Hyogo JETs' orientation at Yashiro (the prison)

As if one orientation wasn't enough the powers that be dictated that all JETs living in Hyogo (my prefecture) congregated for four days at the teacher training facility in Yashiro. It's called the prison because... well... the rooms look like prison rooms, and possibly also because it's run with an iron fist. Everyone has to be in bed by 12. The big event this year was someone setting off a fire extinguisher in the boys toilets. The thing is that 'someone' chose not to come forward and the response of the authorities was entirely disproportionate - they threatened to call in the police and take fingerprints.

In lessons we learnt about various teaching techniques and other useful things. However, the highlight for me was in further establishing friendships with other JETs. And what better way to do that than stand outside a convenience store for 3 hours drinking cheap beer?!

The second night was the official welcome party. Several speeches ensued. Following this were the country skits. Each nationality group in attendance was asked to go off somewhere and plan a skit to perform that evening, the purpose of which was to inform Japanese people (in a comical way of course) of certain aspects of your country's culture and traditions. Well, let's just say that wasn't how the Brits read the script... for us it was more like a fantastic opportunity to slate the Americans and Aussies. And we did just that... with constant references to 'the colonies' and 'the empire' and 'the ashes'.

Although this orientation was a laugh, it also served as an eye-opener to some of the less likeable faces of Japanese authority. The large group of people (all of them adults) who were caught drinking on the roof on the first night were the following morning told to write letters of apology and then informed that they should use 'Japanese common sense'.

This is me with Ailey and Liz.




At the end of the British skit we asked our audience to stand for our national anthem. Of course none of them did but that's not the point. The point is that we sang the Neighbours theme tune.



And then Elvis came to town. Seriously though, finding out that the kitchen staff doubled up as rock band was one of the high points of my life!



Ryan, Ailey and Liz.



Ailey, Liz, Will, me and Ryan.