I’m wondering whether there is a big group orientation like there is for shortlist candidates or if we trickle in one by one. For context I’m meant to be going in October
No orientation. I came over solo. Though other alternates who shared consulates came in small groups.
There wasn’t much orientation for us shortlisters either. 90% was online.
Because I was upgraded early on, I left with the shortlisted group.
I think they usually go individually unless there’s a large group of you going at the same time. I was upgraded in June and could have gone with the shortlist group but opted to go with a group of other early upgrades a week later and we had a mini orientation in Tokyo. But I think we only got that bc there was so many of us (like 50ish). That was also 2018, things could be different now.
I think upgrades typically (under normal conditions) go to Japan individually. However, there are times when upgrades might be departing with a larger group as others have mentioned.
I’m not sure how orientation is now, but when we did orientation, it was all online (I think they’ll continue to do it this way). We were able to connect with other JET participants a little bit, but everyone goes to different locations. That being said, you will likely have other JETs in your area that you can also connect with. They could be in different cities or towns. If you’re interested in connecting with other incoming first year participants, I believe there are many discord communities floating around for different consulates.
If you’re interested in other orientations or workshops, I think CLAIR or some AJET associations sometimes host them (not so much in recent years due to covid). You might be able to check those out.
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No orientation. I came over solo. Though other alternates who shared consulates came in small groups.
There wasn’t much orientation for us shortlisters either. 90% was online.
Because I was upgraded early on, I left with the shortlisted group.
I think they usually go individually unless there’s a large group of you going at the same time. I was upgraded in June and could have gone with the shortlist group but opted to go with a group of other early upgrades a week later and we had a mini orientation in Tokyo. But I think we only got that bc there was so many of us (like 50ish). That was also 2018, things could be different now.
I think upgrades typically (under normal conditions) go to Japan individually. However, there are times when upgrades might be departing with a larger group as others have mentioned.
I’m not sure how orientation is now, but when we did orientation, it was all online (I think they’ll continue to do it this way). We were able to connect with other JET participants a little bit, but everyone goes to different locations. That being said, you will likely have other JETs in your area that you can also connect with. They could be in different cities or towns. If you’re interested in connecting with other incoming first year participants, I believe there are many discord communities floating around for different consulates.
If you’re interested in other orientations or workshops, I think CLAIR or some AJET associations sometimes host them (not so much in recent years due to covid). You might be able to check those out.