■ Job Type：ALT（Assistant Language Teacher） ■ Prefecture：Saitama
■ Years on Programme：2000-2003
I had never been to Asia. I spoke no Japanese at all. I knew virtually nothing about the culture. I was committed to a year in a small town in a country full of strangers. And I thought that I just might be making a monumental mistake. But the three years I spent in Fukaya City, Saitama Prefecture, teaching on the JET Programme were three of the best of my life.
Living immersed in Japanese society, traveling around Asia and meeting people from more countries than I can count, my world expanded expotentially. No, it was not always easy, and yes, it could be frustrating. Bureaucracy is as universal as hydrogen and ten times thicker in translation. But teaching in my town’s junior high schools was also the best job I have ever had. The only downside, I think, is that I may never have another job I will love even half as much.
