Thanks all!
@125shifter
OSAKA!!!!
That is one crazy town. Different than Tokyo but way fun, especially if you like "noisy" people.
Osaka has some great drinking locations, even if you don't drink, I'd still recommend trying to go to a place in town, it is just so ... different. Don't do the hotel thingy, get out, eat at some of those wayside stand looking shops , try to see the concret castle, the TV tower, there is also "electronics town" NihonBashi which is almost as good as the one in Tokyo, the underground shopping complex in Umeda (get a map!!!), so much to do ....
2 major drinking areas: ShinsaiBashi and Umeda. Umeda is higher end and you should be able to run across "real" geisha ... these are not the Kyoto type so you can save money and get an almost genuine experience. No diddling with the ladies. It's all onboard. ShinsaiBashi has a famous bridge with a neon light of guy running through the the finish -- get your picture taken by somebody walking.
Beware of the guys and ladies trying to pull you into bars. You get no action and pay for expensive drinks just to have a girl sit next to you. There are red light areas to do that and that service is excellent and a low fear factor ... much safer than other asian countries. Don't ask how I know
This is just part of being a "Japanese guy".
Have fun!
@ back to topic
I've pondered the idea of doing higher education teaching (community level, +) Being not born in Japan I'd have to nail some of the bugs out of my grammar. However, I have tried my best to live the life as a "Roman" and have had many experiences well within the everyday range. Geisha, Kabuki and such are in Kyoto and are more like the going to Venice and participating in a Mask Ball. I'm not in the underworld scene but have friends that are ex-Yakuza and from what I've heard it's like old school Mafia. Thank goodness that Japan is relatively free from drugs and gangs. Living the "Japanese way" I thought would be interesting for folks studying about Japan. lolo, at times I think of Japan as being Bi-Polar
Then again. Many countries are. Like Hollywood vs. coal miners.
I'm not too keen on going full time as a teacher of regular school "English". It's not my passion. I love teaching and have worked hard to be able to teach English to Japanese but to fellow Americans lacks all the fun of teaching "culture and social skills" (haha, me ???
) These tangents make class interesting and exciting for me, otherwise I'd be thinking about all the great writers and ... nahhh
Which got me thinking about liason/consulting work. This would fufill my thirst for sharing what I know and teaching. I'd hopely also get a chance to travel back and forth. I don't think that being away for long would be really possible. This place is "home" to me now. hmmmm
As for mom and dad. I'm starting to get to that age to remember about family. So, yes, this has started to make me think even harder about what my priorities are and what country they should be in.
Toronto ... love the city and CNE there. I think it has somethign to do with easy immigration laws and being a major point of entry for the East coast while Vancouver gets the pacific rim traffic.
lolo, yes, SoCal is a bit out there. South LA more so than North of LA. why ??? But that does bring up the point. I will have to readjust to the "new" culture and "new" way of doings. I had culture shock at how everybody was "friendly" by saying "hi" ... lolo, that totally caught me off guard and I came across as some weirdo foreignor ... ughhhhhhhhhhh
@ Rob
Thanks!!!
I'm going to think about those numbers. I did this years ago when I first came and had worked my way up to good monthlies .... this last year my divorce took a lot out of me, lost my hoarded cash and took the wind out of me. But, the kick back and recover period has to end. Which is why I started hanging out here in OT. A lot of you guys are amazing.
I agree $100k is what I'll to make the transition back to SoCal work. However, I am willing to try other cities. SoCal is just a "comfort zone".
I'll be firing off an email late today! Thanks!