This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Ireland, and student exchanges are ever more popular
SITTING NAKED in a pool of bubbling sulphur water, I look out to the white mountains surrounding us. My co-workers babble softly beside me, their words fading gently in the icy air. This is not a typical office party, but nothing about the life I led for two years in rural Japan could be described as typical.
Arriving in the country as a member of the the Japan Exchange and Teaching (Jet) programme, I would spend the next two years as the "foreign girl" in the northern lands of Japan's main island. Working from the board of education offices of Aomori Prefecture, I would travel to almost 40 primary and middle schools, introducing the students to the far off place known as Ireland.
Back at the baths, an elderly woman emerges from inside in a flurry of hot steam. Skin tinged pink from her indoor soak, she lowers herself gently into our tub, stopping with momentary surprise as the water reflects my features. Asking me where I am from, I respond politely with my newly learned Japanese phrase.
"Ireland! Oh, it's very cold there, isn't it?" she gasps, brushing her hand against a bundle of collected snow. Looking out to the horizon of endless white, to the overhanging icicles and freezing sky, I wonder. Colder than here? It did not take long to become accustomed to this reaction.
Before leaving for Japan, I considered how my nationality might be perceived there. Initiated by the US government in 1987, the Jet programme has sent more than 30,000 Americans to the country as assistant language teachers and co-ordinators for international relations. The image of the "West" in Japan is intricately bound to images of the US. I knew I may be confused as American, or indeed as British. What came as a surprise was that most Japanese would confuse Ireland for Iceland. And this confusion was not limited to the rural outposts of my Japanese home. Speaking to a group of current and former Jets, almost all had an amusing story to relate about "the Iceland mix-up".
Since 1988, more than 800 Irish graduates have arrived into the humidity of Tokyo as members of the Jet programme. Armed with tin whistles, tricolour flags, leprechaun pencils and bags full of Barry's Tea, they arrive at boards of education, secondary schools and local government offices. Placed in such diverse regions as the rural outposts of northern Hokkaido to the tropical islands of sun-filled Okinawa, their new life begins in a flurry of bowing and business card exchanges.
Few speak Japanese, or have much knowledge of the culture and customs of the island nation. But knowledge grows fast, from the first bumbling attempts to chat in the staff-room to the initial strokes of the Japanese alphabet. The comfortable life that Jet offers often means that many Jets stay longer in Japan than their initial one-year contract. Indeed, of the 810 Irish who have riverdanced their way through class-rooms and cooked colcannon for the entire population of their fishing village, 590 have stayed on for two years or more.
The aim of the programme is "grass-roots internationalisation" and life as a Jet involves a large amount of speaking about your home country. The positive side of being from a small country with a relatively unknown profile in Japan is the fact that there are no stereotypes already in place. While many American participants struggle to shake off the political and social tags placed on them, Irish Jets can find freedom in explaining an almost new world to groups of interested learners.
For the past 20 years, the Irish Jet participants have promoted Ireland on a local level, with St Patrick's Day parades, Guinness stew recipes and the odd bottle of Jameson over a night of karaoke bonding. Matteo Cullen, a Jet who spent three years in Kyoto, founded Kansai GAA in 2005. "It was very well supported by Japanese people," he says, and the club is now hoping to host the Asian Hurling Games in 2008.
Currently in her second year in Japan, Marie Muldoon from Meath has the privileged position of living in the town of Matsue, where Irish writer Lafcadio Hearn spent much of his life writing and translating Japanese literature. "I teach Irish language classes a few times every month to a group of Japanese people. This is always followed by an hour of Irish tin whistle class. In fact we have formed a group called 'Ceol agus Craic' with a few of the enthusiastic Japanese participants."
Eleanor Duffin from Wexford was featured on the prefectural TV station, Fukushima TV, where she served up Irish coffees on air. "I'm now a minor celebrity round our city, and a lot of people have stopped me to ask interesting questions about Ireland. People seem a lot keener to get to know more about our culture as a result of seeing me on TV."
Upon their return, many Jets find their situation reversed, often promoting and involving themselves in aspects of Japanese culture in Ireland. Many go on to further study in Japanese or Asian fields and the recent expansion of Japanese to the secondary school curriculum has offered many former Jets the opportunity to share their experiences with young students.
Robert Shortt, currently working in Washington for RTÉ, and a Jet participant from 1993 to 1995, brought a group of taiko drummers from Japan to the Spraoi Festival in his hometown of Waterford a year after he returned home. "It was a real cultural experience, as this was a village group, totally amateur, so their local traditions were very genuine. They got a great reaction from the crowds."
"Irish Jets are much liked and respected by the Japanese people in the communities where they live and work, both for their contribution as cultural ambassadors for Ireland and as international friends," says His Excellency Toshinao Urabe, the current Japanese ambassador to Ireland.
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Ireland, the embassy has recently hosted a number of public events for the Irish public. "Despite the great geographical distance separating Japan and Ireland, we share inherent characteristics such as diligence, consideration and creativity, which help to bring our two island nations closer," says the ambassador.
Still steaming in the hot tub, my co-worker chats to the newly arrived bather.
"No, no, she is from Ireland. Not Iceland," she explains in Japanese. "You know, the country where U2 are from."
The woman's eyes light up.
"Ah! Of course! U2," she laughs. "I really like Bono. Do you know Bono?"
A two-day photo exhibition hosted by the embassy of Japan and Irish Jet Alumni Association (IJETAA) opens on Saturday, March 29th at 1pm at Filmbase Gallery in Temple Bar. It will display photographs taken by Irish Jet programme participants who are either currently in Japan or have returned to Ireland. The exhibition focuses on the friendly relationships between Irish participants and the local communities in Japan. This is one of several events marking the 50th anniversary.