Japan

[morningstar2651]

お早う御座います。私は明星二千六百五十一です。どうぞ宜しく。
私は日本語を勉強します。

Good morning, I'm morningstar2651. Nice to meet you. I'm studying Japanese.

 

[Breetai]

お早う御座います。私は明星二千六百五十一です。どうぞ宜しく。
私は日本語を勉強します。

Good morning, I'm morningstar2651. Nice to meet you. I'm studying Japanese.

Can you write the same thing, including the kanji, without the help of a computer or mobile phone?

 

[morningstar2651]

Can you write the same thing, including the kanji, without the help of a computer or mobile phone?

I can do the katakana, hiragana, and some of the kanji. I just started learning kanji recently, so I'm very limited with it.

 

[Breetai]

I can do the katakana, hiragana, and some of the kanji. I just started learning kanji recently, so I'm very limited with it.

Join the club. I could do fine on the 4th kyu language test here, but I don't think I'd pass the 3rd. Maybe my kanji is san or yonnensei level. Not that it matters. English works fine in many places. hehe

You've gotta love computers and mobile phones, though! You just type in the hiragana, and it gives you a choice of kanji. It's so much easier than trying to remember!

 

[sampa]

Sorry everyone, this is pretty late, but Japan is very much a part of my heart. I lived there for 4 years.

I'm not a Christian but I lived there for 11 years. Had a car and have driven from the southern most point on Kyushu to the northern most point on Hokkaido. My favorite place to live was in Kyushu. Beautiful place, from the volcanoes to the beaches and everything else in between. Aitai

Sybaris, where in KYUSHU did you live? I lived in Kagoshima.

Are there any japanese people in here?
Im a japanese person living in Canada
It would be quite awesome to meet a japanese christian

There's one that I have as my buddy here at CF, her name is Saki. She's living in Australia, but she wasn't raised much in Japan. Go ahead and give her a PM, she'll be encouraged.

If you really want to get specific... Urawa. Technically not even Tokyo.

Whereabouts in Tokyo are you?

Hi Breetai, I noticed you were the most active with this thread. Did you end up in Saitama? I worked in Oomiya for a year and lived in Okegawa.

 

[sampa]

...how about a short essay on the different areas of Japan; outlining the positives and negatives!

I lived in Kagoshima (Island of Tanegashima) for 3 years through the J.E.T. program. And one year in Saitama Oomiya with A.E.O.N. language school.
I posted a photo essay for AEON when I was interviewing for them http://www.geocities.com/oshiomailbox/index.html
it definitely needs work, sorry.

Really, a kind of comparison and contrast with the areas of Japan that you've been in long enough to form an opinion on would be absolutely phenomenal.

The contrast was great between Oomiya city and Nishinoomote city or Saitama verses Kagoshima. Maybe I'll write about it later.

I did a homestay in KYOTO Ujii-shi also. Traveled to other places, but really got to see the culture difference of the south verses HONSHU Tokyo area. Or city life as opposed to Island or country life. My heart is closest to the south though.

Here's a series of some pics from an elementary school visit I did in 02'. It probably doesn't show much, but I know I loved my work.

 

[saki]

Hey everyone on here!!
I live in Australia, but I'm originally from Japan!

Hey Sampa!

 

[sampa]

Hey everyone on here!!
I live in Australia, but I'm originally from Japan!

Hey Sampa!

Welcome Saki, soon it will be your birthday

 

[BeamMeUpScotty]

I lived in Kagoshima (Island of Tanegashima) for 3 years through the J.E.T. program. And one year in Saitama Oomiya with A.E.O.N. language school.
I posted a photo essay for AEON when I was interviewing for them http://www.geocities.com/oshiomailbox/index.html
it definitely needs work, sorry.


The contrast was great between Oomiya city and Nishinoomote city or Saitama verses Kagoshima. Maybe I'll write about it later.

Well, it's a small world. When I first came here I worked at Aeon in Kasukabe, about 30 min from Omiya. It was that experience which convinced me to go to grad school and get a master's in ESL. I now live and work in Yokohama and work at a small 2-year college. Even with all the politics, the students and classes keep me sane and I love it.

Good luck to all who were here, are here, or are thinking about coming here. It's worth the effort.

 

[saki]

Welcome Saki, soon it will be your birthday

Hey Sampa! Good to hear from you again!
Yep, it's almost my birthday, but not really looking forward to it because I'm getting old now hehehehe
Looks like not many Japanese people on here though... but it is ok, I don't mind whoever I talk to because everyone on here is so nice!

