some musings~

May oh my, has it been that long? I guess so...

Well, much and more has happened since May and yet it's hard to see it that way when I'm still sitting here at my desk in Japan. JETsetter has seen some action lately in my attempts to keep the blog up-to-date with my experiences here, but even that has been slacking as well. I don't give apologies for the frequency of my blogs, but I will say thanks for reading whenever I do update. Arigats!

That said, I've had the mindset lately to be more spontaneous with this blog. I got into a habit of posting perfectly thought out entries or keeping a series going without interruptions (It's the OCD in me). However, in an effort to combat that, I'm going to go crazy (by my standards) and just post whatever, whenever. My highly organized ways works for me in many regards, but that's exactly why I'm trying to limit it; so it doesn't limit me. I also don't mean to make light of people who are actually afflicted with OCD (I saw an episode of MTV True Life on it back in the day and whoa), but I just imagine myself to have to be mildly afflicted as I do become uncomfortable or distracted when certain things aren't just the way I'd want them. Those of my ilk will understand.

So what has been on my mind lately? That's simple: home. And I mean more than just Miami, I'm talking about America too. Highly relevant nowadays, I've been throwing myself into election season in an unprecedented fashion for me. This genuine desire of wanting the best for my perfectly imperfect country has me longing to be there where the atmosphere is thickest. What? You're surprised Tamba isn't abuzz with talk of American presidential elections? So was I! I mean, doesn't everyone talk about 'Murica all the time? hehe, I kid, I kid. Home has also been on my mind since most of my friends are planning to go home for Christmas, but since I was just home and live farther away than any of them, that's not happening for me.

I can't honestly say I ever imagined myself filling out an absentee ballot, but now I have. Nor did I ever think to be spending Christmas in Singapore, but that is a possibility now too. I mean, have you? Maybe this sounds exciting, but after being away for year, going home and then returning back to the foreignness again, it's not as exciting, but it's part of the experience. I want to be home for many reasons, but especially these two. As an American citizen, I have the privilege to help decide the so-called 'leader of the world' (as so-called by my non-American friends). And Christmas is a time when my heritage comes out and some of the best memories of growing up Cuban come out. I love my hodgepodge Cuban-American Christmases in Miami. It's freaking magical and part of who I am. Yet, for the second year in a row, I'm won't be a part of it. The world is wondrous place, but there really is no place like home.

Speaking of home and how I want to be there, I received my re-contracting papers for JET this past week. I walked up to my desk and found them there on top of my computer. I skipped straight to the back where I knew the question would be waiting, and withing two minutes of walking in, I sealed my fate.

✓ "I have decided NOT to re-contract for the 2013-2014 JET Programme year."

Done and done. I know this may come off as me being in a hurry to leave, but in reality, anyone who's spoken to me about JET will know that two years has always been my intended length of stay and so in reality, the decision was made long ago. This has been the adventure of a lifetime. I've grown as person, learned a lot about the world, and experienced all the things about Japan I dreamed of doing and then some. But as they say, all good things come to end and I know my limit. We're only October and I have all the way till next August to go, but for some reason I am eagerly looking forward to the next adventure, whatever it is.


So that's a small update on me and the what's been bouncing around in my head.
Until next time, here's something to muse on:

"Define what success looks like for you then go after it."

new blog!

For a while now I knew that I would have a separate blog set up for my adventures and misadventures in Japan. I set it up about a month ago and now that I`m ready to write my first post, I will announce its existence to the world. It is called JET setter. Although this isn`t a very unique name (especially for those who create blogs for the purpose of documenting their JET Program experience), I know I thought about it long before I ever became a JET so I claim it as my own idea, hehe. ^.^v

I will be importing some old blog entries from here to that blog so that it makes more sense chronologically. I will continue to update this blog with my randomness but that blog will be for JET and Japan related expereinces solely.

 Here`s the link. Enjoy!

http://spjetsetter.blogspot.com/

Shutterfly

I recently finished creating a personalized photo book on Shutterfly. If you don't know what this is, it's basically online scrap booking that you can then have published into a book. It's a great way to personalize and share photos and especially fun for creative types like me.

