June 9th, 2008The Grass is Always Greener …
The last few months have been pretty stressful as I have been getting more accustomed to married life as well as my role in Japanese society. This, of course, has led me to consider my life in Vancouver and compare it to the future that I see for myself here on an island nation. So, after much consideration and plotting, I’ve discovered that my perceptions for future re-entry into my particular profession is not going to happen without either a JPTL1 (top-level Japanese language test) or learning a completely new set of technologies, as Microsoft-based programmers are in as much demand around here as Chinese-made gyoza. The way I see it, unless I dedicate at least six hours a day to studying something — anything, really — I will be one of those long-term English language instructors who are trapped due to their age, unmarketable skills, language deficiencies, or some combination thereof.
This isn’t to say that being a language instructor is a bad thing, though. I’ve learned quite a bit about the English language and my own communication limitations through my employer. This has allowed me to not only improve my English, but my inter-personal skills as well. One thing that I have learned, though, is that unless I’m sitting at a computer and solving real-world problems, I’m just not personally fulfilled.
Vancouver Wasn’t So Bad
I had a pretty good (full time) job in Vancouver. Thanks to a flexible boss, I was able to accomplish quite a bit of work on my own schedule and, in some cases, on my own terms. This isn’t to say the work wasn’t stressful but, at the end of the day, I was able to stand back and say something like: “Yes! I have solved this business problem, and the company is better for it.”
Sometimes I wonder what life would have been like had Reiko and I decided to live and work in Vancouver.
Sure, food would have cost more, the work would have continued to be stressful (though rewarding), the overall living costs would have been higher … but everything would have been much more familiar and my career options wouldn’t have been so limited.
That said, living in Vancouver would have been really hard on Reiko. She loves being a teacher and has worked incredibly hard to make her school a success. On top of this, we’ve already discussed what will happen when she’s pregnant, and living in Canada would make these requirements very costly, if not impossible. Suffice to say, staying in Vancouver would have benefited me, and only me.
Japan Isn’t So Bad
Living in Japan has taught me quite a bit about myself and western culture in general. I’ve had to re-learn how to maneuver in tight spaces, as elbows and awkward half-bent positions really aren’t required when using things like bathrooms and showers. I’ve learned that snacks don’t need to be the same size as dinner to be enjoyable. On top of this, I’ve also learned that my diet in Canada was incredibly poor….
There are hundreds of other little things I’ve become accustomed to since last August, but this is just a quick run-down.
I’ll admit that I enjoy the natural (and unnatural) beauty in this country, as well as my dealings with most of the locals. The culture is something I still appreciate, and the food is out of this world. Although I’ve only been here a year of my life, I’m certainly willing to spend the rest of it here.
But as a language instructor?
Planning For The Future
I’ll be the first to admit that my Japanese language studies have been lagging behind lately. Any amount of free time I’ve had has been dedicated to either writing posts, helping others get online, writing my short novel, or hammering out some code for Embink. On top of this I find that any time I get to spend online is split between catching up with friends overseas and updating two of my four sites. This is clearly a poor use of time and resources, considering how little money I tend to earn online. Seriously, $400 a year is just not enough income to justify the amount of time I invest.
To fix this, it might be time to drop back to just one main site — this one — and put much more energy into Japanese. My goal is to take (and pass) the JLPT Level 3 test later this year, which means I must learn another 300 kanji as well as become much more functional with both the spoken and written language. If the students I work with can go from English Level 1 Chapter 1 to Level 3 Chapter 1 in eight months, I should be able to do the same in Japanese.
For a longer-term goal, I intend to learn the programming languages used by Japanese software developers, but I will not study in English. Instead, I’ll begin buying Japanese language programming books once I hit Level 2 Japanese. By this time, I should have a fundamental grasp of the language to get into specialized vocabulary. Another advantage to this is that if I study programming in the local language, I might truly appreciate why simple applications here are so insanely complicated.
I’ve enjoyed helping others improve their English, but it’s not something I’m prepared to do for the rest of my life.
I’m glad to learn that this is the site that you will be keeping
Perhaps, we could work something out so that rather than just abandon your other sites, that they can become a bit more of a joint/group/community effort or something? I might be interested in helping with that (although I’m not exactly sure what other sites you have besides the carbon blog) in some fashion.
For purely selfish reasons, I hope that as your Japanese improves, this site will continue to be in English
Oh, and I’m still awaiting the release of Embink, glad to hear that it is still in the works. What programming language are you using to write it?
Where in Central Japan do you live?
I agree with your plan. Although, as you say, teaching English may have some value and benefits, for the long term it is probably not the way to go. Especially if you plan on having children.
Good luck with the Japanese. It is a hard thing to keep up. I’ve tried to use Japanese language tapes during my commute to work here in Los Angeles but it is hard to stay with it. I wanted to take a Japanese language class at the local community college but the times did not work out and also we had our first child.
Tough choices in life — I came across nearly the same one a decade ago. I did manage to find a programming job in Taipei for an international company; and it wasn’t even half bad (low level coding on custom made hardware). But as all of my colleagues were Taiwanese most key meetings were in Chinese.
Reading Dilbert and sitting in a cube farm pushed me over the edge
I have been doing lots of different things ever since , like learning Chinese (I am still rubbish) but very few are related to “real” coding.
So far I haven’t had to teach a day of English. If it ever came to that I would leave this place immediately.
If there is any advice in this — keep an open mind, and your original career plans might not be the ones you should stick with.
@Nick - I’ve been writing Embink in C#, as I have lots of experience working with Microsoft languages, however, the .net compact framework may be just a bit too heavy for older PDA’s. Perhaps I’ll switch it to another language, but I haven’t really decided at this point.
@Tornadoes28 - I live just outside of Inuyama, not too far from Nick Ramsay of LongCountdown fame. Hopefully I’ll have some semi-respectable Japanese before my (future) kids can speak.
@Martin Mulder - Congrats on getting by for so long in Taiwan. Hopefully you’ll land your dream job in the near future. Teaching English isn’t so bad, though. It can go a long way towards improving our own communication skills sometimes
As you said, nothing less than JLPT 1 is going to be good enough to get the kind of job you want. It sounds to me as though you have very little choice but to throw yourself into your study, and that means living and breathing kanji, grammar and verbs for the next three or four years. If I were you, this is what I’d do:
1. Study hard and have Reiko give you a JLPT 3 practice test using a past paper at the end of August. This is also the time to apply for JLPT 2 (yes, I said 2).
2. Study your balls off through September, October and November, doing dozens of practice tests so that when that first Sunday in December comes around, you can sit JLPT 2 and come out with at least 40%. Passing is not as important as the experience at this stage.
3. Turn that 40% to 60% on practice tests by summer 2009, and by the time you re-sit the exam in December 2009, you’ll be cruising at a comfortable 70-80% in practice tests.
4. By January 2010, your Japanese will be excellent and you’ll be all set to start studying for JLPT 1. You might not pass it first time, but you will look very cool reading Japanese newspapers on the train everyday!
I passed JLPT 2 in three years and I was always crap at languages. You can definitely pass level 2 next year, but you should at least sit it this year to get a feeling for the exam. JLPT 3 and 4 are fun, but the certificates aren’t going to impress anyone except your mum.
I agree with Nick, forget JLPT 3 and try level 2. You’ve got about 5 months to get ready. Since the JLPT 3 and 4 certificates are pretty much equivalent to toilet paper, you should only be thinking level 2 and higher.
Great advice, Nick.