This article originally featured in the October 2021 issue of Connect. Lauren Bertolino (Gifu) So you want to fly to Japan! That’s the easy part. Although COVID-era travel restrictions have made the process of entering Japan much more difficult than it once was, being prepared and knowing
This article originally featured in the March 2021 issue of Connect. Patrick Loyer (Shizuoka) It’s been a hard year for everyone. Being in another country adds another dimension to it, and normally, our escape is in the form of traveling. I finished JET in 2015 and have since
This article originally featured in the October 2020 issue of Connect. by Derek Hurst (Nagano) How has COVID affected student loan repayment? This is a big one for a lot of people (non-Americans included), and fortunately there’s a lot of reason to see that as terrible as
This article originally featured in the October 2020 issue of Connect. by Rishma Hansil (Tokyo) For many ALT teachers across Japan, there have been massive changes to our language learning lessons post COVID-19 lockdown. Students have returned to schools with a strict list of measures in place
This article originally featured in the September 2020 issue of Connect. Simon Yates (Osaka) WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN YOUR COMMUNITY? My name is Simon Yates, I’m from the UK. I came to Japan straight out of university at the age of 23 and went to Japan thinking
This article originally featured in the May 2020 issue of Connect. By Rachel Boellstorff (Okayama) My world right now is small. I’ve been isolated in my apartment for weeks now. When I began to feel the first twinges of illness, I confined myself to my apartment. Even though
This article originally featured in the May 2020 issue of Connect. How to Keep Safe and Sane at this Uncertain Time Caroline Allen (Tottori) We’re living in historic and unpredictable times. Our newsfeeds are full of anxiety-inducing facts about the spread of a virus with no cure, invisible
This article originally featured in the May 2020 issue of Connect. The Landscape of Meetups in Stay-at-Home Japan By Eli Ferster (Kyoto) The community centers are closed, cafes and other meeting spots vacant, but for many, online Meetups keep them connected to the events they’ve come to count
This article originally featured in the April 2020 issue of Connect. Coronavirus, or COVID-19, has, in the space of a few short weeks, become an international problem. At the time of writing, the disease has been confirmed in 113 countries and territories with well over 110,000 cases. (1)