JET Income and Expenses

I'm not sure how useful this really is, but for anyone who finds these things interesting, here's a rundown of monthly income and expenses here in Japan.

Income

The Paycheck
My pay varies a bit depending on how many days I've worked in a month. During my first year, my base pay was 280,000 yen per month. I get a bunch of taxes and insurance taken out of that. I usually ended up with around 230,000 take home salary. For my second year, I get a pay raise, so my base pay became 300,000 and I take home around 250,000 yen.

Rent Subsidy
Additional to my salary, I also get 27,000 yen every month for rent subsidy. It is direct deposited into my bank account with my salary. So I'm not technically getting my rent reduced, I'm just getting extra pay to help cover the cost.

Child Benefits
Even though we're not Japanese, Yana gets child benefits here! It's no secret that Japan has a rapidly ageing population, so this is one government incentive for couples to have children. The whole thing is a bit mysterious to me, to tell the truth, but I think I'm being paid 40,000 yen in a lump sum every 4 months.

Bills

Energy - 11,000 - 46,000 yen every month
Energy, or in other words, electricity. We pay monthly. The cost varies widely, depending on the time of year. Our highest costs were in the winter, when we had electric heaters running nearly 24/7. In the spring and fall our costs are quite low, because we use neither heat nor air conditioning. Again, there is a small spike in summer, because we use fans 24/7, and the air conditioning during July and August.

Water - 2,000 - 5,000 yen every month
We pay a water bill monthly, and it is automatically withdrawn on the 30th or 31st day of the month. Of course it varies depending on usage, but we've never paid over 6,000 yen. Usually we pay around 4,000 yen.

Sewage - 4,320 yen every month
In addition to the water bill, we also pay a sewage fee every month. It is automatically withdrawn from my account on the same day as the water bill, so the 30th or 31st of the month. It is always the same amount.

NHK - 2,520 every two months
There is a law (albeit one with lots of loopholes) in Japan that just by owning a TV, you must pay a fee to NHK. This comes from a belief that all TV owners/viewers should share the cost. There are several different billing setups, but we pay 2,520 every two months, starting from December.

Rent - 57,900 yen every month
For rent, we pay 57,900 every month. But again, I receive a rent subsidy of 27,000 as a separate deposit from my paycheck. So the idea here is that we only pay 30,900 for rent.

Apartment Maintenance - 3,500 yen every month
I started being charged this halfway through my first year. Not going to lie, it irritates me a bit that this fee was randomly imposed, and I can't see any evidence of the apartment being better maintained for it. But as they say here, "shouganai" - it can't be helped.

Cellphone - 15,506 yen every month
When we first arrived we signed up at Softbank for a smartphone plan with 5GB of data. However, with two smartphones the cost was an insane 20,208 yen each month. We went and changed our plan to the lowest data plan of 2GB. Now we pay 15,506 every month for both phones. To be honest, a phone for Justin is probably a bit superfluous, but we find it useful during outings and to stay in contact during the day.

Internet - 4, 644 yen every month
There was a setup fee of around 10,000 yen. Now we pay 4,644 a month, and that's for unlimited, fiber optic internet. It's actually even better than what we had in Canada!

Phone - 2,376 yen every month
In order to install the internet, we also had to get a phone line. This comes to just over 2,000 yen a month. It's also a fancy TV phone, so you can video call and I think it's actually free to use within Chizu. It also shouts announcements throughout the day, which I kind of wish it didn't.

Kyuushoku (School Lunch) - 1,200 - 3,000 yen x2 every month
I pay what I owe to each school. The cost varies depending on how many days I'm at each school and which days actually have kyuushoku served. Usually the ES is 1,600 or so and the JHS is around 2,500. The per lunch cost is 275 yen at ES and 315 at JHS. I'm not sure why it's a different cost, because it's the same lunch and the same portions...

Preschool - 3,800 yen per month
Yana goes to a municipal preschool (hoikuen) here, which is traditionally meant for children with two working parents. However, Chizu is so small and population is declining, so they let Yana in even though Justin stays at home. Preschool here is ridiculously cheap! Especially consider this price includes a hot lunch! At first we paid 4,000 yen a month, but after January it somehow switched to an even cheaper price...not complaining!


