Experience with Gaba corporation - Part 4

Konnichiwa peeps

Ninja Gaijin here with the exciting conclusion of the Gaba Saga.
No more Gaba posts.....until I start working there......I promise

Click here for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

11 working days later (They said ten...hmm...I was beginning to wonder about Japanese efficiency) I got the "Good news everyone" (Futurama anyone?) email.

They thanked me for all my hard work (Aw, shucks) I had put into the application process.
It included files outlining the Pre-arrival preparations, the documents required for the visa application, accommodation stuff and other stuff.

I had to go through the lot and reply stating that I understood everything and that I would take the job.....which I did...after reading of course...What if they had asked for my soul?
READ EVERYTHING. EVERY TIME. And clarify if required. It will save you a lot of hassle in the future.

So I got photocopies done of my passport and ten other things they had asked me to send. I've to write a letter to the Japanese immigration bureau detailing why I want to work in Japan, and also to Gaba confirming that I would not cause any problems etc.

Another word of advice, send it via registered post....so that you can track it. Unfortunately no emails.

It was delivered in a week and they confirmed it. I recently got an email stating that everything was in order and they sent the lot to the Japanese immigration bureau and that it will take 2-6 weeks for them to issue my Certificate of Eligibility, which I would have to take to the Japanese embassy and receive my Visa.

They gave me the option to select between 6 teaching centres....sadly none of it in Tokyo. But it's kinda good 'coz some of it is near residential areas and if i can find a house nearby....I can save both time and transportation costs.

More about that in another post.

Experience with Gaba Corporation - Part 3

Konnichiwa peeps,

Ninja Gaijin here with yet another sequel to the infamous...this is getting a little old, man.

"Sigh"

Click for prequels
Part 1
Part 2

The received an email 2 days after I sent the completed task form (Check part 2) scheduling the second Skype interview. Again, the call was on the dot (Gotta love the Japanese for puntuality). This time I got to speak with a Japanese person (Yatta!!). She was quite nice and we went over the usual

"Why do you want to teach in Japan...
"What are your future plans....

I mean what was the first interview for?

She then dived into my task sheet, asking me why I had written some answers this way and not some other way. Some more basic stuff.

We then had a second mock class, where she would role-play a school girl (Oo la la) and I would be the instructor.

(She had me at role-play)

I don't know if it's just me, or is the Japanese school girl voice the most adorable thing in the world?

I'm no pervert, but, seriously... Now I know why cos-play exists. (Hey! To each their own poison, I'm not here to judge)

The cos-play (Err...roleplay) went great. She then proceeded to ask some more general questions and that was it. I would get the result of the interview in 10 business days. We said our "sniff" goodbyes (insert Bollywood music here) and hung up.

All in all, it was a nice experience. Nothing nerve wracking. The interviewers are friendly and not too prying, which should put most people at ease. The entire process took about 30-35 minutes in total. 

TEN FRIKKIN' WORKING DAYS......that's 14 DAYS IN TOTAL!!!!!

At least that gave me time to learn more Japanese....

STAY TUNED FOR THE SHOCKING CONCLUSION!!

6 Tips for learning the kana faster.

こんいちは peeps,

Ninja Gaijin here and today I will share some tips on learning the kana or kanji faster.

Make sure you read this post by a well renown author...."cough" shameless praise "cough" on how to read/write hiragana.

On with the show...

TIP #1: DON'T BITE OFF MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW.

A rookie mistake. The chance of earning glory might seem good in the short run, but you will set yourself up for failure. Don't over-do it. Just take it one small step at a time....and it will lead to one giant leap to Japan.

TIP #2: GROUP STUFF INTO RELATED STUFF

Group characters into words that you know:

なに (nani - what is it?)
わたし (Watashi - I/Me)
アメリカ (Amerika - America)

See? You know some Japanese already. You may not be able to do this with all characters. Don't sweat the small stuff. It's easier to recall as well.

TIP #3: REST

Just like you need rest-days (for people who work out), take a day off after a few days.
This will help you retain everything you've learnt so far.

TIP #4: USE EVERYTHING YOU KNOW AS SOON AS YOU CAN.

Again. No pressure. If you have someone who can speak Japanese, speak to them in broken-Japanese. A simple konnichiwa here, a "Watashiwa hungry desu" there. You can substitute the word for "hungry" when you've learnt it. You'll be surprised at how quickly you can pick up words.

Note: Make sure the guy you're practicing it is ok with this. I used this technique while learning french and the guy got impatient after a few tries (must have not had his croissant that morning).

TIP #5: TALK TO SOMEONE OF THE SAME GENDER.

While not a necessity, the language does have some gender specific words. Unless you want to appear feminine/masculine, better get it clarified.

