So, I've had a few weeks in Kyoto. I've settled in, and found something that resembles an everyday life.
I still have no job, though: I had hoped to get a job teaching English, but that has turned out to be harder than I expected. There are several reasons for this - the number one reason probably being, that English is not my native language. A lack of any certificates stating that I know English (and that I know it well enough to actually teach it) is also a contributing factor. I have done several things to try and find a job as an English teacher - I had hoped to establish myself as a tutor of individuals, or small groups, before moving on to the larger, more established organisations that hires teachers - organisations such as
Gaba and
Aeon. In order to find individuals who wants to learn English, I have created a
profile at Enjoy-Lesson.com, distributed flyers at local places of education, and at different public libraries. But, after two weeks, I have received no phone calls, messages or any other form of contact from people needing an English tutor.
So I'm still a tourist - which is quite nice as well. Kyoto is still an interesting city, there are many things to see and do here.
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| Kyoto - still beautiful |
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| Such exquisite detail |
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| Wonderful roofs |
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| Another roof |
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| Spot the geisha. I'll never get used to seeing this on a casual stroll in the city |
Recent experiences include a trip to the
Kurama Fire Festival - I never really got what the intended meaning of the festival was, but the main attraction was supposed to be a parade of people carrying giant torches, through the tiny city of Kurama. It was quite an attraction: the population of the city must have grown ten-fold for just one day. While I did get to see a few lit torches, the masses of people, and the apparent lack of coordination of these masses, made it difficult to get to get to a place where the parade could be watched properly. Being among the masses was an experience in itself, though. Sure, the trains and train stations can be crowded, but Kurama during the fire festival was crowded on a different level. It was not chaotic, just... uncoordinated.
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| A torch to be used in the parade |
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| The police were attempting to control the crowds |
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| The crowd |
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| The people in Kurama looked their best for the festival |
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| FIRE! This was probably the closest I came to the actual parade, and the closest I came to the fire. |
I also got to watch another festival,
Festival of the Ages. I stumbled on it by accident, while walking around in downtown Kyoto one day (on the same day as the Kurama Fire Festival, actually). The festival, or the part of the festival that I saw, consisted of a parade through Kyoto, of people clad in various costumes - ranging from the elaborate geisha outfits, to the more simple samurais.
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| Festival of the Ages |
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| Festival of the Ages |
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| Festival of the Ages |
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| Festival of the Ages |
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| Festival of the Ages |
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| Festival of the Ages |
But being a tourist here can get boring, though. The weekdays are... quiet. Being "between jobs" is one thing, but being so in a country, where I can't really talk to people and where I can't read the newspapers, the signs on the streets or anything of that sort, is a different matter. So, I get to read a lot, and study some Japanese - and, of course, I visit the museums, the temples, and all the other tourist attractions.
I have, however, begun looking elsewhere for jobs - I was suggested to look for internships - and it actually seems to be a viable option. I was pointed to the website
Kopra.org, where companies list their internships. I have applied for one such, at a company called
Akebono Brake Company. I hope to get an internship there. The pay is decent, too.
Most of these internships I have looked at are in Tokyo, though, so if I get an internship, I'll have to move.
If I get a negative reply from Akebono, I'll apply for an internship in the German company
TÜV, and at
The Economist Group. If that doesn't work out, I'll look for more internships, and consider my options.
Brakes, technical inspection, and the publishing industry is not exactly fields with which I have worked with so far. Granted, I do work at a publisher, Wiley-Blackwell, but the kind of publishing Wiley-Blackwell does, can't be said to be in quite the same category as what the Economist Group does. I'm ready for the challenge, though!
I spend some of my time off working at
Nielsen Research Analysis, my own company. Following the advice of a former manager, I created this company, so that I could be hired to do work on a case-by-case basis, to perform bibliometric studies, or help out in performing such studies. The work that I put into it, has been with updating the small
wiki that I run. Look at the page on the
H-index for a good example at what I spend my evenings with!
There is, of course, no money in this work right now - it's sort of hard to pay myself for working at my own company :)
But should you need some help in performing a bibliometric study, or any such related study, please contact me!
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| View from my room |
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| I've got a new bag. Almost prophetic! |
So this is where I am right now. I'm looking for a job, and I still enjoy being here.
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| Fall is coming |
