| | Should I Stay or Should I Go? by Melissa Villarreal & Ian Woozley
Perhaps the biggest decision you will have to make while you are here in Niigata, provided your contracting organization is willing, is whether to renew for another year or not. This is a decision that needs to be made by the end of January. Consequently, as winter starts to settle in, you might start asking yourself a lot of questions. The problem is that, for some, winter is probably the worst time to be making this decision, especially if you can see your breath when you wake up every morning and then have to dig yourself out of your front door. These are the times you miss central heating and insulation, unless you're one of those people inclined to strap yourself to a piece of wood and fly down a beautiful, scary, steep, pine-tree-scattered, snow-smothered mountain...mmmm ...weeeee! ... Anyhoo, CLAIR needs to get the ball rolling for next year's lot and so has to have your decision by February. If the winter is difficult for you, try not to let that cloud your view too much. You need to look at the big picture when deciding this. Hopefully, the following thought-provoking-thoughts (from JETs in their 3rd and 4th years, so this might be a bit pro-staying - keep that in mind) will help you out with that. Apologies for its emphasis on first year JETs, but the same issues are relevant to second years, who have been through all this once before. Remember, any JET participant can discuss renewal with his/her PA. Let's start with the basics - the time frame. For first year JETs, you got here in August, many of you started work in September, are about to go on your first holiday over the Christmas break (Thailand right?...Cambodia?... Taiwan?) or visit home, and now you are being asked to decide if you want to stay for another year, even though you still have about 8 months until the end of your current contract. Anyway you look at it, there is very little logic in this. You are being asked whether you like the place enough to stay for another year when many of you have only been here a few months and don't really know. Sorry about that. So perhaps this uncertainty is one of the biggest things you should bare in mind. You have barely begun to scratch the surface of this country and may still only be just settling in to work and getting to know your colleagues and / or students. Things will look different in July. If you are an ALT, your fellow teachers and your students will know you better and be much more relaxed around you. Some of them might be baking cakes for you, teaching you Japanese, or kendo, or asking your advice on their recent break-up with their first love. You will basically be a more familiar part of the woodwork. Outside of work, you'll have more friends in the community, be speaking more Japanese (if you put some effort in); you might have a new hobby (weeeeeee!) and you might be contemplating a summer holiday to China (or your return home). Whether you stay or go next summer, you will probably be more established here, which takes us on to the next point: The second year is very different to the first (and the third quite different to the second). It's a different experience and usually even better. You'll be a lot more confident in your ability to do your job and this will be reflected in what you achieve at work. You'll probably have more free time, as your experience begins to show its benefits (for example, no late-night lesson planning). You will be settled and part of the place rather than settling in, which for some, leads to regrets when they leave - "I feel like I've just settled and got to know the place, and now I'm leaving" is an oft-heard comment that springs to mind. This is not to convince you to renew, but just to point out that a second year is usually not a repeat of the first; rather it can be a more relaxed time when a more competent and self-assured JET can really explore Niigata, Japan, its culture and language and other parts of Asia, as well as really getting to grips with their job and achieving what s/he came here to do, which is perhaps what the decision really comes down to. Have you achieved what you came here for in the first place? If yes, do you want to do more here? If no, would staying an extra year make it possible? When deciding whether to stay another year or not, achievements, dreams and ambitions become the key words in the questions you might ask yourself because that is what is really important - not central heating, not putting off other decisions for another year (you'll still have to make them) and not the paycheck, though it is nice. The real questions you should be asking yourself might include: Why did I come here in the first place? What did I want to achieve? How much have I achieved? How much is left to do? Have my ambitions changed? Have I experienced enough or do I still need/want to do/learn more? Do I like Japan? What do I like about it? What do I dislike about it? Do I like my work? Am I making a worthwhile contribution? Would I make a good contribution for an extra year? How am I getting on with my colleagues and/or students? Am I learning Japanese and do I want to learn more? If I stay, what will I achieve? If I leave, what will I do? How am I benefiting and/or developing as a person? Where do I really want to be and what do I really want to be doing? What do I want for myself, and is this helping me to get there?
The answers to a lot of these questions can change from one day to the next, up and down with the cultural roller coaster ride (still awaiting many first years) that is living in a (very) foreign country … "I hate this place!… I love this place!… I hate this place!… I love this place!" This is partly why you need to take some time over the decision. It's why you need to make the effort to look at the big picture and figure out what is best for you. With this in mind, here are a few tips: Speak to other JETs. This includes those who have made this decision before and those who are making it at the same time as you. Remember that other peoples' opinions are biased by their own experiences and outlook. They are not necessarily sensitive to your decision as much as their own. Your PAs can also help you to reach the right decision for you by acting as a sounding board and a listening ear, but they cannot tell you what is best for you. Get your thoughts down on paper - pros and cons, things you like about your situation here and things you don't. Don't write the list all at once. Do it over a period of time and keep going back to it. It will probably change. Going over your thoughts like this will help you to really exhaust the possibilities of staying or leaving. Research what else is available to you. If you are planning on leaving, probably the worst thing to put yourself through is to not have anything to do when you return home. Look into what you would want to do. If you don't want to renew, but you want to stay in Japan, there are plenty of other opportunities (mostly teaching) to be found via the internet. Whether staying or leaving, write a rough, optimistic, but realistic plan of the things you want to achieve next year, or write a plan for both scenarios. Read it and look at what you have to look forward to. Maybe this can help you decide what is best for you.
You came here on a one-year contract. Your obligation is to see out that contract. Beyond that, you are free to choose. If you feel its best to leave or if you just don't like the place, then you should probably leave. Your home country, or any other country, or a different job, may suit you better. If you feel there is more to gain and more to achieve and you like it here, then you should probably stay because it really is what you make of it and if you have the enthusiasm, you can make a lot of it, and a lot of people can benefit. It's your decision to make and so, if you can, you should put enough thought in to make the decision that you genuinely feel is best for you. Ultimately, that will be the right decision.
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