Well, I got some reassurance yesterday from the folks in Yamanashi-shi, half a week after I did some interviews for a plan B which would involve being part time at three places until September when I could start working at a junior high school full time. I got offers from all three of them so should plan A fall through there's always this. Anyway, yesterday I was told that the contract Yamanashi-shi (plan A) wants for me apparently just needs to be cleared by the head of the Board of Education before they can make an offer. So that's good news.
In other news, the year is winding down at my school. Next Thursday, the third years (9th graders) take their big high school entrance exam. In Japan, everything leads up to this in junior high, as this test decides which high school they can go to, which decides which college or job they can go to. So, the high school entrance exam is pretty important for those who haven't already tested into private schools. Anyway, they will graduate the following Tuesday, leaving two more weeks of school for the first and second years. They get the last week of March off before they advance to a second and third years and welcome the new first years.
I've been told to expect a lot of free time at work and March, as I will no longer have third years and the other grades will be undergoing a battery of tests to close out the year. I'm sure they'll do fine though. The kids at my school are pretty bright. Well, I guess that's all for now. More at a later date.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
A Special Interview and Nagoya
Well, I had an interesting weekend. Last Friday was national Foundation day, so I had a three day weekend, which I decided to spend visiting Amelia. I had planned to go to Nagoya on Thursday night in order to get the full benefit of the holiday. However I got a call on Thursday which made me change my plans.
I need to backtrack here a little. Last Wednesday, I received a call from the Yamanashi City Board of Education. They had received my application and wanted to interview me on the morning of Thursday the 17th. I told them that this was impossible as I'd be at work. Then, they explained that they had been chosen by NHK (Japan's public broadcasting station) as the subject of a piece comparing Boards of Education that hire through dispatch companies and those that do direct hire. They wanted to film an interview, and the Yamanashi-shi BoE wanted to interview me. I explained that I would love to, but can't take personal days because I'm not allowed any by my current company, as they have already chosen all my days off for me. I said I would be more than willing to do the interview any weekend of their choosing.
Back to last Thursday, I got a call at lunch asking if I could interview the following morning. I accepted after getting the impression that it was then or never. So, I will apparently appear on national television in Japan on February 22nd between 7:45 and 8something local time. I'm not sure if my face will appear or if it will just be the back of my head. Apparently there was some confusion about the BoE's stance on that. Regardless, the interview went pretty well and I got the impression they weren't really considering anyone else at this point. I may not need to continue looking for jobs, but I guess time will tell.
Anyway, I went to Nagoya on Friday after all the business in the morning accompanied by Lana and a good time was had by all. We went to Nagoya Castle and a place called Osu Kanon which was a temple that ran opened into a "shopping arcade" on Saturday. Then on Sunday we went to Atsuda Shrine, one of the most famous shrines in the country.
Lana and Amelia in front of an entrance to Atsuda Shrine.
A nice old tree at Atsuda Shrine.
A more recent building at Atsuda Shrine. There were a lot of things going on the day we were there, including a wedding and some ceremonies for babies who were one month old.
I neglected to take my camera to Nagoya castle, but I did take some pictures on Amelia's camera, so maybe I can add some of those to this post at a later day. We had planned to go to Ise , maybe the most famous shrine in the country, but we didn't end up having time for it as it's kind of out of the way. Anyway, that's it for now. I'll say morea bout the interview/job/tv appearance when I know more.
I need to backtrack here a little. Last Wednesday, I received a call from the Yamanashi City Board of Education. They had received my application and wanted to interview me on the morning of Thursday the 17th. I told them that this was impossible as I'd be at work. Then, they explained that they had been chosen by NHK (Japan's public broadcasting station) as the subject of a piece comparing Boards of Education that hire through dispatch companies and those that do direct hire. They wanted to film an interview, and the Yamanashi-shi BoE wanted to interview me. I explained that I would love to, but can't take personal days because I'm not allowed any by my current company, as they have already chosen all my days off for me. I said I would be more than willing to do the interview any weekend of their choosing.
Back to last Thursday, I got a call at lunch asking if I could interview the following morning. I accepted after getting the impression that it was then or never. So, I will apparently appear on national television in Japan on February 22nd between 7:45 and 8something local time. I'm not sure if my face will appear or if it will just be the back of my head. Apparently there was some confusion about the BoE's stance on that. Regardless, the interview went pretty well and I got the impression they weren't really considering anyone else at this point. I may not need to continue looking for jobs, but I guess time will tell.
