Wrote this and left it for the longest time... It's been 1 year, 3 months and 2 days since I closed the Japan chapter of my life.
It's been two weeks and 3 days since I left Japan for Singapore. It's 10:30 pm on a Monday night, my fan is at the fastest it will go (but I'm still perspiring), I'm twitchy, itchy and wanting to go somewhere / do something / talk to someone. In my recently gutted room (decided to tear down the 20-year-old built-in cabinets), my tapping away at the keyboard sounds unnaturally loud.
I think I just went into reverse culture shock.
And there're no available books about reverse culture shock in the Singapore National Library (I checked online). I search the net and most blog articles are about Americans' experiences. Some Singaporeans have written something about RCS, but it's usually the same things - comparing the differences between cultures, the heat and humidity etc. And why shouldn't they write about such things? It's normal, I know, but tonight I'm looking for something more; I just don't know what it is, and it's frustrating the hell out of me.
Maybe it's because the way I left Japan was so strange, so full of emotions, and yet, so difficult to share about, that I've only managed to talk about it just once since coming back.
So maybe I need to write about it. Let me tell you about the day I left Japan.
I woke up to Noel scratching the sliding doors of the Hamdons' guest room. He was a smart dog and I think, rather like the velociraptors in Jurassic Park, had learnt how to open doors - ones with knobs and their sliding counterparts as well. So I said, "Hai, hai..." and he, satisfied that I was awake, loped off back to the Hamdons.
Then I heard H starting to get brekkie stuff together in the kitchen and I knew it was time to get up. Did the usual, and then sat and talked to her while she made avocado cottage cheese toast - I still remember the hearty yet light meal, the refreshing tang of lemon mellowed by olive oil. Noel kept wanting to go into the kitchen but he wasn't allowed to.
B then came out and got ready for work. H and I continued talking. We had breakfast, and as I finished my last bite of the toast, Noel whimpered, turned over, and took shuddering breaths that slowed into shallow, irregular gasps.
Poor H was distraught and a taxi was quickly called and she and B hurried off to the vet's.
I concentrated on getting ready, and just as I was about to leave the apartment for my brunch date with A, H and B came home, one sober, one dissolving into tears. I held her and talked to them about Noel for as long as I could, then left when I couldn't stay any longer, having to go to the office to return official documents and then head to the airport.
Picked up my suitcase and box from the takubin office and pack and repack till each receptacle for my Japanese life weighs 23 kilograms.
For the first time, I ticked the other box on the special form residents have to fill out at customs. They returned my card to me without punching a hole through it. Hmm.
I waited and instagrammed. I boarded the plane and checked with a potential seat mate if I was in the right seat. He asked me why I was going to Singapore, and of course it all came out.
"I'm Singaporean."
"Oh, then, were you traveling around Japan?"
"Actually, this is my last day in Japan after 7.5 years."
"Oh wow, no way."
"Oh yes, and so if I start crying you'll know why."
"Ok, I won't say a word about it, if it happens."
"Thanks, that's kind of you."
"Oh hey, I see you have an Ironman phone case!"
And then, all throughout the boarding and the waiting-in-line to taxi down the runway and the taking off, he very very expertly kept me talking about the MCU and told me how he was in the midst of watching the MCU films in chronological order. Starting with, of course, Captain Marvel, which he had seen on opening day in Tokyo.
And so, I ended my 7 years and 8 months in Japan well through that one lovely act of kindness.
I haven't been the best blogger, and I'm terribly sorry! I won't need to update this blog anymore now, with my leaving Japan, but I know I have a wealth of information that could help people make it to teach English in Japan (I know many of you want to). So, please contact me via the comments should you want to know more, or just want to talk.
It's been two weeks and 3 days since I left Japan for Singapore. It's 10:30 pm on a Monday night, my fan is at the fastest it will go (but I'm still perspiring), I'm twitchy, itchy and wanting to go somewhere / do something / talk to someone. In my recently gutted room (decided to tear down the 20-year-old built-in cabinets), my tapping away at the keyboard sounds unnaturally loud.
I think I just went into reverse culture shock.
And there're no available books about reverse culture shock in the Singapore National Library (I checked online). I search the net and most blog articles are about Americans' experiences. Some Singaporeans have written something about RCS, but it's usually the same things - comparing the differences between cultures, the heat and humidity etc. And why shouldn't they write about such things? It's normal, I know, but tonight I'm looking for something more; I just don't know what it is, and it's frustrating the hell out of me.
Maybe it's because the way I left Japan was so strange, so full of emotions, and yet, so difficult to share about, that I've only managed to talk about it just once since coming back.
