Keeping Money on My Mind in Tokyo

Money has been in my thoughts a lot recently. To be more exact, I been thinking about how to make more money. Living in Tokyo is damn expensive. Having enough money to pay the bills,put food on the table, and have a good time regularly can be a challenge at times. It seems like if I could just earn a little more yen things would be a lot easier. I have still been able to keep my full time gig my some unseen miracle(English teaching in Japan can be cut throat at times). Yet, I am gonna have to get a part time gig on the side. I just need a little extra money. An extra 20,000 or 30,000 yen a month would really mean a lot to me. How the hell am I gonna pull this off?

Well, I have been talking to a few folks and there does seem to be options. More than one person has mentioned to me that doing some corporate English teaching part time is a good way to make extra yen. I have never done it before but I am sure I can handle it. I have been teaching English for several years now so I should be able to handle just about every kind of English lesson. I am not saying that I can walk into a class and hit a home run from day one but I am sure I can adjust pretty quickly. I guess the added flexibility of doing corporate lessons would be nice. I like the flexibility I have with my private students. I can pretty much put together a lesson using my own method while at the same time customizing the material to meet the needs of the student.  Making my own lessons is always fun. The drawbacks with corporate lessons might be stability. If a company does not need me anymore or they want to change teachers for what ever reason I might find myself in a tough position to be assigned another corporate gig.

Another thing to think about is which kind of company to try and get hired by to do corporate teaching. Currently, it looks like I can try to get on with a dispatch company or try to get hired on the corporate side of an eikaiwa company. Both kinds of companies could be alright to work part time for as well as be a foot in the door for a full time contract down the road if I so choose. As long as they got a place for me and I fit in well where they assign me either kind of company could be alright. The thing about dispatch is that I might end up doing ALT work and I would rather not do that right now. Corporate English teaching is what I am most interested in doing part time for now.  Doing my full time gig and then turing around and pulling a day or two at a jr. or senior high school would a bit of a drain on me energy wise. So I guess I will focus on trying to get a part time gig working on the corp. end of a ekiaiwa company(hence avioding branch work for two different companies) while holding onto my full time gig.

From this point all I got to do is update my resume and apply to a company or two and see how it goes. No matter what, I really need something on the side. I don`t have enough private student yet to rely just on that alone to pad my monthly income. Well yall, welcome to the life of a English teacher in Japan.

Don`t Call It A Come Back!

Hello Japan! You motherfuckers! Yeah, that is right my ass is still here. I have been keeping my head low for a while. A lot of crazy ass things have went down. A hell of a lot of stress and general bullshit kept my attention away from The Ghost Letters Blog.. I have collected a few good tales during my absence; some are worth sharing and some are not.

Anyway, my ass is still in Tokyo going strong. Despite all the insanity, low moments, fighting, drinking and tears I have survived all that Tokyo has thrown at me. I have pretty much come to point of `Fuck most of shit people in this city try to pull on a daily basis` kind of mindset. People can be damn brutal selfish assholes in this city. I used to smile and try my best to put up with all the sociopath like behavior I deal with. Not any more! I really can`t put up with it anymore yall. If I am going to keep calling Tokyo home I have to draw a line in the sand. At this point when someone pulls that brutal selfish shit all I can do is let them go their own way. I don`t even have to be rude for someone to take a hint.  All I have to do is simply stop the good time with them as soon as they pull any shit with me. I tried it recently and it worked like a charm.

Well, besides dealing with sociopaths I also been doing a lot of drinking with many different people. It is good to feel people out from time to time. Folks lighten up a bit after a few drinks. I get to see what kind of person they really are. I have found that most gaijin in Tokyo are totally in a near constant state of stress. I can relate for sure. People do some pretty shitty things in order to purge their stress. Some of the stuff they do is understandable but others things are really unacceptable. Yet, I can`t life their lives for them so I say, `have at it you`re a big boy.` You know, it is like when you hang-out a few times and all of a sudden they do something so horn-dog that you can`t look at them the same way anymore. What happened to simply hanging out with friends? I can recall so many evenings in which I just wanted to hang-out and have a few beers. Sadly, what ends up happening is I get to watch someone hit on chicks they will never get and basically babysit their drunk overbearing ass.

