JET is a dating service.

oct. 15, 2006

anyone who argues with the title of this blog needs to take a closer look at what goes on around them in the JET program. the program starts with over two thousand people in a hotel in tokyo--okay, sure there are pre-orientations and orientations that happen in the participants home countries, but that's not where this starts. back home we all feel safe and have our people. once in japan, we are confused, lost, surrounded by strangers. in tokyo we are all exhausted and looking for people to fill the holes that have just appeared in our hearts, our lives. quickly we make eye contact, we begin conversations, we ask 'so, where have you been placed', we exchange contact information. i'm sure a little hooking up happens, despite the exhaustion, but mostly i believe tokyo is a hunt for the bootie calls that will happen in the following year. followed by this, in my prefecture, is an annual prefectural orientation for all JETs in hiroshima. second, third and first years gather fro a three day conference in downtown hiroshima. there are hotel rooms for those outta towners and the locals spend a lot of time there, too. i feel like the second and third years only show to get a look at the new crop, to decide if there are any perspective candidates for dates. many have cell information now, many are smiling and winking at each other. by then end of the three days there is some hand-holding, and shared glances that indicated decisions have been made and people have broken off into paris. to extend the opportunities for dating there is one more orientation. here it is only the first years, but they are all trapped in a hotel for a solid week, away from downtown and outside influence. here is where we see some serious shit going down. waking up in strange beds i'm sure happened, along with drinking too much and not actually learning anything at the mandatory japanese language and culture classes. by the end of august most relationships or potential relationships, have been established. who is a possible mate or bootie call has been lined up, and those returning JETs have made claims on the fresh meat. from here we see the pairs forming, the couples appearing and the impressive quality of the 'JET dating service'.