Japan thread v. 2.0

Thanatopsis123

Thanatopsis123

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Oct 13, 2002
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Perhaps the future posts in this thread will bring the funny. I am going back to Japan to teach English after all. And again, I'll be the only English teacher at the place. Things will be a little different this time though so lord only knows what kind of hilarity could ensue. This time I'll have a fiancee over there. This time I'm not exactly working for an English conversation school. However, for this first post I can't help but post something of a different nature before I try this shit again.

Last time I went, I did it for the hell of it. I'd just graduated, decided I didn't want to teach in a high school as I'd been planning, and ran away to Japan. When I got back from Japan, I almost immediately wanted to go back. Was it reverse culture shock? Maybe it was just that I didn't feel finished with Japan yet. Eventually it became because I planned to live there again permanently. Planned on it but wasn't sure if I wanted to. I decided after careful consideration and discussion that giving Japan a long term shot would be the best and currently most doable plan. So for a good year now it's been the plan but nothing but a plan. Suddenly I'm a few days out and it's feeling much more real.

It was a sobering moment tonight when I started going through my wallet to take out cards and things I won't need over there. It hit me that fuck, I'm planning to live over there the rest of my fucking life. Really? What about my family? My friends? My country? My CD collection? My other shit? This is huge. Fright, apprehension, and melancholy hit me like a ton of bricks.

So I guess I'm basically just having another Oh Shit, Wtf Am I Doing™ moment.

Oh fuck.
 
Been there done that, I think Germany had less of a culture shock for me than Japan would be for anyoen but its still a big change. It also doesn't get all that much easier when you think of friends, family, and places you used to go and things you used to do that you can't do anymore.

edit: I can say that I think I'm fully integrated now, I just spent the past 2 weeks with a large group of germans who've known each other for years and years (some of them around 20-25 years by now) and fit right in without any difficulties.
 
If it fucks up somehow, you can come back. Unless you finish by killing everyone who was mean to you in school ten minutes before the flight leaves.
You're not forgetting that you hated it completely and wholly last time there, right? Just wanted to make sure. If I wasn't a lazy fuck, I'd quote fifty posts where you complain here. Then again, I suppose you know what about it you hated exactly and have taken care to assure those things will be different this time around.
 
I'm sure we were all pretty surprised by your decision to return to the land of the rising sun... all you did last time was bitch & take pictures!
 
my ex had a similar experience. she moved to Japan, hated it, then left back to Czech Rep. and she was drawn back to Japan. she now lives there and seems to love it.
of all the Asian countries it seems to have the coolest people and its probably the most "westernized" if there is such a thing.

good luck dude! what city are you going to live in?
 
Ellestin said:
may I pay a visit some time?
Click to expand...

Sure! I don't know if I'll be able to entertain you but on weekends but come on over.

Hell Mike said:
If it fucks up somehow, you can come back. Unless you finish by killing everyone who was mean to you in school ten minutes before the flight leaves.
You're not forgetting that you hated it completely and wholly last time there, right? Just wanted to make sure. If I wasn't a lazy fuck, I'd quote fifty posts where you complain here. Then again, I suppose you know what about it you hated exactly and have taken care to assure those things will be different this time around.
Click to expand...

Demilich said:
I'm sure we were all pretty surprised by your decision to return to the land of the rising sun... all you did last time was bitch & take pictures!
Click to expand...

I have to admit I used certain people and places to vent and sometimes forgot to also mention more positive aspects of my experience. The one person that knew most about my time there wasn't so terribly surprised to hear I wanted to go back.

By far the majority of my rage and depression while there stemmed from my job. Or more accurately, it stemmed from my boss. I've tried to make sure things will be different this time around. Unlike last time, I've spoken with one of the previous teachers and the current teacher that I'll be taking over for. Not everything that annoyed me has changed. I still might be annoyed some days when I'm gawked at in a grocery store. It might still anger me at times when people refuse to sit next to me on a crowded train. But my reactions are relative. When I ranted and raved about these things the last time, you have to remember when they usually happened (which was all the fucking time) I hardly cared. But you all sure heard me complain about them after they'd been compounded by a shitty day at work because of my boss.

This time I won't be working for the same shrew of a woman. The town I'll be in is in a different prefecture and this time is not a town where the average length of stay for an English teacher is half of the national average.

lurch70 said:
my ex had a similar experience. she moved to Japan, hated it, then left back to Czech Rep. and she was drawn back to Japan. she now lives there and seems to love it.
of all the Asian countries it seems to have the coolest people and its probably the most "westernized" if there is such a thing.

good luck dude! what city are you going to live in?
Click to expand...

That seems to be the case with many people. A lot of people tend to leave a country and quickly idealize it, forgetting all of it's negative points. I hope I'm not one of those. With any luck I'll be like your friend there and love it my second time instead of repeating my first stay.

I'll be in a small town near Kobe.
 
Shit.

Went to the airport bright and early this morning but there was fog. The genius pilot of the first plane I was supposed to take didn't fuel up when he was supposed to so instead of being able to circle one or two more times until the fog cleared, he flew to another state to refuel. Guess I'll have to try this all again tomorrow. *sigh*
 
I'm not one for omens but the ticketing machine at the airport did cut my ticket in half this morning and proceeded to beep at me for 10 minutes while I had my tickets reissued at the counter. The woman that helps people with those machines had never seen that happen before.

Hmmm........
 
I've now been here a week. I finally got my internet connection up and running (hopefully somewhat stable this time) today with the help of one of my bosses. He's an older guy and doesn't speak English too well. That's a recipe for technological disaster. My favorite part of the 5 day long struggle to get my connection working was when he was on the phone with tech support and suddenly turned to me to ask "Do you have wheel butter? Wheel butter? Wheel butter soft? Wheel butter computer."

More updates to follow when I have time.
 
Japanese women who go to their greatest efforts to look like American women are absolutely the most unattractive thing in the world. :erk: Do you encounter that a lot?
 
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