Look
out Japan! Here I come.
That’s
right! The results are in. I am officially going to Japan en route with iTTTi Japan – Peppy Kids Club.
 |
| Mount Fuji |
That
ten day wait I mentioned previously actually became seven and even though I
haven’t an official start date as the iTTTi representative needs to confirm
dates with Human Resources, one thing is certain, and that is that I will be on
my way to the land of the rising sun.
It hasn’t
sunk in yet but you can bet that my brain has already gone into overdrive. I’ve
already made a long list of things that I’ll need to take care of between now
and then but fundamentally, I think I’m going to use this weekend to chill out
before going at it hard from Monday.
I
don’t know if I mentioned it, but I have a serious control-freak issue.
Don’t
worry. It’s not with reference to people, but with regards to how I deal with
planning, preparation and the like. I’m not the kind of person who leaves
things to the last minute so I fully expect that I’ll be good and ready to go
at least a month or so in advance.
But
we’ll see.
Sometimes
things don’t always go according to plan after all.
It
has been a long time coming. I think it was around late 2011 that I started
pondering teaching English overseas. I had considered doing a weekend TEFL
course but after speaking to my supervisor, she recommended that I try
something a little bit more solid. I did my research in early 2012 and found
the course in April/May of the same year. I read blogs. I read forums. I
emailed people and upon completing my Trinity Certificate in September 2012, I
decided that after I’d saved a substantial amount of money, I would begin my
search.
I’m
fortunate that I didn’t have to go through many interviews. And I’m also,
fortunate that I managed to find work in the country that I desired to go to
the most. So I would say to anyone pondering this journey to fight for it.
If
you want to go abroad, whether to teach or otherwise, keep persevering. Do what
you have to do to get there because you’ll feel a great sense of achievement
once you know you’re on the way.
As
for me. I’m about to start my own adventure.
Let the real journey of self-discovery begin...
Hello! I really enjoyed reading your blog and I was wondering if I could ask a quick question about PKC.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really a fan of the "inaka" countryside so if I mentioned that to the interviewer, do you think there would be a high chance of being placed in a location closer to the cities? I'm not expecting something like Nikko or Kamakura but perhaps in a medium sized town right outside the Osaka or Nagoya areas would be good. My friend got placed in an town half hour away from Kobe and I honestly wouldn't mind teaching there! Did you have a preference yourself or were you just sent off to Hiroshima?
Hello Gabriel.
DeleteLike most eikaiwa, they will certainly ask you your preference but the likelihood of them placing you where you requested is very slim. I only know of one guy that nearly got placed in his request location but at the last minute, this was changed.
Fundamentally, you have to accept what your given and be open to being placed in potentially rural areas. In particular, Kansai is a very popular request spot. I actually requested Kansai and ended up in Chugoku instead which isn't too bad because funnily enough I'm actually in a city.
Overall though, it's the luck of the draw.