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02-08-2009, 05:19 PM
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Original language: spanish learning to write in english......so be patient. 
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02-14-2009, 11:01 PM
I'm aware that this isn't a new thread. Even so, I felt left out by the opposition created between Japan and USA in this thread (at least, linguistically).
I'm brazilian (ブラジル人）, and I'm also a little embarrassed of writing in English, since my native language is Portuguese. The sensation of trying to express yourself using words you don't quite understand feels a lot like been naked, or exposed. But, hey!, since I'll be soon moving to Japan for a couple of years, at least, I should get used to this feeling, right? Of course. I don't see the point of living in Japan if you're not diving in hard enough to become really fluent. My benchmark will be reading an entire newspaper. Brazil isn't like Japan: public transportation's bad, most people get paid low salaries. My life here isn't bad though: I've graduated from a good college, and have bought my own car after only one year of work (so I don't take the bus no more!  ).Brazil isn't like the USA: only a few rich people live on huge houses, and crime here isn't as bad... the USA is a very violent country (talking about violence occurrence rates). I'm not really trying to make any point here... there's no point to it. But the world is not bilateral anymore, and saying there are many shades of gray between black and white just isn't enough too. The world is colorful. Very nice discussion, guys! Do you agree with me when I say that people who should read this thread are more likely not to read it?
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03-11-2009, 08:00 PM
Thing is, if you're gonna live in a new country, but your OWN volition. You should be committed, you should stick through the good and bad. But most importantly, you should be ready. A lot of people just isn't ready. But that's not the biggest problem. The main reason is that they have unrealistic expectation, and even worse...
They want things to go their way But it's Japan, over there, it's the OTHER way. That's how it is...and you either accept it and adapt, or else, you'll begin hating it. Me personally, when I was in Japan, I disliked it at first because of my immaturity and unrealistic expectations of how PEOPLE should be. It's not them, you have to take responsibility for everything that you do. Mostly, it's the way you see people and their customs. And the minute you don't get your way, most people start to fold. But now that I think about it, me going to Japan was probably the most memorable experience I've ever had. Tell you the truth, I don't remember much things, and I don't take many things to heart. But there was a person that I met while in Japan, he touched my heart personally, on how to BE righteous, and that means more than anything. And probably the main reason that I would want to live in Japan? I'd rather be in a place where I'm the majority, and not the minority. And that's good enough for me.
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03-11-2009, 08:17 PM
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if you went back to japan, would you have a better lifestyle than the one you had previously when you were there? 
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omg what a long thread! -
03-11-2009, 11:38 PM
I am so glad you posted this, MMM. I'm only sorry I wasn't here near the beginning when it was still on-topic. I've been very interested in Japan and in visiting or even living there for a long time, and I've always looked around for information on what it's like, and been disappointed. I've been casually studying Japanese as a hobby for about three years now, and I enjoy a little anime and shojo manga, but I'm more interested in the history and culture of Japan.
Most of the time when I look for information on what it's like in Japan I get generalized statements such as "People are hard working there" and "It's crowded." Or worse, starry-eyed visions of a population of perfect human beings who spend all their time saving the city from giant robots and eating pocky. This is the first time I've gotten real, first-hand accounts of Americans living in Japan (without a bottomless wallet), and the realities of life there. I think I still want to live in Japan for a short time, but I'm much more sure now that I've read your posts, MMM. I feel much better about calling a long-term trip to Japan a goal of mine now that I have some idea of what that will entail. I still don't have a real plan for how I will go about doing that, but at least now I know that Japan is a real country, not the Fantastic Mangaland so many of my crazed otaku freinds here try to convince me it is. In fact, I think I like it more because of that. I'm still not going over there without a whole lot of money, a really good plan, and a WHOLE lot more knowledge in Japanese though. Thank all of you with first-hand accounts for your posts, they were exactly what I've been looking for.  sometimes when I'm wearing sunglasses...I'm actually sleeping.
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03-17-2009, 12:20 AM
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Brazil Murder in Brazil | Not as violent as you thought | The Economist When you see violent crime stats you need to keep in mind the population of a country. The USA has a relatively low violent crime rate bested only by countries such as Japan. Also, the vast majority of violent crime in the USA is concentrated in a handful of hotspots (inner cities, etc) and are extremely easy to avoid. Few people live in huge houses here either depending on what you term huge. If huge is bigger than an average Japanese dwelling then most definitely! Thread had some really nice info in it. Found it through a google search and just started scouring the forum for Japan info. A few questions about something mentioned in the thread: The central heating, are there really no places with it or are they rare? Do you have the option of getting it when a house is built? And if so is the equipment involved prohibitively expensive? What kind of heating cooling is in each room? Implemented as kerosene heaters I take it? (was reading those are popular in Japan) And what for air conditioning exactly? Window units? If not where does the water vapor vent? I am so concerned because I have very bad allergies (mold). I have other questions but I'll start new threads for those. Asking these here since they are directly referenced.