 

[Breetai]

Hi Breetai, I noticed you were the most active with this thread. Did you end up in Saitama? I worked in Oomiya for a year and lived in Okegawa.

I live right in Tokyo now.

 

[sampa]

Well, it's a small world. When I first came here I worked at Aeon in Kasukabe, about 30 min from Omiya. It was that experience which convinced me to go to grad school and get a master's in ESL. I now live and work in Yokohama and work at a small 2-year college. Even with all the politics, the students and classes keep me sane and I love it.

Good luck to all who were here, are here, or are thinking about coming here. It's worth the effort.[/quote] Hey thanks for posting. AEON in Kasukabe, I don't remember that place, but did you meet any sumo wrestlers from that area? I forget but I think there was a school and I saw one with his entourage walking through Oomiya station and I was in awww. That was one of my dreams, to eat with a whole bunch of sumo wrestlers, I think chanko nabe or something.
The pay at a 2 year college has gotta be better than AEON, and less strict on a teaching plan? Or what do you mean by politics?

Hey Sampa! Good to hear from you again!
Yep, it's almost my birthday, but not really looking forward to it because I'm getting old now hehehehe
Looks like not many Japanese people on here though... but it is ok, I don't mind whoever I talk to because everyone on here is so nice!

I'll keep my eye out for you Saki, I wonder if I can get one of my friends in Japan convinced to sign up. hmmm?

I live right in Tokyo now.

Breetai, what part of Tokyo? I found city life stressful. Have you done any comparative essays about life in Japan? country verses city and stuff?

 

[Breetai]

Breetai, what part of Tokyo?[/QUOTE]The west part.

I found city life stressful. Have you done any comparative essays about life in Japan? country verses city and stuff?

I've never lived in the Japanese countryside, so I would have no basis to write anything on that. I've lived in Tokyo and in Omiya (which is basically part of Tokyo anyway). I've also lived in medium-sized city in Korea, but I'm too lazy to write an essay comparing Japan and Korea at this time.

 

[BeamMeUpScotty]

Hey thanks for posting. AEON in Kasukabe, I don't remember that place, but did you meet any sumo wrestlers from that area? I forget but I think there was a school and I saw one with his entourage walking through Oomiya station and I was in awww. That was one of my dreams, to eat with a whole bunch of sumo wrestlers, I think chanko nabe or something.

I never met any sumo wrestlers from/in that area, but I have been lucky enough to have a friend whose brother is a rikishi. If you look at my picture, you'll see me with Musashimaru, who was a yokozuna. I was able to go to a party after a tournament, and it was quite cool. Chanko nabe is ok--I've only had it once.

The pay at a 2 year college has gotta be better than AEON, and less strict on a teaching plan? Or what do you mean by politics?

Yes, it is, as well as other benefits--autonomy, research, etc... The politics are coming from a changing in my school's structure, which is very complicated and because my Japanese is not too great, I don't always understand. The head office wants us to do certain things and we want to do other things, and the negotiations are decidedly one-sided. Oh well, we'll see how it plays out.

Good luck

 

[saki]

Well, it's a small world. When I first came here I worked at Aeon in Kasukabe, about 30 min from Omiya. It was that experience which convinced me to go to grad school and get a master's in ESL. I now live and work in Yokohama and work at a small 2-year college. Even with all the politics, the students and classes keep me sane and I love it.

Good luck to all who were here, are here, or are thinking about coming here. It's worth the effort.[/quote] Hey thanks for posting. AEON in Kasukabe, I don't remember that place, but did you meet any sumo wrestlers from that area? I forget but I think there was a school and I saw one with his entourage walking through Oomiya station and I was in awww. That was one of my dreams, to eat with a whole bunch of sumo wrestlers, I think chanko nabe or something.
The pay at a 2 year college has gotta be better than AEON, and less strict on a teaching plan? Or what do you mean by politics?


I'll keep my eye out for you Saki, I wonder if I can get one of my friends in Japan convinced to sign up. hmmm?

Breetai, what part of Tokyo? I found city life stressful. Have you done any comparative essays about life in Japan? country verses city and stuff?

Cool! You could do that, but my Japanese isn't really good anymore..

 

[Musician4Jesus]

To me, you don't have to be a missionary to share the love of Christ to people in Japan. As somebody pointed about before the percentage of Japanese Christians is low. I have also heard that many Japanese are very private about their religious beliefs (I don't know how much truth this holds, it's just something I heard). I think the best way to witness the love of Christ to a Japanese person
is to just befriend them and allow the friendship to deepen. Once that has been accomplished, you can talk with them more openly
about matters such as religion. Another thing I believe to be true
is that people will be much more receptive to controversial issue
(religion, God, Christianity) if you talk to them about it in their
native language.

