I'm off to Gifu-Shi, Japan to go teach English for a year. Any advice or suggestions.(Culture diff. etc...)

Question

I don't speak a word of the language and have never been to Asia.

Answer 1

Useful phrase's: ohayo gozaimasu (pronounced ohio guzaymas) (means Good Morning)
Chotomatte kudasai (means Wait a moment please)
Kudasai (means Please)
Konichiwa (means Hello/ or good afternoon)
Sayonara (means good bye)
Konbanwa (means Good Evening)
Oyasuminasai (means Good Night)
Arigato (Thank You) Arigato Gozaimasu (Thank You *Proper*)
Watashiwa Marsha des (I am Marsha) Female
Bokuwa Kevin des ( I am Kevin) Male
Gomenasai ( I am sorry)
Eigo wa hanasemasuka (English can you speak) (can you speak english)( pronounced A Ego wa hana se mas uka)

Don't tip. They consider it an insult. A lot of Japanese people know a little english. Don't talk stupid to them, just talk slow. You have to try some Gyoza. Don't be afraid to try things. Food, and places to go. Have fun, and learn a little bit of the language. Good luck!!

Answer 2

1. Purchase some Japanese language CDs, e.g. Pimsleurs, and try to learn some basic things verbally (I assume you don't have time to study the written language, so skip it for now.)

2. Learn some of the basics of Japanese culture. If you can, buy an inexpensive book on the topic, but here are a couple of websites:

http://www.thejapanfaq.com/FAQ-Manners.html

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e622.html

http://www.pref.okayama.jp/kikaku/kokusai/momo/e/syukan/index.html (scroll down to part 3)

Have a great time! Gifu Prefecture is beautiful. Be sure to travel a lot in the prefecture (and around Japan if you can) - you MUST go to:
Shirakawago - has tall, steep thach-roof farm houses
Takayama - a quaint, old-fashioned town in the mountains
Hida-Takayama - the mountains nearby - great hot-springs baths

Answer 3

Wow, I am very happy for you. Really, I am. I recently met and talked to a Japanese teacher of the English language (His job is that he teaches English as a cram school for Japanese students). He was telling me about a friend he has who is American. He has lived in Japan for 11 years. You'd think he'd be the resident expert in Japanese. Truth is, he is like you-can speak little or none of the language. Why? Whenever he can, he just uses English. Whenever he can't...well he's stuck. He can use English because believe it or not, a lot of people in Japan speak enough English to communicate at least the necessary things for their position as an employee. And the most you would be required to communicate is yes and no, and maybe if they say something else. I mean, they point to you the price of everything, and all you have to do is give them money.

But maybe I am making it sound too easy. True, it may be hard without some knowledge of the language. But you will learn. Consider this-I have been studying Japanese for three years in America. I met somebody even more recently (last month) who went on the JET program, maybe what you are doing. He felt compelled to do it because he had been to other countries. He had never studied Japanese (like you) and never been to Japan, but he felt that he could still do it. In not even two years in Japan he knows more than I do in more than three years in America. That is saying a lot.

I hope that could be some encouragement for you as you go. A lot of the culture differences you can probably work out as you settle into society. But if there's one thing I could stress to you, is that you need not worry about learning the language. You will learn, and at a very good level. I know that if you have the will, you will end up learning the language very well.

I think your choice is a very admirable one. You are going into a place to which your knowledge is limited. That is very daunting; it can be for me, too. I might feel intimidated even with my three years of knowledge. With your knowledge, it must be hard to have made that decision. But I think you'll like it a lot. Teaching can be most rewarding, especially to people who really strive to learn and listen to what you have to say. And I think now would be an appropriate time to reveal that that Japanese teacher (of the English language) is in Gifu. That's why I am so happy for you. I have some connections to that city, and the people there. I feel that if there's one place I could go in Japan and feel safe, and wanted, it would be Gifu.

