Peter Frazer faced a challenge shared by all young native English speakers teaching in Japan: He had to adjust to a new workplace environment while also building good relations with his Japanese co-workers.
The 26-year-old Australian started working as an assistant language teacher (ALT) with the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme at a junior high school in Midori city, Gunma Prefecture, in the summer of 2012. Frazer says everything turned out OK in the end, as he eventually got to know and adjust to his fellow teachers' needs.
Then spring rolled around and he had to do it all again.