Japan Matters for America: Cultivating Future Advocates for Cross Cultural Exchange

BY ALEXANDRA HOWES (Fukuoka 2003-2005)

“You lived in Japan?” My students gasp after hearing me speak, “皆さんよく聞いてください.” (Mina-san yoku kiite kudasai. Everyone, please listen carefully.) I’ve found students will immediately perk up and turn away from their phones to my face in front of the classroom when they distinguish a language most have only heard in anime on Netflix. I would not be who I am today without the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET) and Japan: a teacher, a mentor, and an international advocate. Japan showed me that I am a global citizen and that cross cultural exchanges are key to dispelling ignorance and forging friendships. . . .

About the Author

Alexandra Howes was a Municipal Assistant Language Teacher in Kasuga City, Fukuoka Prefecture from 2003-2005. She currently works as a high school English teacher and theater director.

This article is part of a guest-contributor partnership between the East-West Center in Washington and USJETAA in which former JET participants contribute articles relating to their experiences in Japan.