So that's it for mandatory expenses! I'm not going to include other expenses, because it just varies so much. We spend most of the rest of my paycheck on food, as well as train rides into Tottori-shi, clothing, random school expenses (me and Yana), work parties, eating out, etc. To be honest, we don't have a lot left over each month. But we aren't purposefully frugal either (though we're trying to crack down!).

Recent Events

I know I haven't been writing here so often. I think a large part of it is that life is just life. Things here aren't so new or interesting anymore. So I don't even think to write here. But I want to keep records of our time in Japan. Here are some short stories about what we've been up to over the summer. It's not  much, but it's something.


June 27 - Preschool Cleaning
All the parents had to get together to help clean up the school grounds. We were divided into groups based on our kid's class. I ended up weeding around the swing set, which was basically pulling up perfectly nice grass and making the area into a mud pit. I didn't get it at all, but okay.


July 4 - Preschool Class Meeting
Early in July, Yana's class got together on a Saturday for a class meeting. Basically it's an event for the parents and kids to get together and do something. I think they hired some lady to instruct us and we did some exercise thing together.

July 11 - Yana's Birthday
For Yana's birthday we took a trip out to the sand dunes. She really enjoys it there, but it was a blisteringly hot day and we all got a little sunsick. We ended the day by letting her play in the arcade at Aeon, which she begs to do everytime we're there.


July 18 - Sugikko Matsuri
Yana's preschool has a small festival, which is basically a fundraiser for the school, I think. Anyway, it was fun for the kids and Yana enjoyed seeing her friends. She also did a dance with her class, which was cute to see. I enjoyed eating kakigori. We had bought tickets for Yana to play some traditional Japanese festival games, but accidentally missed bingo.

July 26 - Tottori Prefectural Museum
There was a special dinosaur exhibit going on, which Yana was pumped to see because she's super into dinosaurs lately. The exhibit was actually fairly small, but this is Tottori after all. And Yana didn't seem to mind at all. She was especially afraid and intrigued by the robotic T-rex they had. We spent a bit more time exploring the museum, and came across a special event where you could build things with colored pieces of cardboard, so Yana really enjoyed that too.

August 2 - Kodomo no Kuni
The first weekend in August we met up with my PA and her kids to visit Kodomo no Kuni, which is basically a small amusement park for kids. The great thing is that kids get in for free, but the activities all cost extra. We saw some animals, played in the wading pool, and rode some bikes and cars. Yana had lots of fun.

August 13 - Shan Shan Matsuri
Probably the biggest festival in Tottori City is the Shan Shan Matsuri. It's a traditional festival which involves a rain dance. It's especially known for the iconic umbrellas. Basically, a bunch of dance teams line up and dance through the main streets of the city. It's pretty awesome.


August 20 - Special English Lesson at Suwa Hoikuen
Near the beginning of August, I was contacted by Yana's preschool about doing an English lesson. In the end, I decided to do it with just the 5 and 6 year olds (not Yana's class) to keep the class size reasonable. I was pretty much left completely on my own for planning and executing the lesson, which was kind of terrifying. I decided to focus on songs and games, which the main part based on body parts. I started out with some hello songs and dances. Then we played hello hello goodbye, a variant of duck duck goose. I taught them some body parts with some fun flash cards I made and then they played a game where they had to be doctors and wrap their partners up with toilet paper. We ended singing head and shoulders. By the end of it, they seemed to know head and knee, so that's something for some preschoolers, I guess! Being on my own, there were some awkward parts and things were kinda messy, but in all, I don't think the kids were old enough to notice or care, and they seemed to enjoy the singing and dancing and did tell me they had fun. So even though I would have changed some things knowing what I know now, I think it was a pretty good attempt for what was basically my first time teaching (on my own)!

I actually was able to spend the whole morning at the school, too. So I brought Yana and played outside with the kids for a bit. A bunch of them came up to me and were telling me their names, their moms' names, their dads' names, their brothers' and sisters' names, and their grandparents' names. After going inside, I spent some time in Yana's class. I was able to watch the morning meeting and I went to the library with them, where about 6 kids wanted to read books with me at the same time. Next the entire school gathered in the gym for the monthly birthday party. Lots of singing and clapping. There was also a fun performance by the teachers to advertise their upcoming sports day, and the 5 and 6 year olds did their yosakoi dance for the school, which they also performed at Chizu's dance festival, Kinsai Minsai Odorinsai.

