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Originally Posted by jpdrag0n
yes what samurai said is what i wanted to say. nicely worded. anyways i am in no way trying to tell the OP to not pursue her dreams because that would be ridiculous on my part. like samurai said, im just trying to get people to think things through before they make decisions...especially big ones like moving to foreign countries to work, etc.
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I agree completely with informing people of reality - but that reality doesn`t have to be negative. I know that my reality here in Japan certainly isn`t something I would consider negative in any way.
Honestly though, if someone makes the big decision of moving to Japan when they`re 13 or 14 - what are the chances they`ll actually be able to follow through with it in the next 5 years? I`d say extremely low. And by the time they are actually able to pull it off, they`ll have had plenty of time to think more about things.
That`s the way it is with 90% of the people on here who ask about moving to Japan. They`re dreaming too far into the future. They`re not at all near the real planning stage. They have a sudden dream, influenced by something or the other, and decide "Hey! Japan would be a great place to live! I`m all set!"
The fact is, you *can`t* just make that decision on a whim. Sure, someone could suddenly say "I`m going to buy a new house!" - but even with how realistic that is, it can`t happen immediately no matter how much they may want it to at that very moment. Things take time - and while I may roll my eyes at ultra-positive childish postings, I know deep down inside that they`re not going to make it over here in that state anyway. Dreaming of being an anime artist is all fine and well, but there are no 13 year olds working on cells, so saying it`s impossible is really a moot point.
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You'll get homesick for friends and family back home, no matter how much fun you have in Japan, or how many new friends you make.
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Just to be the random voice of dissent - I have never felt a speck of homesickness in all my time here. I have missed my childhood home at times, but I missed that long before ever coming to Japan - as it no longer exists. But homesickness for my family, friends, etc? Not once.
Also, depending upon the type of personality you have, you can indeed get away without experiencing culture shock. I somehow managed to miss out on this "rite of passage" - and having been here for 10 years now... I doubt it just hasn`t happened yet.
Then again, I`m just special. :P