I got Good News!!!! Again!!!

As April came closer and closer, I and many many others through out the country were on edge about whether or not we made it in.  No one, knew what was going on. All anyone knew was that in early April, notification would go out. So, what exactly defines early April!?!?!?!? 

I wanted to know as much as I possibly could, so I spent some time online reading forums and through reading posts I found out that the Consulate in Denver sent out a notification that they would be sending notification on April 8, around 3:00pm. With this as my mark, I was able to wait out the next 4 days. 

I work at a retail Store in Florida the town is a high tourist area. April is the height of Spring Break season, so the whole week of April 8th was extremely busy. Particularly on the 8th. With so many people in the area, the cell towers were jammed and my 3G network for my iPhone wasn't worth a thing. Even as 3:00pm rolled around the best my phone could load was just that I received an e-mail from the Japanese Consulate in Atlanta. This really messed with my head. The first chance I had to use my friend's phone I did. After waiting the e-mails to load for a couple minutes I finally received the Good News!!!

On April 8, 2010 I was shortlisted into the JET Program... this means I made it.

Now the wait begins again. Sometime in May we will all find out where we will be placed.

One thing, once you've been shortlisted you must send a reply form to your respective consulate. There are number of things that are required with the reply form, so take your time, ask your questions, and do everything that needs to be done. You'll be provided a forum to ask and have your questions answered, so don't worry.

I got good News!!!!

So, it's been quite some time since I last wrote, but quite a bit has happened.

In January I spent a couple of weeks in Japan and while in Japan I received my notification that I made it through to the Interview. I was highly excited.

Here are some pictures of Japan.

Nara used to be the capitol city of Japan about 1300 years ago. This is a picture of one of the Gates at the Capital City grounds. Oh, and it was FREEEZING that night. I thought my nose was going to fall off.

This is Doutonbori. A real well known river in Osaka City. This night was also quite cold. By this point I decided I needed some more layers. Long-Johns became my best friend... or other wise known as Pacchi in Kansai. Trust me, during the winter these help a lot.

Nara Park. These deer, really want their biscuits. I bought some from the lady selling the biscuits and she told me to feed the wrapper as well... and sure enough the deer ate the wrapper. This particular deer, rammed me in the back for turning my back on it... good thing there are no horns. haha Oh and it was cold this night too, but I had my trusty Pacchi by this point.

Todai-ji. Is the really well known temple in Nara Park. There are many temples, but this one is extremely huge. No, I didn't go in. I'm not really one to give money to a religion that has seemed to lose its focus. I do however, respect the history and culture these wonderful building represent. If you get a chance to visit Nara Park, please do so it's truly beautiful.

This is Wakakusa yama. As I said earlier, this was the 1300 anniversary of Nara and it's former Capitol of Japan Status. So, these events were more packed and crowded than before. Every year, they light mountain on fire. Obviously this is before the flames... Mountain is more of a mis-nomer, its more of a glorified hill.

This was actually really cool. They also had this wonderful 10 minute long Fireworks Display, which was AWESOME!!! Then they set the mountain on fire. It was quite cool to see.

Over looking Kobe. This was my first time in Kobe since I was little. The last time we were even near Kobe was when we flew into KIX right after the Kobe Earthquake... The city is incredible and I really loved it. I recommend hanging out there when you have the chance.

Well, it was about this time during my trip in Japan that I received notice from JET that I made it through to the interview portion. I was extremely elated to have received the news. Although, I couldn't really do much about it in Japan. Once I returned home I set up my interview day and time and prepared as much as I could for the interview.

The interview itself went well. I can't really provide details, but I suggest to all that you dress sharply and be your self. Really study your own application and have a strong idea as to the reason you want to be a part of the JET program. If you do these you'll be fine.