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03-17-2009, 01:17 AM
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03-17-2009, 01:56 AM
Thanks for the quick reply! A few more details though
 Where does the water vapor for the A/C vent? Is there a drain pipe in the wall? Are the heating units electric or some petrol derivative? And the same unit does both a/c and heat or separate units?I am sure everything is an option but is it actually affordable? If it is that rare it would be a specialty item and I'm sure demand a hefty price premium.
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03-17-2009, 05:38 AM
I’ve seen this thread, but never had much of an opportunity to read through it. Every time I came to this thread to read/participate, I always got distracted by something else. Anywho, I finally read through the entire thread. I have no papers to write at the moment, and the tutoring session I have set up for tomorrow, I’ve already written out my lesson plan and such for it. That aside, it was nice reading through this, although, imho, most of what was said is just common sense. If one has depression issues and such at home, moving to a new country isn’t going to magically fix that. It’s like a person who had social issues or depression issues, and suddenly became rich. Money doesn’t “fix the problem”. If you’re a negative person in general, even with money, you’re still going to be negative.
That aside, I’ve always wanted to live in Japan for an extended temporary stay (by extended, I mean more than an actual year). I’d been interested in the country for years, and, ironically, since I’ve gotten older, one of my main interests of the country, aside from the whole harmonious atmosphere it seems to give off, is the country’s educational set up. I’ve been curious of experiencing it, or observing it, first hand for years. I am an aspiring instructor, so who knows what I can possibly learn from the way instruction is done over there. I also have a slight interest in ESL teaching, especially after coming across a student who had just moved to the US and was enrolling in the middle school I was working in. She was from Vietnam, and her English was very limited, just as her mother’s was when trying to speak. Her other son, who’d lived here for a good while, had to do all of the speaking. I felt bad that I couldn’t help in some way (especially since I hadn’t taken my “Introduction to Serving English Language Learners” class yet). I had to write the girl a pass and all that, but she still couldn’t communicate well, aside from the basic, “Hello” and such. Hm, other reasons I’d like to go to Japan is to just challenge myself. I’ve lived in Richmond, Virginia for the majority of my life. I was too young to remember what New York was like for me. I want to experience another culture. I would like to see what it’s like to live in Japan, and I’d also like to improve my language skills. I’ve been studying Japanese for a good long while now, and it’s still pretty bad due to the fact that not too many Japanese are around me, so what better way to improve it than by going to Japan to actually practice it? I also would like to travel around the country, see the sights, see some of the festivals, experience the cuisine firsthand, attend a concert, experience maybe some healthy living (in the sense of using stuff like public transportation, and having more of an opportunity to walk places, as I’ve always lived in an area where a car is a necessity, not a luxury), maybe go to an onsen, etc. The only things I could see me being a bit iffy on, are squat toilets (erm…given my height), my hair (I'm black, and wear it braided...and blacks are a major minority in Japan), and not having a dryer, as they aren’t all that common, which I knew prior to stepping into this thread. I haven’t had to hang laundry in years. lol I guess it’s like having to go back to a typewriter after using a computer for many years, but I’m sure you adjust. I applied to JET for this year, but was rejected, so I can only hope I can manage to get in for next year, and while anticipating that, I can continue with working on my licensure. So, for the skeptics, I’m not one of those people who want to do JET just to get to Japan, I want to become a teacher, and it helps to observe different methods so that you can help fix up your own teaching techniques. Also, I feel that JET would help me tremendously for when I do return here, if I’m accepted. It would show that I’m a flexible person to even consider such an endeavor in the first place and that I have international experience to boot. I truly feel that it’ll look very nice on my resume. As for the whole anime/manga thing, I do like some anime, but I prefer manga to it in most cases, but, as I stated earlier on, it should be common sense that what you read in a manga or what you watch in an anime is in no way a complete reflection of what the country is like. Anyone who believes so is definitely delusional or is either living in a fantasy world. That would be like someone moving to the US in hopes of becoming a Cowboy, because of our old shows based around westerns. Oh, one more random thing…back in the 90s, seems anime was called “Japanimation”. As a matter of fact, I called it that for years, up until the early 2000s. Cartnoon Network even used to have a block once a week called “Saturday Japanime” in its earlier days. Used to show things like Voltron. *Realizes this is longer than I thought*
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