Road to Japan: Beginning the Countdown

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In a few months time I hope to be in Japan, as a teacher of English. Because of this I've decided that I would document my journey to Japan, why I'm going, how I'm getting there, and a little bit about myself so you know what I've done to get there. I'll also be incorporating Japanese language lessons as I learn it from a relative beginners point of view. So if you're interested in Japan, learning Japanese, or just watching my road to Japan, then I hope you'll keep reading my Road to Japan journals! (The title is indeed a Naruto reference!)

Bio:

When you start reading about moving to Japan or watching videos about westerners in Japan, you never get a sense of who they really are, what they've done in the past, or what their qualifications are; so I'm going to start with getting that out of the way. I have two degrees, one in English Literature (undergraduate 3 year course) and a Master's degree in Business Publishing (1 full year course) from Oxford. But don't worry, you won't need all that education behind you to get to Japan, but I'll talk a little bit about that later. 

I'm 22 years old, British, male, 5'6, weigh about 9 stone (126 pounds?), and brunette. I like sketching and painting digitally, I have also played guitar for close to 8 years now, and I like running and cycling. I also love computers (mine is called Amy V4). Here's my picture! 

Me Oxford by TornIntegral

(I don't always wear a beret, but when I do... nah, I was tipsy and stole it from a friend!)

I've done temp and internship work for two big corporations, mostly doing auditing or data entry. I've also worked for smaller, independent companies doing things like editing, writing, stuff like that (published writer!). I've also ran my own business in the past, which was a series of short story competitions. I've also had to suffer through retail work, such is life.

So that's me. But why do I want to move to Japan? I want to move to Japan because it's a beautiful country with a unique history... and the women are insanely attractive. Okay, there. I said it. We're all thinking it (unless you're into the guys) so someone just had to get it out. But jokes aside (the women are very attractive though) I want to move to Japan because I find the nation simply mind blowing. It's an exceptional mix of tradition and shear outlandishness (Robot Cafe?), with a significant natural beauty. Another reason is I've never been able to travel. I just never had the money whereas my siblings, or friends, all did. So they got to move to new places or countries, or even travel the world in my brother's case. I want to move to Japan because it will be a defining experience in my life. I've spent my entire life preparing for the future, getting an education, spending all that money on getting degrees, but in the end, you get tired of waiting for the future. My plan was to move to Japan later in life, but after failing to get a full time job in the UK (in spite of having a degree from Oxford (w-t-f?)), my patience snapped. So I decided to be reckless for a change and just do whatever the hell I wanted to do, which was move to Japan, a dream I'd had since I was little from when I first watched Pokémon, or CardCaptors (that's how it starts for everyone, let's be honest). 

Getting to Japan (qualifications, applications, and teaching):

So why move to Japan to teach? What if you're not a natural teacher? Well, the easiest way to move to Japan is to teach English. All you need is an undergraduate degree and a native level of English, that's all there is to it. You don't need a fantastic university degree to get there, and it doesn't matter what the course was - it can literally be anything from graphic design to biochemistry. All that matters in Japan is that you have a degree. You also don't need to know any Japanese. Sure it'd be a great help, but it's not a requirement in any shape or form (for most entry positions at least). 

But what if you're not a natural teacher? Well, the concept of 'teaching English' is somewhat of a misnomer. Unless you have a teaching qualification (I don't), the position you'll take up in Japan will be an ALT (assistance language teacher), or something with the same meaning but a different acronym. I'm not saying you won't be teaching English, but I think it's better to suggest that as an ALT you'll teach English by sharing your culture, getting the students involved and excited to learn the language, and generally conversing with them. To put it less elegantly, you're there to look awesome and make learning English awesome. You're unique, exotic, and have a strange accent; you're job is to exploit all of those elements and get them passionate about learning English. The teaching element of this comes as a matter of course, and, ultimately, everyone is a natural teacher. Language is a communicator, which means its an educator. Speaking is educating because it's communicating. A little binary but you can't let a little fear of 'oh I might not be a good teacher' stop you from being a good influence. I'm sure we've all experienced a teacher with no confidence before, nobody gets anywhere when it's like that. You have to be confident and be awesome. Don't forget you're in a new world if you move to Japan; you can be whoever or whatever you want - it's a fresh start. So it's a perfect time to shed those things that hold you back. 