But hey, we're gaijin... so they'll let it slide....and maybe giggle a little.

TIP #6: PRACTICE

Do I really need to explain this?


There you go. Let me know if you've got any questions and as always....Stay classy San Diego

.

I HAZ A FACEBOOK NAO!!!

Hey everyone,

A few of you requested that I have a Facebook and a YouTube channel.

I NAO HAZ A FACEBOOK!!!

I will create a YouTube channel soon.


Update: For some reason, Facebook has blocked my page and I'm having a tough time trying to verify my account. Baaka.

How to Learn Hiragana.....with your friendly neighbourhood NinjaGaijin

こんにちは peeps,

Ninja Gaijin here with another exciting article about Japan.....hmm...do you see the pattern here?

Lets talk about (Uses ominous voice) HIRAAAAGANAAAAAAAA!!!

As I mentioned in the Learning Japanese post, there's 3 scripts to learn (Romaji not included).

One thing that many people learning Japanese will agree on is that both hiragana and katakana can be learnt in 1-2 weeks (@ 10 characters a day + practice).

There are a 46 characters in each script and yes IT IS quite possible to learn it quickly.

BRAGGING ALERT!!!

I managed to learn to read and write Hiragana in 6 hours with a retention rate of 90%. And by the next day, I knew the whole lot. I then spent the next couple of days increasing my reading speed.

Soooooooooo.........YOU CAN DO IT!!!.........no redbull required.
I was bored, and didn't have much to do anyway. So I kinda made a game out of it. We all hate studying...so trick your brain into thinking it's fun.

We spend hours playing games on our phones (i'm looking at you flappybird/minecraft/candycrush) or our computers (guilty as charged) NEED FOR SPEED FTW. I mean, I had a bike and then I went abroad, and my parents sold it since no one used it and....It's not my fault I'm a speed freak. I was the fastest sperm after all.......

Aaaaanyhu, back on track (speed track? Shut up brain)

Try to make a game out of it, and play to win.

STEP 1: GET A CHART
Google it. You will get millions of results, but just get the Hiragana chart. You might be superman (or woman) and get both the kana in one chart. As long as you don't get confused....go for it.
This is what a typical chart looks like (you may have to click to enlarge)

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE COMPLETED THE 1st STEP.

STEP 2: GET THE CORRECT PRONUNCIATION

Why? Because

"a" is pronounced "aaa", "i" as "e", "e" as "a" etc.

The good news is that the sounds NEVER CHANGE like in English.
1 character = 1 sound....FOREVER!!!!

Check this link here. It's awesome.

CONGRATULATIONS! 2nd STEP IS IN THE BAG!!

STEP 3: PICK A REALISTIC TARGET

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Depending on your retention power, you might unnecessarily tire yourself out. You don't start out a new game on the hardest setting, do you?

Pick any number. 2, 5, 10, 15 and feel free to change the number anytime you wish.
Now pick a card....any card....
I predict that........YOU HAVE A CARD!!!
~APPLAUSE
Thank you. Thank you.
(I'm such a great magician)

STEP 4: WRITE, WRITE, WRITE SOME MORE until there's nothing else....

Unfortunately, there's no substitute for good ol' fashioned pen-n-paper method....unless there's a genie. Then wish yourself some Japanese fluency NOOWW!!
Are you fluent yet?

"Sigh" No genie. So you better wish some pen and paper and write your desired number of characters.
Pay attention to the strokes.
Pay attention to the sound.
Draw to your hearts content.
Practice with your child (if you have one)
Doodle during meetings.
Draw on your post-it notes
Write with your blood (Harry Potter anyone?)
Pee in the snow
Graffiti on the wall.
Draw in the toilet stall.

DISCLOSURE: NINJA GAIJIN DOES NOT CONDONE ACTS OF VANDALISM. DO IT AT YOUR OWN RISK

Write as many times as you want. Make flash cards and review them periodically.
Glance at them while you go for a coffee.
The possibilities are endless.

Final word
If you follow my patented process, you should be able to shed 50lbs in 10 days.
Oops...wrong advert

In a week or two, you should be able to read and write (ominous voice) HIRAAGANAAAAA.

Take care now....

Leave any comments here or on my facebook

Experience with Gaba corporation - Part 2

こんにちは peeps,

Ninja Gaijin here with a sequel to the ever popular post (you can find it here), the writing style rivaled by authors, nominated for a Pulitzer...

Ok...ok....maaaaaybe.... that was a little over the top.

So there I was...contemplating my next move. I had just gotten off the phone off Liam Neeson who just threatened to find me....and then krill me. I think he wanted to take me out to a sea food place.....he's such a nice guy.

