![\"BKyleSakeCups\"](\"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/BKyleSakeCups.jpg\")
<\/a>2.\u00c2\u00a0Find a hobby or something outside of school. Becoming a bit of collector of pottery while here, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve travelled to different pottery areas of Japan and built my Japanese language skills from zero by finding out more about places, events or people in the field (plus the shopping lingo!). It also helps relax people into conversation when you have a talking point to start with and they love to recommend stuff when they can. Through my growing reputation, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve also been given use of an old Japanese farm house to act as a display space for my pieces (yay!).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
3.\u00c2\u00a0Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t forget to learn Japanese body language alongside verbal language. Japan, being a group-orientated society, means that social nuances are well ingrained and often unsaid. We often rely more heavily on direct verbal communication between people in the West. Not being flexible enough between these cultural differences in communication can cause friction and misunderstandings. Also, teach these underlying cultural differences in communication to your kids so they can see the importance of speaking up and out!<\/p>\n
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4. If frustrated by the role you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been ascribed at work and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had barriers towards changing it, stay\u00c2\u00a0dedicated\u00c2\u00a0to\u00c2\u00a0working hard in areas you like in your job\u00c2\u00a0(for me, illustrating and designing a lot of my work, then for larger school events). By gaining recognition and respect in one area, doors will open for you to put your keen teaching tendrils into other aspects of your job.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Something she wishes she’d done<\/b><\/p>\n
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Hmm\u00e2\u20ac\u201cnot much, as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m pretty selfish and driven to do what I want. Though, in hindsight, seeing how much I like interacting with a lot of non-English teachers now, I wish I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d made a lot more effort to talk to the teachers at my first school. Being the biggest (or most salient) outsider, I expected them to talk to and welcome me but they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t (I guess mostly out shyness\u00e2\u20ac\u201c I hope!). Then, sadly, I got used to it and not many of us ever made the effort (apart from the odd enkai moment). I’ve been back to my old school a few times since, and have found the shyer teachers of old are not so shy after all!<\/p>\n
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I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve also been slack on\u00c2\u00a0taking the more \u00e2\u20ac\u0153local\u00e2\u20ac\u009d chance to visit\u00c2\u00a0Mongolia.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n I still\u00c2\u00a0happily\u00c2\u00a0work as an ALT\u00c2\u00a0(though\u00c2\u00a0on a 4-day a week\u00c2\u00a0schedule\u00c2\u00a0that I managed to negotiate with my school, Shiga Gakuen). On the other 3 days of the week\u00c2\u00a0(if I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not doing other English related community stuff), I\u00c2\u00a0visit\u00c2\u00a0craft markets around Japan, set up small exhibitions of my collections and host different events from experimental movie nights\u00c2\u00a0to\u00c2\u00a0day cafes and\u00c2\u00a0the odd\u00c2\u00a0tea ceremony. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve also run\u00c2\u00a0tours of my local area and Kyoto focusing on\u00c2\u00a0interesting spots\u00c2\u00a0and gallery cafes.\u00c2\u00a0Then there is my volunteer role as\u00c2\u00a0one of 3 core members of a group called \u00e2\u20ac\u02dc\u00e2\u20ac\u009dBe Wa\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (a play on words coming from\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Lake Biwa,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the mostprominent\u00c2\u00a0feature\u00c2\u00a0of\u00c2\u00a0our prefecture). Be Wa centres around a website and Facebook page showcasing the people, places and events of Shiga in English. I also made a teacher training manual for ALTs called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153An ALT Skill Set\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a few years back funded by my school that I must get back into circulation when I can squeeze it in! I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve also started to try to balance my time a bit better between Japan and Australia. This year I will spend a total of 3 months Down Under during the school holiday seasons. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve also thought to collaborate in the future with craftspeople I know in Japan to offer design products to local and overseas markets. I need more time!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/a>What she does now<\/b><\/p>\n