the application and interview process. but i was determined.
i may have years to go, but this here marks the beginning of my journey as a JET mama.