April 2005, Xene #45
GOING HOME AGAIN: LIFE AFTER JAPAN
By Vanessa Fortyn



If you are a foreigner living in Japan and have no intention of making this country your home, sooner or later you need to start thinking about leaving. Moving on is never easy, but who better to give advice on this than those who have already left? Xene tracked down ex-Sapporo regidents from around the globe to find out whether there's life after Japan.


DEBORA EDSON (DUAL NATIONAL OF NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA)

Lived in Sapporo from May 2002 to April 2004; worked at Nova

What have you been doing?
My boyfriend, who I met when we were both living in Utsunomiya, and we travelled through China, Mongolia, Russia, Estonia, Finland and Sweden before arriving in the UK. We are currently living in Scotland and working hard to save money so we can go on trips around Europe. So far we've been to many countries, but there's still much more to do and see. We plan to live here for up to two more years.
I've had a couple of jobs here, but at the moment I'm working as a kind of travel agent. When I left Japan, I felt okay because I had spent almost two years in Japan and had achieved all the goals I'd set for myself...I think the transition was made easier by the fact that I wasn't going straight home into my old life. We were moving on to a whole new place, a whole new adventure. One thing I did find hard adjusting to was working full-time again.

What do you miss?
The food (especially anko and ichigo daifuku), the cute plastic trinkets, animated everything, the freedom of working part-time, and of course some of the people I met and spent time with. I miss walking in the parks during cherry blossom season, and I miss the autumn colours.

What's your advice on leaving?
Don't go straight home. Reward yourself with a holiday first, or do a working holiday in another country. It'll make the transition easier as well. Have a plan of what you'll do when you go home: more study, a possible job lined up, contact with old friends. Don't just leave it till when you arrive.


OLIVIA CASSAR (AUSTRALIAN)

Lived in Japan from February 1999 to December 2003; worked at Nova and ELS

What have you been doing?
I am now living in Melbourne, Australia, working in the language center of an international high school. When I first arrived back, it felt weird seeing so many gaijin and then realising they weren't foreigners but native Australians. I felt most comfortable in the ESL classroom with Asian students because I felt like them, as I was also integrating into Australian society.

What do you miss?
Every now and then I miss Japanese food. I miss the proximity of everything - especially the mountains. It always surprises me how long it takes to travel from place to place here because it is so spread out.

What's your advice on leaving?
Take time out before getting into work or studies. Once your life back home takes off, you may wish you had taken a rest because it could be a while before you have the opportunity to do so. Have a plan and a back up plan before you leave. Things might not work out, so be prepared. Find other people who have had similar experiences to you. While going through reverse culture shock, it is good to touch base with someone who has also experienced it...Catch up with family and friends and try to meet them on a regular basis. This will help your social life get back into order, but realise they may have moved on since you were last in town. You will probably have to work at your social circle more, as unlike Sapporo, the community is more diverse and spread out.


JILL DRAKE AND MATT CAMERON (CANADIAN)

Lived in Japan from August 2000 to early 2004; worked at EC (Jill), and ULA, r'oop and Step Up (Matt).

What have you been doing?
We have just opened a B&B/ tour company in Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada. When we first went to Japan, we only planned on staying one year; however, we ended up staying four. Running a B&B was always one of our dreams, but we were both chicken. Being a teacher is so safe, but opening your own business is a big risk. Then one weekend in Hokkaido, we were up in Sounkyo staying in a cool little pension, and we noticed the owners were really happy and content with their lifestyle. On the way back to Sapporo, we decided that was what we would do. We would open a B&B in Canada, and we would market it to Japanese, especially to the more adventurous types who are tired of package tours and want something more personalized. We just opened this month, and already have quite a few bookings. Our website is www.thedrake.ca

What do you miss?
Matt: The snow, hot springs, Bic Camera. Jill: Rice balls, soba, ichigo daifuku, Odori Park, shopping.

What's your advice on leaving?
Have some sort of game plan as to what you want to do when you get back home. Realize that it will take longer than you think to accomplish it. Get ready for a pay cut and a tax increase. But most importantly, make sure you are totally finished life in Japan, whether that means having fun, experiencing a different culture, or saving money.


