Nara JETNet 32nd Event
A JETNet Halloween Parade
On October 23rd, 2010, Nara JETNet held its 32nd event entitled “A JETNet Halloween Parade”. Nara JETNet is a committee which plans events to promote cultural exchange and understanding between the members of the JET Programme and citizens of Nara Prefecture. The organizers of JETNet events are the 5 Coordinators for International Relations (CIR) working for the Nara Prefectural Government, and members are JET Programme participants located throughout Nara Prefecture. This event saw 49 citizens of the prefecture participate alongside 36 JETs, enjoying a Halloween-themed hike.
The event began at 9.30am. As it was a Halloween-related event, participants came in costume. After greetings from the JETNet chairperson, participants got to know each other better by enjoying a few simple ice-breaker games. At 10.00am, participants began the walk, breaking at 12.00pm when they reached the Tenri City Trail Center (Trail Aogaki), where they enjoyed a lunch break together on the lawn. At 1.00pm, the hike resumed, continuing until Isonokami Jingū, where the event was brought to a close. Despite the hike being a substantial 13km long, participants, from the children to the elderly, had a noticeably good time sharing the day with JETs.
Halloween is an event JETs from the Americas or Ireland are familiar with, and as a result, are very used to the idea of coming up with costumes for the occasion. This event was not only a way to encourage exchange with local participants, but also that between JETs, as many hail from countries that do not celebrate it. In the surveys completed by participants, comments like “I spent a really fun first Halloween. Everybody was really nice talking in English or in Japanese to us!” or, “It was fun to see all those people wearing costumes” were common. About the exchange with the JETs, some wrote “We prefectural citizens don’t really have any occasion to exchange with JETs, so I’m really thankful JETNet created this opportunity♥” or, “I really had a lot of fun”. From the JETs’ side, some said the event “was lovely” or “a little long, but the trail was awesome.” Concerning exchange with participants, they wrote comments such as, “The participants were very good about engaging with the team” or, “The thing I enjoyed the most was speaking with the participants, the historic location, and the chickens at Isonokami Jingū”.
We would like to thank all participants! Everyone gave their all walking this long but beautiful and historic trail.
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