Learned during quarantine so far!

  As I mentioned in my prior blog post, I flew to Japan this past weekend and will be spending about two weeks in hotel quarantine before traveling onward to my JET Program teaching placement in Kobe. In this post, I want to talk a bit more about some things that we learned during orientation so far that I found interesting.
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​   Several of the videos that we watched covered Japanese school life and, in particular, elementary schooling. According to the video, elementary school students are entrusted with various responsibilities at the school - such as being part of different committees. Such committees include: animal caretaker committee, school beautification, managing the library and others! ​ See video to the right to learn more about this!
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Elementary school students will also work in the cafeteria on different shifts, serving their classmates their meals. And, then, there's the cleaning shift during which students (and teachers) clean their schools. ​

Not my photo! From our Orientation materials.

   Outside of learning about schools, we are also learning about COVID protocols and different notable Japanese laws. In regards to drunk driving, we were informed that if we're a passenger with a drunk driver, we can be held legally responsible as well for his or her drunk driving - as the passenger has an obligation to stop this situation from occurring. 
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   Additionally, no level of alcohol in your system while driving is considered "legal." Furthermore, marijuana use is strictly prohibited and strongly punished. 

   As for COVID, many Japanese wear masks year round due to pollen allergies in the spring/summer and then for illness prevention (flu & colds) in the winter. Our presentation specifically said that mask wearing has no negative perception in Japan. In fact, you're more likely to encounter negative perceptions if you are NOT wearing a mask! The screenshot below is from this video that we watched about COVID in Japan.​
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  Also, since the JET Program does not require any formal teaching certification, we are also attending training sessions that give us advice about how to present information to various grade levels and what to expect when we get to the classroom. 

That is all for now! I have included a few links below to several cultural resources. Also if you would like to receive my newsletter, please visit this page to subscribe, or subscribe on the right side of this page! Through the newsletter, you will get all the latest information about my experiences in Japan and abroad. 

All the best,
Tom

CULTURAL RESOURCES!
​As I come across different resources, I will share them on my website here. 
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New since the last update, I came across this website that has short videos about different aspects of Japanese culture! Check it out! A few of the specific videos that I watched and enjoyed are below. 
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