Janine Louie
Janine Louie was a JET in Mie Prefecture, in the capital city, Tsu, from 2011-2013 at the Commercial High School. Mie is home to many popular tourist destinations such as Ise Jingu - the Grand Shrine of Ise, Suzuka circuit for the Formula 1 Grand Prix, the ninja village of Iga, and the home of Mikimoto pearls in Toba to name a few. So, what was it like for her to be in the midst of all of this?
My most memorable moments include visiting the Nagashima Spa Land theme park in Kuwana and riding the longest roller coaster in the world (Steel Dragon 2000), organising the Mie JETs ski trip to Nagano (and the bus breaking down on the way home stranding us for a few hours!), taking my parents around Japan (particularly seeing the deer in Nara), climbing Mt Fuji, and the many festivals I went to around Japan throughout the year (the Kumano fireworks in particular were spectacular).
Immediately post-JET, I chose to relocate to London rather than go back home to NZ (for love). Unlike the move to Japan where the JET programme had organised everything for me, moving to London was incredibly scary as I had left Japan with hardly any savings (spent it all on travelling) and no job, family, or friends waiting for me in London either. I applied for all sorts of jobs and landed at a film school doing general admin for a few months. From there I went to a legal tech company for a couple years, then moved into the IT department at a law firm which is where I consider my career officially started. I started as a template developer but was recognised as having useful research and analytical skills and was transitioned into a business analyst a few months later. I have now pivoted into management, leading a team of project managers, business and data analysts, and developers and am currently on a senior leadership training programme.
I'd say the biggest impact the JET programme had on me was it helped me to build resilience. When moving to a country where the language is completely foreign and having to navigate the culture shock (over and over) you learn to be resilient and recognise that no matter what the situation is, you can get through it. The JET community has also had a big impact in that many of my connections have come from having been on the JET programme in some way or another.
The advice that I would give to current JETs is if you plan to move to another country after Japan, try to have more than $2000 to your name as it will save you a lot of anxiety. For newer alumni, try not to worry too much if you're not in your dream career yet or if you don't know what you want to do - keep trying new things and taking the opportunities that come your way as it will one day click into place.
Are you a JET alum with a story to share? Get in touch to be featured in an upcoming Senpai Spotlight.
