Spring Revival Series #1
I recently realized that I haven't written in my blog for almost a year. To counter my laziness, I decided to restart my blog with a "revival series". Let's see how long this lasts...
Quick update: In the past year, I got engaged, got married, and found a new job in Japan. Now, I am tearing my place apart, getting ready to leave dear old Miyako in Iwate with my wife (not at this very moment since I am writing this blog post... I'm taking a break).
This week is the start of spring. In Japan, spring means:
- Allergies
- A prosperous time for the cardboard box industry and secondhand stores
- Plane loads of foreigners are arriving in Japan to start their new lives as English teachers (ALTs)
I was a newbie teacher just 3 years ago, spending 4 days of "ALT boot camp" at a Toyoko Inn near Narita Airport. Since this year's newbies from my former company (name has 7 letters, starts with "I", ends with "c") already started training this week, it's too late to offer advice about that. However, I can give the new teachers some advice for after they settle into their new homes.
To the new teachers: If you had wanted Tokyo, Osaka, and the likes, you were likely persuaded to take an inaka (rural area) assignment. You are more needed there because the ALT before you did his/her time and decided to leave. You will be surrounded by either farms or ocean (or both), life stops after sundown, and nothing can be done without driving (in a tiny company-leased car).
Whether you are staying for 1 year, 2 years, or forever, here are some advice to help you turn inaka into an awesome and unique Japan experience.
1. Learn some Japanese...
You are living in the boonies, where the only exposure to foreign culture for the wonderful people in your new town is through TV, the Internet, random folks who have been abroad, and the previous ALT (and soon, you). You may even be the only foreigner in town. Therefore, it is likely that you are the only person in town who can speak functional English. If you haven't studied any Japanese and you bought into your company's pitch that you don't need Japanese, you'll be in for some hard times.
Basically, you will need Japanese for daily life. You need it to pay your bills. You need it to send fancy souvenirs to your folks at home. You need it to talk to the police if you need help. You need it to see the doctor if you catch the flu. You need it to order food at the local mom-and-pop restaurant because there's no English menu. I hope you get the picture...
As much as your company tells you not to do it, you need to use Japanese for work. Many of your teachers, especially in elementary schools, are older men and women who haven't had the luxury of any English language education. So, you need it to coordinate your lessons with them. Finally, you will need it to teach your classes. As I said my goodbyes after 3 years in Miyako, the biggest compliment that I received from everyone is my liberal use of Japanese in class, which made English much less scary for the children and cut down a lot of the confusion during lessons. Trust me, unless they are Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs), your teachers are just as scared about talking to you in English.
2. Be prepared for unwanted attention, or the lack thereof...
In the boonies, the kind folks in your new town probably believe that America, Australia, etc. only have white and (maybe) black people. If you are Japan's stereotypical image of a foreigner, you'll likely be the new hit in town, to both your students and the grown-ups. People will either swarm you for your attention or avoid you like a plague. The super-shy kids will cry when you try to speak to them. The brave ones will talk to you every time with any English they know (or that they will learn from you). If there's an international exchange group in your town, you'll be solicited with opportunities to make some cash on the side, teaching English conversation classes. On the streets, people may snap their necks to stare at you. On the days when you just want to enjoy a drink at the local izakaya and be left alone, random strangers will approach you to speak broken English or ask you about your country.
However, if you happen to be of Asian descent, like myself, the story is very different. You will blend in perfectly, perhaps too well, even in times when you need to be treated like a foreigner. At the post office, for example, people will speak natural (fast) Japanese to you at first, and then stare at you like you're stupid when you can't understand them. You are less likely to receive offers to unique cultural experiences like your foreign-looking friends. When you are hanging out with your fellow foreign-looking ALTs, you are likely to be ignored by the random strangers (which includes other coming-from-out-of-town foreigners) who approach your group, since they will think you are Japanese. They may even question your "foreignness", since they may not understand that Asian people are everywhere in the world.
In the latter case, at least you won't be stared at all the time. And don't worry, your kids will warm up to you after your first day, and look forward to your visits. So, make a good first impression!
3. You'll always be a foreigner...
I remember the story of a fellow ALT who started the same time as I did. We were both assigned to the Iwate coastal areas, into different towns. He was die-hard trying to integrate, seriously trying to become Japanese (he was black). I think he wanted to be a J-Pop singer. He had the language skills, at a much higher level than I was at the time. Near the end of our first year, when we were both desperately trying to pass our Japanese driving test, he disappeared on the weekend after our first or second try. Rumor has it that he went into the "wrong" bar (hint: yakuza), was threatened, and took the first available flight back to America. Incredible but true story.
