New Apartment and Starting Work, Also My Awesome Boss

November 13, 2011

Sunday

6:53PM JST

This is my 2^nd entry for my blog since arriving in Japan. I am writing this entry in Microsoft Word because I don’t have access to the internet at my apartment yet and I don’t have enough time to write everything out at work since I’m, well, working when I’m at the office.

Here is the rundown of what has happened since my last post. I finished up training last Wednesday and I moved here, to Miyagi Prefecture, on Thursday via Shinkansen. One of my supervisors (at least I think he is…) brought my baggage with him via his car later in the day. So basically I arrived first then had to wait for him to get here. I also paid for the Shinkansen and connecting trains with my own money, though I did get quickly reimbursed thanks to my super kind manager. Anyways as soon as I arrived at the Sendai (Train) Station the manager picked me up. We went to the office and talked and I did some work (which I need to finish when I have the time) reorganizing some vocabulary cards that had been disorganized by the previous teacher who was fired for not, well, teaching.

Later that night (Thursday) my manager, the manager of the ALTs and the supervisor from Tochigi Prefecture who brought my luggage all went out to eat at an Izakaya. OMG. OMG. OH. MY. GOSH. I cannot describe how absolutely DELICIOUS the food was there. The first person who visits me is going straight there after I pick you up from the airport or the train station, depending on how you get here. Of course since I 1) have no money and 2) will start work the next day (Friday) my coworkers paid for all of it J. Also, before that the manager took me to a 100 yen shop and bought me like $30 worth of stuff for my apartment… little did I know that he was going to actually be the one paying for it! I was planning to buy all the stuff myself but then when we get to the register he takes out his wallet and buys it for me!!!!

My manager is awesome! He also set up everything for me, my apartment, my futon (floor bed), my refrigerator, my washing machine and then my mini oven/stove and the kotatsu (table with blankets and a heater underneath it, for not, you know, freezing to death in the winter). Now, I’m renting the futon, fridge and the washing machine for about $13 a month!! They’re also ALL new! My manager gave me his kotatsu that he can no longer use because he’s living in the office (I don’t know why…). He also got me the mini stove/oven and I think that’s probably going to come out of my paycheck too (I don’t know if I’m renting it…). Oh and he got curtains too.

With my own money (reimbursement and advance on my paycheck) + ~$100 the manager gave me (I did not ask! But by now I’ve thanked him at least 15 times), I went and bought some dishes, some food, a calendar, a towel, forks, knives, etc. The only things I really need now are zabutons (floor pillows) and more containers to organize my stuff.

In other news, I love my apartment!! I have a great view of the mountains in the distant AND my 1 bedroom, 1 kitchen (no dining room, the kotatsu is the dining table in my bedroom) has a tatami floor in the bedroom!! Not only that but I’m also within walking distance to all sorts of places to shop and eat. I don’t need a car at all here. I’m only about 20 minutes walking distance from my job and I don’t start work until noon or later. So happy!

That’s all for now!

日本到着~ Nihon Touchaku ~ Arrival in Japan

I have arrived in Japan!

The trip took me almost 30 hours. First I went to Denver, then to LAX then to Narita. I left the house around 5:30 AM on the 26th and arrived at around 5pm on the 27th. There IS a 14 hour time difference though.

I met my best friend 親友　（しんゆう）　shinyuu Izumi at the airport. Izumi went to school with me in Niigata. She's working at a hotel in Tokyo now.

Anyways we hugged, I spoke in less-than-polished Japanese but it was fine. She speaks some English now since she works at a hotel. I got on the bus to Utsunomiya 宇都宮　（うつのみや）　which cost about 4,070 yen and rode that for about 3 hours. I passed out sometime past the 1:30 mark. I then tranferred to a train at Utsunomiya Station 宇都宮駅 （うつのみやえき） Utsunomiya-eki on the 宇都宮線　（うつのみやせん）　Utsunomiya-sen.

Then I got on the Kurosoi-bound train 黒磯行き　（くろそいゆき） Kurosoi-yuki. I had to ask a high school student on the previous train which one was the right one for Ujiie 氏家 （うじいえ） which is where I am in now. I am actually in Sakura-city, Tochigi, Japan 日本栃木県さくら市　（にほんとちぎけんさくらし）　Nihon Tochigi-ken Sakura-shi　right now.

I met two very nice staff at the office. They took me there first then to my hotel. I love my hotel! It's tiny, tiny but awesome! I have internet and cable too!

