[Mary with two junior high school students who she mentored in English.
They have just won a school English speaking contest.]
Where were you in Japan as a JET and when?
Tanba-shi, Kaibara-cho, Hyogo-ken, 2008-2010.
What sparked your interest in applying for the JET program?
I minored in Japanese, studied abroad, and was ready to learn more and apply my specific skills after college. What sparked my interest in choosing to study Japanese in college was a particular sensei by the name of Shinichi Shoji, who at the time lectured at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte where I was attending.
[Mary with choir students taking a break from rehearsing the school year's song
for that year's graduation ceremony]
What are some of the things your prefecture is known for? e.g. food, hotspots,
etc.
The capital city of Hyogo-ken is Kobe-shi. The small countryside town I lived in, Tanba-shi, Kaibara-cho, is known for kuromame (black sweet soybeans) and inoshishi (wild boar). I’d like to say that where I lived in Tanba is known for rich nature, mountains, rice fields, riverbanks, and cherry blossoms, but that is consistent throughout many parts of Japan.
Did you pick up any of the regional dialects? What are some of your favorite
words or phrases?
When I returned from my first semester study abroad experience on a Freeman Asia Scholarship at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, my classmates said that they could pick up a Kansai dialect in my Japanese. After living in the Kansai region for two more years on JET, I believe that my accent may be closer to the Kansai dialect (eg: Osaka) rather than a Kanto-based dialect (eg: Tokyo).
One of my favorite words I learned is yabai. When I lived there, some funny phrases going around at the time were: sonna no kanke ne. And nan de ya nen.
[During JET, I met a local Japanese couple who did philanthropy work in Bangladesh. They would bring back clothing goods, jewelry and souvenirs from the country to sell or donate. Here we were making large vats of Bangladesh curry at a local festival.]
If you were to return to live in Japan, would you choose to live in that same
prefecture?
If I were to return to live in Japan, I would not be picky with where. I would simply be happy to be anywhere in Japan. However, if you ask me for a preference, it would be the northern snowy part of the island- Hokkaido prefecture.
How has your connection in relation to Japan changed since living in Japan?
I can list many ways my life has changed since my experience with JET. For example, I own two Japanese Chin dogs, Yuki and Suki. I enjoy participating in ikebana workshops in different US cities. I also incorporate Japan in various ways in my career, which is currently in higher education. Some examples include published articles, an award-winning dissertation, master’s thesis, and book on Japan-related topics. I also try to incorporate Japan topics in my college classroom teaching, including intercultural communication.
I took a group of college students to Japan for a 2-week study abroad experience in
Tokyo and Kyoto. And recently went on a government invited social media campaign tour, where I took photographs of and enjoyed cuisine and sights in the Hokkaido and Tohoku
regions.
In my current life, I also tutor basic Japanese language privately to interested individuals
and mentor interested JET applicants to encourage them to go to Japan as I did!
[Mary with choir students at school.]
Thank you, Mary, for sharing your JET story!
If you are interested in hearing more from Mary, check out our upcoming event that she is hosting, Japanese Gifting Culture!
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