Job Discussion Forums

Dorman · Joined: 22 Jul 2004 Posts: 13 Location: Nova Scotia / Osaka

PaulH, Iwantmyrightsnow, and Li-ka:

Thanks for all the info. Sitting here in Nova Scotia the directions do not make a whole lot of sense, but I'm sure that will be quickly cured once we arrive.

PaulH, I think rural was the wrong choice of words, I'm well aware Osaka is a big city. I guess I was inquiring more on what type of surroundings there'd be, such as living in a downtown sector, etc.

Li-ka - Greetings! Maybe we'll cross ways in a couple of weeks. We're getting in the afternoon of the 22nd. As far as being punctual, that's me down to the letter. I usually get to work now 30-45 minutes before my start time. I cannot stand feeling rushed so I always give myself lots of time.

Call me twisted, but I am looking forward to having a bit of a walk simply for the exercise. And I won't have to walk in the Canadian winter, yes! Very Happy

I'll definently have to check out the park if I get feeling lonely for some greenery.

If you don't mind me asking, where are you from? Really looking forward to joining the fun (I could reply with a bum shake! Razz

), and meeting some new people.

Blue skies,

Brad.

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

Li-ka · Joined: 21 Mar 2004 Posts: 52

Dorman,

I'm from New York State. I've been told that you can be surprised by how cold the winters get here. There is little to no insulation in these Japanese houses, so it can get colder inside the house than outside (cause there's no sun to warm everything up) so you might not be escaping from those Canadian winters. On a positive note, (or at least I'm hoping!) it seems that winter here is only about two months long.

By bum shaking and FUN, I was talking about our recent quakes. It looks like you'll get to miss all the aftershocks Wink

It's not really a great way to meet people. (c:

Enjoy your last few weeks at home!

Dorman · Joined: 22 Jul 2004 Posts: 13 Location: Nova Scotia / Osaka

Li-ka,

I'm used to cold winters. We're right on the atlantic ocean here, and the winters are very long and very cold. I can relate to having an apartment colder than outside, we lived in a basement apartment a couple years ago (while poor university students) with drafty doors/windows, little insulation, and heat that we couldn't afford. Hooded sweaters and winter hats for all! I'll just be glad when there's not 2-3 feet of snow on the ground.

I didn't even put two and two together about bum shaking/earthquakes. It was a long night at work...

I plan to enjoy my last days here, so many people to see and thing to do. My girlfriend is bouncing off the walls excited, and it's really starting to hit me now. Seemed really far off before.

melirae · Joined: 26 Feb 2004 Posts: 145 Location: Korea

Hi Dorman!

The MM Center is great- in my humble opinion anyway! It is very overwhelming at first, after the first 3 days of training I was worried that I couldn:t do it alone and with only 10 minutes to prep. Now I`m on my 3rd day `alone` (ie with no trainer) and I have no worries at all. I find the 10 minutes ample time to get a lesson together. They are laid out for you very well- you just have to deliver.

Osaka is pretty cool and I have barely ventured from my immediate neighborhood. I live only 3 stops away from the Namba station, which is where the MM Center is. There is plenty of walking when you want to go places, so have no fear.

I`m getting a Canadian roommate next week- maybe she`s coming in with the same batch of newbies that you`re with! I`ll keep an eye out for you at the center when you start orientation.

See you soon!
Melinda

Dorman · Joined: 22 Jul 2004 Posts: 13 Location: Nova Scotia / Osaka

Melirae,

Hey, thanks so much for the reply. I'm already anticipating the first few days of work to be overwhelming. I always find we question ourselves, and fear the uncertainty of a new position. My last job was like that as well. A lot of information thrown at you in training, and a few days later you're thrown to the wolves! Smile

Chances are pretty good that your roommate would be on my flight. Does she arrive the 22nd? I'm on the very east coast of Canada, so we make to stops moving westward, and then straight over to Japan.

Brad.

Zzonkmiles · Joined: 05 Apr 2003 Posts: 309

I work at the MM Center and have worked there for over a year now. Send me a PM if you have any specific questions. I think the NOVA MM gig is probably one of the best of the Big 4 eikaiwa gigs available. The salary is certainly the greatest and the workload seems to be less than what you would have at a branch school.