August 29 - Kinsai Minsai Odorinsai
When we attended this festival last year, we had been in Chizu for less than a month. This year it felt good to feel at home. I was able to recognize and say hi to a bunch of my students, some of whom were watching, and some of whom were dancing. Since I'm more aware of what's happening now, we were able to go watch the opening parade through the streets of Chizu. After the parade, we bought some food and watched the main stage dances by Yana's preschool and my elementary school 3rd and 4th graders. Unfortunately it was raining pretty steadily by that time, so we opted to head home and watch from our living room window instead. It was a bit far to see, but we got a nice full-day concert of yosakoi music from it anyway, and some pyrotechnics at the end.

Yana and I doing the treasure fishing event.

September 5th - Chizu JHS Sports Day 2015
It was the first sports day on the new school ground! Last year we had to have it at the townsmen's ground because the school was still under construction.
Even though we JUST returned from summer break at the end of August, the students spent most of the time between then and the sports day practising. In the week before, there were two full-day practises. Intense stuff. It meant I had barely any classes, but I kind of don't enjoy this time because there's no real job for me to do and I constantly feel awkward and annoying. I was supposed to help with set-up the day before the event, but there was no job for my group after all, and we ended up weeding. It's also strange because they sit me, Justin, and Yana in the special guests section, which is filled with city officials and stuff - the mayor even comes!
Anyway, these things are largely tradition, so I had a good idea of what to expect this year. The day began at 9:30am, with the students marching onto the ground with their class flags (and also the school flag and flag of Japan). Then the mandatory introductory speeches by everyone possible. As a teacher, I also had to stand out in front of the students during the speeches, national anthem, and school song.
The morning included events like the ball catch (1 partner launched a ball, the other caught it in a bucket), treasure fishing (Yana and I went together, and Justin on his own), and running. It ended with the girls' dance, the boys' gymnastics, and the all-school best relay (which I also participated in, on the staff team).
There was an hour for lunch. After that was the mukade relay, tug o' war (which ended dramatically with the rope snapping and a boy getting hurt and taken off the field on a stretcher), catching inner tubes over heads relay, big pants relay, and the white rabbit relay. The 3rd graders had a special relay where they dressed up members of their classes. This year one class was minions and Lupin the 3rd, and the other class was Death Note. After that were more class relays, and I ran in another on the parents' team. The day ended with the class jump rope competition.
After the closing ceremony and awards, it was clean up time. The vice principal was nice, though, and let me go home early.

Yana's Language Progress: September 2015

5 years old!

Seems like it's about time for another update!

Recently, during a meeting with the principal of Yana's preschool, I was told that Yana is really funny. Apparently she speaks with a bit of a Chizu dialect, which the principal found hilarious . She's also practising selective hearing by pretending she doesn't understand Japanese when it's convenient for her (I guess her teacher told her to come back to the classroom and she decided to spend time looking at goldfish instead).

I also had the chance to spend some time with her at school. She has really picked up the Japanglish, which is both hilarious and terrible. She's learned that when the Japanese try to speak English they like to put -u on the end of words. So if Yana doesn't know how to say something in Japanese, it comes out something like, "Mama shoppingu baggu asobu gaymu hatata." (Translation: my mom has a game in the shopping bag. She likes to add "hatata" to every sentence, but its basically a meaningless placemarker she uses). I'm kind of terrified of what she might say if she meets an Asian in Canada. I'm not sure she'll understand that they can probably speak English. Here, nearly all her social interaction outside the home is with Japanese-speaking Japanese people.

Continuing on from the above comment, I'm feeling more and more that I'm missing words from this list. I think she picks up a lot at school, but we don't hear it so much at home. I'd bet there are also a lot of words she understands, but can't speak yet, too. For example, I'm sure by know she knows all the basic commands from her teachers at school, but they're not things she would really say at home. That said, she does slip in some Japanese every now and then. Recently at home she's been saying "itadakimasu" before she eats.

