So, I've been back in Denmark 35 days now, and its time to look back a little - what went wrong?
First, let me summarize: I went to Japan, hoping to find a job, some way or another. It was my first time in Japan, and I didn't speak the language. I had hoped to be able to find some way to make some money. Alas, it didn't go that way.
I went back to Denmark after five months, with my savings well spent on wondrous adventures - many an experience richer, and determined to go back to Japan.
So why couldn't I stay? The answer to that question is quite simple: the money ran out, and I had no income to speak of.
Why, then, didn't I succeed in finding a way of making money?
That answer is a bit more complex. It has quite a lot to do with my lack of skills in the Japanese language. I'm still not good at it, and I picked up embarrassingly little while in Japan. I knew enough to get around in the daily life, but not nearly enough to hold a job where I would be required to know Japanese. It also has something to do with my lack of evidence of my English skills. Being an English teacher is a fairly common job for foreigners in Japan, but it turned out to be exceedingly difficult to be considered for a position as a teacher, when my first language is not English, and when I have no exams proving my skills in the language.
It also has something to do with me being picky in the jobs that I applied for, the kind of jobs that I wanted, and the places where I wanted to work. At least in the beginning. I convinced myself, that I would go crazy in a non-challenging job. A job in Japan will always present the challenge of learning the language, but I would like the job to be challenging and developing for me as a person. So, I sought jobs in the big companies, applied for positions that could fit that profile, and hoped for the best. That did not result in a job...
So, I started looking for other kinds of jobs, such as jobs as an English teacher - even a Danish teacher at a school in Osaka. This was where I met the language barrier - with no Japanese, and no English exams, there was no job.
When I realized that such jobs were unlikely to yield any result, I started looking for just any job - I asked in bicycle repair shops, in English conversation cafés, in bars and restaurants where I might land a job as a waiter, and so on. That didn't land me a job either.
Contributing was also the fact, that I was pretty keen on staying in or near Kyoto. I didn't go to, for example, Osaka or Tokyo, where I believe there is a greater concentration of foreigners in a situation like me.
Another contributing factor was, that I had a hard time adjusting from the life as a tourist, to that of a person looking for a job. It was only towards the end, when I was looking for just any job, that I really dedicated all, or almost all, of my time to the task.
And, another fact that I have to admit to, is that the lack of using the resources of the foreigners already living and working in Japan, was a mistake. I was pretty determined to go there, and make it my own project to get a job, to work up from (almost) nothing, and carve out a nice life, with as little help as possible. I'm stubborn that way... but I think that it's a mistake I have drawn a lesson from.
You can probably name a lot of things that I should have done: taken an English-test in Japan, taken Japanese courses while there, networking, seeing fewer temples, not concentrating so much on Kyoto, etc. - suffice to say: I know. I have learned from the mistakes that I made - some of it I'm still working on - so there's not much use in telling me of what I should have done, I'm quite capable of finding that out by myself :)
What, then, is the next step?
Well, first things first: a job and a place to live. Working on that. I'm looking for jobs in private companies now - mostly - and I'm looking for a flat to rent, somewhere in or near Copenhagen.
Then, when I got a job and a place to stay, I'll start learning Japanese - again. I'll take some sort of classes, perhaps at Copenhagen Business School (CBS - I could take the "BSc in Business, Asian Language and Culture - Asian Studies Programme", with a focus on Japanese). I hope it's possible to combine the study with a job. I'll look in to it, at least.
I'll also get some exams proving my English skills. Just a quick TOEFL-test - a no-brainer ;)
Fast-forward a few years - I now know Japanese, and I have saved some money, plus I got a bit of a career going - I'll start looking for jobs in Japan, more intensely. Once I find a job there, I'll leave Denmark (again), but with the intent of staying in Japan. When I'm going to Japan, everything must work from day 1 - it'll be a well-planned, well-prepared return!
I'm also hoping to be able to find a job in a multinational company: if it's possible to be stationed overseas for such a company, I would very much welcome the opportunity.
But right now, I'm sort of settling in back here in Denmark. I believe that it'll be a few years time before I get the opportunity to go again. It is, of course, quite likely that I'll go there as a tourist before the "real" return, but as it is right now, I'll stay in Denmark a few years.
In conclusion: I had five fantastic months in Japan, I want to return, for good. And that I will, once I can make a well-planned return.
Oh, I should add - perhaps needless to do so, but nevertheless: these plans are subject to change.
This is a status of how I feel now - my interest in Japan has only been kindled by my stay, and I don't see why the interest should dwindle anytime soon.
Will you look at that: an update without pictures! I'll add the pictures from Hiroshima, and the last days in Kyoto and Tokyo, soon! Stay tuned.
