Lol that ' s bullshit <| sep |> Really sorry I ' ve got to go and can ' t see you in plaza , add me and will do it first thing this arvo peace mate . <| sep |> This will not end well . <| sep |> Instead of partying they need to learn how to clean better and how to make sandwiches for the real soldiers . <| sep |> Involved as an adjunct of NATO which is just ' murica inc . <| sep |> That ' s very true . Japan isn ' t going to start speaking English over night , and small towns aren ' t suddenly going to have more shopping and entertainment options . Things like that aren ' t going to change . What will change though is the relationships JETs have at work . ALTs seem to start getting more power and freedom in their second and third years , and getting by in the second year is easier than the first because you already know what to expect . Everyone will have spent a year feeling you out , so things will start to feel more cozy . Those are things that can only change by staying longer and getting more involved . My concern is that people come with the idea of only staying a year , because a year still feels like a really long time to younger JETs . When they are faced with their contracting papers only months after they arrive , they haven ' t yet experienced being here . And when the year blows past them , it ' s only in those last few months when things start to come into focus . So for me , coming for only a year seems foolish because you don ' t even give Japan or the job a chance . Obviously , if you are having problems , hate where you live of your job , it ' s true that nothing will change . If you aren ' t having those problems beyond normal culture shock and the general shock of finally being an adult and having a job , that ' s where the just do another year comments come from .