JapanForum.com  


Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
(#231 (permalink))
Old
Nyororin's Avatar
Nyororin (Offline)
Mod Extraordinaire
 
Posts: 4,147
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: あま市
Send a message via MSN to Nyororin Send a message via Yahoo to Nyororin
07-12-2008, 12:55 PM

Let`s not be too harsh on tommasi.
I`ve never had a problem with him, and although our views may not always match, I don`t see a need to bash him for his.

Now to get back to the actual topic at hand. I was out at a BBQ today, so am a bit late. I see that most of my thoughts on the topic have already been expressed.

I don`t really care *what* opinion he has of Japan. If he wants to think it is a horribly racist place - fine, go ahead. Actually, in his case I`d prefer he DOES think it`s terribly racist as hopefully he`ll leave earlier. What I do care about are the opinions of Japan formed by people who have never so much as visited the country. If I felt he was presenting a valid experience and not just randomly bashing - I wouldn`t have said anything.
But that`s not the case. I can say with as much confidence that native speakers don`t go around saying "shinde" as I can that native English speakers don`t go around saying "copulate you" in place of "fuck you". The meaning may be the same, but if someone said that to you I`m sure you`d laugh long before you were insulted. Which is why I and a number of others do not believe his story at all, and called him out on it. Not to mention "Daikokujin".

Quote:
i know the language quite well, i have been living here for a while
If I am to believe the countless number of other posts you`ve made, you`ve been living here since... March? You may have picked up a bit of the language, but I`d say it`s probably a huge stretch to say well - as if you did, you wouldn`t have screwed up half the Japanese used in your message.

Quote:
working my ass off for chips (if you want proof look at the hundreds of articles about people teaching english here for long hours hard work and little pay and even illegal work practices on foriegners)
While I find a lot of this suspect for the reasons outlined by Henbaka - there is always someone who makes the mistake of agreeing to awful working conditions. You may very well be having a horrible time at your job.
However... You can look for another. For one thing, you`re here on a working holiday visa, and working part time. The average rate for part time English teachers is around 2500/hr. If you feel you`re being exploited, you`re not here on a working visa... So you can leave your job at any time! Look for something else if things are so bad!
Schools around here just love working holiday visa holders because they can work full time without the school having to go through the trouble of arranging a visa and bringing them to Japan. That alone saves a huge amount of money. They are paid the regular salary, which is VERY comfortable. Look around.

Quote:
Don't make personal attacks at me for something you obviously have no idea about. If you get a japanese girlfriend and bother to ask her what most japanese guys think about foriegners thats the answer you will get.
I don`t believe that I know no idea about this...
I`ve never had a Japanese girlfriend, so please, clarify - How exactly does having a Japanese girlfriend give you an intimate look into the male mind? I`m honestly curious about this, as I don`t think having an American girlfriend would give anyone a magical understanding of the American guy`s mind.

Quote:
And with the businessmen thing, its usually if im trying to hand out flyers to them or step infront of them on the train.
Ever think that maybe, just maybe, it`s what you`re doing that`s the problem? Because, you know what, I don`t think anyone likes having someone shove fliers in their face or jump in front of them on the train. It has nothing to do with your color and everything to do with just being flat out irritating.


If anyone is trying to find me… Tamyuun on Instagram is probably the easiest.
Reply With Quote
(#232 (permalink))
Old
billysweird (Offline)
JF Regular
 
Posts: 53
Join Date: Mar 2008
07-12-2008, 04:12 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nyororin View Post
Let`s not be too harsh on tommasi.
I`ve never had a problem with him, and although our views may not always match, I don`t see a need to bash him for his.

Now to get back to the actual topic at hand. I was out at a BBQ today, so am a bit late. I see that most of my thoughts on the topic have already been expressed.

I don`t really care *what* opinion he has of Japan. If he wants to think it is a horribly racist place - fine, go ahead. Actually, in his case I`d prefer he DOES think it`s terribly racist as hopefully he`ll leave earlier. What I do care about are the opinions of Japan formed by people who have never so much as visited the country. If I felt he was presenting a valid experience and not just randomly bashing - I wouldn`t have said anything.
But that`s not the case. I can say with as much confidence that native speakers don`t go around saying "shinde" as I can that native English speakers don`t go around saying "copulate you" in place of "fuck you". The meaning may be the same, but if someone said that to you I`m sure you`d laugh long before you were insulted. Which is why I and a number of others do not believe his story at all, and called him out on it. Not to mention "Daikokujin".



