Moving to Japan

[Hitokiri]

Hey everyone, it's been a while. How is everyone? Most likely, most people will not remember me lol.

Anyways, I will be moving to Japan in 21 days so I will leave July 31st. I have accepted a position as an Assistant English Teacher in the city of Yatsushiro in Kumamoto Prefecture. I will be working for the J.E.T (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Program which is one of the largest exchange teaching program in the world. However it is pretty hard to get into because of all the applications and, from what rumors say, intense interviews. My interview was really nice and actually fun. 13 students from my college applied and only 3 of us was allowed a interview. The 3 of us were then selected as teachers.

Here is a map of the island of Kyushu where I will live at.


Here is a map of Japan:

By the way, my prefecture (state) is the not the one highlighted in red. This is just a random map I found. Look for the name "KUMAMOTO".

I will be teaching 5th-6th graders for 3 days and Junior High School for 2 days. My contract is for one year but I can extend it up to 5 years. My plan is to stay for 3-4 years or until I can find another job in Japan. My goal is to teach English in the university.

I will be living in a apartment complex with other English teachers. Yatsushiro city is a medium sized city with a population of 134,000. It is the second largest city in my prefecture. It used to be a old castle town but the castle was destroyed during a rebellion in the 1600's. I will situated on Yatsushiro Bay and apparently within walking distance to many of my schools, the port, and shopping areas.

I am very excited to begin this part of my life and my career. I will keep everyone posted and informed of my travels.

[Lynna]

Wow!!! that's really cool!!! ^_^ send us pictures as soon as you get there!!!!

Oh, and nice too meet you ^_^

[ChristianKitsune]

How awesome!!! I hope you have a very wonderful and rewarding time and although you are there to teach, I'm excited about the things you will learn as well!

I will be praying for you! ^_^

[Kaori]

Most likely, most people will not remember me lol.

I remember you; welcome back.

Congratulations on your acceptance into J.E.T. That’s very exciting—it sounds like an interesting area of Japan.

[KougaHane]

That's epic. I want to live in Japan as a missionary one day.

[Yamamaya]

Hey dude! I remember you talking about how you liked metal(fellow metal head here).

That's really awesome! Hope you have a really great time as an English teacher there.

BTW are you fluent in Japanese? jw.

[Hitokiri]

Haha I am far from fluent. Maybe above average. My ultimate goal is to become fluent in Japanese.

I see this as a stepping stone to even a much larger career goal: become a ESL instructor in a Japanese University. If I am successful, I will most likely apply for Japanese Citizenship.

[Tsukuyomi]

Congratulation! I'll be praying that all goes well!

[Kaori]

That’s awesome! Quite the ambitious goal, and very long-term. I’ve heard it takes ten years of working in some career that the Japanese government considers to be contributing to the advancement of Japanese culture and society . . . just to get permanent resident status. Becoming a citizen is notoriously difficult, usually involves renouncing your U.S. citizenship, etc. But I’m guessing you know all of that already, since Japanese citizenship is your goal.

とにかく、頑張れ！

[ShiroiHikari]

Awesome, dude! (I remember you; hi!) Best of luck to you.

[Hitokiri]

[quote="Kaori (post: 1408399)"]That’s awesome! Quite the ambitious goal, and very long-term. I’ve heard it takes ten years of working in some career that the Japanese government considers to be contributing to the advancement of Japanese culture and society . . . just to get permanent resident status. Becoming a citizen is notoriously difficult, usually involves renouncing your U.S. citizenship, etc. But I’m guessing you know all of that already, since Japanese citizenship is your goal.

と]

Yeah, I read that it is a pretty drawn out and long process. However, one of the most important requirements is that you must have stayed in Japan for a consecutive 5 years. This is of course assuming I can get a job after wards. This is years down the road and one of the many options I am considering.

[Kaori]

Yes, you do have to prove your ability to support yourself financially; the GOJ wants no indigent people naturalizing. Becoming a professor should take care of that just fine, I imagine.

BTW, have you read David Aldwinckle / Arudou Debito's pages about getting a job at a Japanese university? Some universities will give foreigners tenure, and others will only give you short-term contracts, with a limit on how many times you can renew your contract. There's some good information here.

[Hitokiri]

Ahhh Arudou Debito lol. I have read him on occasions. I know he means well but I do not always agree with his actions and methods. His almost violent attacking of Japanese legislature and personal beliefs, in my opinion, are a bit off-putting. Yes, Japanese do discriminate as we all know. However, I think David's actions and words do not always communicate well into Japanese idealism. I agree with many others that Arudou hammers in the idea that foreigners only stir up trouble.

But his methods do show results though with smoothing out Japanese/foreigner relations.

Luckily, I have several connections in some Japanese universities. They never promised me a job after I get out of JET but they said they can help with the job hunting process when its time.

I heard many foreigners are not granted tenure but many sources say different things. I was able to meet some foreign teachers who partcipated in JET or other similar organizations and then became part-time/full-time professors in English.

[ClosetOtaku]

Congratulations! Please do keep us informed of what you are up to. Thanks!

[Kaori]

His almost violent attacking of Japanese legislature and personal beliefs, in my opinion, are a bit off-putting. Yes, Japanese do discriminate as we all know. However, I think David's actions and words do not always communicate well into Japanese idealism.

I do see what you mean. Some parts of his website I found to be useful, though.

Luckily, I have several connections in some Japanese universities. They never promised me a job after I get out of JET but they said they can help with the job hunting process when its time.

便利なあ。

[Sailor Kenshin]

Ganbatte!

[armeck]

that's really cool! i'm sure you'll have lots of fun! XD

[mysngoeshere56]

Pleased to meet you! And, congrats! That sounds like quite an exciting opportunity... I can't even begin to imagine the excitement!