Let's Japan.org Debunking Eikaiwa and Ramblings in Japan

It started as a normal work day. I woke up with a head that felt like a yak had slept on it. I lit a smoke and had a few puffs. I then pulled a beer out of the personal beer cooler I kept by the bed. It was a lazy habit, but it gave me a reason to sit up in the morning. It's hard to drink a full can of beer supine.

This is a rebuttal to an article posted on ELT News by Kevin Burns which singled out Let's Japan and its forums as being overly negative. The story can be found at ELT News.

Since Mr. Burn's recent article "The Forums about Teaching English in Japan Need to Take a Reality Check" names Let's Japan, Chris and myself (the two GEOS teachers who didn't like their jobs), it's only fitting that Chris and I respond.

Why is Nova a sub-standard place to work? Why should you make the decision not to work there?

The Primary Cause of all Evils: The Basic Rules of Supply and Demand

When a commodity is in ample supply, it comes cheaply.

Virgin employees are drawn from an overseas supply that in many ways the company views as being inexhaustible. Fresh blood (predominantly in the form of young and naive University graduates) is what keeps the wheels of Nova turning. The absurd work conditions that teachers have to endure can all be linked backed to this one crucial fact.

Since coming to Japan I've found myself robed in all kinds of roles. People seem happier here if they know what role to assign you. The conversation can then continue on a predefined script. I've noticed Japanese people feeling out the other person's status early on in the initial conversation. Once they find out, there is an "Ahhh!

Vomiting Over a Guy in a Bar in Roppongi? Big fucking deal!" I hear your anguished cries resonate. Yeah, big fucking deal. But, what you guys dont know is that I'm back here in the beautiful Snowy Mountains of Australia. The Place where it all began. The winter wonderland where my Nokia 3210 with the silver cover took a call from the raspy-voices Masako Kuroda. And Angel of AEON. The Angel of Death!

WTF is with the "nande daroo dance", as if japanese people were bad enough dancers.

WTF is with old ladys clamoring on to their bags when they see you comming from behind (As opposed to the young ladies who clamor on to the bed)

WTF is with japanese locker rooms. Do they really have comb their hair naked? Not that I'm looking, but even my shlong is longer than my pubes! And at the onsen its worse, they look at you, and let me tell you boys, I AM GIVING YOU A BAAAAD REP!

Four years back I was looking for a new apartment in Osaka and visited my local agency. The agent asked me where I wanted to live and how much I wanted to spend and then pulled out a catalogue of pictures and floor plans. I picked half a dozen locations that looked reasonable and showed this chap my selection. The next thing the agent did gave me a bit of a wake up call. He called the landlord for every location I'd selected and began to ask if they accepted foreigners. My pick of half a dozen suddenly became one and the agent went into a speech about why they don't accept foreigners.

Mogura asked the question:

Dude, if I were you, I would have come down with a "sudden case of the flu", and take her to the nearest love hotel for a spanking.

What happened with her? Please tell me you made a move...

So here is the answer:

Well, that was within my first months of arriving in Japan many years ago. Believe it or not I was actually semi-concerned about breaking the socialisation policy at that time. What a naive idiot I was.

Putting Your Stick in My Honey Pot

You would think that friends would stand next to you, help you and support you in creating a new school. They would be there to help out with lessons and handing out flyers...but what the hell do you do when they start giving students lessons of a different sort...I don't wanna come off sounding like a NOVA manager or anything like that..but what would you do!?

A friend who taught in Japan for 3 years sent me some advice on things to do...and not to do should I make to move to teach in Japan. I thought Id pass her advice your way, to see what you think, and if you'd add anything.