How I came to JET

So my story is a little different than most. I haven't started JET yet and here I am in Hokkaido.

I'm currently staying at a friend's house while I wait for JET to start.
I assure you this is not how I saw it happening at all. I was supposed to be working for GEOS until July 17th but things did not go according to plan.
So let's start from the beginning and steal from the article I wrote for the Polestar (Hokkaido's JET Newsletter).


The process of being hired by GEOS was fast and quite pleasant. The only negative was that I had to travel a long way for the interview. One person I interviewed with had to come to Toronto, Canada from Texas. The interview itself was long and stressful, lasting two full days with eliminations a few times a day. The results, however, came only a few days after the interview. On average the process took less than a month and most people could be in Japan within two to three months. I left later than this as I hadn't graduated yet. It was a bit of a roller coaster and yet, I'm sure many JETs might agree, much more merciful if a bit hectic.


When preparing for the new life waiting in Japan, we were only given a town name. There was no contact with our predecessor beforehand. Most people never had any contact with them even after they arrived unless the predecessor's contract overlapped with the new teacher's. The only information about my school was given during my pre-departure training which occurred a few days before take off in Vancouver. During the training we went over the teaching manuals and guidelines of the company with a few other trainees. We even had to do a model lesson with a real student. This was quite a stressful period as they still reserved the right to let me go if I was not up to their standards.

The departure was very unceremonious as was the arrival. We were left on our own to make our way to the airport even having been allowed to choose between several flights so long as we arrived on the right day. In Narita I was met by one person who took me as far Tokyo and from that point I was on my own. After 4 hours of trains I arrived in my town where a few minutes later a woman came down the street to meet me. This woman was to be my future coworker, a Japanese English teacher, known as a JET. I was a native English teacher, a NET.

Before arrival we were assured that we would be working with a manager, at least one JET and possibly another NET. I found out I was in one of the supposedly rare situations where I had no manager. I was in a rather small city and a small school so this wasn't too shocking. I thought that it would be fine but it led to much more of the business and paperwork being handled by us, the teachers. It also meant I had much more contact with the upper levels of GEOS both through emails and phone calls. Things got worse as my JET was transferred and the substitute quit leaving me to run the school on my own. When money issues came up I had to call a manager who would occasionally visit. I worked alone for approximately seven months.

This extra work was stressful and yet the students were all amazing individuals. They ranged from children to adults. Many of the children's parents were friendly and would visit with me in the lobby. The adult students were very kind and I grew to enjoy their company greatly.





My students were the reason that even as my job got harder I could not imagine leaving. I truly felt a part of the business community during the seven months I worked alone. I even formed friendships with neighbouring shop owners and staff. These relationships with both students and local shop employees are the reasons that I would never look back on this job as a waste of time.



Suspicions and rumours were rampant amongst GEOS employees since 2009. Many thought the company did not have long to live and people often wondered to one another whether or not they would be paid that month. NETs had never been paid late but there were several months where it was rumoured that JETs or managers were not paid on time, but the delay was only a few days. With this in mind I applied for the JET Programme and was lucky enough to be shortlisted early this April. I was very relieved as I thought from that point on the drama with GEOS was over.

It was only a day later, that we received notice that they were planning to close approximately 80 schools within the next year. None of us were told exactly when or how this would happen but many small schools, including mine, and a few bigger schools were on the list. I felt extremely betrayed at this point as they had renewed nearly 80% of my students just weeks before. This meant that my students had paid for lessons that they might or might not be receiving.

I barely had time to process this, however, as only a week after that, we were sent a foreboding e-mail which announced that we had to fax all of our students' contracts to head office and that we would be required to attend a video-chat meeting the following work week before working hours. The weekend was filled with speculation and tension. The meeting came and went but nothing new was discussed and it was very short. Everyone was relieved, though a little annoyed at having had to come to work early for it. We were assured that we would be paid the overtime.

The same day as the first meeting, April 20th, another e-mail was sent out. This one was nearly identical to the first in that it asked us to attend a video-chat meeting the next morning before work. This time people were worried and yet a lot more relaxed as the first had been nothing shocking. This one was shocking, however. I was awakened by a call the morning of the 21st from one of my friends who had attended an earlier meeting stating that she was on her way to the train station to catch a shinkansen. GEOS had declared bankruptcy. I rushed into work to find e-mails instructing me to call all of my students and cancel that day's lessons, as well as the following day's lessons. My stomach sank as I read the e-mail addressed to schools that had been on the closing list. This e-mail told us that we would not be reopening again. The day before had been my final day of teaching. I rushed to board a train to Tokyo myself to attend the meeting officially announcing the end of GEOS.

GEOs staff were asked to attend meetings to explain the future of the company. Unfortunately many of the teachers working for schools that were closing were not given any answers and asked to wait for phone calls. The one thing we were told for certain was that we were not going to be paid for the previous month's work. Many of us went home wondering how long we could even continue to live in our apartments if we weren't being paid. Receiving no phone call until weeks later many people in schools which were closing packed up their belongings and returned to their home country before the end of the month. Those who worked in schools which remained open were offered the opportunity to start working again as of the 23rd of April with the new company. I know some people who did this, and others who didn't. Some people working for schools that closed waited for phone calls hoping they would find a new job in a different school. I was fortunate enough to move up north to Hokkaido and stay with a friend until I start my new job with the JET Programme in Kitami-shi, Hokkaido.

All in all, while the experience was one of instability and stress it also led to the founding of many friendships which I do and will always treasure. I enjoyed teaching in an eikaiwa, as did many of my friends, but working for a large company that never truly communicated with me as an employee was not something I would care to do again. This is not to say that all eikaiwa are terrible to work at or that everyone in GEOS had an experience like mine. As the old JET saying goes: 'Every Situation is Different.'

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