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TokyoLiz
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1548
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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 Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 4:12 am Post subject: |
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| Mennonite Plautdietsch is the language I comprehend but do not speak. I think early exposure to other languages (including Russian and Spanish) caused me to perceive language learning as a natural thing to do. I'm good at mimicking expressions and intonation, and I don't stress when faced with a new language. |
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rxk22
Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 1629
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| Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2016 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Ok I was expecting a southern Asian language. That is pretty cool, but I def didn't see that coming. If you had kept up with it, do you think you could have mastered German pretty easily? As German is a very hard language, even for English speakers. |
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TokyoLiz
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1548
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 11:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Rxk22, before my Japan life, I would have said standard German is difficult. However, having grappled with Japanese, opaque text and all, I'd say German wouldn't be too hard for me. Extensive reading is difficult in Japanese, but German is immediately readable. |
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rxk22
Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 1629
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| Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 10:17 pm Post subject: |
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Haha very true. Learning Japanese makes many other languages look like cake.
I'm jealous though. I never had even a part of a second language. I had to start from scratch. Which prolly made my learning curve much longer than yours. |
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victory7
Joined: 22 Mar 2016
Posts: 68
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| Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 12:27 pm Post subject: |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| RM1983 wrote: |
It's no joke living abroad, I've seen people come apart everywhere I've been. I think that it is true that it brings out some of things you might have been able to bury but perhaps more importantly it creates new things and it is kind of anyone's guess what they will be. What happens to your brain when you move abroad like this? Is it a case of bringing out what was already there or that your brain doesn't adapt in the right way?
I think this is where we could all be a bit more sympathetic - you tend to see people who mess it up getting laid into (especially online) but is it really they are lacking the gumption and the common sense or just that they've not really managed to connect to the new environment in the right way?
In my opinion though, most people do not stick around long enough to get to suicidal, they bail. If it was particularly a bad rate of suicide, then we might have a better level of information and care about what actually happens to you when you immerse yourself in another culture like this. |
I doubt anyone here is making fun of suicide; I just didn't pick that up from that guy after watching his entire video. My point was that a draggy monologue isn't needed to focus on life/work adjustment issues in a foreign culture.
By the way, I'm a single female who taught in Saudi Arabia as well as in a war zone elsewhere in the ME on a US govt project in which I received danger pay. But I'm a former US military brat, born and raised outside the States until my early teens; I adapt quickly. However, others don't. It's a matter of prioritizing needs vs wants -- a sticky subject on the Saudi forum where some job seekers focus only on the money and not on what it takes to live in a restrictive society with no alcohol, a strict gender segregation law, no driving for women, having to wear a scarf and abaya, etc. Some end up quite bitter about the experience (and unfortunately, post about it ad nauseam on the KSA forum). It's really not about the foreign work/life culture, but rather, one's ability to adapt.
This could be about any country and requires job seekers to be very realistic about the cultural environment and honest with themselves about their personal needs, wants, values, and limitations before choosing to accept a job offer. Definitely research potential employers. And when a situation gets to be physically or mentally straining, leave. No job is worth it. |
You really did do it hard in the ME. And demonstrated your mental toughness. I don't have much sympathy for the whinger from JET on youtube. JET pays double what some native English speakers make from teaching these days - believe it or not, folks, people CAN live on 150,000 yen per month in Tokyo despite another thread saying they can't. For a start there is so much cheap food to be found in the numerous discount supermarkets, there are even discount import food stores,
These are usually prudent people who saved so have money to back them up while they do low paying jobs before making cash at a number of them. 300,000 yen is still very good money for a gaikokujin teaching English in Japan. Some of the JET jobs are a breeze compared to many usual eikaiwa jobs.
Yes Japan can be isolating but it's a first world country where most of the natives live their lives without interfering in those of their foreign guest workers. It's far safer than most other countries which takes away a lot of the stress compared to living elsewhere. It's one of the most convenient countries in the world even if you don't live in a huge metropolis like Tokyo. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 12:52 pm Post subject: |
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| victory7 wrote: |
You really did do it hard in the ME. And demonstrated your mental toughness. I don't have much sympathy for the whinger from JET on youtube. JET pays double what some native English speakers make from teaching these days - believe it or not, folks, people CAN live on 150,000 yen per month in Tokyo despite another thread saying they can't. For a start there is so much cheap food to be found in the numerous discount supermarkets, there are even discount import food stores,
....
