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I. Did you make it to the cut?
II. Where were you and what were you doing when you received the email?
III. What were the reactions of the people around you, your family/closest friends/colleagues when they learned about the result of your application?
I started my video countdown on the first day of March as you can see from my Tiktok above. Haha. I didn't continue doing them, though, because I knew that it was too early to do so. Instead, I screenshot my phone daily after checking if a new e-mail popped in. Of course, there are none. And, yes. I knew in my heart that there wouldn't be any e-mails yet from the program. But, that really didn't stop me from checking every morning anyway. hahaha
I didn't even reach D-Day and only reached D-6. haha. I also marked my STRAY KIDS Season's Greeting desk calendar. For two weeks, I've been busy fangirling for STRAY KIDS. And then realized I hadn't prepared for my talk yet for our Department Learning Action Cell. That was supposed to be on March 9, but it got postponed twice and finally pushed through on the 23rd of March.
The funny thing is one of my co-teachers, Jeff, told me before (around February I think) that he dreamt that I told him my flight was scheduled on March 23. He claimed that it was after I kept telling them I will be resigning in March once I receive my acceptance e-mail to the program. I only told them this because I was so stressed out at that time, but I was planning to submit my resignation two months before we are scheduled for departure. I told him if I made it to the final short-list, I will definitely finish the school year first before leaving.
I tried so hard to put it at the back of my mind by doing a lot of things (you can check it out on my Waiting Game 2.0 blog) and reading the conversations of other applicants on different platforms (discord, Reddit, messenger) trying to guess when the e-mails will come. One of our co-applicants said that it usually arrives at the same time Singapore results are sent. So I looked out for countries that already received notifications of their acceptance. The dates on this list are on PHT.
- Trinidad and Tobago - March 24
- South Africa - March 24
- Australia
- Brisbane - March 24
- Sydney - March 27
- New Zealand - March 24
- Dublin, Ireland - March 28
- The Philippines - March 28
- Singapore - March 28
- United Kingdom
- London - March 28
- Edinburgh - March 30
- United States of America
- Detroit, Michigan - March 30
- Miami, Florida - March 30
- Nashville, Tennessee - March 30
- Atlanta, Georgia - March 30
- Portland, Oregon - March 30
- Alaska - March 30
- Houston, Texas - March 30-31
- San Francisco, California - March 30-31
- Boston, Massachusetts - March 31
- Chicago, Illinois - March 31
- New York City, New York - March 31
- Miami, Florida - March 31
- Los Angeles, California - March 31
- San Francisco, California - March 31
- Denver, Colorado - March 31
- Seattle, Washington DC - March 31
- Canada - April 1
- Toronto
- Calgary
- Ottawa
- Vancouver
When the Singapore results were sent, I told the members of the waiting room right away. It was the morning of March 28. I had to go to school early for some reason. I knew that the next results will be ours. And to be honest, I felt scared and excited. Sir Chris sent a message around 1PM that he received an e-mail. I checked my inbox and saw that there weren't any. Dread filled my heart. I thought maybe I didn't get in.
My first class at school usually starts at one o'clock in the afternoon. At that time, our lesson was under the Physical Education component: Futsal. The kids are scheduled to play Futsal on the grounds. I led the kids to the Damayan Court area. Around 2:30, ten minutes before the end of the second period, I led my second class back up to their room. While I was on my way upstairs, I just suddenly had the urge to check again. I readied my heart to find out what the result of my application was.
I pressed the mail button and felt my heart sink after seeing there was no e-mail yet. In the group chat, people were already talking about being Alternates. I felt so sad and thought, 'Oh, I'm rejected." Then as I stepped onto the stair landing, before the third floor (near the MAPEH Department faculty room) I refreshed my inbox and the e-mail from the JET Program appeared. I actually forgot to refresh it that's why there wasn't any unread e-mail. I clicked it open, screenshot, and sent it to the Waiting Room.
They said the result was in one of the attachments. I downloaded the one with my name on it. When I opened the file, I didn't read the whole e-mail (it was very long!); I just skimmed and scanned it. It was not long after I saw the words 'successfully passed' 'final short-list', and 'ALT candidates' 'scheduled for placement' that my hands started to shake. I went inside the faculty room and grabbed Jeff's arm (his table is the nearest to the door) and squeezed it so tight, walked passed him without uttering a single word and held Jhoanna in both arms, and shook her while I was in the verge of crying.
