So it’s 4:30 Tuesday afternoon, and after nearly 5 hours in transit, I’m still not home yet.
As I’ve previously mentioned, for a while now, I’ve been debating whether I should just go home, or if I should try and stay in japan for another year doing something/anything that will help me improve my Japanese in the long run so I can go back to the States someday and use Japanese on the job there.
As a culmination to all my job searching, Sunday through today, I’ve been in Tokyo, interviewing with 3 different companies.
First, I need to talk about Sunday, which was decided not my day. After 2 weeks of contacting the essential Japanese people I needed to meet in the Tokyo area, I got rejected by 2 people, and FINALLY found someone to meet Sunday – my host sister, Sayoko. Since my flights to Tokyo were in the morning, we planned to meet mid afternoon through early evening.
HOWEVER, thanks to crappy weather that is Tsushima, my first flight got delayed, hence screwing my plans to take my connecting flight and arriving in Tokyo at an hour early enough to meet Sayoko and her family.
With nothing else I could do, Aaron drove me back to his place and I proceeded to take the most unsatisfying nap ever (I had slept at 3am, and had woken up at 7:30 to make my flight). Panicking this whole time over what to do should the next flight get canceled, I started to map out different ways I could get to Tokyo that day without need to fly off of Tsushima. But luckily, the second flight was allowed to go, so I left the island at noon.
After a few hours waiting at Fukuoka airport, I finally managed to fly out and arrive in Tokyo late in the evening, which meant that I definitely missed my entire window of opportunity to meet Sayoko. Grrr….
Since it was pouring rain, all I could do was ride like 3 trains to finally get to my hotel, get a bento (boxed meal) at the local convenience store, camp out in my room, and watch the Japanese volleyball team play America (America won!!!).
Then came Monday: my marathon day. The first interview on the agenda was with a private company that like JET, recruits ALTs from overseas and places them all over Japan. I applied to a Coordinator of International Relations position, thinking that like Sujin, I’d be working mainly from a city office, translating various things for various people and events.
However, at my interview, I found out that whoever gets this job will be ALTing 2-3 days a week when there’s not that much CIR stuff to do. Not that I completely hate kids or anything, but I really wanted to stop the ALT gig. Had I known that THAT MUCH teaching would be involved in the job, I would have backed down sooner. However, they did pay for half of my airfare to Tokyo, so hey, I can’t complain. But to be fair, I had to work harder for this interview than any other jobs I applied to (form after form and requirement after requirement… it was like applying to JET all over again=/)
After spending my morning there, I headed out to Ikebukuro where I caught a McD’s lunch, then set off on an hour and a half train ride to northern Saitama, where I interviewed with Private Company Like JET #2. Here, I was applying for Assistant Human Resources Manager. Last week, I had an hour long phone interview with the two current managers, and for the most part, they sounded like pleasant people.
Since it was raining when I got to Saitama, I wasn’t too taken away with the scenery. It’s rural, so I can’t expect much, but hey, anywhere where you can get there by train is a considerate upgrade from living 2 years on Tsushima. But anyway, I thought I was completely lost, but it turns out I can read a map. Yay!
This place turns out to be a house converted into a place of business. For nearly 3 hours, I just chatted with the 2 people I had previously spoken on the phone to, and honestly, it felt less like an interview and more like a training session. They were very good about giving me an idea of what they deal with on a day-to-day and year-long basis. While it sounds like there would be times where I’d have to last minute do ALT stuff, it’s definitely not set in stone like the place I interviewed with in the morning, which is comforting.
As the interview progressed, I realized that since I’d be dealing with ALTs a lot, I may not be utilizing all the Japanese I was hoping to (although the lady that was interviewing me said I’d probably be using Japanese about 75% of the time… and I can see why – there are Japanese people working alongside them). However, I also realized that getting experience in a management position would definitely boost my resume. Every company that has spoken to me until now has asked me if I’ve had any experience with management, and each time, I unfortunately have to say no.