If I am to believe the countless number of other posts you`ve made, you`ve been living here since... March? You may have picked up a bit of the language, but I`d say it`s probably a huge stretch to say well - as if you did, you wouldn`t have screwed up half the Japanese used in your message.



While I find a lot of this suspect for the reasons outlined by Henbaka - there is always someone who makes the mistake of agreeing to awful working conditions. You may very well be having a horrible time at your job.
However... You can look for another. For one thing, you`re here on a working holiday visa, and working part time. The average rate for part time English teachers is around 2500/hr. If you feel you`re being exploited, you`re not here on a working visa... So you can leave your job at any time! Look for something else if things are so bad!
Schools around here just love working holiday visa holders because they can work full time without the school having to go through the trouble of arranging a visa and bringing them to Japan. That alone saves a huge amount of money. They are paid the regular salary, which is VERY comfortable. Look around.



I don`t believe that I know no idea about this...
I`ve never had a Japanese girlfriend, so please, clarify - How exactly does having a Japanese girlfriend give you an intimate look into the male mind? I`m honestly curious about this, as I don`t think having an American girlfriend would give anyone a magical understanding of the American guy`s mind.



Ever think that maybe, just maybe, it`s what you`re doing that`s the problem? Because, you know what, I don`t think anyone likes having someone shove fliers in their face or jump in front of them on the train. It has nothing to do with your color and everything to do with just being flat out irritating.

First of all you say the average for a working holiday visa is what? 2500 yen?
mmm, im getting about 700 yen...and my boss for example i did 7 hours work and only got paid for 3 hours and his excuse was...oh because you said you could work on wednesday and then rang a day before and said you couldn't you get penatly....penatly! a 4 hour fucking penatly! And 1 day is plenty of fuckign notification in australia if i give 5 hour notification its plenty of time to find someone who works. Also i am only 18 so even if i have a TEFL/TESOL qualification and experience teaching business japanese (more qualified then some) i still get rejected so work is extremely hard to find.

Secondly you keep assuming i think its a terrible place because i find a few things about it a dont like again read my fucking post...there are plenty of things i like about japan this is just a forum to post the things BAD IN JAPAN
let me post that again in capitals so it might catch your eye and you don't make the assumption that i hate japan again FORUM TO POST BAD THINGS IN JAPAN! get it? again i will say there are plenty of things i enjoy about japan they are just the things i don't like.

You people who think japan is the perfect place to live with no problems whatsoever really need to get your heads out of the clouds. Sure they may not have as much crime in japan but they are extremly uptight and definitly not as loyal. And sure they much not be as much murder in japan but the suicide rate is almost double the murder in the states so i think that more then compensates. Just because a place is easier to live for your lifestyle doesn't mean its a place without problems.

Anywho i digress, Thirdly no a GF doesnt know what a mans thikning you strawman this is possibly the worst argument you have...But they can Magically talk to japanese men (wow isnt that magical) and they can get their opinions of foriegners (holy shit no way!). To Further my example you remember the politician on the news who said in 50 years that half of japan would be pensioners and that they would need to import 1 million foriegners to keep alive the population and economy. Yeh he had over 60% of japan disagree with him and almost got assisinated because of what he said (no japans not racist at all).

Fourthly, with the flyers its sometimes required in my job to hand out flyers for an international school. I get fired if i DON'T DO MY JOB do you understand so its not my fault i have to hand out flyers...i would rather survive then not hand out flyers. Also if you have ever been on a subway it does tend to get slightly crowded so sometimes its not exactly if i can't avoid stepping infront of someone or sitting next to someone.

Fifthly, With the working conditions ect. look up NOVA....i know and irish guy named nick, a kiwi guy named matt and another kiwi guy named arthur who all
are english teachers who all got sponsered over here for work who also got horrible conditions for working long hours with little pay. Infact i know a number of english teachers who say that even KOREA has much better working conditions than a lot of japanese teaching jobs. Normally the ones who you find that are raging on about being an english teacher here were the first (about 7-15 years ago) ones in who got the great jobs and/or masters/bachelor degrees of teaching english and speak fluent japanese.

