Thus spake xxxxxx@rogers.com (xxxxxx@rogers.com):
> I have noticed a lot of turbo list members travelling to Japan in one
> way or another, some I think even live there.
> I'd like to know, how is it that this comes about?
It's a long story for me -- but the short version is that I was sent to
Japan on business in 1999 and 2000 by my employers, and fell in love
with the country. I shopped my resume around, and managed to get a
really great job, and a company willing to pay for me to relocate.
Within 3 months' time, I had left NYC and was living in Tokyo. I had a
real blast, living there for just under 2 years' time.
> I've applied to the
> JET Programme myself, so maybe next year I'll be firing off emails from
> Okinawa.
JET's a great way to get into Japan, as long as you're willing to live
in some remote city somewhere. Your chances of ending up in Okinawa or
Tokyo are pretty slim these days, but it has been known to happen. :)
> Anyway, do you guys also know how to speak Japanese?
I learned while there -- can you believe I accepted a job without being
able to say more than "kawaii" and "konnichiwa?" But by the time I
arrived in Japan, I had memorized my katakana and hiragana, and had
studied a few basic words. When my first month had passed, I was at
competent in daily stuff (shopping, ordering food, reading train
schedules, etc.) By the end of a year, I was fluent enough to conduct
most business (both personal and for my employer) without needing a
translator by my side.
There's nothing like your stomach's rumblings to convince yourself that
if you don't learn how to order food real fast, you're going to starve
to death. :D (And I didn't want to just buy the ramen ticket or hit
the McDonalds; I wanted to order *good* food at a *good* restaurant.)
Good luck on your application!
-Joan
--
- Joan Sarah Touzet |So grey is not the color I expected -
- xxxxxx@ieee.org |On someone who's so often touched by grace -
- http://www.atypical.net/ |But always she's the spectre of uncertainty -