Yes Japan can be isolating but it's a first world country where most of the natives live their lives without interfering in those of their foreign guest workers. It's far safer than most other countries which takes away a lot of the stress compared to living elsewhere. It's one of the most convenient countries in the world even if you don't live in a huge metropolis like Tokyo. |
I adapt easier than others because of my third-culture kid experiences. Additionally, I tend to see the good in the cultures I live in rather than focus on the bad. For example, I was once labelled a "Saudi apologist" on the KSA forum because I don't bad-mouth the culture or people. When I was in Saudi Arabia, I took full advantage of that renowned Arab hospitality that others tend to not see or acknowledge. And I'm by no means a Pollyanna. 
Last edited by nomad soul on Sat Mar 26, 2016 1:08 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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victory7
Joined: 22 Mar 2016
Posts: 68
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| Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 1:04 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for that extra information. Too often what we hear or read about Saudi Arabian and other Arabic/Muslim cultures that have western technology and products but there the influence ends, is in a 'They're all the same' mode and often this is not a concerted effort at prejudice but an unthinking stereotype.
People from those countries and cultures are human beings with diverse personalities, backgrounds and perspectives on life. I could never live in Saudi Arabia because of the way of life imposed by the governing class, nor could I live in a country like Iran, but when I have had the chance to talk to people from those countries outside of there, I have really enjoyed hearing what they have to say. |
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victory7
Joined: 22 Mar 2016
Posts: 68
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| Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 1:26 pm Post subject: |
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| TokyoLiz wrote: |
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The negatives outweigh the positives. |
Because one guy with issues couldn't handle life abroad and posts a cry for help on YouTube?
The JET participants I met who had problems invariably brought their issues with them. Japan wasn't the problem. |
I'm not sure that English teachers especially JETS who have problems in Japan always bring their issues with them, but I have little sympathy for the JET on youtube who could potentially save 20,000 bucks or so a year on his handsome 300,000 yen salary per month with no rent.
I first came to Japan some time after the Bubble Economy when the good times were long gone but before the deflationary economy and increased opening to foreign imported goods, cheaper and accessible internet and wifi, much cheaper food and essential items thanks to many more new and cheaper supermarkets and stores etc.
Frankly the quality of life then sucked outside Tokyo. I lived in a nice prefecture with a reasonably big city but everything was so damned expensive.
An international call on a landline would usually set you back around 10,000 yen for 30 minutes or so. An internet connection running through the phone line cost a base 7,000 yen per month. I had to 'buy' the landline from my boss at a 'generous' discount so it cost me 68,000 yen. I naively thought I would not have to pay other fees as this was so expensive but every NTT bill had around a base fee of 2,500 yen before I had even made a local call.
There were no special cards for discounts if you used the buses frequently which I had to so my bus cards were a major expense each month. Supermarkets were poorly stocked compared to now, had very small portions for far more than you pay now for bigger ones, and the local Green Co-op was supposed to provide healthy food but the prices were horrendous. Imported 'food' consisted mostly of the odd Hershey bar and the imported drinks were Coca Cola, Pepsi and Fanta.
There was a Costco in my prefecture but it took me 3,000 yen in transportation to get there and back to my home, cutting into any savings from purchases there.
Seeing my income wither on the vine each month with these expenses and paying more rent then than I do now, made for a fairly poor quality lifestyle. The attractions for me were hiking and doing other things that avoided spending money, and I loved living in a different culture. I still do but experiences like mine in my first Japan stint were short in quality of life and quantity of money I could spend and save. Even a thrifty person like myself struggled. I certainly wasn't in Japan for the money because it was so hard to save.
