hi, all! so, the husband and i (man, that still sounds weird) are getting the 8-year itch, and are thinking of trying to move abroad. (i say this at the risk of sounding like every other mid-20s person i know.) basically, i always promised myself i'd teach english abroad for a year, and now that i am half of a we, we gotta go soon or i'll never do it.
japan seems a little scary, what with that nutty picto-language and all, but it seems to have good exchange programs. and i don't want to end up digging latrines in south america.
anybody else do this or know someone who did? recommendations? horror stories?
ed [email] said at 6:55 PM 01-04-2005: Is that like, REALLY know, or just "internet know"? Because Sabine's blog always made me wish I could go be an Engrish teacher in Japan.
Sadly, her time in Japan is over now, but she had some really awesomecool stories about life as a sensei. Oh, and she got married. But you've already got that part covered, so the immigration thing won't be a hassle for you.
ed [email] said at 7:22 PM 01-04-2005: Yeah, I only "internet know" Kaycee, too, so I thought I'd go with a non-obvious reference, and let the "really know" people cover Kaycee. So to speak.
kiche [email] said at 7:14 PM 01-04-2005: kaycee, who has a head, is presently teaching english in japan. practically all of her posts and journal entries are about teaching english in japan.
you could also teach english in the czech republic, hungary, or poland.
woody [email] said at 9:34 AM 01-05-2005: You are black and I am white
Life's an Eskimo pie, let's take a bite
That was groovy think'n Lincoln
When you set them free.
We all know, cats are the same
Maine to Mexico
Good, Bad, Guys and Chicks
I am dark and you are light
You are blind as a bat and I have sight
Side by side you are my amigo, negro
Let's not fight
Ebony and Ivory just living in perfect harmony
We're talk'n salt and pepper, Sammy and Dean,
Stevie and Me are peachy keen
Bryan said at 10:59 PM 01-04-2005: Friend of mine did this. LOVED it, but was a boisterous guy and that isn't received well by Japanese. Be prepared to be an underclass.
woody [email] said at 11:06 AM 01-05-2005: A friend of mine went to Korea for this. He worked for one guy for 12 months and only ended up with pay for the first nine months, then got screwed around for a while. Never saw his money. Not sure how to protect yourself from this, but be wary of it.
emily [email] said at 11:13 PM 01-05-2005: My good friend Steve is currently in Japan teaching English and he loves it. The only thing he misses are the food and football, and it took him a while to adjust to the culture but there are plenty of other cool people who don't speak jibber jabber. If you e-mail me I can send you some links.
stranger said at 11:55 AM 01-06-2005: I looked into going to Argentina once and found this really cool program (more like just a job, I guess) where native english speakers pretend to be working in banks and other everyday places in this little make-believe center where Argentinian businessmen come to practice English. Plus I have 2 friends who spent a semester there and LOVED it.
