Laura Pollacco (Kanagawa 2017-2019)
Life after JET is different for everybody. For some, JET is almost like a working gap year and after having had a jolly good time, we go back to our countries, pursuing further studies or a job that may have no relation to what we did in Japan at all. For others, JET becomes something that opens our eyes to careers we didn’t even know existed, some choosing to stay and work in Japan, unable to leave, and others taking what we have learnt and putting it to use back home. Sarah Parsons is one ex-JET who really took to heart
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some of the key principles of the JET programme— connection, communication, and cultural understanding— and has created a career out of them, working in trans-cultural business and education. We hear about reverse culture shock, and after recently finishing on the JET Programme myself, I understand how confusing it can be to have spent so much time in a country, learnt so much, and to have that desire to continue to be connected in some way, but not quite
knowing how. So I reached out to Sarah to ask her some questions about her own experiences and what advice she might have to those, such as myself, who still want to stay in touch with Japan. During the coronavirus social distancing here in the UK, we agreed to Skype one another, both in our bedrooms, to talk about what life after JET has been like for her; how she used her time on JET to her advantage to create a business, lecture at universities, become head of the JETAA UK and even meeting the Japanese Emperor.
