EDIT: I should clarify that I’d like to hear about other people’s experiences, not indirectly ask how I ought to introduce myself. I’m genuinely interested in hearing some anecdotes.
I’m an incoming JET, so haven’t yet. One of the ALTs at my placement said this was their intro: Hajimemashite. Name desu (tomoshimasu – polite). America kara kimashita. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
I’m gonna add my age, and my previous job (TA – only cuz it’s relevant), a couple hobbies.
Plenty of self intros on YouTube, if you don’t n ow how to in Japanese, start memorizing it now. I’m an incoming jet too so I haven’t done any but I already know how to say most things for jikoshoukai. Just tailor it to the audience…mention you like anime for students, maybe leave that out if you’re introducing yourself to the principal
My first day I walked into the school yard and approached the first staff member I saw, basically just said hajimemashite, illumium to omoushimasu, atarashii ALT desu, JTEsensei wo sagashiteimasu. I got taken into the staffroom and was up and down from my chair giving a brief JKSK to every staff member that came in. The vice principal gave me a tour of the school then I met up with my JTE, we went through a few bits of admin then we jumped straight into lessons. I had to do two formal jikoshoukai, one for the staff and one for the students, but that came a bit later after I was all settled in. Overall it was a really smooth experience but there is of course the dreaded ESID. Good luck!
Showed up in my stanky ass suit soaked in sweat because someone thought it was a cute idea that we all had to wear our suits in peak summer and humidity in the 30 min walk from Keio to the station while carrying all our luggage. No business casual no cool biz no nothing.
Had to go around in that suit and introduce myself to BoE and schools. They probably smelled me before they saw me.
On my literal first day, I just introduced myself to every person in the BoE office and vice versa. I was really excited because they were all so friendly and kind. Throat felt sorta weird at the end of the day. Next day, I am progressively feeling shittier. Supervisor took me out to drive to each school in the town so I could A. practice and B. meet all the principals and shit. Throat was REALLY fucked by halfway through the day, pounding headache. Kind of stopped talking (not that I could say much anyway since I don’t know Japanese), voice sounds goofier and goofier.
Wake up, notice my tonsils are fucking gigantic, like squeezed against each other. I sounded like Stitch from Disney. Just randomly reveloped tonsilitis somehow at the end of quarantine. So then I had to take like 4 days off and everyone asked me if my throat was okay for the next two months.
I got taken around to every department of the BOE and had to give the most basic self intro. Literally 初めまして、[name]です。よろしくお願いします (hajimemashite, [name] desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu). Then I got driven around and introduced too all the town big wigs. Those were more sit down conversations, but someone from the BOE acted as translator. They just asked really basic questions about my favorite food and stuff
There was the first day introduction with the supervisors. Something very casual. Then all jets in the city had an official introduction with the boe, the mayor, and other officials.
At school, I introduced myself to teachers during the morning meeting on my first day. Mid-week, I introduced myself to the students during the morning assembly.
Turned up at my school, said my name, country of origin, hobbies and yoroshiku onegaishimasu to the teachers room daily meeting and sat down after. Nothing fancy really.
As a CIR, I was guided around to introduce myself to numerous places – the town hall, the tourist info center where I primarily work, the BOE, the high school (I’ll primarily give cultural presentations there), the hotels (I have to know about them for my job at the tourist info center), the hospital, and finally the community get together center. It was a LOT, but it gave me good experience in passing and receiving meishi, or business cards.
(Small mountain town)
I had a rolling series of introductions on my first two days:
1. BOE staff picked me up from the prefectual orientation. Sort of a handshake-nice-to-meet-you thing
2. Next morning I went to the town hall and it was sort of a blur but I remember my vice-principal/translator sticking a microphone in my hand and me having to derp-derp my name and country to the entire town hall staff
2a. The town’s journalist asked me some questions after and took a super doofy photo of me for the town paper
3. My JHS introduction was the usual name, country, yoroshiku at the morning staff meeting. I can’t remember why exactly but I didn’t do an introduction with the students (all 34 of them in the school…lol)
First days in Japan (smallish city):
* Picked up at the airport, driven to apartments. Then, it’s our tradition that all current ALTs coordinate things and offer to take the new arrivals out to dinner on night one.
