Transferring in the JET Program

This post has been a little while in the making, but it's about time I let you know about a more complicated part of the JET Program: transfers.

Transfers in the JET Program are generally not allowed, except for extenuating certain circumstances. These cases can only be either health reasons or marriage.

I applied for the JET Program in late 2011, along with my friend and roommate at the time. We had no idea whether we would be accepted or not, but we requested to be placed near each other for emotional support, in what would surely by a turbulent experience in a foreign country. A month later, she became my girlfriend, and we helped each other with our interviews the next February.

Flash forward 3 months or so, and we were nervously reading the emails from the JET Program coordinators. To our relief, we both were accepted! To our dismay, we were placed in completely different parts of the country, 400 miles apart.

The long distance relationship was tough. We took every opportunity (3-day weekends and breaks) to go visit each other, but the long hauls on highways buses were exhausting (bullet train tickets are way too expensive for us). We stayed in contact every day over skype, despite a shoddy internet connected on my side, but the time wasted away in front of the computer screen reminded us of how much we'd rather have each others' company. We hated going back to a cold empty home every evening.

So, I talked to my Prefectural Adviser (PA) about getting a transfer. We didn't really care whether she came to me, or I went to her, or we both went to a different place entirely. All we cared about was being together again, because life is too short to be separated by this long distance bullshit.

She and I had discussed marriage a while back, but we saw no rush to put it down on paper until now. To get a transfer, a couple must be married or engaged, with the plan to marry within the next appointment year. With this as our motivation, we both agreed that marriage was to way to go. We told our closest friends and parents, and had them write letters for us to help prove that we were in fact engaged with a plan to marry in the near future.

I was told that the chances of a successful transfer were slim. Transfers are indeed rare, and nobody in the entire prefecture had ever heard of anyone transferring in or out. The process is shrouded and annoying for the sole purpose of discouraging it. Some cynical people even told me, straight to my face, that I didn't have a chance in hell, and that applying for the transfer was a waste of time. I didn't care what they said. We had nothing to lose, so we went ahead and applied. We would either get the transfer, or we wouldn't be staying for another year.

Since transfers are so rare, nobody really knew how to deal with them. The PA's had a lot of trouble figuring out what to do from the higher ups. Our own supervisors in the Board of Education floundered about hoping that they had everything covered. Several miscommunications and rushed corrections later, we finally had all our necessary paperwork in to the governing body, CLAIR.

Then the waiting game began. Nobody could give us a prediction of the result. Nobody could even tell us when the result would arrive. We waited months without word or update.

After a few months, it was time to decide whether to re-contract or not. My girlfriend didn't have to do anything, as applying for a transfer is apparently agreeing to re-contract with a different organization. I had to decide whether to not to stay another year BEFORE the result of the transfer had arrived. We were told we'd have to wait another 2 weeks for a result. After deciding for a while, I threw my chips all in and signed away another year of my life, with my money on her transfer being approved.

A week later, Kristin received a call from her Prefectural Adviser. The transfer was approved! We celebrated over skype that night, and posted the great news over social media. Many people congratulated us, and many others were flabbergasted at the possibility of a transfer even happening. We received the title of "First Successful Transfer in Aomori", and my supervisors began planning for her arrival next year.

Although many of the emotions expressed around me were happy, there was some resentment as well. One of the other JETs became rather annoyed, because he had wanted to apply for a transfer as well, but quit after succumbing to negative pressure. People told him it would be impossible, but our transfer proved that someone was misinformed. Perhaps people shouldn't be making matter-of-fact statements unless they actually know for sure.

I also know of another ALT in the prefecture (who was supposed to be my "big brother" confidant, but abandoned me quickly for the more party-going, alcoholic JETs) who was in the same situation a year before. His transfer never succeeded (although I'm sot sure what circumstances they were in, or whether they even applied), leading his girlfriend to quit working with JET in Kyoto and move up to Aomori. A few months of rough job searching later, she now has a position at a local Eikaiwa (English tutoring institute) with less pay, fewer benefits, and inconvenient hours. Nonetheless, their situation has worked itself out, but I'm sure they would have preferred the opportunity we were granted.

So, for all of those people who helped me through the process, especially my mom, my soon-to-be in-laws, the PAs, and my supervisors, I'd like to express my genuine gratitude. It is only with your great effort and expertize that any of this was possible. For those who discouraged me and tried to make me lose hope, well SCREW YOU TOO!! LOOK AT US NOW!!! WE FREAKIN' DID IT!!!! NOW LEARN TO SHUT YOUR PIE HOLE IF ALL THAT COMES OUT IS FILTH!!!!! I'm not bitter... what are you talking about...

Anyways, that's the story behind it all. I'm greatly looking forward to returning to living with the love of my life for the next year. Thanks for reading! Next time, we get the wheels turning...