Here's a link to the post to refresh your memory - Experience with Gaba Corporation - Part 1

As mentioned, the guy who interviewed me sent me an email a few hours after our conversation. Attached was a single word file consisting of 6-7 tasks which I was required to fill up and send it back in 5 days. 

First page was basically fill in your name, age, email etc.

The next few pages required me to

• Write a story (300 words)
• Explain the difference between 2 words
• Prepare a lesson plan for a student
• Answer a few questions based on a case study
• General questions like - Why do you want to come to Japan, why is teaching ESL different from math, etc etc

The questions were straight forward and do not require a lot of time to finish.

Even being the lazy guy that I am, I took 2 days to finish and sent it back...with the dates I was free to have a second interview. 

Then I started learning Japanese again.

....to be continued in part 3.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Anonymous comments

こんにちは peeps

Ninja Gaijin here.

Some of you PM'd me asking if they could post comments anonymously (since you need a google ID).

SO TA DAAAAAAAAA!!!

Anonymous comments are now open.
Comment to your hearts content.

Experience with Gaba corporation - Part 1

こんいちは peeps,

Ninja Gaijin here and in this post, I'll be covering my experience in applying to an English Instructor position at Gaba corporation.

Before I begin, I would like to mention that there are a lot of posts online that criticize their methods/treatment of foreigners. After some extensive research, I've noticed that their claims are baseless and it's their own damn fault for not reading the contract properly. I'm not praising any party here, but sometimes, you need to use some good ol' fashioned common sense. I will write another post about the controversies if required.

One day I was just strolling around Gaijinpot.com when I came across not one but thousands of English teaching jobs. This English teaching gig is quite common for gaijins and I though, 

"Hey! It's been a while since I actually taught someone. I do have some experience in teaching people and its an easy sounding job. Maybe I should try for it. So I sacrificed a sheep on minecraft for the almighty Google God and I published the results on Teaching English in Japan.

Aaaaanyway, I decided on the Independent contractor gig as I would have more time for myself. And Gaba was the first result to pop up. Filling the application form was straight forward,

Name: NinjaGai...oops...Real name

Resume and a cover letter.

One days later, I get an email for an initial Skype interview. The Japanese are really efficient in this way. Japan being on the other side of the world meant that I had to get up super early (I'm clearly not a morning person) and I had 20 minutes to freshen up, take a quick shower and wear a shirt and tie.

He messaged me ten minutes before the scheduled time asking if I was ready and then he called me on the dot. They mention in the email what they will ask you, which is the usual boring stuff.

"Tell me something about yourself...

"Why do you want to come to Japan...

"Why do you want to teach English....

While I wanted to reply to all with
"BECAUSE I WANT THE MONEY BI@TCHES!!!!......and also come to Japan.....

I decided against it. Stating the usual, generic, monotonous answers sugar coated enough to give them diabetes.

The interviewer was a nice guy, and wasn't Japanese, which kinda bummed me out a bit. We then had a small mock lesson where he role played a typical Japanese student and I had to explain the difference between two words. He then told me he would be sending me a test to check my English and then determine if I qualify for a second interview. We said our goodbyes and ended the call. 

Overall, the entire interview took around 30-40 min (typical) and it was quite basic. Then again, its expected for someone applying to a teaching position....I guess.

.....to be continued in Part 2

As usual, leave comments and share.

Learning Japanese

Konnichiwa everyone,

Ninja Gaijin here and today lets talk learning the Japanese Language.

I'm sure there are tons of resources online and offline that you can use to learn the language. I just want to give you a word of advice.

STAY CLEAR OF SITES/COURSES THAT GUARANTEE YOU WILL BE AN EXPERT in x number of days.

Let's be realistic here. No language in the world is that simple to learn.
A few words and phrases?....definitely.
basic conversation?.....maybe.
Simple conversation?......uh....ogenki-who?
Fluent?.........you know where I'm going with this.

I started learning Japanese 3 weeks ago, since I found out that I got a job. Until then my Japanese word count must have been in the 50's. Thanks to all the anime, manga and (cough) porn.... which.....I.....came.....across.....during......research.....YES!! Research! FOR SCIENCE!!!!

Chances are you probably know some basic words like Konnichiwa (hello) and Sayounara (good bye) and the other words that you might have come across during your research.

But WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE GOOD AT IT?

It all depends on what's your definition of good.
Do you want to be able to ask if they speak English?
Do you want to be able to order food in Japanese?
Do you want to have meaningful conversations with a native?
Do you want to be an editor for a newspaper?

If you answered "YES" to one or more questions. DING DING DING DING! YOU JUST SET A GOAL!!!

Next you need to decide whether you want to read and write or just speak. Studies have been done which show that 95% of communication is speaking and 5% is by reading and writing.
Personally speaking, it's always better to read and write as well. Just put 5% of your effort. That should be a good start.

