Hamamatsu, Japan!

I finally got an offer for a position in Japan! I've already accepted and I am going to Hamamatsu, Japan and starting training on February 1st!

Downtown Hamamatsu

(Pronounced Hama (Like Mama) Mat (Like M Ah T) Su (Just like Sue) Say all the "a"'s like "ah" and you've got it. Ha ma ma t su)
Hamamatsu means Costal Pine in Japanese.

Hamamatsu is on the main island of Japan halfway between Tokyo and Osaka.

Hamamatsu is on the coast and by the mountains. The city is spread over a large area. I could end up closer to the coast or the mountains or possibly traveling all over the city. The city is infused with nature with some tree-lined streets, rivers, sand dunes and a lake. Sounds perfect to me!

Kanzanji and view of city

Nakatajima Sand Dunes

The weather is pretty mild all year long with the high in summer being around 90F/32C and the low in the winter is just above 32F/0C. The average is 60F/16C. There is a considerable amount of humidity though. In July it reaches 80%! This area is also known to have "the most sunny days in Japan"!

Enshunada (Sunrise)

Hamamatsu is known as Japan's "City of Music" because many music companies (Yamaha/Kawai) started and/or have headquarters here. The city has many temples and a few castles to explore. It is also known for the Hamamatsu Festival in the summer. This event is attended by over one million people! They have kite battles, floats and fireworks.

Takane Castle

Ryotanji Temple

Hamamatsu Festival Kite Battles

As for safety, there are threats like earthquakes, hurricanes and tidal waves. I must admit it's a little close to the ocean for me but I feel safe in knowing that Hamamatsu has plans for any disaster. Besides, I don't mind having the coast to explore! Earthquakes are the norm in Japan and they are more prepared for them than we are in America. I'm not worried.

Thank you all for reading and waiting with me. I am so excited! The next step is to prepare by applying for a visa, reserving a plane ticket and getting more information from ECC. Japan, here I come!

Ukimido- Now you're all jealous

Oops!

I just realized that I had the settings blocking comments. So if you have commented...it didn't work. Sorry! I'm just so good at this. :) Feel free to comment again on past posts or on this one. It will work now.

I guess it's time for a quick update. The update is that nothing has happened. My contact in the company who is going to offer me positions went on a very long vacation. He's due to come back this week so hopefully the offers will be coming in soon.

My favorite part of blocking comments without realizing it is that no one could guess where I am going. "Hey everyone! Let's do something fun and vote using comments! Oh...I probably should let people comment if I'm going to do that..." Face meet palm.

Thanks for being patient with me while I am learning simple technology. I can't wait to hear from all of you now that I've opened my blog ears!

Accepted!

This is just a quick update. I received an official acceptance email from ECC! They say that I could get a job offer in January or as soon as December. I will have two months notice, regardless, so I can get the paperwork ready for my visa. Most of the offers are going to be in January because that is when the company starts training for the new school year in March/April.

Here is how the system works. There is a list of accepted employees waiting for placement. I was told I was near the top of the list because of when I interviewed. As soon as a spot opens up, because a teacher is leaving, we are given an offer. We can accept the offer or hold out for one that we want more. In my case, I do not want to go to Tokyo so I would hold out for a different city.

I am very excited! I'm looking at the available cities and trying to guess where I want to go if offered. The three main cities are Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. I expressed interest in going to an outlying city. I would prefer a smaller city but I wouldn't mind Osaka, or even Nagoya. The options for outlying cities are Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Miyazaki, Okayama, Tsu, Yokkaichi, Shizuoka, Ishibashi, Utsunomiya and Noda. The suburbs of Tokyo (Ishibashi, Utsunomiya and Noda) don't look bad. They are near the beautiful city of Nikko.

A picture of the Sacred Bridge in Nikko
http://www.wallpapersdesign.net/wallpaper/sacred-bridge-nikko-japan/

I have been to the Osaka area before for study abroad. I went to Kansai Gaikokugo Daigaku (Kansai Gaidai) for my senior year. I was an amazing experience and I can't wait to learn more about the culture and language of Japan. (Those who want to know more about Kansai Gaidai or those planning on going there feel free to ask me anything!) I was in a rural-esque suburb of Osaka called Hirakata. It was the perfect size and location for me. I was close to the big city of Osaka and the historical city of Kyoto. If I could go back to Kyoto I would not complain! (The Osaka offer includes the area Kyoto is in too.)

A river by the city of Hirakata

If you want you can vote for your guess on where I will go or where you want me to go! Just leave a comment. I'll update you when I get my first offer.

Interview with ECC

This last Monday I had my interview with ECC. They are one of the major English teaching schools in Japan. I went with the idea that I was going to learn and have fun and I was not disappointed.

I flew with my mom to Seattle and stayed at the same hotel the interview would be held in. Seattle is beautiful and I'm sad I couldn't stay longer to explore the city. My mom got to explore the whole day I was interviewing. Lucky!

