Who's gonna run this town tonight? (or "-ken this year").

YoVilla emerged victorious after the FuJET elections last spring. The campaign period was hilarious, in that JAlex and YoVilla actually had videos to hype ourselves amongst the masses. And we both made efforts to make appearances at parties to "network" and win votes from people.

Now, I'm the Vice Pres overseeing events and group trips for my fellow Fuku JETs. It's very much similar to studco back in high school. I cannot lie - it has been a lot of work, but I always get the warm fuzzies when my noobs express their gratitude. It was weird to hear them joke around, and call me "mother hen" or "Gemma-oneechan" ('oneechan' is a term of endearment for one's older sister). This is mildly awkward to hear, because I'm still learning my footing in this foreign country. Also, my Japanese is still at the beginner level; this year, surprisingly, most of the incoming JETs came to Japan with some background in the Japanese language.

So far, being VP has consumed a lot of my time and money. Tokyo Orientation was pre You see, the prefectural board let Mateo and I head down to Tokyo Orientation to meet and greet. We also sold Kanji Survival Guides to help make money for our group.

Like I've already mentioned, I've had to make some sacrifices for the greater good of FuJET. In the summer, M. and I went down to Tokyo to meet our new arrivals. We then took the bus back up with them. I knew my supervisor was too busy to pick me up from the agriculture centre, where the noobs were scheduled to have their introductory meetings in Fuku.

The solution? The chartered bus kindly dropped me off at the expressway's exit. Dressed in my business attire, I lugged my carry-on baggage down Route 4. It took a good hour. True, I could've called a taxi... but I wasn't sure how to say in Japanese: "Hello, can you pick me up from the expressway's exit? There isn't exactly a place to stop, I'll just jump in. OK?"

I've realized that Mateo and I have completely different leadership strategies. He's more laissez-faire, and I'm more... obsessive-compulsive. I need to get background info from the previous FuJET leaders, who just so happen to be my friends. I need lists. I need highlighters. I need everything planned to the last detail.

Moreover, I'll be the first one to admit that I treat everyone like they're five-year-olds when we go on big FuJET trips. I make them do head counts aloud like we're all in kindergarten. I ask them to repeat instructions after me. I remind them not to pee every hour while we're drinking (orange juice) together on the chartered bus, since the bus driver never seems impressed when I ask for unscheduled bathroom breaks. I do all of these mildly annoying things, because I don't feel like leaving someone behind.

Earlier on, I made the mistake of trying to please everyone and anyone as I planned events for them. But after talking with my sempai, I've learned it'll kill you to be a complete people-pleaser. :)

Bottom line: It's cool to connect with my newbies, but FuJET has definitely sucked the fun out of organizing trips. It gets complicated handling things, especially since everyone is scattered across the -ken. GOOD TIMES. But I do appreciate the love I receive from my fellow JETs, plus the admiration from my BoE and students. (Some of the kids ran up with my newsletter, and were all excited after realizing I got it. CUTE!)

Maybe I'll write about our recent FuJET dealings, specifically: Leavers' Party, Mt. Fuji Climb, Tokyo Orientation, Fuku Orientation, Nagano, canyoning (I didn't go) and now MYC Dinner.