She appears pretty comfortable speaking Japanese, though (wish my students felt the same about English!), mistakes and all. Sometimes she gets a little shy or upset because she doesn't "know how to speak Japanese", but generally she is quite fearless about blurting out some strange mix of English and Japanese. She also tends to throw in Japanese words regardless of who she's talking to (Japanese or foreigner). She's really starting to have her own hybrid way of speaking now.

So here's the list of new words I've noticed:

• mizu [water]
• chiisai/chiichai [small]
• kusai [smelly]
• kiiro [yellow]
• samui [cold]
• aa sou ka [oooh, is that so?] - she said this to her friend with such perfect intonation, I could not stop laughing
• pan [bread]
• ochita [fell]
• aka [red]
• sugoi [awesome]
• nikko [a counter for two of something]
• mada [not yet]
• mou ikai [one more time]
• okaasan [mother]
• otousan [father]
• dekita [did it]
• nani shorun da [something like "whatcha doin'"]
• tabechatta [informal for "ate"]
• iterasshai [said to someone when they are leaving]

Reflecting on One Year in Japan

I know everyone says this thing, but it's true! I really cannot believe we've been in Japan for a whole year. An entire 12 months. 365 days.

And you know what? I am super proud of myself. In a way, coming here was my high school exchange re-do. I know that sounds kind of bad, but this experience, while completely separate and different in nearly all ways, has been hugely important to me. After I returned early from Japan in 2008, I had a daily battle with what ifs. Now I feel like less of a failure and even though this isn't me in high school, I feel like I've been able to experience things that I missed out on before.

That's not to say things are always sunshine and rainbows here. It can be tough. Culture shock is a real thing - sometimes disabilitatingly so. I have a lot of frustrations with my job. Sometimes I wish I hadn't signed on for another year.

On the other hand, there are tons of things we have yet to see and do. I know that I want this second year. One year really is too short. And it's gone by so quickly, I know I might even feel the same after two.

This has been an amazing experience for Yana, and I almost wish we could stay forever just for her. Chizu especially is such a safe environment. And she seems to be doing great with the language, she's made some amazing friends, and she enjoys school. Everyone loves her here and she gets almost too much attention! I'm really impressed with how she's adapted.

Chizu is a gorgeous town and overall I really enjoy life here in Tottori. I love being able to see these mountains every day. Although living in a small town can sometimes be stifling, I love the friendliness here in Chizu. People are so kind. I've come to enjoy the small town life. I do love the city too, but I find it refreshing to be back home in Chizu, where life is a less stressful.

At this point, we're thinking of leaving next summer. Although life here is pretty good, I'm not sure I could endure another year of ALTing. This is a bit of a dead-end career, and I don't think being an ALT is something I could be happy with long-term. This has been a great experience, but I feel ready to start my real life. I also think it's probably best for Yana to start 1st grade in Canada. I think the transition for her would be far more difficult if she attended 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade here in Japan and then suddenly had to switch to Canadian school. I think it would be difficult for her to catch up. (On the other hand, I sometimes think she would have a great experience in Japanese elementary school; there are a lot of nice things about it, especially for the younger grades). Another factor is the weather. Without central heating or air conditioning, it's freezing in winter and blistering hot and humid in summer. Food is another frustration. There isn't much available in our small town and since we don't eat a lot of Japanese food, it's tough sometimes. These are little problems, but after a while they really become grating. Anyway, I feel like I'd rather leave on a positive note. I'm afraid that if we stay for 3 years, life will become a daily struggle and I'll come to hate this place. That's something I don't want. That's how I left Japan before, and it had a hugely negative impact on me.

Sometimes a whole other year seems like such a long time. I complain that I don't want to be here for a whole year. But this past year has seemed like a blur. The days really fly by. So I'm looking forward to this next year. This is a reminder to myself to savour every moment.

Yana's Language Progress: June 2015

On the parent-child field trip

Recently I've noticed a big leap in Yana's confidence and vocabulary when speaking Japanese. When she first started school, she spoke to the other kids in English only and was confused and frustrated. Now she speaks Japanese with them. She also understands that Japanese is different from English. She doesn't always use the right Japanese (often its wrong or very infantile), but the fact that she's using the foreign language is a great step.

One day we were out shopping. A lady who spoke English very well was helping us, and even though we were speaking English, Yana announced, "oshiko!" when she had to use the toilet.

