Yea I do have dark skin! lol

How did I wind up in Japan... I get asked that alot, its part of the standard questions you get while living in Japan. Infact here is the standard list of questions I get asked by Japanese while im here and so will you when you get here too.

Q. What got you interested in Japan?
A. Visited a friend during spring break in Tokyo, and I was hooked ever since

Q. Can you eat sushi?
A. Can you?

Q. Do you like sushi?
A. Yes

Q. Can you use chopsticks?
A. Can you use a FORK?!

Q. Did you perm your hair?
A. No, i have natural curls

etc... etc... u get the picture hehe

seriously though, getting to Japan really isn't as hard as people say it is. If your determined to come, there are tons of ways to get here. I dont know how old you are, but if your a teenager in highschool and your from the US there are lots of exchange programs you can do through your highschool to get you here. There are also rotary clubs as well you should check out. It never hurts to visit the Japanese embassy if there is one near you, they have lots of infromation on study abroad etc too. If your in a college then you can also apply for lots of scholarships for study abroad in Japan it really isnt hard to do. Applying is ussualy free and requires minimal effort.

If your out of college and looking for a career there, the easiest way is just go teach english. Sure its the lame way in and teaching english sucks, but! You WILL be in Japan which is where you want to be! And it pays WELL. there are lots of links and stuff for teaching abroad on the net. You should also check out www.gaijinpot.com for other job opportunities other than teaching english in Japan.

I am currently on a student visa through the university of Florida to study here in Tokyo. I picked up two scholarships easy and now it feels like im getting PAID to live in Japan its great! Just do whatever it takes to get here, cuz once your here you've already done the hardest part. The rest is cake!

right well......hope that was informative!

oh man by reading all this my heart start beating faster and faster,
damn I want to go to japan too, ahhhh. I have never been to Japan though, but from what I read and saw this country must be great and kinda crazy, that what I like Planing to go to japan next year before starting my militery duty and then I am going to study Japanese/English. I guess everyone in my family would ask me, what Japanese, are you sick? lets go to the doctor and have a checkup

Ore mo Iku iku

@Bsalez when will you go to japan?^^

the tickte to japan is twice as much as the two weeks stay in an ryokan^^
I m just a poor student savin all my spare money to makem y dream come true, lol

Well It is good ppl have a dream. No dream means dead

thats true thats true^^

Malorum:

Not to get overly serious/political/etc., but do you experience the type of racism (subtle or overt) in Japan that you would here?

If this this is too sensitive or whatever I'll drop it. Just curious, that's all...

Or if you want to chat offline, shoot me a PM or e-mail...

absolutely there is racism. Its kind of funny though becuause they Japanese seem to be completely OBLIVIOUS to the fact that they are being racist. Its like they are in shock to find out "Oh you mean refusing customers entrance to some shops and places because they aren't Japanese is wrong?! huh? REALLY?!" Every foriegner in Japan has experienced some kind of racism but its not like the kind of racism you would find in the states or something. People aren't gonna corner you and fight you because your a foriegner or something. Japanese do things like that very subtle and don't talk about it. There used to be this show on television where they would have a panel of Japanese comedians and tv personalities that would have conversations with a slew of Foriegners about life in Japan and issues facing gaijin in japan. I never really liked the show, but it did try to open Japanese eyes to the kind of racism that gaijin face while living in Japan. I guess its just that the racism isn't done on the scale of Neo nazi's the KKK or Black panthers or anything wild like that and only the really sensitive foriegners are offended. Me personaly i just think "stupid ignorant japanese!" whenever i get offended and i feel a whole lot better LOL!

malorum wrote:

Its like they are in shock to find out "Oh you mean refusing customers entrance to some shops and places because they aren't Japanese is wrong?! huh? REALLY?!"

Is the shop above is the shop I think..... Where only Japanese can enter ... ...Oo that shop

I think that in japan most "racism" is from the older generation and those who have had bad experiances with Gaijin, rather then from the general population.

Racism is in decline (compared to during the meiji era - as Kenshin fans will know ) , and most Gaijin will be unaffected by it.

Compare to places such as America where even the ethnic minoritys are racist to other ethnic minoritys.

In England we have Indians, Africans, Japanese, chinese, and europeans and other countries - although there is not a lot of racism it is still noticable

I think Japan is better then other countries and is less racist

But i havent been to japan so i may be wrong

yes well alot of the racism is from the older generation, but since tehre aer SO many older people in Japan it really has an impact. Its not so much with the younger generation but it is definetly there.

