What was the most worthless thing that your brought to Japan?
Since we have a bundles of newbies gearing up to make their moves.
I figured I would ask this question:
When you first came to Japan, what was the most worthless thing you brought with you?
It should be interesting to see and it might even help some people figure out what not to bring.
I'm posting the question so I will answer it first too.
I brought a whole stack of books on Japanese. Since being here though I have bought a whole new stack of better books. I have at least 5 books that I will probably never go through at all.
We could also expand it to the most useful thing you brought that you thought you wouldn't need?
For me that was my mouse - I figured I'd never really use it but I have ended up using it all the time.
(Yes, I'm a computer geek - That's not really a surprise anymore though)
-Mark
Stuff I brought that I didn't need:
- I did my CELTA course before I came, and I brought a whole bunch of grammar books and ESL teaching books. While I have used many one or two things from the textbooks, most of it is irrelevant to what I teach here, and I haven't touched the grammar books once in two years.
- Shoes, particularly nice ones. We're not a dressy crowd here in Fukui, so don't bring a lot of fancy stuff! Plus, if you're lucky, you can fit into much cheaper and more awesome ones from here.
- Food. I didn't actually bring any, being a Brit who was allowed to bring roughly 1kg of stuff with me (in case the baggage handler at Heathrow threw his back out), but you can order so much online and you'd be surprised how quickly you adapt to what you can get.
- Books on Japanese culture. It's like reading a book on how to ride a bike while you're doing the Tour de France.
Just in general, I brought more clothes than I needed. I'm a size 10-12 UK with size 5 feet (um...size 8-10 US? Maybe size 7 shoes...?) and my wardrobe is now 80% stuff I've bought here. The one thing I find difficult buying is shirts, just because of the difference in body types.
Alice x
Hi Alice,
If you're still here, I'd like to have a look at your grammar books, maybe take some off your hands, if that's ok with you?
Thanks!
-N
Alice was replaced by Daria who was replaced by Kenneth (Maruoka SHS)
-Z
Sadly, that extra pair of suits was pretty much useless for me. I didn't really understand how casual elementary school teachers dress until I got here. Basically, since I don't have to go to contract signing or MYC, I only needed to wear business clothing for the first week. My classy outfits are gathering dust in my closet.
Most useful: My favorite collection of DVDs and my computer. They kept me sane that first 3 weeks when I didn't have internet, TV, a car, etc.
Books seemed like a good idea when I came too, but in reality, they are heavy and easy enough to get here (sometimes for free at JET functions) so I wouldn`t bring many at all. I did buy the Planet Eigo book at Tokyo Orientation and that has been useful. Oh and the Fukui Internation Activities plaza has an English library that you can borrow from too.
Most useful things: large pictures of friends and family. Also, any thing that could be used in a `show and tell` type scenario, because the English summer camps are all about that!
Corinna
Thinking back the most worthless things I brought were the really nice gifts I got for the staff. I was told to bring gifts for a lot of people. I could've just brought cheap chocolates for everyone and maybe some coffee and tea to put in the staff room. I would've saved a lot of money on gifts that really were almost completely unnecessary. It really is "the thought that counts."
Adam
Very good point Adam.
You really don't need to bring anything fancy as gifts.
It's the gesture not the value that counts.
Chocolates, candies, coffees, etc. are excellent.
-Z
Definitely didn't need to bring all the books I had on Japanese or teaching materials because I got a whole bunch of em here from previous ALTs at our community book exchanges!
Didn't need all the suits I brought, especially because I trend to dress pretty casual.
Probably brought too many shoes.
I was glad to have brought some US money. And stickers. And my hair straightener because I could have bought one here but it would have added to my initial expense.
In terms of clothes, all the dressy outfits I would usually wear on a night out at home (fancy shoes included) have sat in the back of my wardrobe all year.
I had a very limited luggage limit so one of the best things I bought with me was an ebook. It's got all my favourites on it and I've been able to take it travelling without taking up any space.
A post for girls!!!
Girls, don’t bring too many winter clothes, handbags and shoes…..I mailed two boxes of bags and shoes to Japan before I left and ended up mailing them back with more added (which was a nightmare). There is some really great shopping to be done here so don’t believe all the crap they say about like clothes, shoes and bags…..sooooo not an issue. What IS and issue though is makeup, they have a lot of really great stuff here but if you use specific colors for foundation and loose powder I suggest you bring about a three month supply until you can find the nearest place that caters to your needs. I have a tan complexion and finding suitable loose powder was kind of an issue at first. Another thing is flat irons, girls, bring your GHDs and bring your Nickey Clarkes! You can get them in big cities but they’re expensive and hard to find and the Japanese brands don’t measure up so if you have them bring them!! (boys close your eyes for this part!) Bras are also an issue if you’re bigger than a C cup (in some cases B cup). The cup sizes here are wonky and the bras have like five layers of padding. Again you can find what you need in the big cities but in my experience it was waaaay more convenient to bring them from home. Deodorant is another thing, the deodorant here is fine for some people but it’s different than the stuff you can get in America and Europe. I use dove and they don’t sell it here, not even in big cities so if there is a brand you’ve gotta have, I say bring enough for a few months at least until you know if you can find what you need in Japan. Lastly, I was told to bring plenty of lady supplies for that time of the month and though some of the pads here can be quite bigger than you’re used to at home, I was able to find some that I liked. Tampons are trickier, there are some stores that have a good selection but again bring a decent supply until you can sort out where to get your lady business taken care of.