AJET
A few months ago Aaron was offered the position of RPA, I must admit that at the time I was a bit jealous. It is a cool position, giving him the opportunity to interact with the JET’s in our region and be involved in the professional development conferences at the prefectural level. It gave him a chance to be a little more involved in this upcoming year as a second year JET, and I felt a bit left out.
That’s where AJET comes in. AJET is an organization that was founded at the same time as the JET Program. The goal of AJET is to enhance each persons JET experience by organizing social and cultural events.
This year we have attended most of the AJET events that were hosted (enkais, Doburoku festival, Ski Weekend, Camp Horado, Hanabi, and a few others). For the most part, the events have been successful, fun, and a great way to bond with other JET’s and experience bits and pieces of Japan that we would have missed otherwise.
So, a few weeks ago, when they put out the call asking for new people to join AJET and replace those that are leaving, I thought I would give it a go.
Last night we had our first meeting and I was really pleased that there was such a great group of people. Everyone seemed to be really excited and energized about the upcoming year and ready to plan some great events.
I have never really been an overly active social person. I have always sort of shied away from beginning at the core of the action, preferring to enter when and if I feel like it. But this next year will be different, this next year will be a good challenge for me.
I am looking forward to starting to plan some new events. I am especially looking forward to planning events for the beginning of the new JET year. I know how important those events were to us when we came to Japan initially, and it will be a great way to make those first few days and weeks a little more comfortable for all the new folks coming in.
I am really starting to get excited about all the new people. Sure, I am sad that so many of our good friends are leaving this year, but it should be a great opportunity to build new friendships and meet some new and interesting people. Only a few more weeks now….