thanks for the comment. It’s also quite rare to find honest comments like these on the net too. I gotta be honest, if you look at the posts i link earlier on in this entry I did have my own ‘jumping online the moment after I got reamed’. But as a writer I’ve always strived for a certain amount of impartiality and I made it clear that those were written in the heat of the moment.

Yours is an interesting story. I’m sorry to hear you won’t be making the jump, but i can understand the reservations you might have realised you had. It’s true that working at an eikawa like Geos might not be the best way to further your knowledge and fluency of Japanese, however I’m a firm believer that to become fluent you have to be immersed in the language and as you put it, and its generally the truest thing about any eikawa stories, eikawa work is a paid ticket into Japan. Thats always how I looked at it. It wasn’t what i might have wanted to do, but it was a way into the country. In hindsight it did provide me with a good environment in which to learn and practice Japanese, you do speak english for ost of the day however in my case when you teach a high amount of kids classes you’re just swamped by Japanese, and at a low level which is great for beginners like me who need to work their Japanese up.

After that, if you’ve already studied the language, its true that a different job, where you are immersed in the language might have been better. But you never know what doors being in Japan might open, and you’re a lot closer to making something happen than being outside of it. Thats also what happened to me, by being there working in eikawa i found a job at a world renowned newspaper and made a move that worked for me, even if it turned out a little bad in the end and led to me leaving sooner than I’d hoped.

If you’re at peace that’s the most important, but my advice, for what its worth, would be that if you’re really still thinking about achieving fluency, taking up eikawa temporarily as a ticket in, visa etc… and then using your time there to leverage something better (which btw is much easier today if you speak Japanese to a decent level, the non Japanese speaking jobs are disapearing fast) is a move worth considering. After all it is only a job, and a temporary one at that. My experience of Japan was unbelievable, the best decision I ever made even if it did involve the troubles with eikawas. Looking back on it, it was all worth it and I’d do it again, hell I’m considering it for next year. I wouldnt go back full time, but doing eikawa a couple of days a week to get some money is easy and allows a bit of ‘recul’ on the whole thing and not being swamped by it.

I hope you manage to get there one day, it’s truly something else!

So, I pulled the plug on Geos and have resigned myself to spending more money and time on school. Honestly though, I’m totally at peace with the decision. I think I’m saving myself from a lot of frustration and wasted time.

That being said, eikaiwa might be right for some. But as the above post states, you have to know your objectives for going to Japan.

Well, despite the bad times, i think youve done a great job for sticking it for as long as you have. I dont think i would have been able to due to my somewhat involuntary lack of motivation when it comes to things that dont involve CG or animation. That and bad ‘people’ skills!

If you can hack it, eikaiwa’s do seem like a great stepping stone into the country and to move on to better things. Youve got your foot in the country’s door good and proper now, and i wish you the best o’ luck with your new job!

Betcha looking forward to BTC on the 26th March, eh?
Me and my mate will be busy on the ol’ dubstep circuit soon too. GT and others are at DMZ’s 3rd bday do in london in March, and the week after that, magnetic man (skream & benga) and n-type are playing at birmingham – just down the road for us!
Had proper bad guts after that DMZ in leeds though. I could have eaten summat dodgy, or i could have suffered from ‘brown noise’ from all that bass!

Have a goodun anyhoo matey