Botchandango.com

Japanese

Another (academic) year another new Japanese class... This will be the 3rd one that I have started in 53 weeks and the 4th that I have enrolled on. As I have mentioned before, finding a class that meets my requirements is pretty difficult. The only alternative being to join a beginners class and hope that they will progress quickly. The first course I enrolled on (another GCSE class) was cancelled the day before it started. The second course I quit after one lesson as the quality of the class and the ability of the students was so bad. The third class was much better and I attended a full term but felt that the class was not progressing quickly enough.

I had my first GCSE Japanese class at Basingstoke College last week and it was pretty good. That is to say the teacher seemed very good and the 15 students in the class were pretty serious about studying the language. The ages ranged from 18 to 60+ so I was by no means the oldest student there (phew!). One possible problem will be if anyone drops out in the next few weeks as 15 is the minimum number of students required for the course to run. It'll be a real pain if the course is cancelled especially as I just forked out on two fairly pricey text books. Unfortunately the class does not use any of the 15 - 20 Japanese Language text books that I already own so I had to get some new additions to my collection. :)

Although everyone on the course has some level of Japanese ability (except for the girl who already speaks 4 other languages) the class started from scratch but at a reasonable pace. The first lesson covered hiragana script (one of the three writing systems used in Japanese) which originally took me about 3 weeks to get to grips with when I first started learning Japanese. I'm guessing that this week will cover katakana script and then from next week we will move on to normal lesson content with the  Kanji characters being introduced as and when they are needed. I have always believed that this is the best way to start out learning Japanese as once you can read and write in the language (no matter how basically) you can use text books that only show Japanese written in Japanese rather than in   Romanji (the Romanised version of Japanese using the English alphabet) which helps to improve pronunciation and just feels more authentic. I find that the use of Romanji in text books or by students leads to all kinds of mistakes and laziness...

Originally I enrolled to study GCSE Japanese for 1 year taking the listening/speaking/reading and writing exam next summer. During the first lesson the teacher suggested that I might want to also study for and take the A/S level written Japanese exam next summer too. I'm currently undecided about that as while I could have coped with that easily a few years ago, I'm pretty rusty now and it'll take a little effort to get back up to speed. It's also a lot more 'homework' and exam stress... things that by rights I should have left behind long ago.

Wanna piece of my asse?

Japanese Classes

I started another Japanese class last night over in Guildford. Again the level of this course is quite a bit lower than I had reached a few years ago but I did find that it was a well organised class and the teacher seemed very good. As an opportunity to revise the basics (possibly in a little more detail than I did originally) and for want of any other alternatives I don't think that I can afford to pass this class up. Ideally I would be able to restart my private tuition or attend classes at SOAS in London but unfortunately both of those options are too expensive.

I'm also toying with the idea of trying to attend some Japanese classes during my next visit to Japan (possibly 2 weeks this Spring). Even in my wife's hometown there are a handful of classes each week that I could attend, although nothing like the classes that would be available in some of the bigger cities. The trouble is this is not a new plan... I had the same intention last year for my previous trip to Japan. When it came down to it I bottled out completely. I'm worried that my approach to visiting Japan has been becoming less and less adventurous over the past few years as I tend to stick more and more to a familiar and 'safe' routine and environment. Perhaps it is time I tried to reinvigorate things a little bit and try to get more value out of what will no doubt end up being an expensive trip. I'll have to see what I can come up with.

Osaka

I read with interest this article on the Daily Yomiuri Online pages today which talks about a survey recently completed by the Osaka prefectural government that showed many foreign guidebooks and travel related websites contained 'negative' and 'mis-leading' information about the city. The committee formed to address this problem have started their remedial action by organising a fashion show. I'm sure it will do wonders.

Think of Osaka, Japans second biggest and second busiest city, and what are the first things that come to mind? Large buildings, crowds of people, gaudy signs, noise... in fact probably all of the general hustle and bustle you will see in any major Japanese city. There are a lot of stereotypes concerning Osaka and it's residents, often it seems bolstered by the residents themselves and also the national entertainment media. Kansai-ben, the distinctive dialect of the region, is more likely to be heard spoken by a comedian, gangster or 'country yokel' character in a drama than by a presenter on a primetime news show. Imagine Trevor McDonald or Moira Stewart reading the news on their respective channels (ITV and BBC) with an Eastend accent peppered with Cockney rhyming slang... it just wouldn't happen.