Later that same day, we were at the grocery store, standing near the tills. Yana shouted, "kochi!" and ran to the till of her choice. The cashier had a good chuckle.

She also recently memorized a cute little song at school, which she sang for me at home. She often sings Japanese songs. A lot of the words are slurred, but I can definitely make out a few correct words and it sounds like Japanese.

A recent trend is her use of "kochi", "korera", "datta", and "misete". She tends to use these words very frequently. Usually not correctly, though.

On a school field trip, she asked her teacher "tabete ii yo?", so it's great to see her trying to put words together to make sentences.

She's also started teaching me words that I don't know and instructing me: "say 'ippai' because it means there's lots" and "you say it KA-TA-TSU-MU-RI".

Her teacher remarked on how polite she is too. She always says "dou itashimashite", but most of the other kids don't bother. I didn't even teach her that one!

New vocabulary I've noticed:

• oshiri [bum]
• neko [cat]
• hanbunko [usually means half of something, but she learned it to mean fold in half]
• datta [non-polite form of desu]
• yamete [stop]
• kochi [here, come here]
• oshiko [pee]
• tengu-geta kutsu [tengu geta shoes, a special type of Japanese shoe she is learning to wear for sports day]
• tatte [stand]
• suwaru [sit]
• kashite [give]
• ii yo [good, okay]
• taberu [eat]
• asobu [play]
• ikou [go]
• koko [here]
• korera [these]
• yatta [yay!]
• dou itashimashite [you're welcome]
• ichi, ni, san, shi, go, roku, shichi, hachi, kyu, jyu [counting up to 10]
• dekita! [did it!]
• ippai [full, many]
• katatsumuri [snail]

Overall, I'm very impressed with how she's been doing these last few months!

The Annual Health Check

Here in Japan, many people are getting their annual health checks done.
I believe the rule is that all government employees must get an annual check, and since teachers are hired by the government, that includes me.

It all started a few weeks ago, when I came into work with an envelope on my desk. Upon opening it, I could tell it was a series of questionnaires, but I couldn't tell what it was for. The vice principal explained that it was for the annual health check, and that my appointment was on May 21st. From then on I spent a lot of free time painstakingly translating the forms so that I could fill them out.

My appointment was for 8:30am and I wasn't supposed to eat anything after dinner the day before. So I was already pretty hungry when I woke up the morning of the 21st. Instead of going to work, I went directly to the hospital, which is conveniently located right beside my apartment. I wandered into the hospital, but I wasn't sure where to go, so I enlisted the help of an employee who was observing me with a look of mild concern. He was super helpful and walked me down to the center where they do the checks. I think I must teach his kid(s), because at one point he asked my job and then started thanking me.

When I walked into the health check center, the two administrative ladies greeted me with, "Ah, Anje!", which kind of caught me off guard, but I was glad they knew who I was because it really helped me during the process. I gave them my somewhat completed questionnaires and my insurance card. Then I took a seat in the center (which was pretty much a room with exercise equipment jammed into the corners and along the walls with tables and chairs set up for waiting). After a minute or so I was called into a consultation room, where a lady basically told me we were going to start the tests and gave me a quick rundown of what the tests were.

The first stop was a urine test. Thankfully one of the admin ladies showed me where to go and then waited outside to take me to the next stop. One thing that was interesting is that they use paper cups (not plastic jars with lids) and the bathroom actually had an opening like a window which connected to the lab...but there was no door or glass or anything, so I could see and hear perfectly what was going on in there.

Next I had to get my blood taken. Not my favorite thing, and it made me feel a bit queasy, especially after not eating. They took 3 vials. The lady who took my blood brought me to the next station, which was an EKG. I always feel like some mad science experiment when I'm hooked up with wires and suction cups.

After that the EKG lady took me to wait for my X-ray. I was a little nervous because I had to hold my breath and I wasn't sure if I would understand when to do it, but it turned out fine. It was my last stop before I went back to the center. I had to wait for a while and then I had my blood pressure, eyesight, height, and weight checked.

One of the admin ladies told me I had to wait about half an hour before the doctor could see me, so I was able to walk home and finally eat something. I came back at 10:00, but it was another 30 minutes before I was able to see the doctor. Naturally, the doctor visit was quite short. She showed me all my test results, including the X-ray, and told me they were all good. The only thing was that apparently my triglyceride levels were a little high, but still okay. She checked my heart with a stethoscope and then sent me on my way.

