[Nyororin]

Phew, I take a bit of time off from answering replies, and there is a flood of them. ^^;

Actually, I think you're in Nagoya, right? I was a student there! And I loved it very much. I'm sure my son would pick up the language pretty quickly. He had just started with his Mandarine when I left my husband, just over a year ago, but dropped after being here a couple of months. I still try to speak to him some, but I'm loosing my tones, and we speak a little Spanish. I'd like him to be exposed to as many languages as possible. He's very intelligent and has a very large vocabulary for a 4 year old! Sorry, had to brag a little.

I don`t actually live in Nagoya, but had might as well. We live across the river, I could easily walk into the city.
And... I know you certainly don`t mean any harm, but my son has a developmental delay, has been diagnosed with mild autism, and has enough health problems to fill a book. He has yet to speak a single word yet.

So... Bragging really does not impress me. The opposite in fact.

But changes are very hard for him and I worry that it might be a very big adjustment in the beginning. And might it not be a little hard for me to be a foreign single mother? Do you think my son would face problems because of his race? Everyone might assume him to be half Japanese, which might make him popular, but I do worry.

I don`t really know about the difficulty of being a single mother in Japan. I know there are a ton of services for Japanese single mothers, including free housing, etc - but I doubt you`d be eligible. If your working hours coincided with the normal preschool hours, then you shouldn`t have too much trouble.
I really don`t think there would be too much trouble with race - he probably would be assumed to be half Japanese.

How old is your son? It would be nice for my son to have a playmate!
It would be nice if we could meet sometime. You sound like you must be pretty young. I'm 35 already! But I bet we have a lot in common.

My son is 2 and a half. I don`t really know if they would do well playing together. I`m 26, but I understand how those years can sort of creep up on you - So I don`t worry too much about age.

And thanks for the tips about better employment opps. I understand these positions allow teachers to be treated more professionally, and the hours and pay are better? I'll need to do some more looking into this. I taught at university in Taiwan and it was one of my favorite jobs!

Good luck - I hope you can find something that suits you.