In the Meantime...
Just figured I'd check in with what's going on...
Basically I've been waiting to get my COE (Certificate of Eligibility) back from Angie. She said Velika (current employee) got hers back in 4 weeks, but it can take up to 3 months. I hope it doesn't take 3 months. It's the last thing I need to get my Visa finalized. She needed my diploma (original!) and pictures from me and a signed contract, etc.
Here's what I need when I apply for my Visa in NYC:
So my observations about people's reactions to my going to Japan. I am kind of surprised that a few people have asked me how much money I will be making. As if it's their business, but I humored their question. Simply put, I will be making more than I'm making now. That being said, it is still a very modest salary.
But I made one thing clear to those who asked me, I'm not going for the money. I'm going for the experience and the knowledge of the language. I want to teach and see how well I do. It's a challenge for me, and it's going to be life-changing. This I know! It's an adventure, so it's scary and exciting at the same time. It's something I'm doing to prove to myself that I can.
Also, it seems that many people think that they don't have meat in Japan - they do. Most of it is imported, so it's expensive, but they have plenty of fish and other sources of protein if I find that I can't pay for red meat (even on my income, I could probably manage one meal of red meat a week at least, which is about what I'm eating now, so I shrug that comment off).
Since I will be up in the mountains, I am guessing that much of my diet will consist of rice, vegetables, and tofu or other soybean products. I like miso. So that's not a problem for me... I've purchased a cookbook of simple everyday Japanese meals, so I hope to try my hand at it before I go. Oh... and I won't have an oven. I will have a 2-range stovetop. I don't cook in the oven as it is now, so that's not that much of an issue.
I've been researching the area where I will live. From what I can see on the Google map, it looks like there's a lot of golf courses. Also, the friends I have that are in Japan now are all very far away. Except for Mio's sister, who I hope to spend some time with.
I've also been doing some shopping for clothes and planning what to pack. Packing shouldn't take me that long, I won't need to pack nearly as much as I had anticipated. The computer will probably be the hardest packing job. I really hope I saved the boxes from when I got the computer, that will make it about 10x easier.
As for clothes, I still need a nice jacket and a pair of boots, and maybe another suit. I only have one as it is, but from what Angie described to me for the dress code, I may not need more than one.
So there's a summary. I'm looking into getting a new Digital Camera as well as a Nintendo DS for their electronic kanji dictionaries. I guess the stylus makes it ultra handy. These are things I could ask for for Christmas. I also wanted to get a new printer, because the one I have has been aggravating me lately. I have had it for 5 years, so maybe it's time.
Just figured I'd check in with what's going on...
Basically I've been waiting to get my COE (Certificate of Eligibility) back from Angie. She said Velika (current employee) got hers back in 4 weeks, but it can take up to 3 months. I hope it doesn't take 3 months. It's the last thing I need to get my Visa finalized. She needed my diploma (original!) and pictures from me and a signed contract, etc.
Here's what I need when I apply for my Visa in NYC:
- My Passport
- 2 45mmx45mm recent pictures (I hope July is recent enough, I'm not getting my pictures taken again... 7 dollars -_-)
- 2 Official Visa application forms
- Documents certifying purpose of visit (for me that would be the COE and my Contract)
So my observations about people's reactions to my going to Japan. I am kind of surprised that a few people have asked me how much money I will be making. As if it's their business, but I humored their question. Simply put, I will be making more than I'm making now. That being said, it is still a very modest salary.
But I made one thing clear to those who asked me, I'm not going for the money. I'm going for the experience and the knowledge of the language. I want to teach and see how well I do. It's a challenge for me, and it's going to be life-changing. This I know! It's an adventure, so it's scary and exciting at the same time. It's something I'm doing to prove to myself that I can.
Also, it seems that many people think that they don't have meat in Japan - they do. Most of it is imported, so it's expensive, but they have plenty of fish and other sources of protein if I find that I can't pay for red meat (even on my income, I could probably manage one meal of red meat a week at least, which is about what I'm eating now, so I shrug that comment off).
Since I will be up in the mountains, I am guessing that much of my diet will consist of rice, vegetables, and tofu or other soybean products. I like miso. So that's not a problem for me... I've purchased a cookbook of simple everyday Japanese meals, so I hope to try my hand at it before I go. Oh... and I won't have an oven. I will have a 2-range stovetop. I don't cook in the oven as it is now, so that's not that much of an issue.
I've been researching the area where I will live. From what I can see on the Google map, it looks like there's a lot of golf courses. Also, the friends I have that are in Japan now are all very far away. Except for Mio's sister, who I hope to spend some time with.
I've also been doing some shopping for clothes and planning what to pack. Packing shouldn't take me that long, I won't need to pack nearly as much as I had anticipated. The computer will probably be the hardest packing job. I really hope I saved the boxes from when I got the computer, that will make it about 10x easier.
As for clothes, I still need a nice jacket and a pair of boots, and maybe another suit. I only have one as it is, but from what Angie described to me for the dress code, I may not need more than one.
So there's a summary. I'm looking into getting a new Digital Camera as well as a Nintendo DS for their electronic kanji dictionaries. I guess the stylus makes it ultra handy. These are things I could ask for for Christmas. I also wanted to get a new printer, because the one I have has been aggravating me lately. I have had it for 5 years, so maybe it's time.
Labels: Preparation
posted by Margaret at 12:19
6 Comments:
Not only do they have meat in Japan but in recent years the Japanese have been eating more of it and are getting more Americanized as far as cases of obesity and diabetes. But I'm sure you already know this since you probably know a billion times more about Japan than I do. One last thing, don't open a Chinese Kung Fu school there or the Japanese will challenge you to a fight to make you close the school. That's what happened to Bruce Lee in that documentary called Fist of Fury anyway.
Dangit that was supposed to say Mexigogue, not Michael. :-(
It's a shame how places like McDonald's are becoming popular in Japan. My host brother and his friend loved that kind of food. Had me worried. Generally speaking, from what I noticed coming back from Japan, Japanese people are skinnier. That explained my culture shock in JFK international when I found myself surrounded by fat people.
When I was there, I actually lost weight because my host family fed me good food like fresh produce, fish, eggs, bread, noodles, etc. And I walked a good distance to school every day.
So I wonder where the misconception about meat comes from. Japan had a recent ban (last year and this spring specifically) on American beef, but they still had beef from Canada and Australia.
And I would hate for General Fugita to bribe my chef and kill the Master of my Kung Fu School with poison.
Hey, I understand the money comment. I actually asked Mary what she would make because I wanted to know ho much I would make if I did the JET program.
But people don't understand that if you were in the US, your money would be used for vacations and living. Being in Japan already fulfills that. (ie. If I wanted to save money for anything it would be a ticket to Japan.) Living there is worth much more than money for that reason... at least for me.
Hi, just make sure your adapters from your computer and other gadgets are compatable with their electrical system because if its not it might blow out.
Thanks for the tip - I actually already checked to see if I needed to buy adaptors for all my stuff - turns out that the area that I'm going to in Japan uses the same as America - but if I were up near Tokyo area, it would be a different. Lucky me ^_^
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