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stumptowny
Joined: 29 May 2011
Posts: 310
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 Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2012 4:37 am Post subject: |
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| steki47 wrote: |
| Almond_Lover wrote: |
| 6 months paid holiday?!? Where the heck do you work? |
ALT. Last year I worked 170 days. This year they screwed me and I have to work 177 days! |
me to.. love my ALT job..
I work 150 days this year (30 weeks). a full 5 weeks less than the other ALTs in my boe. it is because I work at one school, not 2 or 3.. and it is a great school.. easy and fun.. good kids. lunch is really good to.
should I re-contract?? 
other things I have started to like:
the coldness from people. it is growing on me as my libido has decreased to fall in line with the japenese. it feels more normal now, almost friendly. I ranted my first year here about this.. but I have accepted fully.
also I thought it was so anal, the rules of everything from laws to social behavior, to not being able to interpret an ambiguous or novel situation. like when my gaijin friend (a teacher who is about 4'10" tall) was being choked out by a drunk japanese man on a night train and no one offered assistance.. it is consistent and predictable which is nice. not the choking but the apathy or group think.. terrible example, I know, but if you don't plan on being choked out, there are many positives about group think and uniformity...
oh... the washlet toilets are ACE! total greatness to be able to walk into any department store and get a warm water douche on yur copper penny... ahhhhh.... makes up for no public benches and trash cans..
MONEY! private lessons... can make great money here. 3000 yen an hour for talking to sexy women.. come on now.. and a part time juku gig making 4900 yen for a 50 minute lesson!! usually do 2 * 50 min lessons an evening, once a week for nearly 10,000yen a pop for teaching ABC's and simple sentences!!
paying bills at the conveenie... these people have a lot of simple things figured out!
Last edited by stumptowny on Fri Nov 16, 2012 4:21 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Mr_Monkey
Joined: 11 Mar 2009
Posts: 661
Location: Kyuuuuuushuuuuuuu
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| Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2012 3:47 pm Post subject: |
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| oh... the washlet toilets are ACE! total greatness to be able to walk into any department store and get a warm water douche on yur copper penny... ahhhhh.... makes up for no public benches and trash cans.. |
TOTALLY agree. It's just... civilised knowing that at any given moment your arse is cleaner than Cheryl Cole's face.
we can bemoan the timidity and lack of Western 'initiative' in our students. They still have cleaner arses than pretty much any kid from the Cables Wynd estate. |
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Vince
Joined: 05 May 2003
Posts: 559
Location: U.S.
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| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 7:29 pm Post subject: |
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There's so much I got used to and enjoyed:
- the relative safety
- great department stores and specialty shops (at least in Tokyo)
- lots of unpretentious cafes
- people who are generally pleasant
- bill payment at convenience stores (that offer decent grab-n-go food)
- people dress well
- nice restaurants at all price ranges
- generally a thoughtfully organized society |
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Apsara
Joined: 20 Sep 2005
Posts: 2142
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 11:16 pm Post subject: |
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I am hopelessly addicted to drink vending machines, I couldn't live in this climate without them! So nice to have cold drinks so readily available in summer and hot canned drinks (which make great hand warmers too!) in winter.
I know they're an awful waste of electricity, but I try to make up for it by recycling religiously and conserving electricity where I can.
Oh that's another thing I like- that so many people bring their own bags to supermarkets here. People in NZ just don't seem to care, I've hardly seen anyone bringing their own bags to the supermarket there, so much for our clean green image! |
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steki47
Joined: 20 Apr 2008
Posts: 1029
Location: BFE Inaka
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| Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 8:45 am Post subject: |
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| Mr_Monkey wrote: |
| we can bemoan the timidity and lack of Western 'initiative' in our students. |
This has its ups and downs, but I will focus on the positive side. I appreciate that when a situation goes bad, the default reaction among Japanese is generally ritualistic courtesy rather than the hostility and anger that could happen with Americans. Nice, civilized touch! |
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Inflames
Joined: 02 Apr 2006
Posts: 486
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| Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 4:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Amazon recently shipped me a package using UPS and this has made me remember why foreign package delivery companies fit the stereotype of a clueless foreign company (terrible service and inflexible rules). They even managed to call me 3 times at work today to ask why I wasn't at home on Friday afternoon to get my package. |
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steki47
Joined: 20 Apr 2008
Posts: 1029
Location: BFE Inaka
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| Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Inflames wrote: |
| Amazon recently shipped me a package using UPS and this has made me remember why foreign package delivery companies fit the stereotype of a clueless foreign company (terrible service and inflexible rules). They even managed to call me 3 times at work today to ask why I wasn't at home on Friday afternoon to get my package. |
Good story, but this thread is supposed to be about positive experiences in Japan. In my area Sagawa Transport handles most deliveries and the guy who delivers to me is great. He knows me on site and tries to come after 5. Was thinking of giving him a New Year's card! |
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G Cthulhu
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 1373
Location: Way, way off course.
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| Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2012 2:08 am Post subject: |
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Police that are generally interested in leaving you alone and not anal retentive nutcases with control issues. In fact, thinking about it, all five times (that I remember) interacting with the police in Japan over a ~10 year period, they were unfailingly professional about it all. Even while giving me a speeding ticket. 
Unlike the cops I dealt with today here in the US. Utterly useless psycho hosebeasts.  |
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Inflames
Joined: 02 Apr 2006
Posts: 486
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| Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2012 3:15 am Post subject: |
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| steki47 wrote: |
| Inflames wrote: |
| Amazon recently shipped me a package using UPS and this has made me remember why foreign package delivery companies fit the stereotype of a clueless foreign company (terrible service and inflexible rules). They even managed to call me 3 times at work today to ask why I wasn't at home on Friday afternoon to get my package. |
Good story, but this thread is supposed to be about positive experiences in Japan. In my area Sagawa Transport handles most deliveries and the guy who delivers to me is great. He knows me on site and tries to come after 5. Was thinking of giving him a New Year's card! |
The part I omitted was how much better the service provided by Japanese delivery companies is. Even Seino, who I hate, manages slightly better service than UPS. |
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