Trip report - Cebu City & Bohol

[Bob_S]

30 is not too old to go to Japan to work in an Eikaiwa (English conversation school).  It gets you into the country for at least a year, longer if they like you.  The pay is crap but you can live on it and get out and see the country.  And meet girls, lots of girls.  I met quite a few male teachers who joined an eikaiwa for the intended purpose of eventually meeting a girl to marry and bring her home when his visa expired.

Besides, why not follow your heart?  If Japanese pop culture is your thing, that's where your heart is.  Additionally, a J-wife would be more understanding of your massive collection of Studio Ghibli, Gundam, One Piece,  or Full Metal Alchemist DVDs.  But a South American wife?  She'd wonder what's wrong with you. 

Anyway, that's my plug.

[kennumen]

30 is not too old to go to Japan to work in an Eikaiwa (English conversation school).  It gets you into the country for at least a year, longer if they like you.  The pay is crap but you can live on it and get out and see the country.  And meet girls, lots of girls.  I met quite a few male teachers who joined an eikaiwa for the intended purpose of eventually meeting a girl to marry and bring her home when his visa expired.

I've considered that at some point (mostly, but not exclusively, for Japan). English is my second (chronologically third) language but at the risk of sounding cocky, getting an ESL should be fairly easy. The big thing is of course the pay is crap. I'm not paying off a mortgage, saving towards my pension or adding to my general savings nugget. I'd be lying if I said it's not tempting but in the balance of things I've decided against it for now. It does remain an option though, we'll see how my career, housing situation and romantic life evolve in the next few years.

For the sake of sating my curiosity, can you work at an Eikaiwa without first learning the destination language (Japanese here)? I imagine an English only school would be a type of immersion type thing reserved for a "small market" (few teachers needed) of the higher level students.

Besides, why not follow your heart?  If Japanese pop culture is your thing, that's where your heart is.  Additionally, a J-wife would be more understanding of your massive collection of Studio Ghibli, Gundam, One Piece,  or Full Metal Alchemist DVDs.  But a South American wife?  She'd wonder what's wrong with you. 

Anyway, that's my plug.

Is it my heart? It's definitely interesting but - like a true catch 22 - I can't really know without going. As for the DVDs, digitize and archive in non-descriptive cardboard boxes in the attick. No scratches on the DVDs, instant access and seek time, and lesser proof of my inner otaku But hiding that I'm a nerd... That ship has sailed like 25 years ago...

Thanks for the plug though, alternate viewpoints are always interesting.

[Bob_S]

I'm not paying off a mortgage, saving towards my pension or adding to my general savings nugget.

Yeah, before I went I made sure I had all my debts paid off and still had a few $1000 in walking around money to take with me, to last until the meager paychecks started coming in.  When I left Japan, I was probably up at most a grand.  But I did lots of travel and sightseeing and wasn't there to make money.  All the engineers there took a pay hit just for the adventure.  The only eikaiwa teachers there to earn a living were people with teaching degrees who couldn't find a regular job back home.

For the sake of sating my curiosity, can you work at an Eikaiwa without first learning the destination language (Japanese here)? I imagine an English only school would be a type of immersion type thing reserved for a "small market" (few teachers needed) of the higher level students.

You not only don't need Japanese skill, it is preferred that you don't.  All Japanese take English in school to learn the formal grammar rules and vocabulary.  But they can't speak worth squat.  So they come to eikaiwa to practice speaking with an actual fluent speaker (native is best, but if you can speak at near fluency without too much of a regional accent, that will work).  The schools actually insist that their foreign teachers use no Japanese in class.  The only time I used my minuscule Japanese skill was outside of the school.
There's still a big market for these schools, though it is a bit saturated.  My students ranged from kids who spent years overseas and their parents didn't want them to lose the English they picked up to salarymen who need it for their work with foreign businesses to just bored housewives and retired people looking for a hobby.

[kennumen]

Yeah, before I went I made sure I had all my debts paid off and still had a few $1000 in walking around money to take with me, to last until the meager paychecks started coming in.  When I left Japan, I was probably up at most a grand.  But I did lots of travel and sightseeing and wasn't there to make money.  All the engineers there took a pay hit just for the adventure.  The only eikaiwa teachers there to earn a living were people with teaching degrees who couldn't find a regular job back home.

Like everything in life it's a choice. You certainly got what you were there for and then some

You not only don't need Japanese skill, it is preferred that you don't.  All Japanese take English in school to learn the formal grammar rules and vocabulary.  But they can't speak worth squat.  So they come to eikaiwa to practice speaking with an actual fluent speaker (native is best, but if you can speak at near fluency without too much of a regional accent, that will work).  The schools actually insist that their foreign teachers use no Japanese in class.  The only time I used my minuscule Japanese skill was outside of the school.
There's still a big market for these schools, though it is a bit saturated.  My students ranged from kids who spent years overseas and their parents didn't want them to lose the English they picked up to salarymen who need it for their work with foreign businesses to just bored housewives and retired people looking for a hobby.

