Hey all,
I haven’t been back to Japan since I left over 10 years ago post JET, and thought it was time to go back. Any alum have tips on this experience? (Or current JETs with thoughts like “omg, this former alum did this and it was AWFUL, please don’t do that”).
I taught at 14 diff JHS and ES, and am bringing my english speaking spouse. I want to show them all of the schools and meet old teachers. It’s been so long that I’ve forgotten a lot about life there—I think it’ll be summer break, so I plan on just rolling up to schools and dropping in and asking the school staff if it’s OK to walk around and say hello, but also don’t want to be too disruptive.
Thanks!
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EDIT:
Thanks everyone for your comments—I’m glad I asked. I will definitely reach out to schools (or people connected to them that I can find) and let them know I’m thinking about visiting so they have a heads up, and schedule a time to prevent disruption and hassle for the schools and staff. Again, as it will be summer break when I get there, I’m hoping it won’t be \*too\* inconvenient for them.
As for why I didn’t keep in touch over these years—difficult personal things were happening there and back home as I was also leaving, so I wasn’t able to spend as much time on the goodbyes/連絡先 logistics as I wanted to—frankly, I was pretty overwhelmed by the end.
I was hoping to keep in touch through email, but found out the hard way that keitai email addresses can’t be communicated with by regular email (at least in the 2010s). I was really sad to find that out, and regretted not getting other contact info.
I also did that stupid thing where I felt ashamed of myself for not contacting them, and ashamed about my Japanese level which was deteriorating having been away, and thus further avoided reaching out. Going through some of the worst depression of my life for a few years did not help this, and likely contributed to my difficulty getting in contact again. I also quit facebook for mental health (and shame) reasons, which also made it difficult to reach out.
Anyways. I am still good friends with someone who has family there, but isn’t a teacher, which is why I was reaching out specifically for the school advice. I know how to make plans to hang out with those in the community that I met through festival taiko etc…the school bit was just a bit overwhelming, especially with so many.
I guess I should have taken a bit more time writing this post—I was a bit in a rush, and didn’t explain some things properly. For the record, I definitely was not going back to the schools for the kids whom I am well aware are all grown now (and frankly, I would feel creepy seeking them out, even if some of them are grown adults now. I’m thinking I’ll take the therapist tack, and only say hi to a former a student if they approach me first)—it’s for the teachers and staff. Since I was friendly with many of them (caretakers, office staff, nurses, music teachers, teachers of various grades, dietitians, etc), I thought it would be an easy way to quickly say hello to lots of people at once, while also showing my spouse the wonderful diversity/character of schools in my city (which I assume used to be at least 5 different little towns before), which were such a large part (but not the only part) of my life there. I don’t know if that will be possible anymore—I certainly don’t want to be a burden to the schools and staff, but I do plan on trying.
I understand that in 10 years a lot of staff have probably moved. I just thought that maybe because I had interfaced with so many of them, that there might still be a few left at each school, even if they were in different places now. If I’m lucky, I guess I’ll find out soon enough.
Thanks again for the responses. I hope this post is also helpful for anyone in the future who is thinking about going back.
15 comments
If you’ve been gone for 10 years there might not be much of anyone to remember you. Certainly no students that you taught and maybe not even teachers.
Do you have anyone you’ve kept in contact with all this time?
I don’t imagine it would be easy to just stroll up to the gates claiming to be a former ALT.
If it’s nostalgia you want to satisfy, your best bet might be to find someone who remembers you and can vouch for you to visit when classes are out.
I occasionally see former students just drop in and say hello to their former teachers a year or two after graduating, so while it’s not an every day thing, I don’t see why it would be a huge problem, of course every school is different so who knows… They might be more confused given you’re an ALT. I doubt the teachers really visit their old schools that much. The graduates who I’ve seen visit tend not to wander around the school though, they just go round the staffroom and say hello, or even wait outside the staffroom while teachers come to greet them.
Bear in mind though, it’s been 10 years, schools might be closed or very different, and won’t all of them have different staff than you remember? Teachers get transferred pretty regularly…
But you know, be polite, don’t be disruptive, I doubt it’ll be a huge deal… Maybe bring some proof you used to go there, old photos or whatever.
I think it’s a wonderful thought, but I agree with the gist of what others are saying, that you should get in touch with someone first (former colleague, current ALT, or even the BoE directly) to possibly arrange something.
Teachers rotate frequently (two-three years). In fact, where I worked, there was an 8-year limit before teachers were forced to change schools. After 10 years, I imagine the staff rooms will look very different.
While there are likely people who remember you, it’s very unlikely that they’ll still be in the same place. Even in my small town, there are almost no teachers or boe members who were here when I started 5 years ago. The teachers and or boe members who you had a good relationship with and who may remember you are likely now working at a school in a different town or working in a different department of the town office. If you drop in, there likely won’t be any familiar faces there.