Now as to a few pointers on Japanese. I think it would be pointless to tell you a million little phrases to learn. It sounds like you’ll be going soon, so my advice is to buy a phrasebook (Lonely Planet is a good one, and more user-friendly than others. About $8). And it is imperative that you bring a dictionary. You can get a good one for a reasonable price, though all are about the same, so I couldn’t make any great recommendations here. But don’t buy a pocket one. Buy a complete one. You can show somebody the words you are trying to communicate and vice versa. Just don’t get discouraged when learning it. If you listen to how things are said, and really focus on retaining the language, you will succeed in it. The phrasebook will get you by as you begin to learn the language. You will eventually reach a point where you won’t need it because your skills will be amazing. If you really study hard, you will come back to America with possibly a better grasp of the language than me (and by then, I will have four years of language).

And finally, culture differences. Once again, the phrasebook covers everything you really need to know about what to do and what not to do. And don’t worry about messing up. If you use common sense, there’s seriously nothing you could do that would truly offend somebody. After about a week, you’ll know the ropes. A bunch of stuff that anyone tells you won’t help when both they and you won’t know the situations that you’ll run into. True, there are some consistent no-no’s and some consistent things that are okay. But when it comes to a real-life experience, you’ll figure things out by inference, not by reading it in a book. So my final suggestion would to not be afraid. That sounds like a given kind of statement, for sure. But I am serious. You’re going to find some things that are weird, or different. You are giving Japan a try; that’s a great step. But make sure you really give the customs a try in Japan. I think you’ll find your experience very rewarding, and I hope you do. I am happy for you because I know you will love it.

Answer 4

Gifu-shi! A lovely place, Gifu. I'm sure you'll find much that will interest and astonish you.

Advice: especially if you're female, take as many pairs of shoes as you can. Be certain that that are not perfectly new, or you will be charged duty...which is breathtakingly high. Why the focus on shoes...? Because Japanese feet may be as long as ours, but they are VERY much wider; the standard width is EE, as opposed to our M. I swear I am not making this up. I spent a good deal of my time in Japan trying to get shoes to fit me properly.

Good luck to you!

Answer 5

Don't bring any shoes that you cannot take on and off with one hand while holding something heavy in your other hand. Trust me on this:) It can also be nice to have your own set of indoor slippers. Some private houses wont have guest ones. Even if there are guest slippers, it's nice to wear your own as they will fit and not have had other feet in them.

Many bathrooms do not have towels. In the cities especially, people are expected to carry a wash cloth with them to wipe and dry their hands. You don't need to bring one from the US, though. You will find a great selection in every train station.

Take and give money with both hands, same goes for bussiness cards. Have some bussiness cards of your own printed up, with your email and other personal info. People like to exchange these.

Before going over I read over and over again that you really should bring some items from your hometown to give as gifts. The Japanese are big on gifts. People we met in hostels give us little tokens and other random gifts and I really wished I'd had things to give them in return. They don't need to be spendy or big, but it is very appriciated if they relfect something of the place you are from.

Unless you are tiny bring lots of clothes. It is very hard for Americans to clothes shop over there.

I hope you have a great time!

Answer 6

I didn't speak a word when I got here either! Try this site, it's fairly new - but it has recent news combinrd with teaching English anecdotes. There are also a lot of links...

http://web.mac.com/cms.sage

Answer 7

Try reading http://www.gaijinsmash.net/ for an idea of what life is like for an American teaching in Japan. At the very least it'll keep you from freaking out at the first kancho bandit :-)

Answer 8

Try Mitarashi dango.

http://kamekichi.cocolog-nifty.com/sake_to_ryouri/images/mitarasi.jpg

Answer 9

If someone offers you Getimono, politlely decline. (it's basically dare-eating for sport, and is not the same thing as sushi, which is awesome). Unless of course, you like eating things that look at you while you are doing it.

Answer 10

Bring me back a souvenir. ^_^