7/6/2005

So. I’ve been biting my nails, pulling on my split ends and generally getting fidgety. I was accepted a while ago for an eikaiwa position in Japan and I’m due to leave in September. Given that I have nothing else to do besides learn kanji, this means I’m getting impatient.

I have to admit, I was one of those otaku that thought life would be better in Japan, which was why I initially decided to go. After hearing both terrific and terrifying stories about those who had left before me, I started to wonder what I was getting myself into.

But still, I’m feeling optimistic. I mean, I could be my usual pessimistic, cynical self and say I’m headed for a year to a country whose language I don’t speak, whose people are known for occasional xenophobia. A country where I’ll be stigmatised as an eikaiwa sensei, both by the natives and the foreign TEFL/TESOL elite. A country where women are lower on the social ladder (although maybe being a foreigner would counter that? Foreign women are preferred to foreign men, right? I mean, Gwen Stefani seems to be popular…) and where I may have to live on ramen because anything with protein in it costs too much.

I could be pessimistic like that but I’m amazingly feeling okay about it all. I applied for the job as a freshly graduated fan-girl with no clues, but I’ll be arriving there as someone who needs a break overseas and still thinks Japan is the best choice right now. I’m wary, sure. I think I’ll be doing quite a lot of bitching in these entries while I’m there. But hey, if worst comes to worst, I can always revert to being an otaku shut in. I’d definitely have access to a lot more manga and anime there than I would at home!