I went out hunting and exploring for some food and google maps was no help at all. I had to ask directions. Fortunately I speak Japanese! So it was easy.

I had O~i ocha (green tea made by Ito En which can be found in the US at Whole Food's Market as Teas Tea Pure Green Tea for ~1.50 per 20 oz bottle), Motchi (NOT Mochi) Choco(late) Danish and Nikuman at a Lawson and 7/11 (I went to both). 7/11 has an ATM and I can get money out of that just as soon as someone sends me money, ha. I've got about 275 yen left in my account ;_;. I have about 3,000 yen left until then. (~$40) and I spent about 500 yen on lunch (~$5).

I'm waiting for a phone call from one of my bosses, I don't know what he's going to say to me or when he's going to call but when I get hungry I'm planning on leaving. I'll let the front desk know that I'll be out of course before I go.

Anyways below you are pictures of food and the town. More later!

Lunch. O~i ocha. Nikuman. Motchi Choco Danish. Salmon Onigiri.

Sake Onigiri = Salmon Onigiri = Delicious

 

 

出発日 ~ Shuppatsu Bi ~ Day of Departure

Today I leave for Japan!

For the last two days I spent time with my dad at his house and today we picked up my niece and visited my sister and her friend in north Texas.

My dad gave me a "new" camera so I will be able to post videos and photos once I get USB cable to transfer the files from the camera to my computer as the battery cover is broken and its being secured by a piece of wire and I'm afraid to move it to take out the SD card. Oh well. At least I can take over 1,000 pictures before I have to start deleting/uploading stuff ^_^.

I will be leaving this moring at 5:30 AM or so. It's 1:42 AM right now and I got home from my dad's place around 10 PM or so. I'm exhausted and sleepy but I doubt I'll be able to sleep.

I just finally finished packing and now I can take more stuff than planned originally because my dad gave me 2 large suitcases... unfortunately neither suitcase has the ability to stand up on its own (due in part to the fact that they're both very top heavy). I will weigh them before I leave just to make sure. I had to get rid of a bag I was planning on taking because I will already by lugging around 2 large suitcases plus an overstuffed backpack AND my laptop so I just don't have enough arms!

I calculated my journey and I will be travelling for just over 25 hours from the time I leave the house to the time I arrive at my hotel. Ugh.

I will make a post as soon as I get to my hotel and can figure out how to set up internet.

Oh and I had to ask my employer to give me some sort of stipend or something until I actually start getting paid. So poor ;_;

Until next time!
Toodles~

VISA! 査証ゲット！

I received my Japanese visa in the mail today! It looks so different from my previous visa when I went to Japan before.

I'm also planning a going away party for myself and 6 people beside myself are coming so far according to the facebook page. I just hope they actually show up!

Packing is 1/4th of the way done. I wish I had more room ;_;.

Longer posts for when I actually get to Japan! I promise!

Packing Packing Packing

I have begun to pack now. It looks like I'll be taking 2 checked bags and 1 carry on and 1 personal item. It's supposed to be free to travel from US to Japan for up to 2 checked bags. I'm going to call the airline today or tomorrow and ask.

I have 2 different types of work pants, a black dress that can be made to look like a long skirt and possibly some yoga pants. I need to buy more work clothes when I get to Japan.

So far I have filled up one small bag of clothes that are being washed right now. I'll pack them today.

I have 2 winter coats but I might not be able to bring the 2nd one because it's so big and I will have limited space in my bags.

More to come later.

16 days to go!

Plane ticket purchased!

Fantastic news everyone!

The plane ticket has been purchased and I will be leaving October 26th, 2011! I have already planned out my bus and train route from Narita to Ujiie. I will stay there for a week and then move on to Tomiya.

So excited!

News News News

So I will most likely be leaving at the end of this month. I found a cheaper flight for $646. I plan on sending off my visa application tomorrow and I will likely get it back by the end of the week.

SO excited!

Certificate of Eligibility GET!!!

As the title of the post says I got my Certificate of Eligibility in the mail today :DD pic related. (That's me by the way in case you were wondering, sorry about the poor quality).

Good News!!!

I got my Certificate of Eligibility... and by "got" I mean we missed the USPS guy and we'll have to pick it up tomorrow but we got it nonetheless!! I'm 100% positive that that's what it is in the mail.

Woot woot!