It has been recommended that JETs take plenty of photos from their live back to combat homesickness. Is it just me or does this seem counter intuitive since usually photos make one nostalgic? Who knows, maybe I'm just more of an out-of-sight, out-of-mind kind of person.. Anyways, that coupled with the fact that I've had one of the best years of my life starting from last August (2010) till now (July 2011) made me decide, sure why not?

I received an offer for a free Shutterfly book when I bought my new camera last year, but only recently realized the expiration date was fast approaching. I initially thought to use this opportunity for the Miami Photo Project since the main intent of that project is to share it with others, but my car sold insanely fast and has left me mostly stranded at my house. Thus, I decided to just take this free offer and make something special for me.

I would say the process took a total of twelve hours between selecting pictures (taken over the course of a year), figuring out the layout of the book, and then playing with the picture placement. This may seem daunting or a completely waste of time to most but I really enjoyed the whole process. Ironically, I had a friend in high school who was really into scrap booking but couldn't get me into it. All the tools, stickers, pages and other nonsense to just put one picture on a page? Kill me now. But with online scrap booking the whole process was so much better - plus the option to scrap a whole page the next day without any waste! This process also made me feel like the yearbook editor that I never was in high school (something I kind of regret). At the time, I had been asked to join the yearbook staff but they would meet before school at 7:30am and there was no way I could make it at that time. As it was, I was routinely late for or missed first period altogether because although I get up early, I'm a sloth in the mornings. Looking back, I probably would have been the best yearbook editor in EVER.

When I look at the finished pages, there is a balance and symmetry that will never be appreciated by the majority of people who see it. I am very methodical in my creativeness. For example, on my family pages, I essentially built my family tree with every cousin, aunt and uncle, and immediate family member being within perfect proximity to each other. On the second page I was a little more liberal, but the everyone is still there. On the third page, I limited it to just my immediate family. I wouldn't say I'm OCD, but I will say that I'd be pretty upset if I forgot to put someone on page or something similar. Like I know I'd be reminded of it each time I look.

So trust me when I say there was a methodology applied to each page and at least I appreciate it. The pictures may be too small but you can click on them for a bigger version. I was highly amused by this project and find it more aesthetically pleasing in general to look at pictures this way than by clicking through them on a computer folder. Enjoy!

miami photo project

I have A LOT to do before I leave for Japan, but one task I have given myself is both for my benefit and for the benefit of my future students. I have dubbed it the 'Miami Photo Project' and have drawn up a list of 50 pictures I want to take that will represent me, Miami, and my relationship with my hometown.

This compilation will remind me of home as seen through my eyes and get me through those homesick days when all I will want to see are familiar sights and faces. For my students, I will most likely be telling them about myself and where I come from, so I believe these pictures will come in handy to keep them interested.

Some examples of my selections that represent me will be pictures of my room, my family, my friends, my dog, my car, my office, and my school. Some examples of Miami would be the beach, a sunset, palm trees, alligators, iguanas, and the skyline. My relationship with my hometown would definitely have some Cuban highlights like La Carreta, cafesitos, calle ocho, and Little Havana. I made references to my Cuban heritage in both my application and interview as a kind of two-for-one bonus that my students would learn about since I can describe both American and Cuban culture in my lessons. I'll make Cuban coffee drinking, salsa dancing Japanese kids my legacy in Japan!

If you can think of other things in Miami that I should take a picture of, let me know! My good friend and wonderful photographer is going to accompany me on some of these photo-finding trips so I'll have more time and eyes on the lookout for any suggestions.

Till then, keep being amused!

rejoice for a dream

The title is a play on Mozart's 'requiem for a dream.' The humor you see, is that my dream is not dead. On the contrary it is alive and well.

I wrote another entry called 'relief' not too long ago which was the short dramatic story about how I found out that I had passed the first stage in a very competitive job-selection process. Well, now I'm here to tell the dramatic tale of how I landed the job! Yup! I got it!!

I interviewed in late February and felt that I had done an exceptional job after a month of practice and preparation. A wonderful friend of mine (and former JET participant) helped me and my bf practice with mock interviews. As for preparations, well, there were many months put into research, internships, and volunteering to give myself every chance of proving to them that I was a perfect fit for this program. On the day of the interview, I did my best and let God do the rest as the saying goes. I was relaxed, professional, conversational, and intuitive on how to respond.

