Are you authentic Japanese? Whats it like there! Is this account even active :o
Are you authentic Japanese?Nope, I'm counterfeit Japanese. My parents are from Hong Kong, but I was born in Australia. Japanese people look at my generic Asian face and think that I'm one of them...right up until I say something.
Whats it like there!Cold.Seriously though, that's a pretty open question that doesn't have a simple straight-forward answer. If you flick through a bunch of random posts on this tumblr, you should have a pretty good idea of what life is like in Sapporo. This tumblr and this tumblr are also written by people living in Sapporo right now.
Is this account even active :oNope, I left Japan and went back to Australia in August 2012.
After a slightly rocky start, things are gradually falling back into a routine, and I feel a little more grounded after doing things like spending some time with old friends and eating familiar foods. I still miss my old lifestyle back in Japan, but it was time to move on. I'm uncertain about the future, but I think I'm ready.
The first thing that came to mind was, “Whoa, everyone is speaking English”. Cries of delight and sleepy greetings were saturated by Australian twang. Everyone either matched my height or towered over me. There was an abundance of tracksuit pants. I wandered off in search of my sister, and vaguely familiar names came back to me: Vodafone, Gloria Jeans, Telstra.
The drive back home was oddly familiar. I immediately noticed that Australia's landscape really does have a unique character; it was tinged with green and gold, sheltered by brilliant blue skies and wisps of cloud. Japan felt muted and understated compared to this place. Everything here was bigger, brighter, clearer, and more intense.
We cut straight through the city and then drove for another 45 minutes to reach our house. It felt like ages. I suddenly realised that I wouldn't be able to simply catch a subway a few stops over to get to town.
My house was immense and cold, insulated from the midday sun. I shuffled in through the front door, and saw baby's toys everywhere belonging to my niece. A few fixtures had changed and the upstairs shower was working again, but otherwise it was much the same. For the first couple of days, I longed for my old apartment for some reason. It was small and it was in a slight state of disrepair, but I made it a home. Friends were closer in Japan, too: no longer could I just catch an elevator up a few floors and meet someone for a couple of drinks.
As the days went by, conversations focused less on Japan and more on my next job. As far as people were concerned, my last two years were already a distant memory. Who could blame them, though? They didn't have my experiences or share the same relationships I did. I was home, now, and suddenly everything was meant to go back to normal. Get with the program, man. You gotta catch up.
I scoured job sites. I knew that I had some writing chops, and I had a fairly solid IT background, so I figured combining the two wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen. I dug out some old writing work I did in my younger days, hammered it into a portfolio, and submitted a lot of resumes. Most of them didn't even dignify my application with a response. It was hard out there. The constant waiting frayed my nerves, and I grew worried.
The only thing I ever looked forward to during that time was catching up with my girlfriend every evening. We Skyped, we chatted, we swapped photos, and we watched videos together. She sent me postcards, and I wrote and re-wrote letters in my bed, unable to sleep. She was the only way to end my day. Calling her became habitual. I can't wait to see her again.
Now, I’m working as a Technical Writer for a food and beverage company. It's only early days so far, but I'm enjoying the work and looking forward to what it has to offer. I'm also still writing for The Escapist on the side. I'd like to develop that into something more, but I don't feel like I'm established enough. I need time, and a better portfolio.
As for the future? I don’t know. I tend to worry about things that are out of my control, and the gaping maw that is the day after tomorrow tends to make me shut up for a good few minutes or so. At least now I know I don’t have to face it alone. I want to get more experience. I want to work in more places. I want to start looking into property. I want a good future, and I want to share it with someone.
Well, that’s it - my two years of being an ALT in Japan are finally up. I have a couple of other posts up my sleeve, but you can consider this my closing statement.
It’s been a great experience and it has gone by all too quickly. So many people, so many memories. I’d do it all over again, no questions asked.
If you’re thinking of doing the same, take stock of your options and take into consideration what happens after JET. Then go for it. JET is not a magic bullet that will solve all your problems once you get in. JET educates you as much as you are educating others. JET tests you. And, in a best case scenario, JET enables you to become something better than you were. At the very least, you'll leave the country a wiser person for it.
Kuuki yomenai (or simply abbreviated to "KY") literally translates to "can't read the air". It is usually applied to people who are unable to read social situations.
According to Rocketnews24, Japanese chemical company LION has provided a website called Gokiten ("Cockroach Weather") that forecasts the possibility of seeing cockroaches in your favourite region of Japan. Users can submit their own cockroach sightings to the website, where presumably the data is mined so that bug-killing products can be marketed to areas with high infestation.
At the time of writing, Sapporo is sitting pretty at a Cockroach Index of 2, compared to the unwashed masses of the southern islands who are living knee-deep in their own filth with Cockroach Indices of 4.