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN JAPANESE?
The Japanese script consists of 3 parts

1. Hiragana - The rounded characters like はい (Hai, which means yes)
2. Katakana - Sharp characters and used to write anything that sounds foreign like アメリカ (America)
3. Kanji - All the pictograms which are supposed to make the language easier to understand like本(Japan)
4. Romaji - Japanese written in English like "sushi"

TRIVIA - Kanji has been devised from the Chinese script and many people believe that learning it will reveal the true nature of the language.

Damn! Is there anything in the world that's not MADE IN CHINA?? (I mean that in a good way)

Hiragana and Katakana have 71 characters each and kanji has (you might have to sit down for this) 81000 characters. 

If you're still conscious, you better drink a glass of water (or coffee/tea/Vodka)

If you're like "F#@% THIS SHIT". I'd rather learn Chinese. Well, you're not alone. 

It takes balls of steel and a dedication only rivaled by Rocky to get through this. You need to also check the payoff. Find out which one are you

If you're 

• Just coming to Japan to visit - Simple sentences are good enough.
• Work in Japan for a while and then go back home - Maybe get a little proficient.
• Live here for the rest of your life - Better get fluent.

I'm not going to sugar coat it, but if you've decided to stay for a long time, you better get very VERY good at it.

Next time, I will write about my (patent pending) method of learning.

Adios amigos
Ninja Gaijin

Leave your comments down below and I will answer then as soon as I can.
And as usual, share this with your friends.

Teaching English in Japan

こんいちは (Konnichiwa) everyone,

Ninja Gaijin here and today I'll let you know about teaching English in Japan.

There are three types of English teaching positions available for Gaijins.

1. Independent contractor.
2. Assistant Language Teacher
3. Private Teacher

Independent contractors are what companies like NOVA, GABA and other 4 letter words call their "employees". What this means is that although you are a contractor (of sorts), you do not get to enjoy ANY benefits - this includes transportation costs, medical insurance, flight charges, paid holidays etc etc. Up-side is that you can schedule as many classes as you wish. May it be 10 or 200, it's totally in your control. You will be paid a FLAT RATE for each class that you teach (there are several terms here such as a booked class, an open class and you will be paid IF AND ONLY IF you TEACH someone). Thus, your monthly income will fluctuate depending on how much time you put into your work.

Assistant Language Teachers or ALTs unlike the previous category has a fixed rate of income per month. You have to take a fixed number of classes (like 25-30 hours a week) and the rest of the time is spent grading papers and other administrative work. You just stand around while a Japanese teacher teaches the students. You have to give an example or two when asked and have no other say whatsoever. Remember the guy with the monkey that does tricks on the sidewalk? Yep, you're the monkey. Plus side is you get paid around 250,000 yen/month($2100) and other benefits.

Private Teachers have the most lucrative jobs. Teach when,where and to whom you want and get paid handsomely (which comes to around 3k - 4.5k yen ($25-35) per hour. Downside is to find students. Do exercise caution, as there are a lot of stalkers and creepers who can/will/may do some serious stuff (there was a report in which a teacher was murdered by one such guy). Then again, it's just one bad apple in the bunch.

Leave a comment if you have any questions or experiences.

The next time I will write about my experience in applying to one of these positions.

Until then.
さようなら
(Sayounara)

JAPAAAAN!!!

こんにちは(Konnichiwa) everyone and welcome to this blog.

I've been in the blogging circle for quite some time. Some of you might notice my writing style and many of you might have been loyal fans of my other works (before I stopped writing them).

Aaaaaany-hu, JAPAAAAAAN.

The land of the rising sun, Mt. Fuji, Sakura season, teenage girls in school uniforms, anime, otakus, sushi, miso soup, teenage girls in school uniforms....Did I mention that? O well, there can't be too much girls in school uniforms....right?

Sooo, where was I? Right! School uniforms....errr... I mean Japan. Japan was what I meant....right? Right?

Having recently finished my (second) Masters (I'm so modest), the job market in the UK....well....sucks. Recession? Government? Well, that's not something I'd like to get into in this blog (and I ask you not to start a flame war in the comment section).

But all reasons aside, after staying at my parents place for a few months, applying to God knows how many companies, the roles seemed too menial for very little pay. So I decided to check out opportunities elsewhere. Which brings me to.....

JAPAANNNNNNN!!
(By this time you might have realized I might have some feelings for Japan)

After googling a lot of sites (apparently dedicated to Japan), I failed to find something rich in
first-hand knowledge (although there were some that were quite good). And therefore I decided to publish my own experience(s) in applying, travelling, working and living in Japan, while also giving some insight in learning Japanese (which you'll see shortly).

So, sit back, relax and enjoy my stories...

It was a not-so-dark and not-so-stormy night.....