And as for the language although i can't read it this is not my first time to japan...i came here 2 years ago for a month and also studied japanese in school.
Reply With Quote
(#233 (permalink))
Old
Wasabista's Avatar
Wasabista (Offline)
JF Old Timer
 
Posts: 216
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Saitama
07-12-2008, 04:23 PM

Quote:
Also i am only 18
*screeching halt*

Dude, what are you doing shoving flyers at commuters in Japan when you should be going to school? Please tell us this is a part time gig and you are pursuing an education.
Reply With Quote
(#234 (permalink))
Old
MMM's Avatar
MMM (Offline)
JF Ossan
 
Posts: 12,200
Join Date: Jun 2007
07-12-2008, 04:38 PM

He's 18 without an education, and he has a crappy job. That's not Japan. That's life.

To be honest, I would be suspicious of any company that hired an 18-year-old to be a teacher, even if he had a college education.

Go home, get your degree and come back...it'll be a totally different experience.
Reply With Quote
(#235 (permalink))
Old
Miak (Offline)
New to JF
 
Posts: 23
Join Date: Feb 2008
07-12-2008, 05:15 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by billysweird View Post
Fifthly, With the working conditions ect. look up NOVA....i know and irish guy named nick, a kiwi guy named matt and another kiwi guy named arthur who all
are english teachers who all got sponsered over here for work who also got horrible conditions for working long hours with little pay. Infact i know a number of english teachers who say that even KOREA has much better working conditions than a lot of japanese teaching jobs. Normally the ones who you find that are raging on about being an english teacher here were the first (about 7-15 years ago) ones in who got the great jobs and/or masters/bachelor degrees of teaching english and speak fluent japanese.
Since the demand for English language instruction is so high in Japan, yet there is relatively few teachers, it is no surprise that some (not all...) English teachers are exploited.

A little update for you. Nationals of ANY country generally do not respect foreigners that do not speak the language fluently.

I always hear women here in America complaining about how the Vietnamese ladies at the nail salons talk bad about them (Although the Americans usually don't speak a word of Vietnamese).

I think that the main thing that is stressing you out is the language barrier. A lot of people go to Japan expecting the Japanese to know English.

You mentioned to Nyorin that you love many things about Japan, yet this a "forum for posting the bad stuff" (not a direct quote). It sounds as though there is plenty of stuff you don't like in Japan, so you should go back to your homeland.

If you don't have the money, call your parents and ask for it.
Reply With Quote
(#236 (permalink))
Old
billysweird (Offline)
JF Regular
 
Posts: 53
Join Date: Mar 2008
07-12-2008, 08:22 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wasabista View Post
*screeching halt*

Dude, what are you doing shoving flyers at commuters in Japan when you should be going to school? Please tell us this is a part time gig and you are pursuing an education.
Yeh im 2 years into my bachelor degree (IT programming), but i took a year off because i want to travel and get some life experience under my belt before i finish University and actually start my life. And make sure what im pursueing is actually what i want to do, Not to mention increase my japanse skill (thought the best place to do that would be japan maybe? :P), And even though it might be hard and and theres a lot i don't like i'm also learning a lot and theres probably double here that i like then that i don't like.
Reply With Quote
(#237 (permalink))
Old
MMM's Avatar
MMM (Offline)
JF Ossan
 
Posts: 12,200
Join Date: Jun 2007
07-12-2008, 08:26 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by billysweird View Post
Yeh im 2 years into my bachelor degree (IT programming), but i took a year off because i want to travel and get some life experience under my belt before i finish University and actually start my life. And make sure what im pursueing is actually what i want to do, Not to mention increase my japanse skill (thought the best place to do that would be japan maybe? :P), And even though it might be hard and and theres a lot i don't like i'm also learning a lot and theres probably double here that i like then that i don't like.
If you like more about Japan than you hate, then why such a angry first post?
Reply With Quote
(#238 (permalink))
Old
Nathan's Avatar
Nathan (Offline)
JF Old Timer
 
Posts: 517
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Canada
07-13-2008, 12:38 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by billysweird View Post
Fifthly, With the working conditions ect. look up NOVA....

They were far from perfect, but low pay? NOVA (before the last few months) was still one of the highest paying eikaiwa positions out there. 250,000 yen/month to be an English speaking robot/entertainer, I wouldn't really call that low pay.

