Wednesday, January 30, 2008
to stay or not to stay that is the question!
I am grappling with the decision to stay in Japan another year. I had thought my mind made up on staying even though most of my friends are leaving. I had attending a JET conference and now I am left with a sick feeling in my stomach whenever I think about the question. I am not going to go into the details of the pros and cons but I am afraid of the reverse culture shock if i leave. Apparently when leaving Japan (since the culture is so different from that of English speaking countries) many people go into an extreme reverse culture shock and basically begin hating their own cultures and countries. I was always really bad after I returned home at the end of summer camp and that was onlya week. I realize I have to return some time and I don't want to teach English for the rest of my life. This decision is anything but fun :(
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4 comments:
Hey you, still debating on coming home or staying another year? If you were planning to stay one more year, what made you decide to consider coming home instead? (If you don't mind me asking!)... Remember, every culture has its less-than-desirable traits, but who says you can't bring a little bit of the positive aspects you enjoy in Japan back with you? :)
I guess the biggest thing is that is ceases to be an adventure. It is becoming very routine and everyday and it is not really the place where I want to live my life out so it seems somewhat pointless. One of my biggest reasons to stay is that of the language. I think if I stayed another year I could be fluent and I almost see this as the closest I will come to being biligual.
Hmm, good point on the language. Speaking from experience, I find it very difficult to pick up a language if you have any option of switching to English (taking courses in Canada don't equate at all to living the language). It would be better to be fully immersed in it for awhile... After living in QC for three years, I've picked up a very basic understanding of French, but can't really carry on a decent conversation at all - because there's always an English option available...
I bet it would really open your career horizons up if you could speak fluent Japanese - I see job offerings all the time for that!! :) I guess if you were staying to gain something (like bilingualism), maybe the 'daily routine' would be more tolerable?
Good luck on making your decision, just remember to do what makes YOU happy, no regrets! :)
stay
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