LAST Friday, a group of alumni of Japan’s prestigious JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Program now living on Guam got together at Consul-General Hisatsugu Shimizu’s residence in Tamuning to see off Mr. Adam Douglas, the latest participant.

Sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and two other agencies, the JET Program brings some 1,500 people from around the world to Japan every year to teach English in local schools, and act as cultural ambassadors from their homelands. Since successful participants can remain in the program for up to five years, the total number of teachers involved now stands at 4,360.

While most of the participants are recent university graduates, some, like 40-year-old Douglas, join the program later in life. All, however, must go through a rigorous screening program in their home countries conducted by the Foreign Ministry and local advisors. According to Joseph Tenorio of the Consulate-General of Japan in Hagåtña, only about 1 in 5 applicants is typically chosen.

Those who make the cut get a one-year contract to teach in one of Japan’s school systems, round-trip transportation, a starting monthly salary of about $3,300, and – most important – the chance for an in-depth, firsthand experience of a foreign culture. Most return from the program with very good Japanese language skills, and a deep personal understanding of – and appreciation for – Japanese culture.

This was certainly true of the six alumni who attended the send-off party. All of them stressed that it had been a very positive experience, which has been quite beneficial to them in their later lives.

Excellent interlude

Four of the six went on to graduate school after returning from Japan, and they all reported that their participation in the JET Program had been an excellent interlude between their undergraduate and graduate studies. It enabled them to understand their own goals better, and to be more focused and successful in their studies.

The group also agreed that the Japanese language skills and understanding of Japanese culture they acquired have been very helpful to them in their post-JET careers.

For example, James Hoffman, a lawyer now working for Docomo Pacific, regularly uses the Japanese he first started to learn in the JET Program with his colleagues from Japan. He said the two years he spent in Hiroshima prefecture with JET were “the first links in an ever-growing chain of really cool experiences.”

Rosalinda Nicdao works in Guam’s hospitality industry, and is regularly called upon by her employers to take care of their Japanese customers.

Leslie Reynolds made English teaching her career, and now is an instructor at the UOG English Language Institute, where the cultural sensitivity she developed in the JET Program helps her to work more effectively with students from Japan and other Asian countries.

Greg Folta, the most senior member of the JET alumni group, teaches computer science at St. John’s School. He likes the fact that he is able to speak about the good and bad points of the Japanese education system with his colleagues, based on firsthand experience.

The alumni who grew up on Guam also appreciated the opportunity the program gave them to give their students a more in-depth understanding of the island. In the words of Jennifer McFerran, “People had heard of Guam, but were not familiar with the culture.” She promoted Guam so effectively that a group of her former students even came and visited her mother while she was off-island.

UOG graduate Shirley Estoy showed her Japanese students how to make chicken kelaguen (a big hit), demonstrated some local dances, and told them about Guam’s history and culture – including a little bit about the war years. Consul-General Shimizu later told Variety that Japanese students rarely have the chance to learn about such things, and he thinks this is one of the most valuable aspects of the JET Program.

More than anything else, the JET alumni were unanimous in their desire for more young people from Guam to take advantage of this program. When asked if she would recommend it to other UOG graduates, Estoy summed it up by saying, “Of course! It’s a great chance for anyone to go off, have a beautiful experience, and come back and share it with the rest of the island.”