To be honest I can't help thinking the JET person is spoilt. |
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RM1983
Joined: 03 Jan 2007
Posts: 360
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| Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 5:14 pm Post subject: |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| RM1983 wrote: |
| I'd add to that though - look after yourself physically, especially if you are a teacher. |
Ditto that, but that would be for any profession. Getting ill is especially a challenge for expats working in countries where the standard of medical care is below average or access to good care is limited. While working in a war zone, I chipped a tooth and had to wait until I got to Dubai a month later to get it fixed. Fortunately, that's not a problem in Japan. By the way, mental health is just as important. |
Perhaps more important for a teacher though? I'm increasingly aware of how I use my body when teaching , you need that kinesthetic awareness IMO. It can make a big difference, you have to be body-moving and very aware of how your moving effects the class. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 5:54 pm Post subject: |
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| RM1983 wrote: |
| Perhaps more important for a teacher though? I'm increasingly aware of how I use my body when teaching , you need that kinesthetic awareness IMO. It can make a big difference, you have to be body-moving and very aware of how your moving effects the class. |
Bad acting (exaggerated moves) is normal in teaching and really grabs students' attention. I could win an award for my overblown acting skills when illustrating a concept.  Throw in some Total Physical Response (TPR) and get everyone involved. |
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TokyoLiz
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1548
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 11:27 pm Post subject: |
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Victory7 says
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| I'm not sure that English teachers especially JETS who have problems in Japan always bring their issues with them, but I have little sympathy for the JET on youtube who could potentially save 20,000 bucks or so a year on his handsome 300,000 yen salary per month with no rent. |
In my JET cohort, we had a lot of young, inexperienced people with preconceptions about what they would do here. One imposed her religious views on others on the trip and tried to bring religious tracts into public junior high classrooms. JTEs asked other ALTs in the district to "manage" her. She made no friends.
I was in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend from home. He was eager to join me at first, and had already lived in Japan, but three months in, he got cold feet and he never showed up. I told my supervisor, and she cried along with me.
So yes, we young ALTs caused ourselves and other people grief because we brought baggage with us.
There were some bumps with the schools - cranky, resistant and uninformed teachers who resented ALTs in their classrooms, but most of the JET ALT experience was positive.
About costs - back in the day, my phone bill was higher than my rent.
However, I made such great money, the rent was low, the utilities were paid for by my landlord, and the schools provided lunch for free (for which I thanked them profusely). I saved a lot of money.
I think of JET as a working scholarship and a present to myself as a break from teaching in ESL schools in Vancouver, Canada, where I started teaching.
About correspondence, I wrote a journal which I emailed home weekly to former coworkers, friends and family, and I wrote essays for the local JET newsletter. It's challenging to collect your thoughts in essays.
These days, we have Youtube and social media. Some YouTube vloggers provide good insight, and it's a great medium. However, some just whinge or ramble. |
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taffer
Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 50
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 8:21 pm Post subject: Attitude adjustment: FRIEND PRICES! |
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Someone earlier brought up previous "shitty" environs/ employment situations abroad. Having experienced those, they now look upon Japan more favorably, more appreciatively than those who are coming here as their first destination, (FOR LIVING & WORKING, not as a tourist obviously). Sure.
In interviews with candidates in my former job hiring for a medium scale eikaiwa, it was rare to hear much in the motivation department beyond the self absorbed: I love J language/ manga/ anime/ cosplay/ J-pop/ ninjas/ samurais/ Hello Kitty or Kyary worship. Urge to tour these Daisos and Don Quixotes I keep hearin' about, until I drop...or, I want to expand my horizons, or, money/ student loan issues, or, I have friends or a girlfriend or a cousin there. I am a bi-polar, stinking drunk slash prescription or otherwise drug addled freak who needs to get out of Dodge...
Every response under the sun EXCEPT the very obscure: I feel inspired to DO something with my life which will inspire others. I want to break out of my little (Nationality) box and learn what other people in this world can teach me. I am HUNGRY to TEACH someone something and I think I MIGHT just be able or even GOOD AT relaying my language to a Japanese person. I have heard that Japan demands a higher level of dedication in the workplace and, yes, just about every other aspect of life and i would like to know more about that- verify that...I yearn for a life more challenging than the one I am currently living here in Joberg, Philadelphia, Kamloops, Cardiff, Melbourne, Budapest, or Manila. Then there's always, (yet so rarely actually heard), I have spent quite a bit of time abroad teaching, training/ certing up every chance i could get, and feel I am quite possibly ready for the highly competitive TEFL opportunities Japan offers.