Hell, not everyone is fucked-up and crazed in Tokyo. I have met some really good people here. I know some people I would trust with my life; a very short list might I add. I wish I had more good-hearted funny down to earth people around me. I like going out and having a damn good time but all the horn-dog shit is really a drag. I don`t mind people going out and looking for a gal to fuck. Getting laid is a very good thing indeed. I am married so I don`t really care about picking up chicks so much. I am happy with what I got at home.

Any damn way, my ass is back and blogging again. I am also going to start taking a more active role in the English speaking J-web again. I miss a few folks here on the web so I look forward to reconnecting with a few of yall. So until next time, have a cold one for me.

A Taste of America

So things have not been going smooth as of late for ya boy yall. My blogging has slowed down to a crawl as I try to get my head screwed on tight. The good news is things are starting to get back to some strange idea called "normal." Yet, one of strangest experiences as of late has went a long way in helping me clean the shit off my shoes. Recently I took up an invite to spend a day on a damn US Navy base here in land of the raising sun. As most of yall are aware America has it military boot firmly placed in Japan`s ass. America likes the situation and the Japanese, despite their bitching from time to time, enjoy the fact they got a powerful army to back them up at a moments notice.All of that don`t really matter a damn to me. I just wanted to check out a `foreign` US military base and get a taste of home.

My buddy is ex-Navy who spent four years stationed at Yokosuka Navy base. He said he could get me on base with offers of  `American beer, American food, and Taco Bell.` Hell, I would be damn stupid to pass on such an offer.I have not eaten `real` American food in a long time; McDonald`s does not count. I have gotten too used to eating Japanese food and half-ass attempts at American food. So off I went to the Nazi Camp, I mean US military base, with an ex-sailor.

I showed up late but my sailor buddy did not seem to mind much. He was busy trying to handle two high maintenance chicks and a grumpy hungry two year old baby. He was happy to see my ass when I flagged him down at the train station. He finally had him some back-up so to speak. After a quick hand shake and smile of relief, he lead me about two blocks away to meet up with his ball and chain, her friend and his cute but hungry two year old child. He them hauled the gang off to the base.

Now, remember I have not been around anything directly tied to the United States in several years. I completely forgot my home culture is filled with a boot licking, crazed, everyone is shit and a terrorist Nazi-like mind set. Stepping onto a US military base in Japan only throws me head first into the New-American mentality. I was excited as I was watchful and cautious. My Ex-Navy buddy knew the drill much better than me. I have been spoiled with complete freedom of movement and privacy; with only getting harassed by board Japanese police once or twice a year. We rolled up on the base and low and behold I need to be toe tagged before setting foot on US owned soil. I can understand the need for some kind of permission to enter a military base but the manner of going about it is a little unnerving. My Ex-Navy buddy said to me, `Stay cool man. I will handle this.` He gets some kind of strange form requiring me to report my nationality, current address and other such personal information. They wanted me to submit to a biometric shake down but my buddy got me out of it by saying, `It`s cool he is an American living in Japan and not a threat.` The butch looking Navy gal gave me a look of malice only given to enemies of the state; which in her mind was most likely anyone not enlisted. She ended up giving me a slip of paper with my picture on it saying I was `cool` and away me went.

When I finally got into the base I felt a wash on strange comfort come over me. I could feel American culture all around me but something was off. It was like some kind of weird simulation of American for some spy training camp. Everything look and operated a bit too perfect. At first I felt pretty good but soon a felt comfort yet confused and a silent paranoia. That`s when it hit me: I am right in the middle of US territory. It had been a long time to experience a taste of my own culture.

