Job Description
Usually, i get up at 9am. take a shower and internet before work. take the bus from the train station for about 15 minutes, or i walk for 30 minutes if the weather's nice. I get to work at 10:50am or so. Japanese style is to show up 10-15 minutes early to be considered on time. My average schedule has 6 classes a day. I usually start teaching from 3pm on, with an occasional class between 11 and 3pm. Usually younger students (1-3 year olds) are earlier in the day and older students come later.
In class, we do a warm-up/review for 10 minutes. Present the new vocabulary and sentences and we basically play games or sing songs depending on what works best with which group. You'd be surprised how many teenages want to sing songs! And they we do question and answer sessions to review and to help the kids remember. It's pretty straight forward. At the end of the day, we have to clean our own rooms. Another Japanese culture thing.
After work, i usually have to walk. The bus comes about 20 minutes after work's done. I always eat out on account of a kitchen with only one burner and a cubbard filled with old crusty pots that look like they haven't seen any action since the 80's. Also eating out/drinking is the best way to see people and meet new ones. Most Japanese will want to speak English with you. They might even go as far as to flag you over and ask you quesitons they learned from TV or some sign. Kind of intrusive, especially if you're tired, but it makes life here interesting. In Niigata, there's also a couple restaurant that are seen as "gaijin-friendly" they have English menus or servers that can make things a lot easier. After that I head home and try to get my knees back after all the bending and lifting with the kids.
Pros
The pros of my job have to be broken into two pars: the actual job, and the pros of living in Japan. Both are incredibly intertwined, but it's important to seperate them and hopefully it'll be clear how they come together. I think it'd be best if you read the daily job routine and then come back to this.
job: By far the best part of my job is see the progress and retention of my kids learning English. When they "get it" and can respond to certain questions, the feeling is just amazing. I also find that i'm reading more about psychology, just to understand kids better. Obviously somethings work with kids that dont' with adults and vise versa. When you do find something, the kids eat it up and love the class as much or more. Also it's great to make the kids smile and laugh. They do all the "kid things" like ask you to carry them or hold their hand.
It also means everyday is never quite the same. Aside from always having different schedule for each day of the week, which means planning will always be different. Also planning time is alloted for each day. So unless you really enthusiastic about it, you don't have to take your work home with you.
We use textbooks so lesson material is pretty static, but as long as you cover the given material, you have free reign on what you do in class.
There is also a good network in place for foreigners that come to Japan. The company usually will call to check "how you're doing" and occasionally the staff will have welcome/good-bye/birthday parties.
Living in Japan: Living in Japan is quite an experience. It's obviously more than what the travel guides tell you. One of the biggest surprises for me was my improved Japanese. I studied one year in college, and now I can hold a decent conversation. Granted I'm probably making grammatical errors everywhere so i think the kindness of the people allow me to communicate a bit more than my actual ability.
The biggest skill I've learned has been adaptablitly. There definitely are cultural differences and being here has made me aware of how to bend without breaking is definitely a good skill ot have. Besides, I think we're all trying to have a good time, you just have to figure out the flow...it's a little different here.
Traveling is easy in and around Japan. The trains are the best way to get around during the day (they stop at midnight) But there are also night buses to get around Japan. Also traveling around Japan is convienent. It's 2 hours from Korean, 5 hours from China and 7 hours from southeast Asia. Most international airlines have English service.
In Japan, they have one of the craziest things I've ever heard of. They have an all-you-can-drink at most bars. Usually there's a time limit, but it's definitely something you would hear of back home. They also have an all-you-can-eat for certain foods. Things like Korean BBW, some pasta places and if you're willing to crack open the wallet, steak and crab/lobster.
Also, I think because of the japanese portions and palette, i've lost about 20 lbs. Granted you're hungry for the first month or so but you adjust.
Other services are availible. there's a couple gyms nearby and the beach is close to the city. Not necessarily with all of Japan but internet and internet cafes are around and everyone's will to help out it seems.
Cons
The cons of my job are like the pros. They have to be split up because some cons are job related but others aren't.
Job: By far the biggest problem I have is still the cultural differences. For example, if someone asks you, or tells you, you should do something it means right now. One time my manager was like, "Hey you should clean the board." "ok," I replied. I was planning my lessons, but she just stood there and stared at me until it dawned on me she meant now.
Also, Japanese thinking tends to be very rigid. It's the kind of thinking that states there is only one way to do things. This is not how it always works, but sometimes you have to just stare and wonder.
The toughest part of my job is "crowd control." My usual class size is 4 kids. But when they don't want to learn, I go from teacher to babysitter. I guess this is why I try different things and when one thing does work, you stick with it because finding something else that they won't rip, tear, shred or otherwise destroy is simply a rarity. Also on this note, because of teaching kids, the job requires a lot of energy and little pride. You have to run with the kids and play the games, and you can't be scared to sing the songs for everyone in the building.
One other thing is scheduling. I'm working Tue-Sat, usually from 11-8. So yeah, nine hours with an hour lunch can be tough. You're not supposed to leave the building except for lunch. So there are days of 4 classes and 5 hours of "planning time." Also the Japanese government has branch that makes and schedules holidays. This means they plan the holidays to make three day weekends. But because of the schedule, you already have it off, or if it's a Friday, you get a day off in the middle of the week.
With the hours, here in Niigata, it's not the biggest of cities so most business hours run from 11-8. Basically not a lot of time for one to go shopping even for toilet paper. Of course there are convience stores that are 24 hours, but If you just remembered someone's birthday, you're kind of screwed. Also here in Japan, ATMs keep the same hours as the banks. I've been caught several times kicking and screaming at the gate between me and the stupid machiine.
There is some pressure to make "spirits" or sales quotas. This means you have to push books and extra classes on students that you might not want to see more than once a week. The company headquarters calls in and gives the Japanese staff a hard time, which can trickle down to you. So if you put the added pressure with language and cultural barriers, you don't always get the message. But at this point, I teach the kids to know I'm a good teacher. I'll let the Japanese staff worry about the business stuff.
Living in Japan: Just like work, it's the culture that really makes you feel at ends with things here. When you first get here, it's really hard. You feel extremely isolated. For example, the first couple weeks if I want a quiet night, I go home after work knowing no one would call me. But not like i'm alone for tonight, it's more like i'm isolated in a 20ft by 15ft bento box. Some people get homesick, which can be hard. Homesickness varies from person to person. It wasn't a big deal for me. It fades, but the craving for American style brownies, and portions tend not to fade.
One other thing that's culturally/lingually related is when you're here, you stop work, but you never stop working to understand what people are trying to tell you. Every trivial thing can be a challenge. One thing to think about that i'm currently bouting with is a haircut. Luckily you can usually bring in a picture and they can fix you up. But if you have to go on just description, it's kind of rough. The thing is because everything is challenging, when you can do it, it feels so good!
One big thing that affects everyone is the lack of gender equality. The Japanese women aren't quiet and subservient, but the woman's role is here. For example, if my manager makes a mistake, i never hear about it. The other foreign teacher (she's a woman) I work with always hears about scheduling mistakes. I never hear about it. She suspects it's from the manager not being able to make a mistake in front of a man. I hope she's wrong, but I wouldn't say she's far off. There are also cases of Japanese business men doing and getting away with various levels of sexual harrasment. Even my kids slap the teacher's butts or gropped areas they know they should be. It's not as blatant as I'm making it sounds, but there are definitely things that men can do here that would never fly in the states.
Company Size
10,000 or greater employees
Pay Range
$30,001-$40,000
Years in Job
2
Education
B/A or equivalent
City
Tokyo
State
AL