Short Update

So I'm out eating lunch at Mama Fu's with my mom using the last bit of money that my dad gave me. This past weekend I lost my phone, or rather, I left it in my mom's friend's car. I got it back today.

I still haven't heard back from my employer since they're waiting to hear back from Japanese immigration. Hopefully I should be able to go to Japan soon! I'm excited and nervous.

Yet Another Update

I sent my scanned copy of a $10 passport photo of myself to my employer for them to send off to immigration (the deadline was today, Japan time, so the 15th there and it's the 14th here).

I am waiting to hear back when I will be leaving for lovely Japan.

I still am quite broke and I need more money and my "students" haven't contacted me so *great* sadness.

More news when I get it.

I'm just spending my days writing some stories that will never be published.

That's all for now.

Update

So apparently my tiny little picture I sent of myself wasn't good enough for immigration so I have to get a professionally made passport-style photo pretty soon so the application can more forward.

Also, I got 2 leads to possible temp tutoring jobs but I haven't heard back from them since I emailed them initially which makes me afraid that they don't want me to tutor them after all. I do know how to tutor but I haven't (yet) been trained in proper pedagogy so I do have some problems with pacing with the students and giving them level-appropriate assignments but other than that I've gotten 5 stars (the highest possible rating) from my previous 2 students of Japanese through a website that I'm listed on which is WyzAnt.com. I'm open to tutoring students in ESL or Japanese and have had 20+ hours of experience in tutoring so I do know I'm doing to an extent.

Fortunately for future students once I go to Japan I will be -trained- to properly teach English :)

Also, I think I might be leaving at the end of this month or early next month but I need more money because I've had to live off the money that my dad gave me for my plane ticket. :(

That's all for now, updates as they come along!

Good News (sorta)

I finally heard from my employer (he was on vacation) and now the departure date is up in the air, depending on when immigration processes my application. I've heard from people on the internets that I should expect to wait at least another month for the CoE. Fortunately I haven't bought my plane ticket yet so I dodged a bullet since I didn't buy it yet.

Well, time for more waiting!

Certificate of Eligibility

Upon doing a little digging on various forms about the Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) I discovered, to my horror, that it might take up to 3 months JUST for the CoE. It also might take 2 weeks for my visa after I get my CoE. That info can be found here: http://english.visajapan.jp/nintei.html .

Based on the website's flowchart it does look like my company will mail me the CoE then I will send off all the info to the Houston Consulate and wait. I really hope it doesn't take 3 months, it'll be a month as of the 22nd (if they sent it all off that day).

Oh and in other news I found cheaper airfare to Japan through STA Travel (statravel.com). It only applies if you're a student, teacher, or youth under 26. I found a fare for $785!!

The Waiting Game

So here we have, we have arrived at the dreaded pre-departure stage known as: "The Waiting Game."

I suppose I should have purchased my plane ticket by now, being as I do have to money for it and the prices are, well, acceptable. I just haven't bought it yet because I'm waiting to hear my employer about the status of my CoE and so on and so forth. I'm kinda scared to get my plane ticket then something terrible happens and I can't go... then $871 wasted (because it's gonna be a one-way ticket). I also don't want to end up leaving BEFORE I get my visa mailed back to me, which would also be equally terrible.

I hope they email me back soon!

Life in Japan

To those of you reading this that are not aware that I have actually lived in Japan, now you know! Japan is not a first time experience for me so I already have a very good idea of what to expect.

About my time in Japan, here is a quick summary/recap.

I went in 2004 to 2005 to Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan (日本新潟県新潟市）. I went with the Rotary International Youth Exchange Program. During my time there I lived with 4 different host families (all with children but not all or any children were necessarily living with them at the time) - the Watabe's, the Kinoshita's, the Miyakawa's (I think? ;_;) and the Satou's. I had very different experiences at each one of them but all provided a unique look on the culture of Japanese family life and customs/traditions! I also attended Tokyo Gakkan Niigata High School (private) and my home-room teacher was Mrs. Sakaue. Mrs. Sakaue (or Sakaue-sensei) was the English teacher, she was extremely helpful and kind to me and I miss her and wish I could meet my old friends/host families etc again when I do return to Japan.

PROOF!

                                                        Osaka Castle, Osaka, Japan (2005?)

When I was living in Japan I made numerous friends that I miss very much and would love to hang out with again someday!

Also, during my time as a student at Tokyo Gakkan Niigata H.S.  I joined the 筝曲部（そうきょくぶ） "soukyoku-bu" or the Koto club.The Koto is a 13-stringed instrument much like a harp, but on the floor, so it's commonly known as a "floor harp."

