Me teach English in Japan? That's unpossible!

[SamIAm]

It's official...well, the last of the paperwork has to go through, but my professors have given me the thumbs up. I'm approved. This summer, I'll be living a tiny Japanese mountain village (pop. 2500, located west of Sendai) teaching English.

Here are the conditions:
Free plane ticket
Free room & board, in an apartment or with a host family
70,000 yen each month (about $650)
4 hours of work every day, 5 days a week
Starts on June 1st and ends August 28th

Time to beef up the ol' Japanese vocabulary, and reviewing some grammar would help a lot too. This will be the first time travelling to Japan for me, and after having taken 4 semesters of a rigorous Japanese course, I'm damned excited.

Life is good<img src=smilies/cwm11.gif>

So, what do you guys think? Host family or apartment?

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We won't be beaten by a bad guy! - Marle, CT</P>

[SwampGas]

> 70,000 yen each month (about $650)

a month? how about $650 a week?

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[SamIAm]

> > 70,000 yen each month (about $650)
>
> a month? how about $650 a week?
>
I know it's not much, but considering that my plane ticket (both ways), housing, and food costs are 100% paid for, I don't really care. It's only 20 hours of work every week.

Plane ticket: $1000
Food & housing: $400/month X 3 months = $1200 - If I choose an apartment. Homestay would be cheaper, however they would take care of me)
Pay: $650/month X 3 = $1950
Total: $4150 (it may actually be less, but it could just as easily be more)

20 hours of work per week X 4 weeks X 3 months = 240 hours of work total

$4150 / 240 = $17.29 an hour. Hardly a bad deal. Even if I overestimated the numbers, this is probably the best thing a student like me could hope for.

Plus, I get to go live in a little Japanese mountain town. God, that sounds cooler every time I say it!

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We won't be beaten by a bad guy! - Marle, CT</P>

[SamIAm]

> > Host family, definitely.
>
> Oh yea. You want the host family because you'll be in an
> environment where the language is always spoken.

As much I would like the privacy of an apartment, living with a good host family would be the kind of opportunity I probably shouldn't pass up. That's what I'm starting to lean towards. Let's just hope it works out well. <img src=smilies/biggthumpup.gif>

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We won't be beaten by a bad guy! - Marle, CT</P>

[type_x]

> ... Watch out for Naga ...
>

"Naga... nagaaa... na gah work here anymore"

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[SamIAm]

> > Before you know it, you're in
> > the family hot tub making Japanese-American babies.
>
> Sort of makes the term "foreign relations" take a whole new
> meaning.

<img src=smilies/laff.gif><img src=smilies/laff.gif>
I'll, uh, let you guys know how that goes. I'm really not sure what to expect from the Japanese female population, especially in a small northern town. I think they would be less outgoing than southern city women. One of my friends just arrived in Osaka for a year-long exchange, and he's getting great reception...heh.

So does this mean I should add a box of condoms to my list of things to pack? I hear you should bring your own from America, as the Japanese models are notorious for being a bit on the small side.<img src=smilies/erm.gif>

Speaking of baths, though, I hear that this prefecture (Yamagata) is well known for having lots and lots of good hot springs. I'll have to check out some geological maps and tourist web pages, and see what options I have. Not to mention, in the countryside there are still lots of non-gender-segregated baths, which sounds fine with me.
<img src=smilies/biggthumpup.gif>

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We won't be beaten by a bad guy! - Marle, CT</P>

[Octocrook]

Good luck. Score some Japanese poon for us while you're there too <img src=smilies/biggthumpup.gif>

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[puduhead]

> Speaking of baths

The baths are cool but it's not some love fest. Most Japanese people are fairly conservative with public sexuality. The bath is a culural thing. Tokyo is the main place with a more swinging sexuality.

The small mountain village you'll be in ain't likely to have much of that sort of thing openly availble. I was in Takayama for a couple days and it was quite low key.

My fav places are Kyoto and Hiroshima.

whereever you go, you are likely to have a warm reception with the japanese ladies. I know I did. <img src=smilies/hearton.gif>

I need to scan some pics of my lil' girlfriend I had there - Rina. What a cutey.

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[SamIAm]

> The baths are cool but it's not some love fest. Most
> Japanese people are fairly conservative with public
> sexuality. The bath is a culural thing.

Oh I know, I wouldn't have it any other way, actually. I wish western culture would take to public bathing like the Japanese do. Aside from the resulting cleanliness, bathing with people is just a really fun thing to do socially. Sit down, chat, maybe have a drink, and just relax. Sounds great. I'm certainly not expecting anything sexual to happen at all. That's why those posts we're kind of funny.

Tokyo is the main
> place with a more swinging sexuality.

Tokyo sounds a little intense for a laid back dude like me, but I know a lot of cool people from there, and I'd like to visit it, regardless of their sexual tendancies.

> The small mountain village you'll be in ain't likely to have
> much of that sort of thing openly availble. I was in
> Takayama for a couple days and it was quite low key.

Just the way I like it.

> My fav places are Kyoto and Hiroshima.

Both are on my list of places to see if I can find the time.

> whereever you go, you are likely to have a warm reception
> with the japanese ladies. I know I did.

I've become friends with a handful of Japanese girls on campus, and they're really fun to be around. I only wish I could speak to them in more sophisticated Japanese...

> I need to scan some pics of my lil' girlfriend I had there -
> Rina. What a cutey.

<img src=smilies/magbiggrin.gif>

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We won't be beaten by a bad guy! - Marle, CT</P>

[Fla Flash]

god bless you.
That would be a dream come true for me. Take what you get and run with it.<img src=smilies/thumb.gif>

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Thanks Pudu!</P>

[SamIAm]

> god bless you.
That would be a dream come true for me. Take
> what you get and run with it.
>

Thank you very much. Really. I have to admit, this whole thing scares me a little, but when I'm reminded of how wonderful of an opportunity this is, I know I'll be OK. Wish me luck, I may need it. I've never taught little kids before, especially ones who don't speak my language <img src=smilies/thumb.gif>


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We won't be beaten by a bad guy! - Marle, CT</P>

[MooglyGuy]

Nippon wa kowai da yo! <img src=smilies/erm.gif>

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[SamIAm]

> Nippon wa kowai da yo!
>
Nihon ga chotto kowakutemo, chiisai machi ni sumu koto ga omoshiroi daroo ne. Tanoshiminishiteiru yo. <img src=smilies/thumb.gif>

bah, romajii just doesn't look right...

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We won't be beaten by a bad guy! - Marle, CT</P>

[MooglyGuy]

] ] Nippon wa kowai da yo!
] ]
] Nihon ga chotto kowakutemo, chiisai machi ni sumu koto ga
] omoshiroi daroo ne. Tanoshiminishiteiru yo.
]
] bah, romajii just doesn't look right...

No, it doesn't. Especially when I have no idea what you just said. <img src=smilies/magbiggrin.gif>

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