ERIK BLEES (AMERICAN)

Lived in Japan from September 1999 to September 2002; worked at GEOS and ELS

What have you been doing?
I spent eight months travelling the Pacific Rim. I then moved back to the USA to get my master's and save money. The transition was tough. I felt deflated and saddened to be back in the mundane familiarity of my home country. It took me about a year to rid myself of that hangover. Now I just have fond feelings of Japan; it's part of my past now.

What do you miss?
Most of all, I miss the vibe of living abroad - the multicultural scene, the challenges of the language, the individuality of all the foreigners, being a foreigner.

What's your advice on leaving?
Take lots of pictures before you go.


MELINDA BEAL (AUSTRALIAN)

Lived in Japan from March 2000 to March 2003; worked at Nova and ELS

What have you been doing?
When I returned to Melbourne, Australia, I thought it would be fairly easy to get into ESL teaching, but found that wasn't the case. Employers told me that although I was experienced, I didn't have the paper qualifications. That led me to do my CELTA (Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults), which is the minimum qualification to teach in Australia. From there, I landed a job at Cambridge International College where I'm still working now. After about nine months and a Graduate Certificate in TESOL, I was offered a full-time salaried position. They are really hard to come by as the student numbers fluctuate depending on the time of year. As a result, there are a lot of sessional teachers out there struggling to get work.
Adjusting to Australian life was difficult. I guess I was suffering from reverse culture shock. Most of my friends were married with children, and so were moving in different circles. I couldn't get used to the food, Melbourne didn't feel as safe as Japan, and I found people there to be rude, obnoxious, unhelpful and highly emotional in public. I soon realised that it was just the way things are. It was up to me to re-acclimatize. It took me about six months to feel good about my decision to come home.

What do you miss?
You can't go past the curry and onsens...or the mountain biking. And of course I miss Susukino.

What's your advice on leaving?
Be ready for reverse culture shock. It's a strange feeling. Try and make your last onsen a really long one, stock up on all the curry you can, and if you haven't already, spend a night in a love hotel 'cause you won't see anything like it back home.


WILLIAM KENNEDY (CANADIAN)

Lived in Japan off and on from February 1992 to July 2001; worked in Osaka, Yokohama, Tokyo and Sapporo, at Geos, Interac, ELS, and Xene

What have you been doing?
I left Japan to get my TESOL master's in the U.S. in '01. Unfortunately, I started it just in time for September 11, which I watched in the student cafeteria. I graduated hungering for work and up to my ass in debt only to find myself mired in George Bush's Amerikkka, where student visas were impossible to get and foreign students were concerned about coming to a place where they were not welcome. The college work I was hoping to get vanished, and my wife and I were living on credit cards. About this point, we pulled up stakes and moved to the United Arab Emirates...where for a year I taught soldiers in the UAE military. I have since moved on to ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company), where I am involved in teaching English to aspiring refinery technicians. It is actually interesting work. Arab students are polar opposites of those in Japan, and I regularly find my comfort zone being nudged all over the shop.

What do you miss?
A part of my heart will always belong to Japan. A love/hate relationship is a difficult thing to understand, much less explain. People ask me to tell them what it "is" about Japan, why I miss it so much. I try to tell them that Japan is not a seductive place. I compare it to Morocco, where I spent six months teaching in '02, and which is most definitely a seductive place. Morocco is desperately screwed up, rife with corruption, dirt, crime, theft and donkeys, but sitting at the cafe. it is very easy to see the charms of the place. Never in Japan did I get that feeling. No foreigner in Japan will wake up and have a Gauguin moment: a head-slapping epiphany which makes you say, "My god, this is the way to live!" That did happen to me in Morocco.
But, that said, Japan does get under your skin in a big way. I was there for most of my thirties. I met my wife there. I made some of my best friends there. I found a career there. At grad school in Vermont, I was more comfortable with the Japanese students than I was with the Americans.
I miss people, both Japanese and gaijin. I miss smoking a cigar under an awning outside the FM Bar, watching the snow fall on a silent Susukino. I miss massive, bountiful stationery stores. I miss staff from almost every bar in town. I miss the first run of the day at Kokusai. I miss the cherry blossoms. I miss the Hanshin Tigers. I miss public transportation that actually works.

What's your advice on leaving?
Prepare yourself for a bumpy landing. Have a plan; know what you want to do. If you have been there for a few years, accept that fact that you are going back a different person.