So where do you apply? This sounds great! Well this is where it gets a little tricky. For us English people, the best place is JET: www.jet-uk.org/index.php As far as I know, the JET programme exists in the US, Canada, and Australia. I'm assuming New Zealanders can be tagged with Australians, though I'm not sure. But why is JET the best? It's the most money you'll get and arguably the best programme overall. How much money we talking about here? Well, roughly 20,000 GBP. But wait, there's more, you don't pay tax on that either because the JET programme is ran by the Japanese government (you do pay tax, but can claim it back). However, the JET programme is a really lengthy application and only runs at set periods of the year. It's also extremely competitive. I spent an entire month filling out my JET form. I've never done that in my life, except for dissertations. It's a mammoth application that needs to be air tight. The JET programme is a very strong one, it's ran by the government so it's nice and secure, and all the help you need is available immediately. 

There are plenty of other organizations to get to Japan with, but other than JET, I would recommend www.aeonet.com/ The wage nearly matches JET and you get bonuses, along with a significant compensation for over time. However, the work with Aeon will be significant and will be a lot more intense than the JET programme. I only hesitate towards Aeon because it will be a large gradient from the get-go, it is a corporation after all. The upside to that is there is training to back it all up, so you will be equipped with the tools to succeed. Another aspect is that with JET, you practically get to relive high school, or whatever age band you experience that day/week. So, if you want to live those anime school slice of life experiences, then JET is perfect for you - though I'd suggest being prepared to have a few illusions shattered as par for the course. 

A good place to keep an eye on is www.gaijinpot.com/ This is where you'll find all kinds of jobs in Japan, most of which are teaching related on the whole, but you will find plenty of other work. The thing is, you'll mostly need to have a good level of Japanese in the first place. Just remember that you need a visa, and for them to sponsor it. I'd also suggest that you need a minimum of 18,000 GBP per year to make it a viable move and for it to be enjoyable at the same time (or at least above 3,000,000 JPY). 

Finding a place to live:

I haven't gone through this part of the puzzle yet, but I've done enough to research and basically it boils down to this - if someone is going to give you a visa, they sure as hell are going to make sure you have a place to live that is acceptable to a Japanese person. That means clean, well outfitted, and, ultimately, relatively small in comparison to Western homes (particularly if you're American/Canadian/Australian). For us English, depending on where you live, the room sizes won't be all that different from living in say, London. But then you do get to stipulate how much you want to pay per month, so really, like everything in life, the amount of money you have defines your accommodation. 

What about leaving everything and everyone behind?:

A lot of people struggle with this, and I could dance around the subject like everyone else seems to (mostly out of politeness no doubt), but I'll be blunt for this. This is my life and this is an experience I want to have. There's nothing more to it. That's what it comes down to in the end, you've got to make your own decisions and do your own thing. You can't have something like family hold you back. There's no point in being unhappy, and if you get excited and happy thinking about doing something like this; well, then this is something you should shoot for. Another aspect for me is that, my two best friends (an American and a Chinese girl), who I met in Oxford, all moved to back to their own countries when the course was over. Combined with being unable to get a full time job (or job I actually want in England), I often asked myself what more does this country want from me? I went and got a good education, I worked hard, got lots of work experience, and no one is willing to reward me for it. I've had similar moments in my life and in the end, probably from a stem of arrogance on my part, I just decide 'well, I'll fucking do it myself then'. If I have to move to the other side of the world to do a job I'd enjoy, then so be it. The fact that its Japan only adds incentive. 

A rough attitude, and an attitude at that, but you have to do what feels right. I'm not saying start throwing gasoline on every bridge you see, because that's not what I'm inferring. It's not an aggressive attitude, it's an attitude of 'I'll make things happen for myself now'. It's something I picked up when I started getting older, when you realize that if you want things to happen, you've got to be the one that starts it all moving, and that's empowering. A good family supports that, or at least a family that recognizes that their off-spring have to do their own thing. None of this means losing contact, it just means accepting that a loved one is doing something unique and life changing. Every family or friendship group will be taken aback by it, some may even try to undermine it, but eventually if they're worthwhile it'll turn into positive backing and support. What other option is there to take though, really? 