Although that was an extreme example, you will witness or experience some degree of this during your stay in inaka, especially if you have Japan's image of a foreigner. Most sober adults will find it difficult to approach you, even if they heard you speaking fluent Japanese to someone moments before. People will drop their jaws so low when they learn that you can skillfully use chopsticks or enjoy sashimi (raw fish), for the first 50 times. And wherever you go in town, whether it is a restaurant or a clinic, before you even open your mouth, the staff may scramble to find its "best" English speaker. No matter how hard you try, you'll always be a foreigner in Japanese people's eyes. I say the only exception would be if you marry a Japanese spouse, then your new in-laws won't see you as a foreigner.
Despite these odds, you should not take these experiences as "why bother learning Japanese?". You should still learn the language to build friendships whenever the opportunity arises, or to amaze your teachers at drinking parties. Instead, you should use your foreignness to your advantage. Many Japanese believe that their language and culture are impossible for foreigners to comprehend (even though it's the case for Japanese people too), so perhaps you can fake ignorance to get out of time-binding obligations. Or when you are pulled over in inaka for speeding for the first time, be polite to the police (this is key!) and suddenly forget how to speak any Japanese, but don't forget to imply that you're a teacher. There's a good chance that you can get out of an expensive ticket. However, I advise that you use your foreignness sparingly, and don't be a dick about it.
Don't look at being a foreigner in Japan as a disadvantage; use it as your strength. After all, you were hired not just because you're a native English speaker; it's because you are supposed to be a living example of foreign culture.
4. It's OK to build your own group of friends... * Contributed by my friend Charles
Unless you are assigned to a remote island (Japan is a nation of islands, and all Japanese children are required by the government to receive education), you will have plenty of chances to hang out with your fellow ALTs and various foreigners. They may be the only people in your area who not only understand every little pop culture reference that you use, but also understand common struggles that foreigners face in Japan. In towns like Miyako, where there's an unusually high concentration of ALTs, you'll be tempted to hang out with them all the time. And in years with high turnover (like this year!), you would've met in Narita and gone through training in a large group, so you would have that first-year connection.
Like drinking red wine or eating delicious dark chocolate, you should exercise balance. Just as you don't want to hang out exclusively with Japanese people, you don't want to limit yourself to only English speaking friends. You've been afforded a great opportunity by being selected to come to Japan (believe me, ALT companies may be desperate these days, but they do reject applicants), for you to build a network of friendships across national boundaries and language barriers. So when your Japanese teachers or friends invite you to your first enkai (drinking party), dig deep into your wallet for a few thousand yen, bury that screaming "but I don't want to make a fool of myself..." fear deep down, and go! In Japan, no one cares once they start drinking. Regardless of your ethnicity, spending time with your new Japanese friends can introduce you to unique cultural experiences that you even didn't know you wanted before. For example, I got to pull a gigantic treasure ship at Miyako's Fall Festival, twice. And of course, I met my wife at a hanami event from the local international exchange group.
In short, you'll be glad that you made a diverse group of friends here. Just make sure that you don't neglect your fellow ALTs' birthday, Christmas, and farewell parties.
5. Stay focus on why you came to Japan...
Unless you spend a lot of time away from home, at some point, you will experience the "why the fuck did I come to a faraway place like Japan, and to inaka of all place?!" realization. It will probably be on a bad day, when all your lessons end in disaster. Even interacting with the clerk at Lawson to pay for your onigiri becomes a test of will. You may be tempted to go home, or just shutter yourself in the safety of your non-Japanese speaking apartment (unless you have lots of talking appliances). But, you are wasting the precious time and effort you took to come here.
In times like this, you need goals to stay focus.
Remember that you aren't in Japan for a short-time vacation. You had to leave a familiar life and family behind to come here. You had to apply and interview to come here. And with most ALT companies, you had to pay for your own plane ticket to come here, and an apartment, and everything else! All the while, your friends back home are probably super jealous that you came here. Most importantly, your time in Japan is limited, since you have to renew your work visa every year. Whether you came to Japan to fulfill a life-long dream or to serve your adventurous spirit, or something more noble, remember the reason. Write it on a big banner with a thick marker, and pin on across your new living room, if you have to.
Be concrete and realistic about your goals. You can do something like "I want to visit all 47 prefectures of Japan in X number of years" or "I want to do a lighthouse tour of the Iwate coast". Research the big festivals of the region or famous onsen (hot springs) to hit up, and they are always fun with a group of friends. Or you can do something more simple like group road trips to different towns, twice a month. Being concrete also help with one thing - budget. Nothing worse than seeing your dream crumble because you don't have the money to finance it. And you and I both know being an ALT isn't a road to riches.
Only you can shape your experience in Japan.
So that's my 3-year veteran advice. Take it or leave it. But if this is your first time in inaka, why would you not give my advice a try?
Please leave me comments. Tell me if I'm right or wrong.