I have been to Osaka several times over the past few years. I have also read a lot of the information in my own guidebooks and on the web that is supposed to be 'negative' and 'misleading' but I wonder if it really matters or is such a bad thing. It may not be the image that the local government want to portray but I doubt it has the effect of deterring potential visitors probably quite the opposite. The so called negative associations with organised crime, a more merchant or entrepreneurial outlook towards life, 'rowdy and boisterous behaviour' and being a place "where bequiffed lads cast their nets for mini-skirted girls on the Ebisu-bashi [bridge]" add additional colour and interest to what is already a great tourist destination. With it's own historic and modern attractions and being a very short distance away from Kyoto and Nara I actually think Osaka has more going for it as a tourist destination than Tokyo. As a passing foreign tourist the things that make Osaka Osaka are not really that obvious, that is where the guidebooks and people with more intimate local knowledge can help by pointing out the things that differentiate Osaka from other Japanese cities.

To return to the Eastend theme... the stereotypical image of the eastend of London also colours the general impression people have of London and England as a whole. The London of pie and mash, jellied eels, pearly kings and queens, the Krays, and rotund market sellers saying 'alright treacle' certainly did exist and still does to some extent but it is not the London anyone I know lives in or that I see in the evening on the News. However these things still find a place in the stereotyped image of London as they add character and interest. Granted, you wouldn't want a guidebook for London to show the true everyday reality of the City - Crime, Litter, Congestion, Inconvenience, High Prices, Low Service etc.

Now the Osaka Prefectural government may feel that the 'true' Osaka has more and better things to offer than the guidebooks would imply but by removing the colour and emphasising the more cultural and highbrow aspects they risk putting their image through the 'Blanderiser' making it both less exciting and no different to anywhere else which would seem a shame. Perhaps they should conduct a further survey to discover if the results of the first survey really matter.

Packed Lunches

I came across this moblog today during some idle surfing at work. Those lunches look great! Definately beats my ham salad sandwich, bag of crisps, carrot cake and bottle of Dr Pepper.

A job in Japan

Considering my options for earning a living if I were to move to Japan, they seem to fall into two groups split by the question of whether or not I stay involved with IT.

An internal transfer

This would perhaps be the ideal option but is also the most unlikely. If I were more closely involved with our products such as in marketing or development then there might be opportunities but working within a regional IT department dealing with internal systems limits the possibilities. Ironically the very software applications that I specialise in are used in several areas of our company in Japan but not only are they all running localised in Japanese (so I would hit a language barrier straight away) they are supported by Japanese people with similar skills as my own. Of course it might be possible (and more practical) to find some other opening outside of my normal area of specialisation where the company could take advantage of my native English skill, general IT experience and knowledge of the European operation.

Another company

The main software application that I specialise in is BMC's Remedy Action Request System. I have been told that the Asia-Pacific market for this product is growing well at the moment but whether this would translate directly to a demand for skills I do not know. I suspect that most new implementations in Japan are carried out through 3rd party resellers/consultancy firms as it is rare to see related positions advertised in the usual UK sources. I also believe that faced with implementing a new system, most large Japanese companies would rather assign more internal staff to the problem (and train them up) than bring in outside expertise. Again, after reading some old (but hopefully not too out of date) web pages I think that any company that might potentially hire me would be doing so for my English language and general experience rather than my specialist knowledge.

English teaching

The (easy?) option for most foreigners in Japan is teaching English. There are no shortage of English schools and even some that teach British English. Speaking to people who have done this gives a mixed view, I guess there are good companies and bad companies and luck or timing will always play a part. Still, the better jobs pay well and the hours are not too bad.

JET programme (http://www.jetprogramme.org/e/index.html)

I have kept this government run programme separate from normal English teaching as that is only one of the options it offers (albeit the most common). The programme offers successful applicants the chance to work for 1-3 years in Japan as either an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) in a particular school or area, a CIR (Coordinator for International Relations) within a local government office or a SEA (Sports Exchange Advisor). Historically the program has been aimed at recent graduates but accepted people up to the age of about 35. Recently the maximum age of applicants was raised to 40 but the majority of applicants will still be fresh graduates in their 20's. Not being a very 'sporty' person the SEA option is out. The CIR position could be interesting but I have little idea how much Japanese skill is really required. The ALT positions would seem the best choice for me. The salary paid to a participant of the JET programme is pretty good but of course less than you could earn in IT. The biggest advantage of the JET program is that it is possible to be sent almost anywhere within Japan and if you request to be sent to certain remoter or less popular areas you are quite likely to get your wish. This would seem the best way for me to get work at least for a few years somewhere other than Tokyo or Osaka.

