Getting
Out of America
Why Not? ~
By Margaret Burke
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“Why
don’t you go to Japan, too?” my best friend asked me, as she explained
all the paperwork she had. She, an Asian studies major, was thinking about
it. She had obvious goals and reasons to go, but what about me? I had never
lived outside Texas, let alone the United States. And then again, why not?
It’s fifteen months later, I’m back in America, and I’m honestly not sure
if I learned more about Asian culture or myself. And whether or not I’m
aware of it, my thinking has changed immeasurably. Everyone is repeatedly
asked,
“Why did you come to Japan?” and frankly, I never had a great answer. Curiosity?
Change? Everyone has different reasons. Many had just finished college,
some planned to stay long-term, and some were older and traveling.
In escaping
from America, there are fewer places farther—geographically or culturally—than
Japan. Tokyo itself is the best place to begin life abroad in Japan. You
can get by with little to no Japanese, English isn’t a complete rarity,
and large colorful maps and trains guide you at every turn. In the beginning,
Tokyo also presents a façade of Western life—which can make for
an easier transition. Daily life appears to be not so changed from the
grind of any big city, while still being surrounded by a bold new environment.
It is while living, working and interacting, that you begin to learn and
see the Japanese culture, more strong and prevalent than you ever realized—seemingly
disguised and yet brazenly obvious. Tokyo is an intricate weaving of East
and West and it teaches a magnificent lesson in keeping an open mind and
realizing, for better or worse, that you are more of an American than you
ever thought possible.
Finding
a job is not nearly as difficult as one might imagine. A brief search on
www.monster.com
yields many ESL jobs, mostly in Japan and South Korea. The job that took
me to Japan, and many others since 1981, was NOVA. NOVA (www.teachinjapan.com)
is the Starbucks of English schools, and they are possibly the best way
to get to Japan. They require at least a bachelor’s degree, though nothing
specific, (I was a television camera operator) and they provide on-the-job
training. After screening a brief on-line application and in-person interview,
they process everything, including a working visa (done a few months before
your departure). I had to buy a one-way ticket to Tokyo myself, but once
there, I was met at the airport, taken to my apartment (which NOVA found
for me, though I was responsible for paying the rent), and given maps and
a feeling that assistance was near, should I need it. It’s generally recommended
that a new resident bring around $1,000 starting money, but NOVA also offers
an advance of 120,000 yen (approximately $1,000 these days), paid back
over three months time. Eventually, I moved into my own apartment and some
of my friends changed jobs. NOVA’s teaching style certainly isn’t for everyone,
and English schools run rampant—Aeon, Geos, Berlitz, to name a few, not
to mention the prospect of teaching privately. Once settled in Japan, the
options are limitless. However, having someone there to basically hold
my hand was probably more essential to my settling in than I can ever appreciate.
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| Harajuku,
Tokyo. People dressing up in bizarre character is a Sunday ritual near
the station and Yoyogi Park. |
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Getting there
isn’t a real problem—but what about all the anxieties and frustrations
of living abroad, especially somewhere as different as Japan? What if I
don’t speak Japanese? What if I don’t make any friends? How can I ever
find anything? What if I get lost on the trains? These must be the most
common anxieties, all of which are easily remedied. First of all, a school
like NOVA provides lots of information about living abroad—from culture
tips to emergency numbers to good internet cafes. And when in doubt, throw
a stone and you’ll find a record store that carries The Metropolis, Tokyo’s
weekly answer for curious gaijin (foreigners). It can be viewed on-line
at www.metropolis.japantoday.com. It is full of classifieds, restaurant
and bar reviews, movie listings, and basic life in Tokyo. For more specific
information about food or the culture surrounding it, there is www.bento.com,
and www.jnto.go.jp/ and www.lonelyplanet.com
offer more about Japan in general, including “getting around” sections.
A little preparation can be helpful, but trying things out for yourself
is the only real way to learn. I’ve made mistakes on the trains, walked
the streets of Tokyo—completely lost—and easily found my way back again.
You are almost never far from a train or subway of some sort, and though
taxis may be exorbitantly priced, a ride to the nearest station (eki) is
usually cheap fare.
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What
interesting Sunday afternoons these must be.
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These
resources take away much of the fear, but it will all be new and daunting
in the beginning, especially for a city the size of Tokyo. While mistakes
can make some of the best, or at least memorable, experiences, reading
up a little can’t hurt. The Metropolis advertises Japanese language schools
and classes, but studying on your own can be equally beneficial. Having
lived there and (attempted) studying on my own, I have found Japanese For
Busy People (easily found on www.amazon.com
with workbook, audio and video supplements) to be far and away the most
accurate, helpful and manageable aid to learning Japanese. And while learning,
what better place to try it out than the streets of Tokyo? Admittedly,
I never counted on the fear of speaking a new language to a native speaker—but
once you face this fear, you will not only overcome it, you will also understand
the Japanese reluctance to attempt English on you (if you think you’re
afraid of making mistakes…). The Metropolis also has a section for language
exchange, meeting people or groups to share language and culture, an excellent
forum for practice and meeting people. And as for meeting people, even
my Japanese students planning to study for a year in the States expressed
to me their deepest fear of, “What if nobody likes me”? I must have possessed
this fear myself upon embarking on a new life, and yet I can’t remember
it. Immediately, you are surrounded by people in your same situation, people
of a different culture eager to speak with you, students, colleagues, that
soon, it becomes a frivolous fear of the past.