After a bit of time freaking out on my surroundings I decided to get what I could out of a day at the base. My Ex-Navy buddy got us on a bus and hauled us off to a food court. While I can get crap like KCF, McDonalds, or Burger King(which is kind of good) the really good American fast food is denied to me by the Japanese. Well, when we rolled up on the food court my eyes could only focus on one thing; Taco Bell! I must admit I ate like a starved pig. I may have ordered 1/3 of the menu. It was a bad call but a tasty one. The ladies in our company were taken back by my viking like feasting.

The next stop in this strange trip was the PX. The PX is very different from any old-school image in my head. It was like a military version of Wal-Mart. Stocked full of all the usual suspects of American consumerism. To my credit, I did not go into a spending spree like the zombie creature known as the American consumer. I only bought food and beer. I had to indulge myself in some `real` American food. I bought a soft shell taco kit, a four pack of Mac&Cheese, five cans of winners in a can and a six pack of Ice House beer. I was happy with my haul.

The day ended at a on-base bar with some good conversation. My buddy and I discussed our troubles over a few beers. Overall, a day at the base was interesting and good for me; despite the square atmosphere.  

Old School Action in Shibamata

  Hello Yall! Some of you folks out there in internet land may have been wondering what the hell I have been into recently. Well, I have dealing with some deep personal crap lately. Yet, no need to worry as everything is getting back on track.

  Anyway, I have really been in need of getting in some Tokyo exploring. Tokyo is a unique city in the fact that you can always find something kick ass to check out any given day of the week. With a need to get out and about I decided to head on over to Shibamata. This place is an often over looked old-school part of Tokyo. I first found out about this little damn place during a late night web surfing session. It was one of those nights when I just got completely lost in the grandeur of the internet. So, I had some extra time on my hands and decided to feed the need to explore Tokyo a bit.

  When I arrived in Shibamata via the old ass Keisei line, I was overwhelmed with a sense of calmness and peace. The area was strangely quiet and the people more distant from what I am used to in Tokyo. Despite the odd feeling in the air, Shibamata did put my mind at ease pretty quickly. The area is a maze of back alleys and side streets; which eliminates all automobile traffic. The lack of autos didn`t  faze me much as it really chills the place out. The shop keeps were also kind of chilled themselves. They just go about their business seemly without any care if anyone actually visits their shop. They made no effort, adverts or otherwise, to hook people into their shops. Overall, the whole area was so chilled that it was kind of too good to be true. 

  Speaking of shops I ran across this one store which was like some strange time warp. I guess you could call it a Showa era candy shop. The little shop packed as much old-school Japan action into one place as humanly possible. All the cool little snacks and odd five-minute trill toys which you just don`t see anymore were in full display.. It was damn good fun checking out the stuff this place had for sale. The best part of it all was they even had games! Yes, that right old-school pinball machines! Man, I hit up the entire row of pinball machines trying my ass off the make one of them tilt the max score. They had more than just pinball. Hidden in a corner was a original Super Mario machine and a flat table space invaders game. It was a true retro wet dream and a hell of a good time! 

Despite all the good fun I had at the five and dime shop, there was something more wonderful to behold in Shibamata. The Shibamata Taishakuten Buddhist Temple proved to be a nice surprise to top off the peaceful feeling in the air. To be honest with yall, I have seen my fair share of temples and shrines in Tokyo. Yet, there are still a shit load I still want to get around to checking out. This temple I didn`t even know about until I ventured down to Shibamata. It was kind of cool to roll up on a temple unexpectedly. What struck me about this little find was how similar in design it was to Meiji Shrine in Shibuya. I guess Taishakuten was built around the same time as Meiji Shrine; or maybe not. It did carry the same feeling of oneness and calmness as Meiji Shrine. Although it shares some design features with Meiji Shrine, Taishakuten has a unique feature of having some stunning Japanese style trees growing right in front of it. I got this funny light feeling as I admired the temple. 