So in all, it was about 2 and a half hours. I think it was a bit unusual though, as many schools seem to have the school nurse do most of the check or have a medical team come in and do it at the school or community center. It's also common for X-rays to be done in a big white van which travels from school to school. But in my case I went to the hospital and was able to have everything done there. I guess since its a small town and we have the hospital right here its easiest to just do it there.

Hopefully I won't have to see the inside of the hospital for another year!

Edit: A week or so later, I got another letter from them with my results. It's really great because you can see everything that was tested and get all hypochondriac about the amount of red blood cells you have and stuff. Anyway, I also got a recommendation, so it told me to take care of my diet and to get my blood checked again in 6 months (because of the triglycerides) and to go and get my eyes checked by an actual eye doctor. I ended up needing glasses! So that's been a huge adjustment for me, but I'm really glad I was able to have this check.

Things You Should Bring With You to Japan as an ALT

A 6th grade student tries on a Canadian hockey jersey.

Packing for a year (or more) is difficult. There are tons of things to bring and little space to bring them in. I know the last thing new JETs need is a list of MORE things to pack, but here are some things I brought or wished I had.



Yearbooks
Useful during self introductions or for talking about school in your country, yearbooks will surely intrigue your students. I didn't bring any, but I really wish I had! I know suitcase space is precious, but one yearbook wouldn't take up a lot of space.

Photos
Digital or hard copy, photos are a great thing to bring! These will be most useful during your self introduction lessons, but also for lessons about your country, holiday lessons, or lessons about school life in your country. Document your daily life - the students will be interested to see what your hobbies are or what you have for meals. I have some, but I really wish I had brought more, especially of me during my school days.

Videos
If you have any home videos that are relevant to holidays, your life, your country, or your school days, they would be great to bring along. I wish I had some! As it is, I get all that kind of stuff from Youtube, which is fine, but I can tell you the students would be extra thrilled to watch something more personal.

Things That Represent Your Country
I brought a Canadian hockey jersey, a flag, and some money. These were big hits - at elementary school the kids liked to try on the jersey, and everyone was really interested in the plastic money. Later on I also acquired a can of maple syrup. If your school allows it, you could also bring in some food samples.

Student Rewards
Bringing some special stickers, pennies, stationary supplies, or other knick knacks can work well as incentives for students. I brought some Canadian flag stickers to give out during my self introduction lessons.

Books
I brought along a bunch of children's books in English to give to my elementary school. They really appreciated it. I also was able to use them during reading time. I made sure to bring some which represented my country - in this case, books written about Canadian subjects by a famous author from my town.

Makeup and Toiletries
It can be difficult to find makeup that matches your shade. I can't find the brand I use here at all. I brought some with me, but I wish I had brought more. I ended up ordering off of iherb.com and buying the rest at the store. Other things to consider bringing, if you are particular: deodorant, toothpaste, facial cleansers

Food
If you have a favorite food that is safe to bring, I recommend bringing it. I ran out of room, but I had planned to bring peanut butter. They have it here, but its ridiculously expensive. Also, oatmeal, yeast, and chocolate chips, since I like to bake. Of course you can find most things here or order them online, but its expensive and sometimes I can't figure out the Japanese directions. I only recommend bringing food if you have the space available; it should be a low priority.

Medicine and Vitamins
If you have an affinity for particular medicine or vitamins, it may be worth it to bring some along (of course keeping in mind restrictions on amounts and illegal substances). I am fond of Advil as my painkiller of choice, but its impossible to find North American brands here and I feel uncomfortable taking something without being able to read the instructions or ingredients.  I brought along a big bottle and had my mom bring some when she visited. I wish I had brought more. And even though I order vitamins from iherb, I can't get the brand I usually bought back in Canada.

Clothing
If you are anything larger than a North American size M or L, think seriously about bringing a full wardrobe of clothing (including undergarments and shoes if over size 24-28cm!), because choices outside of large cities may be limited. Extremely limited. And while you can buy some clothing online, there's no guarantee that it fits until you try it on. I really wish I had more effectively planned and bought a wardrobe before leaving.