So maybe I need to write about it. Let me tell you about the day I left Japan.
I woke up to Noel scratching the sliding doors of the Hamdons' guest room. He was a smart dog and I think, rather like the velociraptors in Jurassic Park, had learnt how to open doors - ones with knobs and their sliding counterparts as well. So I said, "Hai, hai..." and he, satisfied that I was awake, loped off back to the Hamdons.
Then I heard H starting to get brekkie stuff together in the kitchen and I knew it was time to get up. Did the usual, and then sat and talked to her while she made avocado cottage cheese toast - I still remember the hearty yet light meal, the refreshing tang of lemon mellowed by olive oil. Noel kept wanting to go into the kitchen but he wasn't allowed to.
B then came out and got ready for work. H and I continued talking. We had breakfast, and as I finished my last bite of the toast, Noel whimpered, turned over, and took shuddering breaths that slowed into shallow, irregular gasps.
Poor H was distraught and a taxi was quickly called and she and B hurried off to the vet's.
I concentrated on getting ready, and just as I was about to leave the apartment for my brunch date with A, H and B came home, one sober, one dissolving into tears. I held her and talked to them about Noel for as long as I could, then left when I couldn't stay any longer, having to go to the office to return official documents and then head to the airport.
Picked up my suitcase and box from the takubin office and pack and repack till each receptacle for my Japanese life weighs 23 kilograms.
For the first time, I ticked the other box on the special form residents have to fill out at customs. They returned my card to me without punching a hole through it. Hmm.
I waited and instagrammed. I boarded the plane and checked with a potential seat mate if I was in the right seat. He asked me why I was going to Singapore, and of course it all came out.
"I'm Singaporean."
"Oh, then, were you traveling around Japan?"
"Actually, this is my last day in Japan after 7.5 years."
"Oh wow, no way."
"Oh yes, and so if I start crying you'll know why."
"Ok, I won't say a word about it, if it happens."
"Thanks, that's kind of you."
"Oh hey, I see you have an Ironman phone case!"
And then, all throughout the boarding and the waiting-in-line to taxi down the runway and the taking off, he very very expertly kept me talking about the MCU and told me how he was in the midst of watching the MCU films in chronological order. Starting with, of course, Captain Marvel, which he had seen on opening day in Tokyo.
And so, I ended my 7 years and 8 months in Japan well through that one lovely act of kindness.
I haven't been the best blogger, and I'm terribly sorry! I won't need to update this blog anymore now, with my leaving Japan, but I know I have a wealth of information that could help people make it to teach English in Japan (I know many of you want to). So, please contact me via the comments should you want to know more, or just want to talk.
Hi there! Thank you so much for your blog - it has given me some perspective given that I am exploring the option of teaching English in Japan. I am just curious, why did you leave Japan after 7 years and 8 months? And will you go back as an English teacher again?
ReplyDeleteHi Eugene, thanks for reaching out. Very simply, I started missing my family, after living alone those years in Japan.
ReplyDeleteMostly, I think missing home, having a different job offer in a different country, moving back for an unwell parent or hating / being done with Japan (lol) have been the main reasons I've heard from my friends who have left Japan.
Let me know if you have other questions!
Thanks for your reply Eunice (just realised that your name appears on your weblink:P)! I am thinking of applying to the JET Programme later this year, and am just wondering if the schools - both public and private - not affiliated with the JET Programme (yes, I am asking in case I do not get in) are more open and willing now than in the past (referring to your previous blog post - 'Life after the BOE') to hire interested English teachers who are not from the BIG 7 countries - what are your thoughts on it?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your time and help!
Hi Eugene, no worries, happy to help!
DeleteIn response to your question, I think private high schools would be willing to hire teachers, but the thing is they tend to take people who are already in Japan. There's a lot of paperwork to be done for visa issues etc, so usually job advertisements would state that the applicant needs to have a valid visa.
Public high schools either get ALTs from the BOE direct hires, or from dispatch companies. So, perhaps one way to go about this would be to apply directly to companies who hire ALTs for schools. Here's a link that will give you an idea of dispatch companies: https://allabout-japan.com/en/article/2656/
Caveat: Dispatch companies tend not to have good reputations amongst ALTs. There are some 'black' companies that hold ALTs visas hostage, some who don't pay ALTs much, and others who don't support their ALTs when schools make ridiculous demands. I would reach out to people who have been employed by dispatch companies first to see what they say. But if you can take a few months or a couple years of slightly bad working conditions, I think you'd be in a good position to apply to private schools after that.
Okay THANKS SO MUCH for sharing Eunice!
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