As for Moriguchi, the Tanimachi subway line (the purple one) has a stop there. The Keihan also stops there, although you'd have to ride it west to Yodoyabashi and then transfer to the Midosuji subway line (the busy red one) and take it three steps south to Namba. The MM Center is about a 5-7 minute walk from Namba Station and is quite convenient. Moriguchi is in northeastern Osaka and is close to Takatsuki and Kyoto, I do believe. Getting from Yodoyabashi to Namba will take about 10-15 minutes.

The three main centers of Osaka, in my opinion, are Umeda, Shinsaibashi/Namba, and Tennoji. Umeda is quite classy and has a lot of good restaurants. It's also a good place to shop. Shinsaibashi/Namba is more of an entertainment district. Namba has more shopping and Shinsaibashi has more bars and night clubs. The two areas are close to each other. Tennoji is probably the busiest transportation hub in Osaka (after Umeda, perhaps).

Osaka has 8 subway lines that cover most of the city and are easy to navigate. There are also several other train lines that take you out of Osaka to nearby cities (the Nankai, Hanshin, Hankyu, Keihan, JR, and Hankai lines, for example). Encircling Osaka is the JR Loop Line, which is probably the most important train line for you to become familiar with. Living in a neighborhood serviced by the Loop Line is very convenient. Rent in neighborhoods outside of the loop line tends to be cheaper than rent in neighborhoods inside of it. Riding the trains is also a good way to learn Japanese, as it gives you practice hearing the stock announcements and reading the station names.

As for the other questions asked in this thread:

NOVA apartments are not co-ed. I did speak with one person in the housing department who said that some of the apartments in rural areas were co-ed, but that this was rare. You are not able to select your roommate, so it's really a luck of the draw.

NOVA apartments are fully furnished and are generally conveniently located (near a station). You can expect to pay 50-70,000 yen/month for a NOVA apartment. Note that this rent is per person, and not necessarily per apartment. So you could say that NOVA's making a profit off of you by living in their apartments. However, I think this "profit" offsets the key money you don't have to pay, the routine maintenance for normal wear and tear, and replacing/delivering furniture. If you want to move out, you have to give 30 days' notice. You can move out on shorter notice, but if NOVA cannot find a new roommate to replace you, you'll have to pay for the entire 30 days, even if you're not living in the apartment for all of those days. That's fair enough. (The subject of NOVA rent and apartments is another thread.)

The Japanese winter is nothing to sneeze at. The poor insulation and lack of central air conditioning makes both summer and winter oppresively uncomfortable. Last year, Osaka got snow flurries and an occasional dusting of snow. But I don't recall anybody here shoveling snow from their driveways and whatnot. The winter here seems to be similar to winter in the southern Mid-Atlantic or northern Southeastern US, such as North Carolina/Virginia or northern Georgia/Tennessee. The weather is quite pleasant now, but it should start getting a bit chilly in mid-October at night. I think winter lasts from December through mid-March. It's a long, cold season, I think. And the further north you go, the more severe it gets. Kyoto gets much more snow than Osaka, I do believe.

Apologies to the OP for going so off topic with this post. I hope someone finds this information to be useful.

stillnosheep · Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 2068 Location: eslcafe

Key money?

How much is the Key money divided by 35 teachers over 20 years.

Wise up.

sns

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Canuk girl · Joined: 27 Mar 2003 Posts: 60

I recently returned home from my year with Nova. First, to answer some of your questions:

Li-ka · Joined: 21 Mar 2004 Posts: 52

AgentMulderUK · Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2004 2:46 pm Post subject: Nice post, Canuk girl

Nice post, Canuk girl.

Let's hope your insights will save a few people from Nova.

Their rude and unprofessional attitude become apparent BEFORE I even left London. The only time they were nice was at the interview. Once they had my signature they were despicable.

The only way to bring these people down is to stop working for them, so the company stops raking in all the profits at the teachers' expense (over-inflated rent), ripping off the Japanese students, etc, etc, etc

Does this sound like a personal crusade? I hope so.