Another unique part of this temple was two black Buddha statues resting toward the side of the complex. They kind of jumped out at me without warning. I have never seen twin black Buddha before. I found myself staring at the damn things for a good amount of time. They were a very striking image among all the green roof tops and perfectly placed trees. I don`t know enough about Buddism to comment on the importance of these two statues but there must be an interesting story behind them for sure. 

Overall yall, checking out Shibamata for a bit was pretty cool. I have to say I really enjoyed myself. It was a nice little peaceful day trip in Tokyo. The experience was really good for me. I am gonna have to plan another little adventure to the area real soon.  

Hawaii Burger in Japan from our Good Friends at McDonald`s

It has been a pretty heavy week for me personally. It is one of those things which punches you in the gut for no good reason. The situation has drained me like a vampire at a blood bank. Yet, despite things being a little fucked up at the moment there is always time for a burger!

The devil of fast food goodness, McDonald`s, has released the third on a series of `custom` burgers to draw in more hungry poor ass folks like myself. The first of these special heart attack in box beauties were pretty good. The Texas burger was a nice change from the usual McDonald`s menu. I skipped out on the New York burger because the damn thing just did not seem like it was worth the money anyway. So, after dealing with the tragic events of the past week I decided to throw caution to the wind and give the Hawaii burger a go.

The past Friday my Japanese counter-part in Kamata was unusually hungry. I talked him into trying out this new offering from kings of poor quality burgers. He seem to like it but I thought it was really just a run of the mill burger. For one thing, it has no pineapples! I mean, come on! It is called a damn Hawaii burger after all. It was more like a dressed up bacon burger. It McDonald`s is trying to give Burger King a run for their money they are committing an epic fail. They must be trying to rely on pure marketing for sell these burgers. You know, `Hay Japanese! Americans from Hawaii eat burgers this way. Come and get it!`

In short, do not buy this damn burger unless you are really hungry and short on time.

Asashoryu Got Horsed By the J.S.A.

Life in Japan can be pretty cut and dry sometimes. In a nation which image and pride is often more important than doing the `right thing` or even making smart decisions, a person can have their life crushed with just one small mistake. There are countless examples I could site of image and pride taking priority over sound decision making. All you need to do is look up the latest punishment handed out in political and celebrity scandals for classic examples. Yet, I am gonna focus on one such clear example of stubborn image and pride clouding sound decision making.

As the title of this post infers, the recent fate of Sumo great Asashoryu falls nothing short of exposing the pitfalls of a society which can sometimes victimizes itself over image and pride. Asashoryu is one of best Sumo wrestlers of all time. The man won 25 championships over the course of his career. Although, you would never be able to tell his is one of the greatest judging from the way his career ended.

Asashoryu was forced to `retire` because he was not `Sumo` enough. Sure, the man was a bit tough at times. He turned a few heads with his behavior both inside and outside the ring. The media sometimes refers to him as the `bad boy` of Sumo. As the world changes and more non-Japanese wrestlers enter the sport and gain success, the J.S.A(Japan Sumo Association) seems to cling onto strict ideas of what is a Sumo.

Truth be known, interest in Sumo has sharply declined in Japan over the past several decades. The sport struggles to appeal to a new generation of Japanese who regard the sport as boring, outdated and out of touch with modern Japan. Asashoryu presented a change to raise interest in the sport with this head turning behavior. While taking it too far sometimes, he at least got people interested in `what is going on in Sumo these days.`  His behavior could have been mentored and kept within manageable limits. This did not happen due to the image that a yokozuna needs no one to give him advice on Sumo behavior and manners. These is also the pride of his Sumo stable which failed to guide him because it would embarrass them and lower there pride. Instead, they sat back and displayed a implied opinion that they have produced the perfect Sumo who needs to guidance. In the end, the entire image and pride of Sumo has been damaged due to lack of proper actions taken by everyone involved due to image and pride.

So, instead of trying to provide proper guidance to a amazingly gifted wrestler they simply force him to retire and pretend everything is now rosy.  Asahoryu got horsed by the J.S.A. Their own pride and stubbornness ended the career of one the greatest Sumo wrestlers Japan has ever seen.  

