Comments by "Gordon Graham" (@gordonbgraham) on "Why This American Chose Rural Japan For Life" video.

@Poodle_Gun I think it was your “I couldn’t imagine going to school for 15 years and not coming out a neurosurgeon” that was the intended slight. Not your wanting to become a translator. I merely wanted to caution you that would take years as it’s a job that requires not merely fluency but adult level literacy and adult level literacy takes native Japanese 10 years to achieve at minimum…and that’s with reading and writing around 5 hours a day in school. It was a caution not a criticism. Your comment seemed to mock my efforts and vocation, so I gave it the response I thought it deserved.
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@Poodle_Gun You’d be required to be university level literate in Japanese for that job. Keep in mind it takes an average of 10 years to attain that level of literacy for native Japanese. I obtained my teaching license from a Japanese university. It took me 15 years before I could qualify for the education program as I had to submit a 2000 word handwritten essay on 2nd language acquisition and its corresponding pedagogy in Japanese to satisfy the language proficiency requirement
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@multatuli1 I make the equivalent of $70,000 a year with 40 paid holidays per annum. When I retire I’ll receive a severance package of around $150,000. As an ALT, which is all you can be without a license issued by a Japanese university (a license from abroad is non-transferable), I would make half as much without the severance package and with half as many paid holidays. That’s in terms of remuneration. In terms of self-improvement and aesthetic enjoyment and fulfillment, well that’s hard to put a price on, but I quite enjoy the process of acquiring a 2nd language. I find it aesthetically appealing. Besides, if I hadn’t put in the time, time still would have passed, but would have done so without my having anything to show for it.
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@Poodle_Gun I didn't go to school for 15 years. I studied an hour a day, 5 days a week during one of my 2 hour breaks I have each day. Why would I want to teach? I'm writing now at the end of my 3 week holiday. I have 40 paid holidays per annum, above the 2 days off a week I have. I also love my job and after each long holiday, I look forward to going back to school rather than feel burdened by it. Kids practically sing hello to me. Everyone is friendly and enjoyable to work with. Also, I love English. I studied English literature in university, before entering Rikkyo University's education program and getting my teacher's license (which my school gave me a year hiatus and an interest free loan for). I also speak some Greek and am fluent in French. I find aesthetic pleasure in learning a foreign language. Learning Japanese was never a task, it was a pleasure. It still is. I still practice writing (outside of my necessary work related material) an hour a day, 5 days a week. I also play the guitar. I find it a similar feeling...that of being lost in the moment. It's wonderful. Regarding your suggestion of making friends who speak Japanese. I've met many foreigners who have lived in Japan for more than 10 years who aren't "fluent". I can count on two fingers the number I've met who are university level literate. That was my goal...being high school level literate. Not Canadian high school level...Japanese high school level. It was time well spent. Without my teaching license from a Japanese university I would only make half of what I do now, and not have the remuneration package and benefits that go along with full-time licensed status.
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@Poodle_Gun Well, it takes from elementary school grade 1 through to the end of junior high school for Japanese kids to be able to read a daily newspaper. So, we're talking about from age 5 to 15, 10 years to become junior high school level literate. That's with reading and writing daily for roughly 5 hours a day plus 音読 "onduku", reading aloud daily at home in front of parents which all kids throughout Japan must do in elementary school...daily (did I say daily?). If you want to become a translator in Japan, I'm afraid you're too late. AI has already made those jobs obsolete. I agree you can learn languages for a myriad of reasons. I have no use for Greek, but I studied it on a whim and quite enjoyed it. Anyway, most jobs in Japan that are outside of labour intensive jobs require literacy, which is one reason you'll find a lot of foreigners who live in Japan complain about how "xenophobic" or "racist" the Japanese are. They come to Japan as an ALT (assistant language teacher) or manual labourers with hopes of advancing beyond their low level, low status McJob. They realise that $2500~$3000 a month doesn't go very far in Japan. But they also realise that they're stuck because they're functionally illiterate. They then take out their frustrations on "the Japanese" claiming "xenophobia" or "racism", when in fact they have the reading and writing ability of a toddler. Whatever field you venture into in Japan, I recommend that you learn to read and write or you'll be stuck at the bottom of whatever company you're in. I certainly agree with you that I'd rather get paid less to look into the faces of smiling teenagers daily than into the cut open skulls that a neurosurgeon has to on a daily basis. Money isn't everything...but $70,000 which is what my salary is, is pretty comfortable
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@Poodle_Gun Did I assume you wanted to teach? I don't think I did. I think I just used myself as an example of how long it takes to become high school level literate in Japanese. I referenced my job as an example of the difference being literate makes in the workplace. Without the teaching license I would make half as much as I do now. It's similar in many fields outside of manual labour in Japan. To advance in the workplace requires literacy, and not simply "anime" level literacy, but native adult literacy. This is especially true for translators. Well, it would have been if not for the fact that translating jobs are becoming obsolete due to AI technology.
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@Jaev4 Skilled work in fields like engineering, bio-chemistry etc. are fields in which you can find Indians, Nigerians etc. What you can do for work in Japan depends on your human capital...that is what you know or can do that people will pay you for. If you DO go into teaching, I recommend getting a teaching license from a Japanese university as a license from abroad is non-transferable. Without a license you'll only be an ALT, which is a low paying low status McJob with no chance for advancement or raise in pay. The only catch with obtaining a teaching license from a Japanese university is all courses are conducted entirely in Japanese, so you have to be high school graduate literate in Japanese. Again...human capital.
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@ChrisG-om9uy Cheers, Chris✨
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@PherPhur 15 years to become high school level literate...meaning the ability to read and write at the same level as daily newspapers. Have at it...see how long it takes you. It takes native Japanese 10 years while studying 5 hours a day at minimum. I studied about an hour a day...Anyway, if you ever decide to learn to read and write in Japanese...you'll soon understand how long it really takes. Enjoy
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@afizi1213 Japan ranks 31st in the world for hours worked per annum. Most Japanese work standard 40 hour work weeks.
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@Pulsonar Thanks✨
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@afizi1213 The average cost of a home in Tokyo is $330,000. The average cost of a home in Toronto, Canada is 1.2 million. You can rent a one room studio apartment in Tokyo for as little as $250 a month. You’d be lucky to find an apartment for under $2000 a month in Toronto, where I’m from. Rent and mortgage payments take the largest chunk out of the average person’s cost of living…by far
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@afizi1213 Home ownership is out of reach for the working class in Canada, which is why they have 250,000 homeless while Japan only has 3,300 homeless despite having more than 3 times the population.
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@afizi1213 Japan ranks 31st in the world for hours worked per annum. The majority of Japanese work 40 hours a week, Mon~Fri, 9-5
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