Life~
Hello!
Life is good in Japan. I'm on Spring break, which lasts until April (!!), so I'm free for a long time! Except my money is running out and I don't get a legit stipend for Feb/March, so I kind of have to pay for my own living expenses for two months. SHOCK. Also, I planned to travel, but we'll see how that works out. Originally I wanted to do Korea and Kyoto and Okinawa but it really seems like it'll be one or the other. T_T although mom has volunteered to give me some money, but I'm REALLY not sure how much money she meant, because she was gonna send me a box but then was like "maybe I should just put that money towards your travels instead" and I'm like "...$50?" which don't get me wrong is a good amount of money but in terms of traveling it's not going to be much. T_T; Idk. We'll see how that goes.
ANYWAY. My main reason for posting here today is because I have been thinking about real world stuff lately. One of my American ryuugakusei friends is graduating and going off into the world after she comes back from Japan and she's been on this epic job hunt lately, so it's made me think about what I want to do after I graduate. Granted, I still have one year left after I come back, but I feel like I should be thinking about this now. So like, I still don't know what kind of job I want or where I want to go. I just know ultimately I want to live in San Francisco and teach at a University, neither of which are really realistically doable directly after graduating from undergraduate school (because San Fran is WAY expensive and I have to go to grad school before I can teach at uni). I've thought about teaching English in Japan but more and more I find myself not really wanting to do that--the Japanese people don't seem that motivated to learn and the perks don't seem that great: the pay is low, programs are popular and hard to get into, you never know where you'll end up (and goodness knows I would DIE if I ended up in Hokkaido or something). Plus, despite how I like living in Japan, I think I really like the U.S., as freakin' weird as that sounds. After all this time obsessing about going to Japan since forever ago, I find that I don't want to spend my life here. Which I guess is understandable, because I am the type of person who likes stability and not so much change.
I mean there's nothing about the Japanese lifestyle that I don't like. It's actually quite fun and really convenient, and lord knows I love karaoke more than any other fun thing in the world. xD; But I just really miss America. I miss driving cars, eating cheese and steak and pizza without corn on it and real hamburgers (not that McDonald's is lacking here, really), American television (as much as I love Japanese television I do miss American Sitcoms and reruns of my favorite shows). I miss my friends and family, and frankly I don't want to be far away when big things happen. I want to be there when my sister has her first kid; I want to be there for my little brother's wedding; heck, I want people to be able to come to my wedding. xD; The more I think about it, the more I believe that I really prefer America.
Still, I want to experience a lot in my life before I settle down with something. I keep saying I want to have all of these awesome experiences so I can share them with my students when I'm a college professor, instead of being a boring professor who just teaches. You know? Idk. But I keep envisioning myself joining a company after I graduate and doing the 9 to 5 thing. I'm really not sure why. That's probably the one thing people don't see themselves doing. But for me, it's just something I keep seeing when I close my eyes. I mean, it'll hopefully be something I enjoy doing, maybe that has something to do with cultural relations or interpreting/translating or international business or something. I still will have to go to graduate school, but that comes secondary to working, because I'll be on me own for that and I have to save up money to pay my own way. So that's why I keep seeing myself in a company somewhere (preferably San Fran or New York, where maybe my skills will be most useful).
I know for sure I don't want to work for a Japanese company. If there's anything I learned this past semester from Gender & Society, it's that women in Japan do not make nearly as much money as men, nor do they get advanced to higher positions as often as they would in American companies. I do not want to be restricted by that. So I definitely want to work for a company that gives me equal opportunities, because I won't stand for any kind of prejudice, whether racial or sexual or other.
In any case, the idea of working for a company brings me to another issue: I need a legitimate minor. Already I have a Japanese minor down pat, which is fine, it comes with the EAS major. I could probably actually double major in Japanese and East Asian Studies, but I'd have to submit a self-designed major proposal because for some ridiculous reason we don't have a Japanese major program at Witt yet. Anyway, for minors originally I thought I'd just do something similar to EAS like Sociology or International Studies or Geography or something liberal artsy like that. But the more I listen to Keila talk about her job hunt and the more I hear from other friends who are graduating, I find that having those as a minor would be about as useless, job-wise, as not having a minor at all. So now I'm considering going for something totally different (but related), like Business or Economics, or maybe even totally off the wall like Geology (I actually happen to really like Geology lol), just to add something diverse to my repertoire. I don't want potential companies to look at me and say, "Oh...she doesn't have anything but research papers behind her." I want people to look at me and say, "Ohh, she's got a solid background in East Asian Culture and she knows something about business/management/economics." I'm leaning more towards economics or business because I always said when I was graduating high school, when people asked me what I could do with East Asian Studies, that I would go into international business. I was never sure, but that's what I said because it sounded the nicest. But now I'm considering it seriously.