I think your best bet would probably be to revisit some of your old haunts. Restaurants or hikes that you liked etc. If you still have the contact info for anyone you knew then it’d definitely be worth it to reach out. While your coworkers have likely all moved to new work places, the owner of your favorite bar might still be around. He may not remember you, but he’ll likely be tickled that you remember him and can update you on how the town’s changed in the last 10 years
Hmmm… It’s been so long that your best hope is that some of the ES pupils have become teachers and might remember their first ‘zany’ gaijin experience.
I am sure the current ALTs won’t be impressed when you resurface again after 10 plus years.
The former ALT for my town from 10ish years ago came to visit in May, they contacted someone in town who then put them in contact with me. This meant that I could introduce them to people and take them on a tour inside the schools without it being too strange. I highly recommend trying to contact either a current ALT in your town or someone else who will remember you from back when you were there.
None of the students you know will be there, and you will be lucky if you spot any of your old staff. You must have had hundreds though, right? What do you want to gain from this experience? You could possibly go on HelloTalk and Tandem and see if your old students (now adults) are knocking about and learning English.
I think it is a huge safeguarding issue to let an unknown adult into a school. Sure, you may have been known at some point in the past, but anything could have changed in your background between then. Unless you are employed at the school, I wouldn’t want to go back there. Are you even working within the same BOE? I am not accusing you of anything, as obviously you have passed a background check to go on JET again. I am just saying this is how a school will see you.
We went back to the town we lived in after 20 years. It was very trippy because so much had changed but we had such clear memories of the place that we loved so much. We saw a couple of old friends which was so nice, but it was also a bit like that reverse culture shock feeling where people’s lives have gone on while you’ve been gone (including yours!).
If you want to do it, you should! I am sure your spouse will love seeing what you’ve been talking about all these years. We didn’t go back to our schools because we were both here together and didn’t feel the need but I would think it would be very interesting to someone who is new to Japan.
It was just a bit strange for us because it was one of the best times of our lives and the current realities didn’t completely match our very vivid memories. But I’m glad we went back! Enjoy!
Mine were happier to see me over the current JET.
I think you should bear in mind that schools are there for the benefit of the students. To educate and protect them. I agree with the other poster who says it is a massive safeguarding issue to just let any adult turn up. It also puts any staff who are still working there in an uncomfortable position – this is their work place. If you did have good connections with people, you would still be in touch with them now through appropriate channels and not just turning up at their work. I think you are thinking about this from the own benefit and not from the viewpoint of the staff, students and parents who the schools are there to serve. You say you want to visit all 14 schools… why? I’m sorry because I’m sure you mean no harm but I can’t be the only one reading this and thinking the same. It crosses quite a few boundaries. It is a school… it isn’t a social club.
Personally I wouldn’t go past the school gates. Given staff rotation, you will possibly remember staff who were at different schools and have now moved to the school you are visiting, but I think it will be a bit awkward for everyone – what to do with the foreigner that’s just turned up? Teachers are busy and even if they remember you, you probably only worked closely with a handful. Maybe the office ladies will still be there if they haven’t retired.
Try to call the school in advance and schedule an appointment!! It’s a big issue to have someone that isn’t affiliated with the school anymore just show up. It’s a safety issue too. My school had that issue with an older man who just showed up and said he use to attend?!?! It disrupted the school day and caused problems. All of which could have been avoid if you set up an appointment ahead of time. I know it’s a pain but! Schools prioritize their students education & safety.
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Unless you call ahead and get the go ahead I’d not go on campus. If I was a school principal and some random foreigner popped round unannounced wanting to go “hang out with the kids” I’d be reporting them to the police as a potential pedophile.
I’ve been back to my jet placement a couple of times because I have friends there to visit. Don’t bother with the schools since I don’t know anyone there anymore. Kids are grown up, teachers shifted around. No point. If I hear from a friend that someone I know is there, it’s fine to pop round to say hello to so and so teacher, presumably when it’s not busy. But the kids? Why would I want to just walk around and say hello to a bunch of kids I don’t even know?
So yeah terrible idea all around.
UPDATE: For anyone who cares, and for posterity for anyone else who may be on this path in the future, I got in touch with someone I was friends with who works at City Hall, who asked around about who I should talk to ask about visiting schools. They put me in touch with the person at the BOE who is responsible for coordinating things between schools and principals. He actually remembered me, and how much I loved the town, schools, and students, and some personal details about my younger self, which was very sweet. I remembered him too! (He was a teacher before.)
He then said he’d contact the principals letting me know that I’ll be visiting the schools during the dates I’ll be there, and might drop by with my spouse. So… pretty chill! Not nearly as bad as I thought it might be, haha.
Apparently though several of my schools have closed (and gotten subsumed into others), and he noted that some teachers have retired, there will be many who know me… and one of my students now teaches (someone totally called this in the comments, haha)—I guess I’ll find out who when I go back!
I may update how it goes.
Thanks again to all who commented and helped me realize that I should really get in touch before showing up—I feel much better about going now, and am excited to see who is still around, and share this special corner of the world with my spouse.