Anyway, I went to Nagoya on Friday after all the business in the morning accompanied by Lana and a good time was had by all. We went to Nagoya Castle and a place called Osu Kanon which was a temple that ran opened into a "shopping arcade" on Saturday. Then on Sunday we went to Atsuda Shrine, one of the most famous shrines in the country.
Osu Kannon. Temple on the left and on the right...
...the shopping arcade. It's a covered stretch of tiny shops and eateries.
...the shopping arcade. It's a covered stretch of tiny shops and eateries.
Lana and Amelia in front of an entrance to Atsuda Shrine.
A nice old tree at Atsuda Shrine.
A more recent building at Atsuda Shrine. There were a lot of things going on the day we were there, including a wedding and some ceremonies for babies who were one month old.I neglected to take my camera to Nagoya castle, but I did take some pictures on Amelia's camera, so maybe I can add some of those to this post at a later day. We had planned to go to Ise , maybe the most famous shrine in the country, but we didn't end up having time for it as it's kind of out of the way. Anyway, that's it for now. I'll say morea bout the interview/job/tv appearance when I know more.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
A Couple weeks of Applications
This past week was spent mostly working out what I will be doing as of April, as my current contract expires at the end of March. I love my current school more and more each week, but I'm also less keen on the company after every monthly meeting. In case I haven't clarified before, I am a dispatch worker, which means I work for a company that the Mito Board of Education contracts to find ALT's for its schools. So, I work at a school for this company, an arrangement I'm not particularly fond of, hence my recent applications to other places.
I suppose I should start off with the interview I had Saturday before last. It was in Yamanashi Prefecture just south of Kofu the prefecture's capital. The company is an Eikaiwa School (English Conversation School. Amelia works at one of these). they're usually places where parents take their preschool and elementary school children for English exposure and some junior high kids whose parents want them to get a leg up on the competition for high school entrance exams. This particular school is very small (only around 90 students) and is operated by a couple in their late 40's or early 50's. They were extremely nice and are apparently losing 4 of their 5 current foreign (native English) teachers in April, as their contracts are up and they're headed for their respective homes. Anyway, the interview went well and I need to wait for them to figure out what they'll have available they are growing considering expanding their operation, so they said they'd get back to me when they knew if they were offering a part or a full time position.
Another adventure I had this week was trying to write a Japanese resume. To balance the difficulty of it being Japanese, the format for a resume here is standardized so it's harder to go wrong. Also, one thing I really liked about it was the absence of trying to make your job sound more impressive than they truly were. You just put the position, company, and dates and save the self aggrandizing for the interview. I sent that in to two Boards of Education that do direct hiring which I hope will help me avoid repeating my current situation.
So this leaves me waiting to hear from half a dozen people. As for this weekend, I will be visiting Amelia in Nagoya, so that should be fun. Other than that, not much news to report. I'll keep you posted as things develop so I should hear back from people over the next few weeks. Until next time.
I suppose I should start off with the interview I had Saturday before last. It was in Yamanashi Prefecture just south of Kofu the prefecture's capital. The company is an Eikaiwa School (English Conversation School. Amelia works at one of these). they're usually places where parents take their preschool and elementary school children for English exposure and some junior high kids whose parents want them to get a leg up on the competition for high school entrance exams. This particular school is very small (only around 90 students) and is operated by a couple in their late 40's or early 50's. They were extremely nice and are apparently losing 4 of their 5 current foreign (native English) teachers in April, as their contracts are up and they're headed for their respective homes. Anyway, the interview went well and I need to wait for them to figure out what they'll have available they are growing considering expanding their operation, so they said they'd get back to me when they knew if they were offering a part or a full time position.
Another adventure I had this week was trying to write a Japanese resume. To balance the difficulty of it being Japanese, the format for a resume here is standardized so it's harder to go wrong. Also, one thing I really liked about it was the absence of trying to make your job sound more impressive than they truly were. You just put the position, company, and dates and save the self aggrandizing for the interview. I sent that in to two Boards of Education that do direct hiring which I hope will help me avoid repeating my current situation.
So this leaves me waiting to hear from half a dozen people. As for this weekend, I will be visiting Amelia in Nagoya, so that should be fun. Other than that, not much news to report. I'll keep you posted as things develop so I should hear back from people over the next few weeks. Until next time.
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