Try to leave
your American way of thinking far behind. That is to say, in Japan, not
everything is what is seems. A huge emphasis is placed on appearances.
This explains everything from dress (name brands are enormous—I used to
count the Louis Vuitton bags on my train rides—but there is also the rebellious
crowd of Harajuku, famous for their bizarre costumes) to business transactions
(I dare you to find a merchant who will flat out tell you ‘no’—I’ve had
conversations last indefinitely until I was the one to give up!) to the
necessity of politeness in general. The biggest pitfall of living abroad
is to remember just how American your thoughts probably are—it’s not easy
to get everything just the way you’d like (you cannot have your ice cream
in a waffle cone at Baskin Robbins—only the sundaes come in waffle cones).
Sometimes it’s the littlest things that prove to be the most trying of
your patience. For me, it was getting stamps at the post office, while
others went insane finding apartments. It mostly came down to luck and
timing, and more than anything, patience. What you think is trivial and
ridiculous (wait until you see some of the paperwork) is to them, of the
utmost importance. Perhaps you’re used to taking shortcuts, cutting corners
or making things happen as soon as possible (in whatever sense) but that
is not the case in Japan. |
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It taught
me patience, therefore, it taught me to be respectful of their culture.
Frankly, as an American, they usually expect you to be loud, demanding
and scary, so the best thing you can do is help change their expectations
of Americans. My students always told me Americans were the most energetic,
happy and cheerful teachers, but as Americans, we also caught the most
flak for being arrogant, paranoid and ignorant. Take it in, learn, and
move on—despite whatever bad things I heard about America, I found other
countries could be just as blind about their own faults.
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Watching yourself
grow accustomed to Tokyo, fitting in (as much as you can), adapting to
their way of life, is the most amazing thing. Tokyo is not for everyone.
There were hard months, when I wondered what in the hell I was doing, why
I was there. There were so many difficulties and annoyances, and Tokyo
was a cold place. I had friends, but if the city doesn’t like you, a dark
cloud follows you throughout the day. And like most obstacles, I overcame
it and became genuinely comfortable as Tokyo became my real home. Tokyo
appears cold—and to a degree, it certainly is—the crowds and their nature
give it this feel. But as individuals, I cannot imagine a warmer, more
considerate people. People who will more than go out of their way to help
and make you feel at home. And perhaps it is something to do with the individuals
and their moral choices, the large absence of organized religion, or the
socialist style of the economy of Japan, but Tokyo was for me, the safest
place in the world. My students were surprised how safe I found it (which
assuredly must have contributed to their idea that America is full of chaos
and danger). I just laughed and said, “Maybe. But it’s a hell of a lot
safer than anywhere else in the world!” If I can ever walk down a dark
empty street with my earphones half-in, talking on my keitai (cell phone)
while digging through my bag without a second thought, anywhere besides
Japan, I’ll be sure to make note of it. Before you know it, you fit in
and you love the routine you’ve established, you know the trains, the city,
what to expect of the people, and even I acquired a rudimentary grasp of
a basic conversation (the most essential of which was, when you don’t understand,
just stare blankly).
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| A photo
of a geisha during a dance performance in Kyoto, only for the public's
eyes once in the spring and once in the autumn. |
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So for anyone
who wants to experience a new life—challenging but rewarding and fulfilling—Tokyo,
Japan, is the best place for it. Learning to develop thoughts outside the
American shell encasing your brain is delightful—for me, it was overcoming
the pitfall of frustrations. I’m embarrassed to admit the many times I
found myself thinking, “Why don’t they just…” or “Why don’t you speak English?!”,
the list goes on. I though I tolerated other cultures and their way of
life, but that doesn’t mean that I wasn’t what I hated the most. I was,
and to an extent still am, an arrogant American. I hope I never showed
it, but my way of thinking betrays me, and the more I learned to recognize
what was silliness on my part, the more I grew. It would seem that I wasn’t
always what I appeared to be, either. And somewhere over the course of
fifteen months, I grew very attached to my new Western and Japanese friends,
my routine, my cute little apartment. Things that irritated me in the past
were forgotten or just became acceptable (don’t we all have irritations
in daily life?), and all those changes and transitions occurred with only
my occasional recognition. I would never have expected that my decision
to come home last month was the hardest thing I ever had to do. The main
reason that I don’t regret the move home is that now I fully appreciate
what I gained from Japan—what better way to discover everything I’ve learned
about myself, my nationality, and Japan?
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