Every June after the new JET Program participants have been selected, JETAA Hawaii gets quite busy! Here’s the scoop of what went down this past month:

New JET Pre-Departure Orientation
June 18, 2011, Saturday | Tokai University
Every year, the Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu organizes an orientation for the newly-selected JET Program participants to brief them on everything from packing to teaching English. This event serves as their first real introduction to the job they have accepted. JETAA Hawaii assists every year with various teaching-oriented activities and a Q & A forum at the end.

One of the activities that the new JETs particularly enjoyed was the JTE-ALT (Japanese Teacher of English – Assistant Language Teacher) Team Teaching simulation organized by JETAA Hawaii Co-events Coordinator Kai Kaapana and recent-returnee Phillip Tsang. Serving as the “native speaker,” Phillip Tsang spoke in only Cantonese while Kai Kaapana translated in English. This activity threw the new JETs into a whirl of confusion, but at the same time giving them a glimpse of what their students will experience. In addition, the activity showed them the potential for how fun their lessons can be!

New JET Mixer
June 24, 2011, Friday | Pearl Ultralounge
Another part of JETAA Hawaii’s combo of annual events put on for the new JET Program participants, the New JET Mixer is planned specifically with the purpose of giving the new JETs an extra opportunity to bond with each other, as well as ask additional questions they might have with alumni. For JET alumni, this event also serves to fulfill our selfish desire to impart our wisdom upon the new JETs before they depart.

At the end of the Friday workday, we all gathered at Pearl Ultralounge to enjoy good company and good food! We were also joined by two Japanese teachers of English, one from Osaka and one from Okinawa, who happened to be in Oahu for a conference.

Monthly Happy Hour
June 28, 2011, Tuesday | Dave and Busters
We continued our monthly happy hour in June with Taco Tuesday at Dave and Busters. With $1 tacos and $3 beers, this was the perfect way to end the work day. There isn’t much to say except that everyone had a great time relaxing and talking story over delicious and cheap tacos. Join us for the next happy hour at Bar 35!

A big thanks to everyone participating in the events, especially the JET alumni who have attended the new JET events.  Also, a big thank you to JET alumni Phillip Tsang for organizing the great team teaching demonstration with Kai Kaapana.

We’re looking forward to seeing you at our next events!  We have some great activities lined up for the fall, so please join us!  For more pictures, see our flickr page at flickr.com/jetaahawaii or click on the headers from the event descriptions above.