A nice Japanese lady (Masayo Ishigure) wearing a Kimono and playing the Koto. 

From Wikipedia. 

Now, as I'm sure some readers are aware that in Japanese middle schools and above uniforms 制服（せいふく）"seifuku"　are required. I, myself, being a high school girl 女子高生（じょしこうせい）"joshi-kousei" I also had to wear a uniform. Pictured below are the current uniforms worn by Tokyo Gakkan students (my version was the year before they upgraded to more...conservative attire). 

Aren't they cute?

In Japanese schools it's the teachers who change classrooms 90% of the time. The exceptions were art, shodo (calligraphy), gym and home economics. Gakkan also didn't have a cafeteria, like most high schools, so our parents (my host parents) made a bentou lunch for us every day! 

 

A deluxe bentou. 

More about bentou at Wikipedia.

Getting a Job in Japan

For those who dream of living and working in Japan as I have this is how I managed to snag a job in Japan. However, before you decide to pack your bags and buy one-way ticket to Japan these are some requirements you MUST meet in order to even be considered for a job in Japan.

1) Have at LEAST a Bachelors degree.
 Anything less and no one will give you a second look, so finish up that degree you've been putting off! 
2) Have NO criminal record.
Aside from minor traffic violations.
3) Be willing to move anywhere in Japan.
You may not get that cushy job in Tokyo, but hey, you'll be in JAPAN!
4) Know SOME Japanese.
Even if your plan is to teach English for the rest of your life there, knowing basic Japanese will get you so much more respect from the locals and you'll understand more of what's going on around you, plus you're living in Japan, speak Japanese!
5) Be willing to get TEFL certified.
I'm not certified but it doesn't hurt to be as some jobs do require it, others teach you how to teach English which is what my company is going to do.

In order for me to get the job with JT (JoyTalk) I had to fill out an application and had a skype interview with a very nice Australian gentleman who asked me if I was willing to live anywhere in Japan (including the sticks/small towns) and I said anywhere is fine! He asked me if I would be willing to sing a children's song for him (since I'll be teaching little Japanese children songs) and I did, though I'm a terrible singer. We spoke in Japanese for a little while and I expressed my desire to use Japanese in the job if at all possible and then after about an hour of that the interview was over. I was so incredibly nervous!

Anyways, I interviewed on June 3rd or so and it was the middle of July already before I heard anything back from them so I basically gave up! Lo and behold just as I had given up I got an email from the nice Australian guy (name withheld) and he said he was busy finding a position that was "right" for me. I gladly accepted and am now waiting for enough money for the plane ticket to depart August 31st!

Right now I'm waiting for my "Certificate of Eligibility" to go through which for some reason the Japanese government requires BEFORE the actual visa (but getting the CoE is not a guarantee of getting the visa...oh bureaucracy... how I loathe you). In order to get the CoE one must submit a scanned image of their actual degree (the diploma), their passport with signature, signed contract and I think that's it. I also sent a copy of transcripts just in case, though that's not required. Your employer will take care of submitting all the paperwork so you just have to sit back and wait 3-4 weeks. Once they get it, I think they'll be sending it to me. Then I will print out a copy of the visa application, fill it out, put my passport and the CoE in an envelope along with the visa application, wait a week (?) get my passport back with the visa attached in most likely GIANT sticker form and a week or 2 later I'll be in the airport ready to get groped by the TSA! Then if they don't find my boobs or butt suspicious then I'll hop on a plane for a 16 hour (total) ride to Japan! Then I'll face questioning and fingering-I mean, fingerprinting by the Japanese immigration officials and they'll look at my visa, at me, back at my visa, me again, smile and say "welcome to Japan" or something.

Willing to go through all that? Then you too can possibly get a job teaching English in Japan!

Countdown to Japan

Hello everyone!

This is my first post detailing the process it takes to
1) get a job in Japan
2) get a visa once you get a job in Japan
3) (afford) a plane ticket for Japan
4) get an apartment in Japan
5) get food in Japan
6) make sense of Japanese laws and customs
7) make Japanese friends
8) learn Japanese
9) how to have fun in Japan
10) how to deal with culture shock/home sickness

I intend to leave for Japan by August 31st but I won't have enough money for a ticket until the 1st of August, so let's hope the really cheap prices don't go up before I have enough for the ticket!