This one was a bit closer to home.
Also, this was a long time coming. And it led to this, which made us all happy to finally see.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
G Desperation
Japan has long suffered the occasional murder rampage, but recently the frequency seems to have increased. Making world-wide headlines was the Akihabara rampage that occurred earlier this month. (Akihabara is one of Japan's "geek culture" Meccas, famous for computer supplies, electronic gadgets, video games, comic books, ridiculous costumes, etc.) It is located in Tokyo.
However, other recent slayings have struck a bit closer to home; while I have been living here in Tengachaya, there was a fatal stabbing at my local train station. (This one, at least, was mafia-related and not an indiscriminate slaying of an unstable creep.)
Speaking of the Japanese mafia: its funny, because the Sopranos did a really good job of dispelling any glamorous notions of the Italian mafia that I had in my subconscious by portraying them as real, flawed, mentally ill and morally depraved criminals.
And yet that reality check failed to remove any similarly glorified visions of how the Yakuza would be. I had even imagined how fun it might be to someday meet a made man of Japan and become friends, allowing me to see a side of Japan that most people, let alone foreigners, didn't. Now that I've actually spoken with quite a few of the local criminal organization, I can say that the Sopranos' reality check could equally be applied to the average Yakuza grunt, as well. Uncouth, uncultured, morally bankrupt.
And yet, in one of the thousands of quirks that makes Japan such a unique country, they are just as polite if not more so, than the average Japanese person you'll run into. (At least, from a foreigner's point of view; I have no idea if they would be less polite to a local or not.) Regardless, not people I want to become friends with, or even enjoy a drink with.
In any case, I have some interesting news. I will be leaving my current job, though it pays well and I've come to enjoy it (which is directly related to my ability to perform it well). At first I wasn't sure, because I had a lot to learn as far as teaching children went. However, over time, I've been purified in the furnace of a classroom full of Japanese kids who want to kancho my ass. What emerged from the flames of humiliation and trauma: a lean, mean, children's teaching machine. (Except the parts about lean and mean.)
Ironically, just as I got good at my job and began enjoying it, I got a call from my formerly generous benefactor, with an offer I couldn't refuse. You see, at my current job, I'm making good money, but don't have a lot of hours due to the size of the school I work for and its limited student-base. So I'm making enough to pay the bills and enjoy life in Japan, but there's not enough left over to save anything, and that has been a situation I was hoping to rectify sooner rather than later.
This morning, I got a phone call offering me my old job, same conditions, with a significant pay increase! Seems like the old boys realized that when living, breathing English speakers are your only commodity, you can't treat that commodity like your typical Japanese wage slave. Thank goodness for cultural differences that mean I won't allow employers to treat me horribly! (My heart goes out to any Japanese wage slaves who may be reading this.)
However, times are a-changing in Japan; recently, workers have begun to realize that life doesn't have to suck just because their employers are greedy bastards. McDonald's managers are suing the (Japanese branch) corporation for unpaid overtime. Young people are cherry picking, and hopping to better jobs with better conditions, instead of becoming committed for life to a single employer (as has been the case in the recent history of Japan).
And get this! Some crazy, crackpot members of minority parties in the government are advocating allowing foreign immigration to an unprecedented extent: 10% of the Japanese population! (You may go ahead and read some bitter sarcasm into the italicized descriptors of the previous sentence.)
Regardless, I took up G. Desperation on their lucrative offer, and gave my two weeks notice to my current employer. I will definitely miss my old job, but you gotta go where the money's sweet.
Returning to the rising crime in Japan, I've begun feeling uneasy in crowded situations. My roommate, even before the most recent attack, has repeatedly said he no longer walks with his hands in his pockets, out of a desire to be ready to fend off any crazed knifemen he may stumble upon. It is no longer a place that gives me an unmitigated feeling of safety that it was when I first arrived, though I still don't fret over my safety in general. Only when I'm in the midst of a terribly huge, rushing crowd...
In any case, I think that this ramble has gone on long enough.
Until next time,
don't walk with your hands in your pockets.
However, other recent slayings have struck a bit closer to home; while I have been living here in Tengachaya, there was a fatal stabbing at my local train station. (This one, at least, was mafia-related and not an indiscriminate slaying of an unstable creep.)
Speaking of the Japanese mafia: its funny, because the Sopranos did a really good job of dispelling any glamorous notions of the Italian mafia that I had in my subconscious by portraying them as real, flawed, mentally ill and morally depraved criminals.
And yet that reality check failed to remove any similarly glorified visions of how the Yakuza would be. I had even imagined how fun it might be to someday meet a made man of Japan and become friends, allowing me to see a side of Japan that most people, let alone foreigners, didn't. Now that I've actually spoken with quite a few of the local criminal organization, I can say that the Sopranos' reality check could equally be applied to the average Yakuza grunt, as well. Uncouth, uncultured, morally bankrupt.
And yet, in one of the thousands of quirks that makes Japan such a unique country, they are just as polite if not more so, than the average Japanese person you'll run into. (At least, from a foreigner's point of view; I have no idea if they would be less polite to a local or not.) Regardless, not people I want to become friends with, or even enjoy a drink with.
In any case, I have some interesting news. I will be leaving my current job, though it pays well and I've come to enjoy it (which is directly related to my ability to perform it well). At first I wasn't sure, because I had a lot to learn as far as teaching children went. However, over time, I've been purified in the furnace of a classroom full of Japanese kids who want to kancho my ass. What emerged from the flames of humiliation and trauma: a lean, mean, children's teaching machine. (Except the parts about lean and mean.)
Ironically, just as I got good at my job and began enjoying it, I got a call from my formerly generous benefactor, with an offer I couldn't refuse. You see, at my current job, I'm making good money, but don't have a lot of hours due to the size of the school I work for and its limited student-base. So I'm making enough to pay the bills and enjoy life in Japan, but there's not enough left over to save anything, and that has been a situation I was hoping to rectify sooner rather than later.
This morning, I got a phone call offering me my old job, same conditions, with a significant pay increase! Seems like the old boys realized that when living, breathing English speakers are your only commodity, you can't treat that commodity like your typical Japanese wage slave. Thank goodness for cultural differences that mean I won't allow employers to treat me horribly! (My heart goes out to any Japanese wage slaves who may be reading this.)
However, times are a-changing in Japan; recently, workers have begun to realize that life doesn't have to suck just because their employers are greedy bastards. McDonald's managers are suing the (Japanese branch) corporation for unpaid overtime. Young people are cherry picking, and hopping to better jobs with better conditions, instead of becoming committed for life to a single employer (as has been the case in the recent history of Japan).
And get this! Some crazy, crackpot members of minority parties in the government are advocating allowing foreign immigration to an unprecedented extent: 10% of the Japanese population! (You may go ahead and read some bitter sarcasm into the italicized descriptors of the previous sentence.)
Regardless, I took up G. Desperation on their lucrative offer, and gave my two weeks notice to my current employer. I will definitely miss my old job, but you gotta go where the money's sweet.
Returning to the rising crime in Japan, I've begun feeling uneasy in crowded situations. My roommate, even before the most recent attack, has repeatedly said he no longer walks with his hands in his pockets, out of a desire to be ready to fend off any crazed knifemen he may stumble upon. It is no longer a place that gives me an unmitigated feeling of safety that it was when I first arrived, though I still don't fret over my safety in general. Only when I'm in the midst of a terribly huge, rushing crowd...
In any case, I think that this ramble has gone on long enough.
Until next time,
don't walk with your hands in your pockets.
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