* Day two the BoE takes the new arrivals in the morning to sign up for bank accounts and sign some paperwork. In the afternoon, the BoE gives current ALTs permission to take the afternoon off to go with the new arrivals to stores (like nitori) or whathave-you, anything that’s useful.
* At some point between arrival and the first working day there’s a ceremony at the BoE, followed by meeting our JTEs. We’re usually driven to our schools to meet the other teachers and maybe the principal, but since it’s summer, we don’t get the chance to meet everyone.
First day of school:
* Give a speech to only the teachers during the staff meeting, then another speech in front of the whole school later in the day. There’s examples online I’m sure, either youtube or on this sub.
* Bunch of planning with all the new teachers.
I came in November. Introduced myself to the important people at town hall first day of arrival. First day of school I gave an introduction to the staff room and then in the gym to the entire student body.
First day was insane. We traveled for about 5 hours from Tokyo, and then immediately met everyone at the town hall and the BOE. It was all a blur to be honest lol
Small/Medium-sized city. I’m prefectural/SHS.
Arrived after a long shinkansen trip and was met at the station by my supervisor and another JTE at the station, as well as BoE staff for the new city JETs. My supervisor took me to…it’s actually a bit of a blur here. I think we went to school first, met the principal and gave a very short welcome speech to the teachers (Like about a paragraph length at most, nothing huge) and got stuff from the office, and collected my baggage that had been sent ahead. We went to the bank (And met the other new JETs there too) and got our accounts set up. Then we went to my apartment and met someone from the city and did a brief look over, to make sure everything was fine (He changed a couple of bulbs, showed me how the gas/water heater works) and that was about it, I think? I honestly don’t remember what happened after those three things. I think I might have then gone back to school for the day, and then taken out for dinner by one of the JTEs, who then took me to a supermarket to buy things on the way home.
They escorted me out to the playground where all of the kids were standing and made me do a self intro on a plinth. I was not prepared for this scale, but apparently it’s a very usual thing to do!
Did anyone have a more western style handshake sort of intro? Especially during COVID?
At the BOE on my first day after arriving at my placement, they had me give a little speech introducing myself to my Japanese colleagues. For each of my schools I gave the same speech in the office. I had intro lessons with each new class and since I had so many schools that’s kind of all I did for the first month after school began.
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I’m an incoming JET, so haven’t yet. One of the ALTs at my placement said this was their intro:
Hajimemashite.
Name desu (tomoshimasu – polite).
America kara kimashita.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
I’m gonna add my age, and my previous job (TA – only cuz it’s relevant), a couple hobbies.
Plenty of self intros on YouTube, if you don’t n ow how to in Japanese, start memorizing it now. I’m an incoming jet too so I haven’t done any but I already know how to say most things for jikoshoukai. Just tailor it to the audience…mention you like anime for students, maybe leave that out if you’re introducing yourself to the principal
My first day I walked into the school yard and approached the first staff member I saw, basically just said hajimemashite, illumium to omoushimasu, atarashii ALT desu, JTEsensei wo sagashiteimasu. I got taken into the staffroom and was up and down from my chair giving a brief JKSK to every staff member that came in. The vice principal gave me a tour of the school then I met up with my JTE, we went through a few bits of admin then we jumped straight into lessons. I had to do two formal jikoshoukai, one for the staff and one for the students, but that came a bit later after I was all settled in. Overall it was a really smooth experience but there is of course the dreaded ESID. Good luck!
Showed up in my stanky ass suit soaked in sweat because someone thought it was a cute idea that we all had to wear our suits in peak summer and humidity in the 30 min walk from Keio to the station while carrying all our luggage. No business casual no cool biz no nothing.
Had to go around in that suit and introduce myself to BoE and schools. They probably smelled me before they saw me.
On my literal first day, I just introduced myself to every person in the BoE office and vice versa. I was really excited because they were all so friendly and kind. Throat felt sorta weird at the end of the day. Next day, I am progressively feeling shittier. Supervisor took me out to drive to each school in the town so I could A. practice and B. meet all the principals and shit. Throat was REALLY fucked by halfway through the day, pounding headache. Kind of stopped talking (not that I could say much anyway since I don’t know Japanese), voice sounds goofier and goofier.