Now that's interesting. It also sounds a bit like a catch 22... Either immersion works on you and despite a full-English day job you learn the local lingo, thereby making you less liked for your job, or the immersion doesn't work and you don't get what you came for. Maybe that's how teachers get cycled out.

My English should be good enough. My spoken English has been sliding a bit due to disuse (it can take me a while to think about the vocab and getting it from the brain through my mouth) but it's fluent. Americans either don't hear an accent or they hear an (American) accent but can't quite place which state it's from. Maybe there is a red string on my pinky... I have a decent job in a crisis with fairly good future but you're still tempting me

[E. Anthony]

Tomorrow my flight leaves around 8pm. I should take a taxi by 4, 4:30pm at the latest. Hotel checkout is around noon at the latest. I'm not going to be difficult about it, just wake up, shower, get breakfast, pack my things and chill until noon. After what I've been through on this trip, waiting an additional 4 hours is nothing. I doubt they have anything to see or eat in Mactan Intl airport but I'll certainly find out. Have about 2000 peso left, mostly small bills (made a point of that). Hotel includes 10% service fee so I'm not sure how that affects tipping. Might leave a little bit, not happy with the hotel but the staff were very nice. If/when I do come back [to the Philippines] I'll have small bills to pay taxis.

A few more 'random' notes I forgot to add in earlier posts.
* Filipinos in traffic and foot traffic are often quite rude. Every now and then you see someone letting sidestreest ahead (usually a jeepney) but for the most part there is one rule: honk twice and you have the right of way. Hell, honk twice and you can do anything. If you honk twice and you don't get your way, it's your right - nay, your duty - to go ballistic. Foot traffic - well you could say it's rude, or you could say relaxed. In a two way passageway, it seems people will do their utmost to walk next to each other in such a way as to block the entire passageway. Sometimes they'll stand their ground, often they'll give you the bare minimum of space at the last moment. It's quite curious really.
* There is quite a lot of green in the city. Perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised, it may well be just squatter areas cleared out and overgrown with green within a year or two (this being a jungle biome), but in the middle of a bustling city there are quite a bit of green areas still. I don't mean parks or recreational areas, just apparently vacant lots with plants and stuff.
* Most guards have a gun. I'm not talking about swat or army guys with full automatic rifles, just regular security guards guarding a hotel, a glass shop (lol), other shops, a mall, ... They're armed with anything from a flashlight to a handgun to a short bore double barreled shotgun. Forgetting for a minute just how many of them there are, I can't help but wonder what qualifications these guys need to bear a firearm. Given how many people have one, it's like they're giving them away...
* Which reminds me of another point - labor is very cheap here and it's pretty obvious. Tiny, empty shops with 3 employees in them are not a rarity. Security guards everywhere. Personnel everywhere. Now I'm going to say something dangerous because I've met quite a few hard-working filipinos, but sometimes I get the impression an employer would rather hire 3 people and have 2 of them twiddling their thumbs all day than hire 1 motivated, hard worker. I know it's an unjust impression but I just can't shake it. But in short, there are a lot more employees here, on average. Also, cleaning up after yourself is a nono. Pretty much any restaurant - even the very cheapest - you eat and leave, leaving your trash on the table.
* English is pretty widespread (though remember I'm in a big city). Sometimes it's very good any I forget it's still a second language and get smacked in the face with some word I have to hear 3-4 times. But even big companies have trouble with it. Grammar and spelling errors abound in menus, explanations, advertising, ... Even with actual american companies like McDonalds. It doesn't bother me but I do notice and find it interesting...

Well, that's about it. I'm sure I had some more stuff I wanted to say but forgot still. Can't have everything I'll see if I can post a post-mortem once I get back, but you might have to be patient about it.

I know the tomorrow was gone by now and you moved on heheheh.

[E. Anthony]

* Most guards have a gun. I'm not talking about swat or army guys with full automatic rifles, just regular security guards guarding a hotel, a glass shop (lol), other shops, a mall, ... They're armed with anything from a flashlight to a handgun to a short bore double barreled shotgun. Forgetting for a minute just how many of them there are, I can't help but wonder what qualifications these guys need to bear a firearm. Given how many people have one, it's like they're giving them away...

It is amazing that most guards can have a guy.

[CyberGlitch]

Even more funny is when I was in Davao a few weeks ago and the shotgun armed security guard at Jollibees. Seriously? Armed security at fast food. For half a second made me wonder about my small room right next door but then I didn't care. lol

[dot4igan3te]

I'm retired and have been living with my girlfriend in the Cebu City for 3 years now.   https://www.freeforeigndating.com/

[robert angel]

I'm retired and have been living with my girlfriend in the Cebu City for 3 years now.   https://www.freeforeigndating.com/

How about more 'tell' and less 'sell'? Presuming the post isn't a bot ->auto generated....

[Fosgate5]

This thread just wont die!