Elle's Adventures

I am finally an official ALT.  I signed my contract yesterday, and everything is going so fast!  It is exactly one month until I leave and I don't know if I'm ready or not. I've been in contact with my supervisor, and found out that there are actually two positions in Kiso-machi; my contract is a newly acquired one.  For a while I was hoping that I would be the 'only foreigner in the village'.  Oh well, it'll be nice to have another native speaker in my vicinity. EDIT: Just found out that the other position is also starting in September.  Well hopefully it will be someone I can talk to, make friends with, a shoulder to lean on, etc.

The last time I went to Japan, I was really home-sick.  Recently I realised that I never really comprehended that I would actually have to leave .  It was quite silly really, now that I think about it.  However it's easy to do. The original plan this time around was for me to get a job, go over, and D would follow in about a month.  Things changed, and now he's decided to go over three months later.  Initally it was no problem, but now that the time for me to depart is getting closer and closer, once again I'm in the same situation.  Only this time, I'm going to be really alone.  No other exchange students who are in the same situation.  Everyday I think about how awesome and hard this is going to be.  But I know I'm going to a really lovely place, I'm going to be making new friends and my Japanese is going to be awesome...eventually! Plus there's Skype.  And until he gets there I'll keep myself busy and in contact, and time will fl...

Yesterday I finally heard back from the company; they've received my COE and will be forwarding it to me so that I can send it to the embassy in Melbourne to get a visa.  What's more exciting is that they are considering sending me to Kiso-mach, Nagano prefecture.  This position will be a mix of JHS and Elementary Schools!  It's a lot more rural than I was hoping for, making job possibilities for D a bit more difficult.  However, I think it will be perfect for my Japanese. There isn't a lot of information on the area itself out there, only the tourist attractions and mountains.  Once I have a definite placement there, I suppose ALTIA will send me some information on it.

Today was the final interview, which basically involved me speaking with the head of recruiting.  From what I have read so far, this interview is usually quite intimidating.  To be honest I didn't find it like that at all; it certainly wasn't as laid back and 'chatty' as the other, but nothing to be worried about.  Wish I had known that beforehand!  Twenty minutes ahead of schedule I was sitting in front of the laptop nervous as ever, checking my webcam constantly... Unfortunately as soon as contact was made I began having a few problems with my webcam.  Eventually I got it to work, but then because of our horrible internet connection it kept disconnecting.  In the end we just went off audio. As can be expected when there are two different interviews and interviewers, a few general questions overlapped...and then there were completely new ones.  I think I was mainly nervous because I had impressed the first interviewer so much, and was worried that...

Today I woke up extremely sore from a long walk Dede and I took yesterday, checked my email, and found one from the company.  Basically the interviewer highly recommended me for a job this year!  Now I have to organise a time to speak to the Head Recruiter to further sort things out and get the visa application process going!  I'm so excited!!!!

Yesterday was my first interview with a good company.  I had to travel from Hobart to Melbourne (and my wonderful Mum met me there!)...it cost me a lot!  Generally air fares are pretty cheap, but the process with the company has been extremely quick, so I didn't have much notice. Needless to say, I hope I get the job, otherwise it's an expensive day trip. Interviews can be really daunting, and I'm one of those people that get terribly nervous.  Beforehand Mum and I had lunch quite close to the interview location, which was the Westin Melbourne Hotel.  I wish, wish, wish I had brought my camera!  The cars parked outside surely must have been worth way over $100,000...they looked so expensive!  Walking into the lobby, I immediately saw my interviewer.  I asked if he was ------ (I'm sure he doesn't want his name splayed all over the internet), then introduced myself and Mum.  Mum went for a walk, so we went and sat down, and pretty much chatted ab...

On Saturday I am off to Melbourne to have an interview with ALTIA CENTRAL.  I don't know why I hadn't heard of this company earlier; their website is really informative, and it's obvious that a lot of effort has gone into it.  They certainly seem to care about their ALT staff.  The recruiter who contacted me after I applied through Gaijinpot seemed really nice from the email; I could tell that they actually read my cover letter and were genuinely interested in me! They seem to only have jobs in southern Japan, from Shizuoka to Hiroshima - this is perfect for me!  I never really wanted to live in Tokyo.  It's fun, but far too big and busy. I'm trying my best not to get my hopes up this time (like with Gaba), but it's really hard not to!  It's time to put my best foot forward and show them that they need me in their company. ...And besides, flights booked in less than a week have cost me about $400.  I need this job!