Something else...

There are bound to be other things out there that I can't even think of at the moment.

Could I live and work in Japan?

I've been considering the idea for the past 6 years ever since I first started to learn Japanese. Recently I have started looking into the practicalities of whether or not I could actually live and work in Japan. I think I could enjoy it tremendously (although who knows how I would feel after the novelty wore off) but more importantly my wife would benefit from being closer to her friends and family and our son would have an opportunity at an early formative age to be imersed in the Japanese culture and language.

As the spouse of a Japanese national I should be able to reside and work there with a minimum of visa hassle (an assumption based on just a few quick google searches) but there remain several questions including...

What would I do for a living? When should we go? Is my level of Japanese good enough to be anything other than a tourist? does it matter? Where would we live? What would our standard of living be like? What would happen in the future if we decided to return to the UK? How would I feel about being so far away from my own friends and family?

Hmm, lots to think about.

Hayfever in Japan

I had a tough time with my hayfever while in Japan these past weeks, but I didn't think much of it as it happens to me every year. But this year in Japan the pollen counts are 15 times higher than usual... I read all about this in the Asian Wallstreet Journal on the flight between Okayama and Incheon.

Apparently, after WWII there was a large reforestation program carried out to replace trees that had been used for building materials. Unfortunately the tree of choice, Cryptomeria japonica (Sugi), was not made with possible hayfever impact in mind. Sugi trees are one of the most pollen-rich evergreen trees around and there are now a lot of them, around 450 hectares. Foreign imported wood has removed the demand for domestic wood and so the trees are getting older and more mature producing more and more pollen each year. Weather conditions last year and this have resulted in this amazing peak pollen count. According to the article I read there are moves underway to replace these trees with another species but it is estimated that it will be 100 years before any real difference is made.

In the meantime, I guess hayfever will continue to become a more recognised and understood ailment within Japanese society where previously it was relatively unknown and disregarded as a trivial condition often mistaken for a spring cold.

Korea

I have about one hour to pass in Incheon airport, Seoul... what better way to do so than at a remarkably well equipped internet lounge in the departures area. It cost $3 for 60 minutes which i thought a fair price even though I will probably not use anywhere near that much time.

As I said previously, Incheon airport is very new, light and spacious. Walking around is quite impressive, at times giving the same feeling that you can get walking around inside a large cathedral. I think there are actually a lot of people here but it just doesn't seem like it.

I wanted to get some korean hot pepper powder and kimchi to take home but in the three or four duty free shops I've been into so far I've been put off by the hard sell tactics of the shop assistants. Yes they are being very helpful and very polite and friendly but as soon as you stop for more than a few seconds to look at something it's 'you like kimchi?', 'you want kimchi?', 'his one taste better than that one'... it puts me off and I quickly move onto the next shop. I prefer being left alone to mull over my purchase. Actually the kimchi seems quite expensive, I suspect it's tagetted at a captive market of transit passengers. I have a feeling that I can get cheaper and fresher kimchi in New Malden (South London) where there are some excellent Korean shops and restaurants.

I reckon on another 20 or 30 minutes surfing then a last attempt at the duty free shops before heading for my flight to London. I'm looking forward to the flight and hope it is as good as the one out. The meal on the last flight was particularly nice, Bibimba, a Korean dish of rice mixed with finely cut vegetables and minced meat containing a lot of hot pepper paste. I hope they serve the same this time around.

Arrgghhh!... I just realised that I left behind the box of Botchandango I bought in Matsuyama. Oh well, my wife will enjoy eating them this week.

Going home tomorrow

Well two and a bit weeks has gone quickly and my suitcase is packed for the flight home tomorrow morning. This is the part of any holiday that I don't like. No time left to do all those things you just thought of and a return to work and daily life to look forward to.

However... my wife is coming back with Chi-chan 3 to 4 weeks after me to enjoy a longer stay with her friends and family. This leaves me facing the prospect of having to amuse myself back in the UK for 3 to 4 weeks  bound only by laws of common decency and my finances. How will I fill my time? Beer, Pizza, Games and Movies all come pretty high on my list... but I also have to oversee the fitting of our new bathroom in a couple of weeks time which could be hassle.