She asked, "Ano yun???? Bakit? Ano nangyari?" (What is it? Why? What happened?) When she saw my tearful eyes, she smiled so wide "Pasado ka????" (You passed (got in)?" I nodded and sat on my chair, my legs suddenly didn't have the strength to support me standing. She and Jeff started squealing and everyone looked at us and asked, "Bakitttt?" (Why?). "Pasado siya sa JET Programme!" (She passed the JET Programme screening) Jhoanna answered, and they all genuinely cheered so happily.
At that time, Jeff asked, "Ano nakalagay?" (What is written in the e-mail?). I replied, "I don't know. Check mo nga kung pasado ba talaga ako? Please?" (I don't know. Could you check if I really passed? Please?) I handed him my mobile phone so he can read the letter and check. A few seconds later he said, "You really passed!" I was so overwhelmed I couldn't speak. I checked the Waiting Room messages again on my phone (Sorry guiseee I totally forgot about updating y'all huhu) and sent them the screenshot of the e-mail.
"I passedddd" A stream of congratulatory messages started coming in. I thanked them with all my heart and logged off again. I couldn't stay in the faculty room (and the waiting room) any longer since I still have another class. I went to get my Colossian Kids and we went downstairs to play Futsal. They said they thought I was not around because it had already been ten minutes past the start of our class and I had not arrived yet. During recess time, the other MAPEH teachers asked me, "Are you already going to submit your resignation?" I assured them that I will finish the school year first before I leave for Japan so they need not think of who will handle the kids' classes and grades for the third and fourth quarters.
When I told my eldest brother that I got in, he asked me, "Aalis ka na?" (Are you leaving soon?) haha. To which I answered, "Of course not! In a few more months, I will." When we arrived home, I told my father, daddy (uncle), and Tita Becky the result of my application. My dad said, "Ang iisipin mo na lang ay medical mo. Kumain ka ng maraming gulay! At wag ka na mag papalipas ng gutom!" (You only need to worry about your medical tests. Eat a lot of vegetables! And don't skip meals!) Tita beck was teary-eyed and asked the same question my brother asked, while my father told me, "Thank you!" I wasn't really sure why he said thank you, though. haha. I didn't get to ask, too, because I have a class at 7:30PM so I rushed upstairs, set my computer up, and prepared for my lessons. I also messaged some family members (my second eldest brother and my cousins from USA and Bicol), close friends, and my referees (Ma'am O and Sir Toru), sharing my good news with them.
After my lessons, I had my late lunch at 10PM and logged in on my Facebook, and started backreading messages. I asked other applicants about their results privately. Sadly, there were only around nine of us who successfully passed in the waiting room GC, more of the members are alternates and a number were advised to re-apply. These people are really great teachers and individuals. So I sit wondering what set me apart, what did the panelists see in me that they deemed me more valuable than what these other awesome personalities can offer? I even said I didn't want to take the Japanese Conversation test several times because I wasn't really confident with my Nihongo conversation skills. This made me anxious after. I thought, "Will that be seen as something negative? But the senpais said we should be honest and it wouldn't affect our application at all if we opt not to take the Nihongo Test."
So was it my teaching experience? Was it my multicultural exposure? Was it my teaching qualifications? Was it my recommendation letters? Was it something that I mentioned in my Statement of Purpose? Was it because of the Exam results? Was it because of my Demonstration Teaching performance? Was it my Lesson Plan? Or was it because of something that I said in my interview? I was not really sure.
But what I find truly amazing and inspiring was how everyone was still so positive, and sincerely happy for us, and vowed to improve their credentials, re-apply for Batch 2024 come September, and reunite with us in Japan in 2024.
My cousin from Texas told me how God has a purpose for me in Japan. Around September 2022, when I told him that I am planning to apply for the program. It's a difficult decision to make thinking of how I will be leaving my family behind, my stable career (as a DepEd Teacher and a freelance ESL instructor), my friends, my community, and the life I painstakingly built for 13 years here in the Philippines. He told me to go ahead so I can experience living away from the family and truly become independent. "There is no harm in trying," he added.
I wasn't even expecting to get invited for an interview because I wasn't sure if I printed the correct Statement of Purpose. So when I did receive the invitation for the Second Screening, I really bawled my eyes out in relief and thanksgiving. During the First Waiting Game, even though there is no assurance of an interview invite, I still did my best to prepare for the Second Stage ahead of time. The Waiting Game 2.0 wasn't easy, either.
Now, we are finally entering the Waiting Game 3.0, and this time, for placement, medical results, DMW requirements, and departure date.
So what have the final short-list applicants been up to after getting the faithful missive? How many of us got short-listed out of the few thousands who applied to be a part of this prestigious program? What did we do during the Third Stage of our application?
That is for you to find out on my next blog! But for now, you can check out my Timeline from the time I decided to apply for JET PH 2023 to the present time.
Bye!~
