I found out some of my placement details finally! And, when I say finally, I am very lucky. My shortened time frame means that I didn't wait a month or more to find out YAY ME!
I am a prefectural JET in Hiroshima, which I have already mentioned. My more specific details are that I will be an ALT in Onomichi primarily. I will spend three days a week at Onomichi Commercial High School, working with 2nd years. I will also spend one day each week at two other schools, Setoda High School and Innoshima High School.
The area seems lovely. There are lots of shrines and temples and some nice walks. It is right by the water and two of my schools are on little islands. I will probably need a car, I believe, but it shouldn't be too bad, plus my apartment's rent is cheap. I have lucked out a LOT because there are teacher's apartments involved and my rent will only be about 10,000 yen! It's probably going to be small, but that's okay, cheap and tiny is better than expensive and big (or expensive and small).
Things seem really great so far!
Monday, August 12, 2013
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Certificate of Residency
As a US citizen, I (and you, if you are from the US) have certain rights about taxes while you work in Japan. I have zero interest in detailing that info other than you won't be paying taxes to both countries. What I do want to talk about is the actual form. When you are informed that you are a shortlist or alternate candidate, I suggest preparing this form as soon as you have the chance. It isn't particularly difficult, but if you are traveling (as I was), it is really inconvenient.
Fill the form out in the PDF and save the file. Print a copy and just stick it in an envelope for sake of ease. If you decide to drive 16 hours from home, just take a copy with you (seriously, this seems stupid, but I was doing medieval camping and this was a problem for me especially). Don't be daft, your tax ID number is your SSN if you have one (I admit, I don't do the taxes, so I didn't realize this). If you filed jointly, you need to submit with the joint applicant, so I had to have my husband's signature on the document as well as some of his tax information.
Most of it is very logical and the IRS instruction PDF is plenty helpful. I recommend doing the payment online and faxing the form because it's easy, but you certainly can mail it.
Fill the form out in the PDF and save the file. Print a copy and just stick it in an envelope for sake of ease. If you decide to drive 16 hours from home, just take a copy with you (seriously, this seems stupid, but I was doing medieval camping and this was a problem for me especially). Don't be daft, your tax ID number is your SSN if you have one (I admit, I don't do the taxes, so I didn't realize this). If you filed jointly, you need to submit with the joint applicant, so I had to have my husband's signature on the document as well as some of his tax information.
Most of it is very logical and the IRS instruction PDF is plenty helpful. I recommend doing the payment online and faxing the form because it's easy, but you certainly can mail it.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Certificate of Health
When you get shortlisted, you need to submit a Certificate of Health, as an alternate I wasn't required to do this earlier on. I recommend checking your information ahead of time. Take a look at the form, make sure you know that you can get all the answers. You will be required to get tested for tuberculosis, so make sure you schedule that as soon as you know you have been shortlisted or upgraded.
Now, most important of all, because all that first paragraph is pretty obvious, is getting a DOCTOR to sign it. You need an MD. It doesn't mean your "doctor," since that connotation basically means primary care physician to most of us. My "doctor" is a family nurse practitioner. I have not seen a proper MD in years. My FNP prescribes my medications and does my appointments and everything else. So, when I dropped off my paperwork, I needed to state that I needed an MD to sign the form, rather than my doctor.
Now, most important of all, because all that first paragraph is pretty obvious, is getting a DOCTOR to sign it. You need an MD. It doesn't mean your "doctor," since that connotation basically means primary care physician to most of us. My "doctor" is a family nurse practitioner. I have not seen a proper MD in years. My FNP prescribes my medications and does my appointments and everything else. So, when I dropped off my paperwork, I needed to state that I needed an MD to sign the form, rather than my doctor.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Physician's Form Take 2
Okay, so I am going to write a bunch of updates tonight and they'll show up each day for a couple days. Hopefully, I won't miss anything.
This first topic is the Physician's Form. So, this is a part of the original application process if you have certain situations, like medications or medical conditions or a couple other things. I filled this out because I have severe food allergies (I have the form posted somewhere earlier in my blog I believe), but I didn't realize that I should submit a new one when my medications changed. I have struggled with anxiety and depression for a long time and have decided to finally speak up about it. I don't want to go in depth about it, however, I want people to know that updating this information with your coordinator as soon as you can is a good choice.
I didn't think of sending a new form when my medications changed, so I had to do it when I got upgraded. Changes in your physician's form could cause disqualification, so you don't want to put it off. I've been informed that I am probably fine as the prescriptions are new (only three months old), but I (and you) shouldn't put it off, just in case.
Basically, I have posted a ton of words for one very simple point. If you have any change in medications after your application is submitted, you want to contact your coordinator and check if you should submit a new Physician's Form ASAP.
This first topic is the Physician's Form. So, this is a part of the original application process if you have certain situations, like medications or medical conditions or a couple other things. I filled this out because I have severe food allergies (I have the form posted somewhere earlier in my blog I believe), but I didn't realize that I should submit a new one when my medications changed. I have struggled with anxiety and depression for a long time and have decided to finally speak up about it. I don't want to go in depth about it, however, I want people to know that updating this information with your coordinator as soon as you can is a good choice.