Motivation. If it is off, YOU will go off. The rails, your expiry date, your rocker, or the reservation entirely.
Point? Who on earth has been afforded this key to travel, make money and share, LOVE and LIVE like we ALL have? Who indeed. Hello, Liz, btw. Been a while. |
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TokyoLiz
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1548
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2016 2:34 am Post subject: |
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Taffer, it's been a while, eh?
| Quote: |
| Someone earlier brought up previous "shitty" environs/ employment situations abroad. Having experienced those, they now look upon Japan more favorably, more appreciatively than those who are coming here as their first destination, (FOR LIVING & WORKING, not as a tourist obviously). |
Japan's conditions are not bad at all, as long as you're well prepared to work.
| Quote: |
| In interviews with candidates in my former job hiring for a medium scale eikaiwa, it was rare to hear much in the motivation department beyond the self absorbed... |
A lot of the ALTs I've met aren't here because they're interested in education. There are a lot of economic refugees, people doing a gap year, improving their resumes, pursuing a cultural interest, running amok, chasing girls, wandering aimlessly, etc.
However, I've also worked alongside teachers, people who have TESOL, PGCE, B.Ed, etc., who are here to teach and learn. Among them are many who are building careers in education, and they appreciate the opportunity that their teacher preparation affords them. You probably don't meet many of these teachers in eikaiwa or ALT situations. |
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Lamarr
Joined: 27 Sep 2010
Posts: 190
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| Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2016 12:50 pm Post subject: |
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I know people who've worked these private school and direct hire jobs, and they're just glorified ALTs, walking along a treadmill after a few years. There's a glass ceiling which limits what you're able to do, and you're never really much more than an assistant, not required to do much beyond the old human tape recorder routine. Sure, you can do all these sessions and networking events through JALT, read loads of books and apply all this teaching methodology in the classroom, but the schools that I've seen (I'm talking private schools) don't require or expect that of ALTs, and don't care about it or give any kind of recognition or reward for it.
You'd be better off getting a teaching degree and either teaching in the Japanese school system, or the international schools, where there's more of a career and salary structure, and you're actually required to teach and expected to develop, and are judged on your teaching skill and the results you get.
I really do think you're cheapening yourself by putting all this apparent effort into a system that doesn't care for it or recognize it. The only thing I can see in favour of private/direct hire jobs over the general ALT dispatch and eikaiwa world is that they're in a more solid and stable financial situation. They're run more professionally, and the pay is higher. Beyond that, it's the same old story: turn up on time, smile, and don't annoy anyone. It doesn't take much to deliver that, so it's not surprising that the job attracts the kind of people you describe. |
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TokyoLiz
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1548
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Sun May 01, 2016 3:10 am Post subject: |
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| I know people who've worked these private school and direct hire jobs, and they're just glorified ALTs... |
I've seen many non-Japanese people dropped into these kinds of situations.
There is a wide variety of situations out there. In the last 10 years, I've seen schools where non-Japanese teachers holding tokubetsu menkyo teach core English courses solo. They're not ALTs.
In the last decade, I haven't worked as an ALT to JTEs except for one year while I was splitting my time between work and graduate studies.
| Quote: |
| You'd be better off getting a teaching degree and either teaching in the Japanese school system, or the international schools, where there's more of a career and salary structure, and you're actually required to teach and expected to develop, and are judged on your teaching skill and the results you get. |
You're right. The best compensated and most stimulating teaching positions require a K-12 teacher licence, TESOL MA, etc., and tend to be in schools that have international education or well developed EFL programs.
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| I really do think you're cheapening yourself by putting all this apparent effort into a system that doesn't care for it or recognize it. |
I work for a specific institution, with their specific expectations and rewards. |
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