But I didn't start any of it during college. I flitted around with my liberal arts major and didn't think about a minor until now, which might be too late. I'm kind of stuck in this little hole for now, because I've got this list of potential minors and each of their requirements, but I can't tell if I can do any of them yet because I have no idea whether or not I can get my EAS classes out of the way here in Japan. Honestly classes at Nichidai kind of suck a little bit in terms of qualifying for my EAS major. I took a Japanese society class, which is probably the only one that will count towards my major as an EAS elective class. I also took a class called "Korean Economic Development" but we only talked about Korean economic development for the first like 3 classes and then we got ridiculously sidetracked and talked about worldwide education and how to solve tensions on the Korean peninsula. x_x; AND it was only 2 credits, so if it counts toward and EAS economics course then I'll still need to take 2 credits in either Economics (again), Literature, Poli Sci, Communication, Psychology, or Geography, neither of which will probably be offered here are Nichidai. And if they aren't offered, then I'll just have to take another 4 credit class at Witt, rendering that other useless class kind of useless (although it was a pretty interesting class-the teacher had gone to North Korea and showed us pictures of it and stuff--another major diversion from the main topic).
So you can imagine my frustration. D; The good thing is, even if I can't take those last 2 credits for my major here, then I can take them in the form of a EAS Econ class at Witt which will go toward an Econ minor, which may decide whether or not I do an Econ minor or a Business minor. Geh. It's just so complicated, and as I'm sure you can tell, it all rides on what I can do in Nichidai, which is a shaky foundation.
And the scary thing is, I don't register for Nichidai's spring classes until the end of March, which is when I also register for NEXT FALL'S classes at Witt. T__T It's such a fine division, you guys, idek. I might stress really bad that week. Or play it super cool. Who knows, lol.
But on a side note, in the debate between Economics and Business, which I've only just (like right now xD) narrowed it down to, is kind of a rough one. Business might be better for what I see myself doing but Economics might be more interesting and/or relate-able to EAS. But Business has more class requirements, which don't cross over with EAS, so if I can't get that last EAS course in while I'm in Japan and it comes down to that one EAS Econ course, then I might have to automatically pick Econ. What also adds in is if there are any use-able honors classes in either semester for either minors or the major, but lord, I do not know if I can wait as long as second semester to take that last required honors class, because they might all SUCK and then I would be miserable for my last semester of college, and no one wants that. T__T I would love to consult with my adviser right now but it's useless because I don't know what that freakin' spring schedule would be yet NICHIDAI WHY DO YOU REGISTER THE WEEK BEFORE CLASSES START DUMBEST IDEA EVER
Ughhhhhh...for now all I can do is wait until I find out what my classes will be for the spring in Nichidai and then work from there. But I keep thinking about it so I can't just leave it alone and wait until the end of March! T__T *twiddles thumbs impatiently*
Anyway that's my rant about things I've been thinking about lately. >_>; Hopefully I didn't bore you and/or confuse you too much. xD; Wish me luck in being frugal and traveling these next two months and in sorting out this whole confusing matter! -_-;
Life is good in Japan. I'm on Spring break, which lasts until April (!!), so I'm free for a long time! Except my money is running out and I don't get a legit stipend for Feb/March, so I kind of have to pay for my own living expenses for two months. SHOCK. Also, I planned to travel, but we'll see how that works out. Originally I wanted to do Korea and Kyoto and Okinawa but it really seems like it'll be one or the other. T_T although mom has volunteered to give me some money, but I'm REALLY not sure how much money she meant, because she was gonna send me a box but then was like "maybe I should just put that money towards your travels instead" and I'm like "...$50?" which don't get me wrong is a good amount of money but in terms of traveling it's not going to be much. T_T; Idk. We'll see how that goes.