On another issue I do have a question. Eventually I do plan to move to Japan with my boyfriend. I plan to get education and a license to teach
English as a 2nd language; my boyfriend plans to do the same. With all the necessary paperwork, the type of career field we'll be in will be under
his name. We're already in a serious romantic relationship, by the time we move there (2-4 years) we'll be married. Thus it will be under "spouse" or married (not sure, haven't filled out the paperwork yet). My point is that we plan to teach English as a 2nd language to Japanese, but I would
like to change careers, because I'll be doing this to build money. I would like to open a business (bed and breakfast or a bakery) and since the
paperwork as to what career field we would be under would be under his name and not mine, would it be feasible to switch career fields? I still believe it would be feasible to witness the love of Christ to the Japanese even while holding down a normal job, since the amount of non-Christians in Japan is very high compared to the amount of Japanese Christians (which is very low; one could even say it's classified as a minority religion). I have also heard an option as a career for non-Japanese aside from teaching English as a second language is being an entrepreneur. My eventual end
goal is to open a business. I wouldn't want to turn it into a big fuss. The business would be small, I have no plans of advancing it or developing
it into a huge business or corporation.

 

[sampa]

To me, you don't have to be a missionary to share the love of Christ to people in Japan. As somebody pointed about before the percentage of Japanese Christians is low. I have also heard that many Japanese are very private about their religious beliefs (I don't know how much truth this holds, it's just something I heard). I think the best way to witness the love of Christ to a Japanese person
is to just befriend them and allow the friendship to deepen. Once that has been accomplished, you can talk with them more openly
about matters such as religion. Another thing I believe to be true
is that people will be much more receptive to controversial issue
(religion, God, Christianity) if you talk to them about it in their
native language.

On another issue I do have a question. Eventually I do plan to move to Japan with my boyfriend. I plan to get education and a license to teach
English as a 2nd language; my boyfriend plans to do the same. With all the necessary paperwork, the type of career field we'll be in will be under
his name. We're already in a serious romantic relationship, by the time we move there (2-4 years) we'll be married. Thus it will be under "spouse" or married (not sure, haven't filled out the paperwork yet). My point is that we plan to teach English as a 2nd language to Japanese, but I would
like to change careers, because I'll be doing this to build money. I would like to open a business (bed and breakfast or a bakery) and since the
paperwork as to what career field we would be under would be under his name and not mine, would it be feasible to switch career fields? I still believe it would be feasible to witness the love of Christ to the Japanese even while holding down a normal job, since the amount of non-Christians in Japan is very high compared to the amount of Japanese Christians (which is very low; one could even say it's classified as a minority religion). I have also heard an option as a career for non-Japanese aside from teaching English as a second language is being an entrepreneur. My eventual end
goal is to open a business. I wouldn't want to turn it into a big fuss. The business would be small, I have no plans of advancing it or developing
it into a huge business or corporation.

Muscian4Jesus, wow sounds like you guys have a lot of plans. I think it's best to take it one step at a time. It's a very hard culture to break into. Definitely, being involved through a job is a great way to witness or build relationships. If you aren't involved in their normal everyday lives, after work clubs or parties or working side-by side with them, I think it's hard to build relationships. It's the us them type thinking. That's why many Japanese think you can't be Japanese and Christian, because it would be like being a foreigner. But with God all things are possible.

Do you have Japanese friends right now? Or missionaries?

 

[sampa]

Cool! You could do that, but my Japanese isn't really good anymore..

oh, he speaks English, Saki. If I can get him on here, just got to get motivated.

 

[Musician4Jesus]

no unfortunately. That's a major reason why I'm struggling to make coherent sentences in the spoken and written aspects of the language. It's annoying; I study and practice incessantly, and yet I can barely communicate in it.

 

[sampa]

no unfortunately. That's a major reason why I'm struggling to make coherent sentences in the spoken and written aspects of the language. It's annoying; I study and practice incessantly, and yet I can barely communicate in it.

culture has everything to do with the language. hey pay attention heavily to manners and customs, but don't expect it of foreigners. Are you near any big cities where you might be able to find out about a japanese club? I wonder if they could set you up staying with a Japanese family near you or something. THe less English they speak, maybe the better.

Homestays are the most enlightening thing in your study of the language. IF you can go to Japan on your own and do a homestay, I'd highly recommend it. You could learn a LOT.