David K Koppe's Blog

Posted by David K Koppe

I'm back in Canada again, and there are a few things I wished I had done or kept on doing. In Japan many things are easily accessible to you. The things you thought were cool, the reason you initially went to the country. I loved the language, but I did not study it enough. I studied a little bit, but not nearly enough. I joined an Aikido club but only went for one month. It was great fun, but I had to wake up so much earlier in the morning and could not be bothered. A friend of mine took up Taiko (Japanese drums) and that also looked like a lot of fun.

Now that I am in Canada I miss all these things, even though I was totally surrounded by them in Japan. Yet in Japan I was just wasting my days away drinking, partying and messing around. I did get a lot of sight seeing done, but I had oodles of spare time on my hands which I could have easily filled with other endeavours.

When you are in Japan, be sure to learn the language, there are many places to study and practice conversation. It just takes time to get there by train. I wanted to have cheap rent, so I lived out of the city - all these things are most easily accessible in the city - so having to go into the city to do them was too much of a bother.

When in Japan, if you want to save money, it is best to be in the country side - but if you want to have an experience of a lifetime (which is priceless in my opinion), find a place in the city. You will be able to take in so many sights and sounds, and learn a multitude of different things. Origami, Flower Arrangement, Tea Ceremony, and Kimono Dressing are a few of the many different hobbies women in Japan enjoy. Almost all of the other things I've mentioned up to here are also women-friendly. The women in Japan may be lost in the 60s in many ways, but in hobbies they've got the men beat.

Check out YouTube and watch some "Shiota Gozo" videos. He is the most famous Aikido master in Japan. Unfortunately he died in 1994. This is the stuff you want to get into when in Japan - forget about the drinking and partying for a bit, and check those videos out.

Posted by David K Koppe

I spent over two years abroad. I did a month in taiwan before I left, and I stayed in Japan about 3 months after I left the English school. Another six weeks was spent travelling around China and Hong Kong. So that's a good 2 and a half years away from home..

yeah how is china? where are you at? how are your classes/working hours? make any good chinese friends? I guess its kind of tough to discern who would be a real friend and who would just want to be around you because of your foreign status... I have many relatives in China who all want me to help them immigrate to Canada... its pretty tough.

Now I'm on the Wii Mall promotions tour. So I'm hanging out at my local mall for 7 hours a day promoting the Wii. I'm playing with people and showing them how to play, handing out swag and explaining the system to them. Its good fun.

After that's finished I dunno what I'm going to do.

My Japanese girlfriend is here with me in Canada. She's looking for work, and got into the country on a working holiday visa. : ) so we're testing the "living together" waters....

It was pretty sad to leave Japan. I had so many good experiences there that could not be replicated anywhere else. But you have to go; you know? Its like a dream world - you can stay there, but you'll be perpetually caught in this dream... I want to be brought back to reality - so I came home.

The life of an English teacher is pretty damn easy out there. You can save enough to have a very comfortable life. But that's just it - comfortable. It won't be challenging - just mind numbing comfort. I can't stand that. Not until I'm in my 40s or 50s anyways.

Thats my take! : )

Posted by David K Koppe

I've been thinking a lot recently about how much time I waste being unproductive. I spend hours playing video games and watching TV. I like to think that I watch less TV than your average person, but recently that hasn't been the case. I've been indulging in Venture Brothers, South Park and Entourage... There are others I'd like to watch as well, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, to name a couple.

I want to spend more of my time doing things like learning how to play guitar, writing manuals and honing my writing skills. I spend so much of my time wasting away. It's a very bad habit.

While in Japan there are so many productive things to do. You can learn origami, taiko (Japanese drums) and Japanese language. Its a great language to learn, lots of fun, because of how different it is from English. Also martial arts are very popular in Japan, Aikido, Judo and Karate are practiced everywhere.

While I was in Japan, I did a few of these things, but not nearly as much as I should have. I just watched the time go by. Now I'm back home in Vancouver and I don't want to let the same thing happen again. Learning something new keeps things interesting - we have to keep learning new things if we want to live long lives. I'm a firm believer that an active brain will keep your body active as well. My dad is almost 73 years old; and he looks as young as ever.

I'll be lucky if I ever reach his age and attain his level of virility.

Posted by David K Koppe

I graduated from Simon Fraser University in May 2004, with a BA. I majored in English, and barely scraped together a minor in History. Stepping out of the university, and into the real world, I realized that I did not have any specific plan in regards to a life-long career or vocation. Nor was I of the age when one wants to settle down into a life-long job. I wanted adventure, I wanted to move out of my parents' house, I wanted to go to Japan! I opened up Google.ca, and typed "teach English in Japan". The first result that came up was a company named GEOS. I applied, was scheduled in for an interview session, and was on my way to teaching English in Japan.

What I did not know at the time was that there are many English schools in Japan, an innumerable amount really, and that GEOS was just one of four major conversation English schools. I did not do any research, did not check up on any of the other companies, did not attempt to contact any current or previous English teachers with experience in Japan; I did not take any precautions. I just clicked, set up an interview, and left. What I found when I came to Japan was that I could have made a much better, more informed opinion, if I had taken some time to research the different companies offering the same type of work.

If you, or anyone you know is planning on going to Japan, or anywhere in Asia to work, I would like to offer some advice. Having taught there for two years, I obviously know more about Japan, but I still have a fair bit of knowledge about conditions of work in other countries, like Thailand, China, Taiwan, and Nepal. I have done quite a bit of research in the area of English teaching in Asia. I would like to go back one day and do it again; but this time I would do it right. If I were to go back and teach English in Japan I would do many things differently. Bookmark this page if you want to find out!