Wake up, notice my tonsils are fucking gigantic, like squeezed against each other. I sounded like Stitch from Disney. Just randomly reveloped tonsilitis somehow at the end of quarantine. So then I had to take like 4 days off and everyone asked me if my throat was okay for the next two months.
I got taken around to every department of the BOE and had to give the most basic self intro. Literally 初めまして、[name]です。よろしくお願いします (hajimemashite, [name] desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu). Then I got driven around and introduced too all the town big wigs. Those were more sit down conversations, but someone from the BOE acted as translator. They just asked really basic questions about my favorite food and stuff
There was the first day introduction with the supervisors. Something very casual. Then all jets in the city had an official introduction with the boe, the mayor, and other officials.
At school, I introduced myself to teachers during the morning meeting on my first day. Mid-week, I introduced myself to the students during the morning assembly.
Turned up at my school, said my name, country of origin, hobbies and yoroshiku onegaishimasu to the teachers room daily meeting and sat down after. Nothing fancy really.
As a CIR, I was guided around to introduce myself to numerous places – the town hall, the tourist info center where I primarily work, the BOE, the high school (I’ll primarily give cultural presentations there), the hotels (I have to know about them for my job at the tourist info center), the hospital, and finally the community get together center. It was a LOT, but it gave me good experience in passing and receiving meishi, or business cards.
(Small mountain town)
I had a rolling series of introductions on my first two days:
1. BOE staff picked me up from the prefectual orientation. Sort of a handshake-nice-to-meet-you thing
2. Next morning I went to the town hall and it was sort of a blur but I remember my vice-principal/translator sticking a microphone in my hand and me having to derp-derp my name and country to the entire town hall staff
2a. The town’s journalist asked me some questions after and took a super doofy photo of me for the town paper
3. My JHS introduction was the usual name, country, yoroshiku at the morning staff meeting. I can’t remember why exactly but I didn’t do an introduction with the students (all 34 of them in the school…lol)
First days in Japan (smallish city):
* Picked up at the airport, driven to apartments. Then, it’s our tradition that all current ALTs coordinate things and offer to take the new arrivals out to dinner on night one.
* Day two the BoE takes the new arrivals in the morning to sign up for bank accounts and sign some paperwork. In the afternoon, the BoE gives current ALTs permission to take the afternoon off to go with the new arrivals to stores (like nitori) or whathave-you, anything that’s useful.
* At some point between arrival and the first working day there’s a ceremony at the BoE, followed by meeting our JTEs. We’re usually driven to our schools to meet the other teachers and maybe the principal, but since it’s summer, we don’t get the chance to meet everyone.
First day of school:
* Give a speech to only the teachers during the staff meeting, then another speech in front of the whole school later in the day. There’s examples online I’m sure, either youtube or on this sub.
* Bunch of planning with all the new teachers.
I came in November.
Introduced myself to the important people at town hall first day of arrival.
First day of school I gave an introduction to the staff room and then in the gym to the entire student body.
First day was insane. We traveled for about 5 hours from Tokyo, and then immediately met everyone at the town hall and the BOE. It was all a blur to be honest lol
Small/Medium-sized city. I’m prefectural/SHS.
Arrived after a long shinkansen trip and was met at the station by my supervisor and another JTE at the station, as well as BoE staff for the new city JETs. My supervisor took me to…it’s actually a bit of a blur here. I think we went to school first, met the principal and gave a very short welcome speech to the teachers (Like about a paragraph length at most, nothing huge) and got stuff from the office, and collected my baggage that had been sent ahead. We went to the bank (And met the other new JETs there too) and got our accounts set up. Then we went to my apartment and met someone from the city and did a brief look over, to make sure everything was fine (He changed a couple of bulbs, showed me how the gas/water heater works) and that was about it, I think? I honestly don’t remember what happened after those three things. I think I might have then gone back to school for the day, and then taken out for dinner by one of the JTEs, who then took me to a supermarket to buy things on the way home.
They escorted me out to the playground where all of the kids were standing and made me do a self intro on a plinth. I was not prepared for this scale, but apparently it’s a very usual thing to do!
Did anyone have a more western style handshake sort of intro? Especially during COVID?
At the BOE on my first day after arriving at my placement, they had me give a little speech introducing myself to my Japanese colleagues. For each of my schools I gave the same speech in the office. I had intro lessons with each new class and since I had so many schools that’s kind of all I did for the first month after school began.