The interview was from 10:00 in the morning until 5:30 in the evening. Quite the exhausting experience! It was split into four sections. They first presented information about the company and what to expect working in Japan. After that we had an English test. Those who passed created lesson plans and performed them. Those who still remained after that were interviewed. I was lucky to make it through the entire process.

The first section had a lot of great information about the company, teaching methods, housing, insurance and what Japan is like for a foreign teacher. The interviewers have been with the company for many years and had great insight to what to expect from Japan and the Japanese people. I learned quite a bit from them even though I have been to Japan before. They had a firm grasp on the culture of Japan.

The English test was moderately difficult. You only need to get 70% correct in order to pass but, out of twelve people, three were eliminated from this round. The multiple-choice test covered spelling, vocabulary and grammar. I think I have a greater knowledge of vocabulary than most people but I hadn't heard of some of the spelling and vocabulary words they had on the test. The grammar section comprised most of the test and asked you to identify incorrect grammar in sentences. On quite a few of the questions I read the sentences over and over and they seemed to have no mistakes. Overall, I'm glad I didn't worry about the test before hand because I think it's a case of knowing what you know and not knowing what you don't.

After a lunch break the remaining nine people came back to participate in the mock lessons. We were assigned to three member groups and asked to come up with lesson plans to present to the judges. Out of the six sections each member took two. They were very specific in the sections they wanted presented so the challenge was adapting the topic to the specifications. My topic was Sports and the question/answer "Can you play (blank)?", "Yes, I can." or "No, I can't." This was very challenging because we were only allowed to use the most minimal of words and charade our way through the rest. It is very difficult to express ability through charades. However, we managed to create a passible plan and presented it to the other groups as if they were the children we were teaching. They were instructed to act like children and to be slow, difficult and distracted. This section was more to test our ability to adapt to learning styles and the unexpected, than it was to test our ability to create a functioning lesson plan. I had a lot of fun pretending to be a child. I impressed the judges with my enthusiasm.

Out of the nine that were left three more were eliminated after the lesson plans, leaving only six to be interviewed. We were interviewed by one of the judges in the same room the other judge was interviewing someone else. It could have been distracting but I had no problem with it. The interview was more like a conversation. We talked about my resume and Japanese culture. I was asked if I would feel comfortable teaching adults because it was obvious I could be silly and teach children. I was surprised by this because I actually am a mostly serious person. I can switch gears easily when I need to adapt my roles. I was silly and energetic because I knew that is the type of person they were looking for. I can definitely be that person but I personality leans toward professional. I will hear back from them within two weeks. Probably sooner.

For those preparing for this interview I would suggest going to have fun. Don't worry about getting in to ECC. If you worry you'll lose sight of what they're looking for. They are looking for someone who is friendly, approachable, energetic, confident and responsible. I hope this helps because reading other peoples' blogs helped me to prepare and feel confident. Good luck!

I'm feeling really good about this so wish me luck!

Did you want a picture of the interview? Too bad. I didn't take one.

Hajimemashite - Nice to Meet You

- Something about Japan has always fascinated me. When I think of Japan I think of rice fields, train stations, wooden homes and kind, respectful people. There is so much to explore in Japan. The street you go down every day can surprise you months later with a store you've never seen or the shopkeeper who feeds stray cats. Japan is so different from my home in the United States. Yet, I find that many things are the same. I want to explore this in my blog and I invite you to come along on my journey.

Spider-Lilies are my favorite flower in Japan

- I will be going to Japan sometime in the next year if all goes according to plan. I hope to teach English through a company called ECC (Education through Communication for the Community). I have an interview on September 23rd in Seattle. I am sure I'm going to nail it. If the company doesn't want me then I will find another company to take me to Japan. I will keep you updated.

- My main reason for going to Japan is to learn Japanese. I plan on taking a class from the community while I am teaching. After much research I feel this is the best option for me. I thought about going to graduate school in Japan but I would rather make money than spend money. My ultimate goal is to become a translator between Japanese and English. I feel this with give me many opportunities for a career. I could translate books, business meetings, lead tour groups or even work for the government.

- Even though teaching is not my ultimate goal I look forward to my experience teaching English in Japan. I have taught in a preschool, worked in a day care and even was a student aide for a sixth grade class. I enjoy teaching and working with kids and adults alike. I am currently working on a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate.

This is me. Hajimemashite! Nice to meet you!

- The title of my blog is Tabi - Journey. Tabi (pronounced Ta-Bee) means 'journey' so it may sound redundant but I love the Japanese language and how it sounds. Don't worry. I will always gloss words that are unfamiliar. If I don't then yell at me and I'll gloss them for you. Hajimemashite (Ha-jee-meh-ma-shi-te) means 'Nice to meet you'.

- Thank you for taking this journey with me. Feel free to ask me any questions. I'll try and respond in a reasonable amount of time.

Brittany