And as for those "Shops" i was talking about..... not all of those are *ahem* shops...... but regular shops too like barber shops and stuff. If you come you will see what i mean. I dont think Japan is any better off than other countries dealing with racisim i think alot of it has to do with their culture not being one to be loud and outspoken about those types of topics. Like there are no Japanese parading around in white hoods and such, its much more subtle, but not any less racist. if that makes any sense

Wakarimashita Mal kun I think I have a clue

malorum wrote:

yes well alot of the racism is from the older generation, but since tehre aer SO many older people in Japan it really has an impact. Its not so much with the younger generation but it is definetly there. And as for those "Shops" i was talking about..... not all of those are *ahem* shops...... but regular shops too like barber shops and stuff. If you come you will see what i mean. I dont think Japan is any better off than other countries dealing with racisim i think alot of it has to do with their culture not being one to be loud and outspoken about those types of topics. Like there are no Japanese parading around in white hoods and such, its much more subtle, but not any less racist. if that makes any sense

Hmm, that's too bad, but it doesn't seem to be impeding your everyday life, does it? I mean, you don't have to be lookin' over your shoulder to see if someone's gonna rap you on the head with a bat or something, right? If that's the case, you're better off in Japan, neh? Where you don't have to live with that type of fear... This is really interesting...

I think it depends on where you are in Japan and that person's beliefs.
I'm half and i've had my fair share of sour gaijin remarks in japan. and i speak Japanese fluently!!
The older people in rural areas seem to be iffy.
Tokyo... lol well you're cool but your gaijin.
Japan is the worlds most homogenius country.... i guess you get what you get.

Japan is like the safest country in the world. There were only like 12 killings in the whole country by a gun in 2000... thats like a good weekend in NYC. lol. Theres nothing to be afraid of, girls can walk alone at night and not have to worry n stuff. On top of that being a foriegner no one will approach you anyways so you dont have to worry about openly being discriminated against. Japanese are far to shy a peoples for that. I bashed alot of the Japanese ways in this thread but, thats such a small small part of the pie that it doesn't really phase anyone, doesnt phase me at least! Point blank, Japan kicks ass, is fun as hell and is especially interesting when seen from the viewpoint of a foriegner.

malorum wrote:

Japan is like the safest country in the world. There were only like 12 killings in the whole country by a gun in 2000... thats like a good weekend in NYC. lol. Theres nothing to be afraid of, girls can walk alone at night and not have to worry n stuff. On top of that being a foriegner no one will approach you anyways so you dont have to worry about openly being discriminated against. Japanese are far to shy a peoples for that. I bashed alot of the Japanese ways in this thread but, thats such a small small part of the pie that it doesn't really phase anyone, doesnt phase me at least! Point blank, Japan kicks ass, is fun as hell and is especially interesting when seen from the viewpoint of a foriegner.

Sounds great!! Make room for me out there, 'cause I'm headin' out right now... Give Ryoko-chan early warning 'cause I'm gonna sweep that gal offa her feet!

So you're a student out there, right? Is Japan/Japanese culture your major or something? A ways back my cousin spent a number of years out there living with a family and teaching English to kids... So cool!!

Well I hope you enjoy your time out there (sounds like you are ) and good luck with your studies... To say that I'm envious would be an understatement...

Gambare!

--racer (http://bmwracer.blog-city.com)

HEY molarum I'm a college student...ur from florida!? no wonder ya have a dark tan anyway man u don't know how #%#@#&*!*&*!&( lucky u are.... i would kill you and take over ur life in a sec. hahaha JK (i would never kill any1!)

lovelessemotion wrote:

i would kill you and take over ur life in a sec. hahaha JK (i would never kill any1!)

yes im a college student, University of Florida "Go GATORS!"

I'm a Japanese major and a TESL (teaching english as a second language) and Linguistics minor. Basically I went to Japan on my own and lived there for a year or so, loved it so much I was willing to do anything to go back. So the easiest way was to become a Japanese major and POOF im here again!

malorum wrote:

yes im a college student, University of Florida "Go GATORS!"

The season just started today. Are the Gators ranked? I would think so. You guys usually are.

Quote:

I'm a Japanese major and a TESL (teaching english as a second language) and Linguistics minor. Basically I went to Japan on my own and lived there for a year or so, loved it so much I was willing to do anything to go back. So the easiest way was to become a Japanese major and POOF im here again!

Way cool. Are you almost done?

Getting groggy... It's nearly 1AM here... Later!

i dunno i dont really follow the Gators becuase...well... im not in Florida anymore and i'd rather watch SUMO!

after i Finish my year here, i got a semester left and then ill be done. But im in no rush to finish, imma see about doing another study abroad here when this study abroad runs out hehehehehehe.......