I didn't think of sending a new form when my medications changed, so I had to do it when I got upgraded. Changes in your physician's form could cause disqualification, so you don't want to put it off. I've been informed that I am probably fine as the prescriptions are new (only three months old), but I (and you) shouldn't put it off, just in case.
Basically, I have posted a ton of words for one very simple point. If you have any change in medications after your application is submitted, you want to contact your coordinator and check if you should submit a new Physician's Form ASAP.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Placement Info!!!
I just realized that I forgot to update that I received my placement! I am a Hiroshima-ken ALT ^_^ So, I am a prefectural JET! However, I have yet to be contacted by a predecessor and, as I have yet to get home, I haven't seen if I have any further information in my mailbox. But, HIROSHIMA WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
Almost Organized
I am still on my way home from my vacation at the Pennsic War, but I wanted to stop in and give a brief update on things. I will try to be more thorough and devote more time to each separate topic, however, I really don't want to forget some of the advice I have at this point.
First of all, if you are an alternate, as soon as you find out, I highly suggest going through all the forms for shortlist candidates. I didn't do the IRS form or Certificate of Health because I didn't want to obsess about waiting for an upgrade. This was a mistake. If I could go back in time and do it again, I would have filled out my IRS form back when I was notified of my alternate status and I would have had everything ready to go as soon as I got upgraded. As it is, I was traveling and had limited access to computers and payment options, so I am filling out my forms to get properly mailed tomorrow morning.
Second, Susan in Boston sent some great info (it looks like all US JETs get it) on doing the IRS form; LOOK AT ALL THE INFO! I didn't look until later and it makes me a dumbass, even if my situation was a bit difficult. Also, the IRS directions are fairly clear and picking up a phone is easy enough to do and they are just an (irritating) phone call away. But, definitely read all the information available to you and don't assume anything.
Thirdly, if you are like me and love to be over-prepared for everything, but often fail at it, be in constant contact with your coordinator about any and all changes and carry that IRS form in an envelope with a stamp on any vacation you might take. I had a change in medication, but I had assumed that I was not going to be upgraded and so I didn't contact JET. Susan doesn't think it will be an issue, but I need to get a new Physician's Form sent out ASAP just in case it is a problem and my upgrade is rescinded. As for the envelope, I really truly wish I had bothered looking at the IRS form. I think it might be my new reference letter obsession. If I had had two envelopes and two forms ready to go, I would have been in grand form to mail my stuff out the day I got the upgrade.
Fourth, and last of all, do NOT obsess waiting for an upgrade. I had moved on, I had interviewed for a shift supervisor position, I was off to vacation. I was no longer thinking about JET as my upcoming year (though it being an option was a lovely thought), so when the call came, I was absolutely ecstatic, but the wait wasn't awful because I was ready to have a great life either way.
So, I think that's my main list of things that I didn't want to forget. I will be home in Maine tomorrow evening and I will do my best to spend more time on individual forms and whatnot.
First of all, if you are an alternate, as soon as you find out, I highly suggest going through all the forms for shortlist candidates. I didn't do the IRS form or Certificate of Health because I didn't want to obsess about waiting for an upgrade. This was a mistake. If I could go back in time and do it again, I would have filled out my IRS form back when I was notified of my alternate status and I would have had everything ready to go as soon as I got upgraded. As it is, I was traveling and had limited access to computers and payment options, so I am filling out my forms to get properly mailed tomorrow morning.
Second, Susan in Boston sent some great info (it looks like all US JETs get it) on doing the IRS form; LOOK AT ALL THE INFO! I didn't look until later and it makes me a dumbass, even if my situation was a bit difficult. Also, the IRS directions are fairly clear and picking up a phone is easy enough to do and they are just an (irritating) phone call away. But, definitely read all the information available to you and don't assume anything.
Thirdly, if you are like me and love to be over-prepared for everything, but often fail at it, be in constant contact with your coordinator about any and all changes and carry that IRS form in an envelope with a stamp on any vacation you might take. I had a change in medication, but I had assumed that I was not going to be upgraded and so I didn't contact JET. Susan doesn't think it will be an issue, but I need to get a new Physician's Form sent out ASAP just in case it is a problem and my upgrade is rescinded. As for the envelope, I really truly wish I had bothered looking at the IRS form. I think it might be my new reference letter obsession. If I had had two envelopes and two forms ready to go, I would have been in grand form to mail my stuff out the day I got the upgrade.
Fourth, and last of all, do NOT obsess waiting for an upgrade. I had moved on, I had interviewed for a shift supervisor position, I was off to vacation. I was no longer thinking about JET as my upcoming year (though it being an option was a lovely thought), so when the call came, I was absolutely ecstatic, but the wait wasn't awful because I was ready to have a great life either way.
So, I think that's my main list of things that I didn't want to forget. I will be home in Maine tomorrow evening and I will do my best to spend more time on individual forms and whatnot.
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