Are Teaching Standards to Blame for Japan`s Poor English Ability?

I have been teaching English in Japan for several years now. I consider myself to be pretty damn good at this gig. I have even been able to earn myself an above entry level position. Yet, if there is one issue that is considered a `big stinking elephant in the room` it is taking a hard look at the English teaching standards in Japan. A lot of teachers are happy to go to work everyday and do what is expected of them without ever considering raising the bar. Usually when I bring up the topic of teaching standards to fellow teachers, they show little interest in wanting to talk about it. A lot of them have a good thing going and don`t want to so-called rock the boat. With the economy in bad shape and jobs becoming less available, it may be time to start talking more serious about the standard of English teachers in Japan.

The fact of the matter is, most English teachers in Japan did not plan on becoming a professional teacher. The teaching profession was simply a vehicle to live in Japan. Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to live in the land of raising sun. Despite all the different reasons I could cite, the fact still remains that a lot of teachers never intended to make teaching their live work. This is not a bad thing in and of itself. Hell, it can be a great way to enjoy an experience of a life time while at the same time bring in a steady income.

Our problem is one which has been supported and accepted for so long that solutions are hard pressed to find. The hiring and training policy of English teachers in Japan has been holding onto one simple practice; `Be a native speaker of English and you can work as a English teacher.` While there are other factors in hiring and training English teachers, the above mentioned policy influences the English teaching profession in Japan from top to bottom. It is no secret that most people who break into the English teaching profession in Japan start with little or no experience. They also usually lack formal education in the field of teaching. Most companies or schools do not have the time, resources, or money to invest in an employee in order to get them to the level of being a high quality teacher. Instead, the hiring and training process focuses on producing a marketable and profit generating product.What most companies end up of doing is conducting training on the most basic of teaching methods. Along with very basic methods of teaching, a good amount of time is spent on appearance and how to `play the part` of a teacher. 

The type of above mentioned training can produce a marketable profit generating product with the proper follow up training and e-vals. Yet, the overall quality of lessons rarely live up to teaching standards of properly qualified teachers. The current situation of the English teaching field in Japan has created relatively low English speaking ability for many Japanese.  English being a major world language, not just for business but also as a commonly spoken language in general, is a vital skill for many Japanese people to attain the ability to speak English. Yet, it seems that for every one English teacher with the proper qualifications and skills, there are fifty teachers lacking proper qualifications. So, the big questions remains; how do we change this situation?

Currently, the industry does not seem willing to support teachers who want to get better qualifications and higher skill. A quick search around the web will show that there is little in the way of attaining English teaching qualifications in Japan. There are a few workshops around but they only offer things most good teachers already know.  Of course, anyone looking for get any kind of qualification in teaching English should be careful of money making scams which offer no real help at all.  They are all over the place and it is pretty clear they are a scam if you know what you are looking for.

If the industry does not want to support English teachers seeking to get better qualified, hence giving the English teaching profession more creditability, the teachers themselves are going to have it do it. The first level of qualification for anyone wanting to get more serious about teaching English is the CELTA. This entry level qualification is intensive yet worth every penny. Unfortunately, there is no way to get this qualification in Japan. Yet, another sign of the poor English teaching standards in Japan. If you are working as a English teacher in Japan, the best way to get CELTA qualified is going to Thailand for a few weeks.  An English teacher can get the CELTA qualification in Thailand in a matter of four weeks. It is one month of intensive study and practical experience which will mean a world of difference to your skill as a English teacher. There are two pretty good companies in Thailand offering CELTA qualifiactions; ECC Thailand and Cactus.

Getting more English teachers in Japan qualified up to at least the CELTA level will be a big first step in increasing English teaching standards in Japan. It will be good for the English teaching sector, good for teachers, and most important good for Japan. Hell, maybe a few teachers will be inspired to take it a step further and go for the DELTA qualification.