[vulgarshudder]

Mmm so how I learned japanese and came to live in Japan...

I done Japanese Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. First year was I guess intensive, we had to learn Hiragana and Katakana before the classes had even offically started, and then on it was 30 kanji a week.

Second year I studied at Ochanomizu women's university in Tokyo. There was like...2 other english speakers among the foriegn students, and I fell out with them and didn't speak to them after a month lol. The rest were chinese and koreans, and they liked to stick together. But basically I spoke every day all day in Japanese, and I found myself much better off than people I knew who went to universities with a big gaijin population (*cough* waseda *cough*).
It was tough going, but I had fun after the steep learning curve. I had a one like minded foriegn friend, a few acquantances from my London Uni, but I did end up in a few japanese uh 'social circals'.

Third year back to London and it was like okeyz translate these newspapers and write long sakubun and translate this classical japanese literature. Lol what did they think I done in Japan? Study?? Another steep learning curve.

4th year...aaah I chose to do modern literature, japanese cinema, geography and done an art extended essay and of course my dissertation.

No I guess I'm fluent...ish, and I'm quite used to translation (although I hate it). I'm a bit of a slacker when it comes to kanji but I guess I know 1000+, I should take the JLPT lvl 1 this year or next. But after very tough 4 years at Uni, I'm a bit studied out.

So I just wanted to go back to Japan after I graduated. Of course teaching English. I hate the eikaiwa industry, but I just wanted something to get back. I was unemployed for 4 months and had enough and got a job teaching english in Osaka. I kinda hate the gaijin scene in Tokyo now, and there's alot of people I do not want to bump into at lives. And kansai-ben's pretty hot.

Happy ever after? Not quite... turned out my boss was an insane obasan and had totally unrealistic unexpectations of me, and she fired me within 2 weeks. I was inexperienced, she knew this, gave me this bs about giving me 3 months but anyway...

I was pretty paniced cos she HAD NOT sent me my certificate of eligibility before I had left the UK. I wanted it changed to a working visa ASAP. Xmas day I went to immigration, and they said they'd take it but wouldn't know the result.

I had agreed to work one more month with crazy baba while she found my good looking american guy replacement. Well I needed the money and time. She made my life hell, and I walked out several times only to feel a responsibilty to my students that hadn't quit (I was unpopular with the housewives) and go back to finish.

The day I finished she gave me 50000yen for a months work, deducting charges for recuritment and stuff. Pretty bitter I told her to rot in hell.

I went to stay at my ex-boyfriends house with his mother (don't ask strange arrangement I know but hey), because I was still waiting on my visa change. The month they had said it would take passed...I looked for other work. Another month passed...I managed to find a job, but in visa limbo it was all a bit shaanai.

Day before my birthday a letter from immigration summoned me there. They had rejected my visa, because I had 'quit' my job. They'd spoken to my former employer and she got her revenge on me. My visa, denied. I had 2 months to depart. I departed in a month.

While the work situation was bad, I did manage to make up for it in my social life. I don't really hang out with other eikaiwa teachers (snobby I know but...i think Nyororin's experiences can show what I'm talking about).

I became a regular at a local one room bar (jamacian takoyaki bar lol) and spent most of my nights there. I always had someone to chat to, got to know the staff well. They helped me out of a few pinches.

AND I SPENT A TON OF MONEY AT HOST CLUBS WOOOHOOOO. Before you say, I know it's all a swindle but I love getting drunk with a bunch of orange guys with spikey hair, playing forfit drinking games and UNO. When I was in there reality could go f*** it's self -- I was the princess!!

And they threw me the best birthday ever (after I got my visa rejected), my host surprised me with a 50,000 bottle of champaign, a birthday cake and ugly jewlery present. It's a job but they're good at it lol.

And I wasn't bothered about getting my host into bed, and I played UNO with my host whenever he wanted so I was an 'agreeable' customer (not 痛客 lol). I talked to them about why they became hosts, what's their current boom etc, I loved getting to know them all because they're such silly boys. I did feel a kind of connection with them, since everyone hates hosts and I wasn't exactly popular with many people. Deluded maybe, but it's ok to hold onto that fuzzy feeling.

But remember that job I found? Well I couldn't exactly start there when they wanted...but they felt sorry for me and sponsered a certificate of eligibility for me. I came back to the UK, saved up money from my dole checks, and am back.

I'm currently sort of eeking myself out doing uuuuh odd jobs, but I'll need to find something 'proper' when I need renew my visa. It'd be nice if it wasn't eikaiwa, but I'm not holding my breath.

The future? Probably go to graduate school, maybe media or anthropological related (...I have my research ideas).

For now I'm happy with drifting along. And I really really love bad boy osaka ben now lol.