In the DJ Booth

Being gaijin (foreign) in rural Fukui isn't easy (if you need this point illustrated, go back and read any of my past blog postings), but it does carry with it a certain amount of perks. For example, if you get lost, everybody in town knows where you live, so you never have to worry about directions. Or, if you're shopping for clothes, the whole process is incredibly streamlined because you already know that you're a size XXXL.

But perhaps the biggest perk is that you're a bit of a local celebrity. Case in point: a group of us JETs got invited to do an hour-long show on a local station called Tannan FM. No pitch, no script, no strings attached - incredibly liberating from my days in PR!

The show was good in theory, but a bit tricky to execute, given the language barrier. We got lost on the way to the station, so we arrived just 30 minutes before we were supposed to go live on air. Word of my past radio experience got a bit lost in translation, so I had to explain that no, I didn't know how to run a "mixah" or actually produce a show. But we finally found our way into the DJ booth.

So, what's a gaijin to do when she has an hour of dead air to fill? Bust out the I-Pod! We Lady JETs talked about our home countries, impressions of Japan and culture shock while we spun music from our favorite artists. Our tastes in music - the Beatles, Lily Allen and Mana (que viva Mexico) - proved to be as diverse as our backgrounds - the UK, South Africa and the USA.

The experience actually turned out to be a blast. We're looking at being regulars on Tannan FM - we'll be rotating with a group of guys for the "coveted" slot of Saturday at 3 p.m. So, next time you're in Fukui, please tune in!