Edit: On the note of the penalty, that's why its extremely important to read the contract before you sign when it comes to eikawa/english teaching business. Your gripe here isn't with the country, its with an industry. Its well known that the eikaiwa industy in Japan is one of the least regulated, and so the employers can get away with a lot of scrupulous activity. Afterall, not many people do their research, so they can quickly find another rookie if you bail on them.

Last edited by Nathan : 07-13-2008 at 12:41 AM.
Reply With Quote
(#239 (permalink))
Old
kennooo (Offline)
New to JF
 
Posts: 14
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Tokyo
Drugs ond so on - 07-13-2008, 01:13 AM

Ok no matter what family member hacks up what other family member or the ignorance that is systemic in the Japanese people the one thing that is truly positive in Japan is the lack of any serious drug problem.

I am not saying that there are no drugs in Japan but there is not a problem here like there is in the western world. I am from Canada and after living in Japan for a few years and then returning home I was reverse culture shocked at how normal it was considered by almost everyone to do drugs. And how many families are destroyed by this plague on society.

The average Japanese person has never even seen marijuana and most who have saw it when they where abroad. So this results in a society that does not have street gang wars with teenagers shooting each other over “turf”. Tokyo is one of the biggest cities in the world and yet I can honestly say there is no where I’m afraid to go at any time of the day or night. I wish I could say that about Toronto, Vancouver or and major city in the USA.

As far a racism goes it does exist here and it does get to me sometimes but it has never put me in danger unlike my one black friend in Toronto who told me “ You’re a nice guy but you wouldn’t last 2 minutes in my neighborhood” Japanese people are more afraid of what they don’t know rather they hating. And they generally don’t what to deal with foreigners because of language problems rather than race problems.

In Canada nothing pisses me off more then immigrants who move there and try to change things to make it more like their home country. I always say “if your home country was so great why did you move here?” So how could I move to Japan and expect the people here to change to be like westerners. And now nothing pisses me off more then people who move here and expect the Japanese to be more western to them I say “GO HOME IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT”

I have lived here for 6 years I am also a business owner, married to a wonderful Japanese woman, and own property. I have realized that you can’t fight the system and if you play by their rules life is not that hard here. But if you come here and expect it to be like home it’s a real up hill battle.

Last edited by kennooo : 07-13-2008 at 01:17 AM.
Reply With Quote
(#240 (permalink))
Old
kennooo (Offline)
New to JF
 
Posts: 14
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Tokyo
drugs and so on - 07-13-2008, 01:15 AM

Ok no matter what family member hacks up what other family member or the ignorance that is systemic in the Japanese people the one thing that is truly positive in Japan is the lack of any serious drug problem.

I am not saying that there are no drugs in Japan but there is not a problem here like there is in the western world. I am from Canada and after living in Japan for a few years and then returning home I was reverse culture shocked at how normal it was considered by almost everyone to do drugs. And how many families are destroyed by this plague on society.

The average Japanese person has never even seen marijuana and most who have saw it when they where abroad. So this results in a society that does not have street gang wars with teenagers shooting each other over “turf”. Tokyo is one of the biggest cities in the world and yet I can honestly say there is no where I’m afraid to go at any time of the day or night. I wish I could say that about Toronto, Vancouver or and major city in the USA.

As far a racism goes it does exist here and it does get to me sometimes but it has never put me in danger unlike my one black friend in Toronto who told me “ You’re a nice guy but you wouldn’t last 2 minutes in my neighborhood” Japanese people are more afraid of what they don’t know rather they hating. And they generally don’t what to deal with foreigners because of language problems rather than race problems.

In Canada nothing pisses me off more then immigrants who move there and try to change things to make it more like their home country. I always say “if your home country was so great why did you move here?” So how could I move to Japan and expect the people here to change to be like westerners. And now nothing pisses me off more then people who move here and expect the Japanese to be more western to them I say “GO HOME IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT”

I have lived here for 6 years I am also a business owner, married to a wonderful Japanese woman, and own property. I have realized that you can’t fight the system and if you play by their rules life is not that hard here. But if you come here and expect it to be like home it’s a real up hill battle.
Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




Copyright 2003-2006 Virtual Japan.
SEO by vBSEO 3.0.0 RC6