Some people at home are probably thinking, if you want to get into management, you can do that in America. While this is true, I wouldn’t be able to speak Japanese to my coworkers, now would i? This is why this job is tempting, if I get an offer, that is. The biggest downside would probably be that I’d be taking a paycut. While there are chances of getting promoted, I think I’d still max out at what I’m making now. Plus, there’s no promise of Aaron or anyone I already know in the immediate area, so weekends could get lonely…. =/
Speaking of lonely, after riding trains all over Tokyo the last two days, I was hit with sooo much nostalgia. Riding the Yamanote Line was probably the most positive form or nostalgia. I rode that line everyday back and forth from my dorm to work, and I remember how fascinating it was to watch the in-train TVs and just all the information they displayed.
Looking out the window and seeing the slummier looking areas of Tokyo are what brought back all the negative memories. I was sooooo lonely during my internship in Tokyo…. I could feel the familiar overwhelming sense of “I need to be with someone I know” all over again. Unpretty.
Anyway, since my second interview went late, I wasn’t able to get back to central Tokyo until 8, at which time I met up with Chris Cornute. Fellow lame-history-of-China classmate and co-SJEC officer, I found out last month that he got a job in Japan and would be moving here for a while. Sooo, I met him up at his office, where there was an open house event. Can I just say, the finance/business world is so NOT my scene. I felt SO out of place. The atmosphere just feels so competitive. I don’t have that kind of animal instinct and ability to schmooze for hours. I just felt so uneasy there.
After shaking hands with the appropriate people, chris and I set off to find dinner, and mind you, it’s 9 at this point. he swore there was a good udon place, so we started walking towards it. kinda. we got lost/ he couldn’t remember where it was, so I took us a little while, only further crippling my already crippled toes. (on a side note, I sat soooo much on the train out to saitama and in interviews, and walked sooo much in my heels between trying to find all these places, to the point that it hurt to sit, and it hurt to stand/walk. what can you do in times like that???!!) We finally found the place, ate some awesome udon, and after chatting for a while, both headed back to our respective train stops.
But, as my luck SUCKS, since I got off at a different train stop than I got on in the morning, I didn’t know where I was when I exited. wanting company on the walk back ot the hotel, I called Aaron as I walked in the direction I THOUGHT was back to the hotel. However, I just kept on walking, and more and more NOTHING looked familiar, and once again, nostalgia hit in. As a culmination of the 2 most miserable days of my life (in Tokyo), I went running to distress. However, since I only had my mp3 player and keys, I didn’t have money, glasses, or cellphone to help me when I got ENTIRELY lost. what I was hoping would be a 20 minute run ended up being an hour plus because I had run to basically twice the distant to the next train stop. it was awful.
and so was last night. I think I ended up walking an extra mile on my already throbbing feet. when I finally recognized the road again, it turns out that I WAS walking in the right direction, but the stupid freaking road went UNDER the road I wanted to be on. grrrr!!!!! so I basically made this gigantic circle when in truth, my sense of direction wasn’t crap. arrrrrgh Tokyo and your stupid senseless roads!!!!
anyway, today. this morning was my final interview at a translation company that is based in japan, but also has branches all over the world (and what particularly attracted me, their branch in LA). I was scheduled to go at 10, but I cleverly chose my hotel based on proximity to this company (since I’d have to bounce out of Tokyo quickly to make my 1:50 flight back to Fukuoka and hence Tsushima). I chose this hotel so well, that my room actually FACED their building, and they’re literally next door to each other. I was there about 30 seconds after I left my hotel hahah.
luckily, they let me in early, and we started at 9:40. in 20 minutes, the interview was over. I dunno how I feel about it. the benefits and pay are the best, with the treatment of an average Japanese person (like health insurance, commutation stipend, etc). however, the guy even said that judging from my resume, looking at manual after manual day in day out to translate would be a boring line of work for me=/
I originally thought this last company would be a good way of transitioning back into America with possibilities of a job in hand, but he’s right. it would be boring.
I have the best impression from the second company, and it really looks like it’d be fun to work with them, but is it worth staying another year away from family and home for?
All things I still need to think about… but alas, it’s finally time to board my plane, these dumb layovers. I swear, I’ve lost several days of my life just waiting at airports.
Anyway, I’ll be sure to let you all know the results of these jobs. and don’t worry, if I get nothing, I’m going home=)
