Dad's work moved us to Japan

[kaistuck]

My dad works for Toyota, and back in January they told us they might have to move us somewhere else. They hadn't moved us before, but my dad did have to travel a long time to get to work every day, so we figured he was just going into Indiana or something. But then in late March they told us they were moving his section to japan!! i was really mad, I didn't know any Japanese (except "konnichiwa"), and all my friends and people at school thought it was cool, but moving to another country with a different language is so not cool. ok so we moved in april, had to sell our house and everything (that really sucked because my dad built that house and we really liked it), and Toyota shipped us off to japan.

we were stuck in the airport after the plane landed. our guide person (who spoke japanese and english) wasnt there and my dad was looking through a japanese dictionary trying to tell some short old guy that we needed a translator. he didnt get it though, so that was embarrassing. so we just kinda...sat there for awhile. some man from behind the luggage desk kept looking at us funny, but he finally came over and said "english?" and my dad nearly wet himself b/c he thought he finally found someone who spoke english. my dad said yes, and the man kinda gestured to my dad to sit down and wait a second, then he walked off and found this girl a few years older than me, like, 20 or something, and she started speaking in english so we were really happy and stuff. she had a really weird accent, she pronounced all her letters the same...i dont know it was weird. but eventually they got a hold of our guide person (another short dude), and he got a taxi for us and took us to this crappy apartment place in tokyo

we stayed in the crapfest for a couple weeks and a nice lady came and tried to teach me the basics of japanese (that was hell) so i could go to school and not be stupid, then we moved to the east end of tokyo (my dad was excited about that, he said he heard the east end isnt as crappy as whatever end we were at...our end didn't have a name, we were just the crapfest), and i got another tutor who will actually be here again in about an hour and i'm still in my pajamas...yeah, pretty lazy. anyway, i'm supposed to start school after this summer, and i still don't know hardly any japanese, so i'm screwed. my dad has to pay for the school (you dont have to in america, so he's pretty mad about that) and he was going to get a translator to follow me around at school but those are expensive, so he's looking for a electric dictionary thing to help me. wont be much help though i can hardly read half the letters, let alone understand them.

and so here I am now, I'm supposed to be doing the homework that the tutor gave me two days ago, but it frustrates me so screw it. anybody wanna do it for me? learning vocabulary, completing sentences, and learning the character things...it's in workbook.

[nice gaijin]

That sounds pretty rough; If the company compels someone to move out of their home country, they should take care of things like housing and school expenses. I had been studying the language for two years when I first visited Japan and I still felt lost... I can only imagine what it must feel like to be plopped in the thick of things with no language skills at all.

However, you can look at it two ways: you can be disappointed and angry with your new living situation, as you seem to be now, or you can see it as a new opportunity to have a unique experience, be it positive or negative. Don't go to school with a negative attitude, or you will instantly isolate yourself and close yourself to opportunities to make friends.

There are a lot of people who say they want nothing more than to move to Japan and live the life of a Japanese teenager; you could be the one to tell them how ridiculous that sounds to someone who is doing just that.

[Kakulin]

Seeing that you need to learn Japanese in a hurry tell your dad to get you the complete set of Rosetta Stone Japanese and Pimsleur Japanese; get also a good japanese dictionary. Then tell your tutor to just teach you kana, kanji, and grammar. With enough dedication (3 lessons of R.S. a day, 1 lesson of Pim. a day, 10 kanji a day, and etc.) you'll speak good Japanese in 3 months time just with that.

[leonmarino]

Pimsleur is indeed a good advice.. But man, you're going through some rough time aren't you! I can see you're angry and demotivated to do anything.. But as Nice Gaijin says, try to see the bright side and grab every opportunity you can to make this a positive learning experience!

[Uncle Frank]

A family from church with three teens got sent to Japan to help open the L.L. Beans store there. The teens wrote back to their friends how much they hated it there. When the 3 year job was over, all 3 teenagers refused to go back to the US. They fell in love with Japan and never wanted to leave. Give it a chance and you just may find it is a great place to be. It takes time to get used to anyplace new, especially where the language is different.

Uncle Frank



PS - Hope it works out, no fun being miserable. I'm sure members here will help you if they can.

[Elizabeth]

Originally Posted by nice gaijin

That sounds pretty rough; If the company compels someone to move out of their home country, they should take care of things like housing and school expenses.

Yeah, especially a gigantic conglomerate like Toyota. I know that Japanese are often given very little move time but I'm really surprised they don't apparently have better procedures for dealing with US-Japan foreign transfers.

You'll learn eventually I'm sure, because of your age and be able to speak well without an accent in a year or so....in the meantime try to do the work the tutor sets out and feel free to post anything here you don't understand or they don't cover enough.

[Mike Cash]

Is it your family's intention to send you to a Japanese public school? Most expats send their children to one of the many international schools so that they can be educated in English.

It's rotten that you got ripped up and dragged somewhere without having any input on the decision. On the other hand, be glad that you have an intact family; lots of kids don't these days.

One piece of advice:

You can't control what life throws at you. But you can control with what attitude you tackle what life throws at you. And that can make a hell of a lot of difference.

[Glenn]

Originally Posted by Mike Cash

On the other hand, be glad that you have an intact family; lots of kids don't these days.

I cannot possibly put into words how true that is.

Originally Posted by Mike Cash

One piece of advice:

You can't control what life throws at you. But you can control with what attitude you tackle what life throws at you. And that can make a hell of a lot of difference.

Again, words cannot do justice to the truth in this statement.

[DoctorP]

If this is in fact how things happened, I feel for you. My brother-in-law worked for Sony for many years and they moved him here twice and it was nothing like your experience.

I think that when all is said and done you will look back and realize it was a very enjoyable experience. You just have to make it through the rough waters!

[misa.j]

Hi kaistuck,
I'm sorry to hear about your situation. Unexpected changes can sometimes crush you hard mentally and physically, so take care of yourself.

Originally Posted by kaistuck

But then in late March they told us they were moving his section to japan!!

Does this mean that your dad's co-workers also had to move with their families? If so, you might be able to contact their kids in the same situation.

Which "ku" in Tokyo are you living in? Tokyo is a pretty small(geographically) city and easy to get around by trains.