[espie]

I like the points that you both make, and it makes me consider that I must be wise in my choice of location, and must make my survivability obvious in my application.
Studied Japanese for a few years at university, but actually ended up in Mexico for two years and became fluent in Spanish. So the basics and capacity to learn Japanese are all there. Time to brush up.
MMM I like how you compare Jet to Au pairs. However, I have certainly heard interesting stories of single mothers and overseas employment. Being one, I visit plenty of forums. Speaking of...I shall now investigate whether au pairs like Japan :-P