We had been told that the results would be announced in mid-April. So at work on exactly April 15th, I began to wonder about my fate. People around would ask me if I was nervous about or anticipating the results. Honestly though, I barely had time to think about the results throughout the month of March. I was fully consumed with finishing strong in my graduate studies and accordingly, planning graduation celebrations. However, when April 15th did arrive, I started to stare off in the distance more often, prompting those around me to ask, "So, when will you know?" My answer, "sooooon."

I had every confidence in myself that I was a perfect fit for the JET Program but as I said in my last post, even the most qualified are not always accepted. So with that in mind, I applied to second program called Interac. Although JET was my dream, my determination to live in Japan knew no bounds. Even with the tragic earthquake of March 11, my resolve did not waiver, but it did make things more complicated. Naturally, concerned family members and friends feared for my future safety but I wasn't about to give up that easily. This dream had been years in the making after all.

Friday, April 15th, 2011: A quite normal day if you don't count the plans to go on a ghost tour for a friend's birthday that night. My boyfriend (who was also awaiting results) and I were arguing one of our pointless arguments when he noticed a new email on his computer screen.

He was placed on the Alternate list which is not a no, but not a yes. A limbo of sorts unless a position opens up. He got up, laid on his bed, sighed, and closed his eyes. At the same time, I ran to my computer and skimmed my email in a nanosecond and saw it, "Congratulations, you have been selected to be on the short list of candidates.." basically meaning,
I'VE BEEN ACCEPTED!

This wasn't how I imagined this moment to be especially since my boyfriend was distraught in the next room. So instead of jumping for joy, tears of joy came down my face.

I found out about the JET program in high school and always saw it as not only a great experience, but my ticket to living in Japan, my dream. Here I was eight years later being told that it was going to happen. It was overwhelming and made me overcome with how proud of myself I was.

Right now I am still in the process of conducting background checks, visa applications, and all the other necessary and timely steps that it takes to employ someone in another country, but come July 30th, I will be officially starting the next chapter in my life. I am SO excited!

Ironically this was my fortune from a fortune cookie last night:

Our truest life is when we are in our dreams awake

Until then, I will continue rejoicing for my dream come true.

relief.

I'm not in yet, but at least I can say I got this far which is a huge relief to me. I'm talking about the JET Program application process. Everyone I know believes I have this in the bag, but I've seen people just as qualified as I am not make it in. And so, I had the most nerve wracking experience on Wednesday night as I was out to dinner for my mom's bday. Next to me, my boyfriend exclaimed, "I got an email from the consulate... I have an interview!!" Needless to say I grabbed my phone and forgot to breathe as my mailbox is refreshing.

I didn't get an email.

He's looks at the screen and back at me in mingled shock and horror while everyone else around the table is waiting to hear whether or not I have an interview as well.

Realization setting in, some says, "check the website!" so I did.

The website must have been updated in the past 24 hours because I had been checking every day and had not been presented with this new PDF file labeled 'Interview Applicants.' This file had hundred of numbers. We were issued applicant ID numbers for just this occasion, but I had written mine down on a paper that was currently in a drawer at home...

Just then my previous stroke of genius came back to me. I had taken a picture of that paper on my phone as a convenient way to always have it with me.

SUCCESS!! I started breathing again and smiled as a way to silently pass on the good news to those around me.

Suddenly I wanted to tell all my well-wishers and those who had helped me with the grueling application. I promptly told all those I had easy access to the good news and felt very blessed at that moment to have so many people to tell... 

One of my mom's friends actually told me not to share the news so openly because then those who don't wish me well know as well and put that out into the universe. I was barely able to contain my excitement though so I've already alluded to it in other ways that might let the haters know, but whatever.

Inwardly though I was still a bit concerned that I hadn't received an email confirmation of my interview like my boyfriend had....I triple checked every part of the application before I sent it. Could they had entered my email address wrong?

A few days later, my fears were settled and question answered. I received a call from the Consulate to discuss my preferred interview date and time. Something went wrong with my professional email (not sure on who's end), but just asked them to use my personal email from then on instead.

Interview prep - Start!!