If you got 12 years to wait, you should worry about IF there will be a JET program when your ready. Japan's education budget is getting slashed like crazy cuz of the economy.

But theres tons of other projects too. I do the same job, but I dont work for JET.

Most importantly though... Japan is not the video game & laser paradise it looks like. Thats just a flat out >lie< that Japanese companies want everyone to believe. I was SHOCKED when I came here. :(

But the part about tons of girls that will fall over you turned out to be true! :confused: :p

I know it's not all about gaming and electronics, I've seen the grassfeilds and anime gives a suprising look at the culture*cough cough**

I just want to go there and experiance it first hand

Sounds good. Most of the great parts arent learning about japan, but learning about yourself.

In a foreign country there is no 'normal' for you, so you can try anything you'd like without critisism. Forexample, I learned that I actually dont hate rap, I just hate wiggers. But no one here would even blink if I 'went ghetto' beacause I could never hold a candle to the Japanese kids that ARE trying to become black. So there, Im a white guy that listens to rap now while still... dressed like a white guy. That change coulda never happened in the US.

Japan is:

1. Food obsession. Youll really think their tounges and genitiles got switched at birth.

2. Zero Critical Thinking. People believe what they are told if it is by a 'teacher, doctor, parent' no matter how obviously wrong it is. I had a student explain to me how the seasons work (ya know, global movements!) and then immediately tell me only Japan has seasons. Now, some synapses are just not connecting here!

3. "Ehh, fuck it". Lost of things that would line up protesters, or horrify parents in the west are just put up with/ignored(see #2) here. Unless it affects money or grades, almost anything will slide. This is both a Unnamed Horror, and a great strength.

4. "Foreign Stuff is Cool, Y'all". Even here, 80% of the music you will hear will be the same thing you heard back home. Add that to being a foreigner and its virtually IMPOSSIBLE to find anyone that will show you the real japan (not #5)

5. "The South lost the war? You must be outta your melon Cleetus!". About half of the older Japanese, and a few young ones, want to believe Japan is the center of the universe, is superior in every way, and never ended Isolationism (damn those Meiji bastards!). These people are roughly as common as the #4 people, and are actually caused by the #4 people. They feel such insecurity, that they exxagerate and lie to themselves about things to make themselves feel good (like religion).

6. NO INDOORS! I kid you not. This country has hover trains, and cellphones that make aliens jealous, but they havenot inveted the indoors! In public buildings, all the doors have slits cut in them for ventilation (In february?!?) as do most of the walls. Shopping malls, and stations actually have no doors, and sometimes have no roofs. So maybe theyll try to run a heater, but with a -5 wind comes flying at 10 MPH, all you know is your not really indoors. Then if you ever finnaly find yourself in a room that IS enclosed, you can guarantee someone will open a window 'for ventilation'. Yes thanks, the dust was so much more dangerous than the icicle forming from my nose.

7. Gamers arent cool. Maybe it was just my mistake, but I thought since intelligence is so valued here, games and anime were mainstream. Nope, not true. Anyone over 16 that watches anime gets stared at, and saying you like Final Fantasy, will kill your love life. P.S. there are girl gamers, but they play girl games only available in Japan.

Wow, that was long. But thats almost everything. If your used to those things, nothing In japan will bother you. Sometimes its almost FUN to think that there are more Japanese people with Cornrows than Kanatas. :eek:

New article is up legacy part 3.... his sense's failed him due to ANGST!... go read share his pain.

Let us mourn for the fall of a great warrior, and rejoice for the return of one!
Yay!

Well, the only thing about that list that bothers me is the lack of an indoors (I LIKE my controlled air temperatures, damnit). Other than that, I think it's an experience that I would rather enjoy, or at the very least, present a change from the boring, hum-drum life I have here.

Plus I could probably do lots of evil things via that "zero critical thinking" stipulation. Who says being an amoral crackpot doesn't pay its own dividends?

It looks like our hero finally lost the war. but a small glimmer of hope still remains. can he regain his Gaijin powers? If not, how will he survive the onslaught of molestation in the future? Find out on the next episode of "I am a Japanese School Teacher"!

Poor dude. That must have been really traumatic. He's lost the aura; they're not afraid of him anymore...I see dark times in the future.






*snicker*

He's regained his powers, just like spiderman! Didn't you see the epiphany at the end of the editorial?

Yeah, the temperature thing sucks. And your commute isnt a nice warm car either.

But it is a total break from a mundane life. No matter who you are (if you dont look asian and dont go to tokyo) everyone will stare at you and go 'wow'. Strangers will introduce themselves and want to be friendns/sex slaves and youll get asked questions all the time like your on Mtv.

It really is like being a celebrity. Its hilarous cuz your doing less than average work, but you gradually youll start to relate to actors when they complain about paparazzi! :p

Universal Stuidos has shows right? Everyone just drives home like normal.
In Universal Studios Japan, all the (semi washed up) singers and dancers have security guards and instead of taking the train home around the bay, they ride a special boat back to their apartments. All of this to protect them from stalkers! Note: none of the Japanese actors recieve this.