So let's learn some Japanese!:

Much like Kyon, that prologue was way too long; but hopefully it was useful and informative. If you watch animé you're likely familiar of the concept of chan/san/sama/hime/kun since they're literally everywhere, but i'll go over them anyway. These suffixes (words that tag onto the ends of other words (excite-able)) are basically terms of endearment or respect:

San - Mr/Mrs/Miss and so on. This is basically a term used most often, it should be used amongst equals of any age. It's typically an honorifc suffix, basically, unless someone tells you otherwise, always call a person NAME-san. It just denotes the proper respect, if in doubt, -san. 

Sama - My Lord/Lady in most animé. Generally just use it if someone is a higher 'rank' than you. This is a little foreign to most Westerners to the point that hand gestures quickly become involved, so let's try it another way. You're also supposed to use this suffix with guests or customers, or people you greatly admire. Given that Japan is a rank based culture - especially in the work place - anyone that isn't at your level or below, refer to as Sama. Basically if you get roped into a Maid Cafe - or if you wander in by choice (prepare to pay a hefty price for it), all you'll ever hear is YOURNAME-sama. Unless you opt for what i'll refer to as a 'bitch-maid' (a maid that treats you like crap but warms to you over a course of an hour or so). Sama is basically a more respectful version of san.

Hime - Princess. Because you just never who you'll run into whilst you're in Japan. A word of caution though, if you end up in this position, throw a combination attack at them: hime-sama (I choose you!) as this denotes reverence and respect at the same time. The only other time you'd get to use this combo is when using it sarcastically, which is probably the most common use in Japan these days. 

Kun - 'You who art younger than me and male'. -kun is a little tricky to get across. -kun is used when people are addressing males that are their juniors, or when referring to male children or teenagers. The thing is, males also use this suffix amongst themselves, violating the rule of use for juniors. It's also an affectionate suffix, females will use -kun when they have an emotional tie to a male, or have known that male for some time. Even more confusing, some senior businessmen will refer to women with -kun. On top of that, male teachers might address female students with -kun. So what do we take away from this? Well, if someone calls you kun in a more serious setting, just role with it. In the social life, expect to be called -kun if you're a guy by: close female friends (or really loli flirty girls), guy friends, or generally by people that are older than you.

Chan - 'You art endearing to me'. Chan is an affectionate name ending that is used for all sexes that is mostly used between friends, relatives, animals, and lovers. Basically, never use this to a superior or someone you just met. It'd be embarrassing, disrespectful, and probably a bit creepy overall. But hey, if that's how you score with people, by all means reader-chan! 

Sensei - teacher/master. If you do go to teach in Japan, be prepared to hear the phrase 'Sensei! Sensei! Sensei!' in quick repetition when someone knows the answer and desperately wants to let you know that answer: stream1.gifsoup.com/view6/2693…

Some grammar notes:

This journal has gotten a little long now, so I'll wrap it up with a little grammar note. Japanese is a context language, so if you've ever tried to translate like a single line, you'll notice it's missing giants chunks of words that would connect the sentence, or basically make it make sense - in English at least. Japanese just isn't like that on a fundamental level. For example, the word for apple is ringo. In English if I just say apple, you picture a single apple until extra words come up and explain if it is indeed a singular apple, a group of apples, or a big giant apple shaped monster. In Japanese, you say ringo and basically the person has to figure out why you've said apple by interpreting the context and situation of why you said it. If you say it in a grocery store, chances are you've seen or want to buy apples, but it's not clear which immediately (this causes perpetual confusion in Japanese, most of which is solved by building experience with whoever your with and how they normally act). 

This ties in with a Japanese social trend. The problem with Westerners learning Japanese is that they don't have the ability to detect and pick up subtle little social changes that are seemingly blindingly obvious to Japanese people. It's just not infused in our language, but for the Japanese it is, because they're constantly matching situational awareness with the words being spoken. Apparently this makes us generally unable to pick up on things like atmosphere, or other such things. Or at least, make us slower to react to these changes in the social sphere. To be honest this will be cured with experience, so I think we can be forgiven for a few months. 
© 2014 - 2024 TornIntegral
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