Introduction - 自己紹介

2015-05-17T22:22:00.005-07:00

Hello! I suppose I should start this blog with an introduction. For the purpose of anonymity, my name is Spike. Starting from tomorrow, I will be working at an Eikaiwa in a small town in Kushiro, Hokkaido. For those of you who don't know, an Eikaiwa is a company that specializes in giving private English lessons to different clients. Clients at an Eikaiwa are usually people personally interested in studying English, but some companies have their employees takes English classes as well.

As for me, I'm a male in his mid twenties from the United States. I graduated college about 6 months ago, and spent a year studying abroad in Kyoto. I've been studying Japanese off and on for about a decade at this point. I took Japanese classes formally for about three years, but I learned much more by pure immersion while living, studying, and working in Japan.

After studying abroad, I couldn't imagine not coming back to Japan for at least a few more years. Upon graduating, I started applying to all sorts of places across Japan. I didn't really care where I ended up, as entering the country and obtaining a visa in the beginning are the hardest part of the process. (Once you already have a visa, it's much easier to find work here. But that's a rant for another time. ) I applied for the JET program, but after seeing the overwhelming, massive number of applicants I became discouraged and decided to start applying for other jobs instead.

After looking at several different Eikaiwas across the country, I applied to a few places out in the country where I figured I couldn't use English as a crutch. Another added benefit to being out in the countryside is that there are a lot less foreigners, making you a commodity. Not to mention that the pay is usually a bit better, as companies can basically go out and find a foreigner any time they want in a place like Tokyo. Eventually, I ended up applying to a place in a small town in Hokkaido. After a few interviews, I finally scored a job after about a month of looking, which isn't too bad.

As for the job itself, I start from tomorrow. I've spent the last few days moving in to my apartment and getting my documents in order. That stuff is all very important, but I'm sure that one of your superiors at any company will help you get all of that in oder. It's not really something you have to learn about beforehand and do yourself.

In this blog, I'll talk about what it's like to work at an Eikaiwa, what it's like for a foreigner living in Japan, and provide advice or hints whenever I can about various topics. If there's anything you would like to know, please let me know in the comments. I'll be as helpful as I can.

Thanks for reading for now! Next time, I will write about what kind of people these companies tend to hire. Look forward to it!

-Spike

Gaijin Power - Working at an Eikaiwa in Japan

Introduction - 自己紹介