ANYWAY. My main reason for posting here today is because I have been thinking about real world stuff lately. One of my American ryuugakusei friends is graduating and going off into the world after she comes back from Japan and she's been on this epic job hunt lately, so it's made me think about what I want to do after I graduate. Granted, I still have one year left after I come back, but I feel like I should be thinking about this now. So like, I still don't know what kind of job I want or where I want to go. I just know ultimately I want to live in San Francisco and teach at a University, neither of which are really realistically doable directly after graduating from undergraduate school (because San Fran is WAY expensive and I have to go to grad school before I can teach at uni). I've thought about teaching English in Japan but more and more I find myself not really wanting to do that--the Japanese people don't seem that motivated to learn and the perks don't seem that great: the pay is low, programs are popular and hard to get into, you never know where you'll end up (and goodness knows I would DIE if I ended up in Hokkaido or something). Plus, despite how I like living in Japan, I think I really like the U.S., as freakin' weird as that sounds. After all this time obsessing about going to Japan since forever ago, I find that I don't want to spend my life here. Which I guess is understandable, because I am the type of person who likes stability and not so much change.
I mean there's nothing about the Japanese lifestyle that I don't like. It's actually quite fun and really convenient, and lord knows I love karaoke more than any other fun thing in the world. xD; But I just really miss America. I miss driving cars, eating cheese and steak and pizza without corn on it and real hamburgers (not that McDonald's is lacking here, really), American television (as much as I love Japanese television I do miss American Sitcoms and reruns of my favorite shows). I miss my friends and family, and frankly I don't want to be far away when big things happen. I want to be there when my sister has her first kid; I want to be there for my little brother's wedding; heck, I want people to be able to come to my wedding. xD; The more I think about it, the more I believe that I really prefer America.
Still, I want to experience a lot in my life before I settle down with something. I keep saying I want to have all of these awesome experiences so I can share them with my students when I'm a college professor, instead of being a boring professor who just teaches. You know? Idk. But I keep envisioning myself joining a company after I graduate and doing the 9 to 5 thing. I'm really not sure why. That's probably the one thing people don't see themselves doing. But for me, it's just something I keep seeing when I close my eyes. I mean, it'll hopefully be something I enjoy doing, maybe that has something to do with cultural relations or interpreting/translating or international business or something. I still will have to go to graduate school, but that comes secondary to working, because I'll be on me own for that and I have to save up money to pay my own way. So that's why I keep seeing myself in a company somewhere (preferably San Fran or New York, where maybe my skills will be most useful).
I know for sure I don't want to work for a Japanese company. If there's anything I learned this past semester from Gender & Society, it's that women in Japan do not make nearly as much money as men, nor do they get advanced to higher positions as often as they would in American companies. I do not want to be restricted by that. So I definitely want to work for a company that gives me equal opportunities, because I won't stand for any kind of prejudice, whether racial or sexual or other.
In any case, the idea of working for a company brings me to another issue: I need a legitimate minor. Already I have a Japanese minor down pat, which is fine, it comes with the EAS major. I could probably actually double major in Japanese and East Asian Studies, but I'd have to submit a self-designed major proposal because for some ridiculous reason we don't have a Japanese major program at Witt yet. Anyway, for minors originally I thought I'd just do something similar to EAS like Sociology or International Studies or Geography or something liberal artsy like that. But the more I listen to Keila talk about her job hunt and the more I hear from other friends who are graduating, I find that having those as a minor would be about as useless, job-wise, as not having a minor at all. So now I'm considering going for something totally different (but related), like Business or Economics, or maybe even totally off the wall like Geology (I actually happen to really like Geology lol), just to add something diverse to my repertoire. I don't want potential companies to look at me and say, "Oh...she doesn't have anything but research papers behind her." I want people to look at me and say, "Ohh, she's got a solid background in East Asian Culture and she knows something about business/management/economics." I'm leaning more towards economics or business because I always said when I was graduating high school, when people asked me what I could do with East Asian Studies, that I would go into international business. I was never sure, but that's what I said because it sounded the nicest. But now I'm considering it seriously.
But I didn't start any of it during college. I flitted around with my liberal arts major and didn't think about a minor until now, which might be too late. I'm kind of stuck in this little hole for now, because I've got this list of potential minors and each of their requirements, but I can't tell if I can do any of them yet because I have no idea whether or not I can get my EAS classes out of the way here in Japan. Honestly classes at Nichidai kind of suck a little bit in terms of qualifying for my EAS major. I took a Japanese society class, which is probably the only one that will count towards my major as an EAS elective class. I also took a class called "Korean Economic Development" but we only talked about Korean economic development for the first like 3 classes and then we got ridiculously sidetracked and talked about worldwide education and how to solve tensions on the Korean peninsula. x_x; AND it was only 2 credits, so if it counts toward and EAS economics course then I'll still need to take 2 credits in either Economics (again), Literature, Poli Sci, Communication, Psychology, or Geography, neither of which will probably be offered here are Nichidai. And if they aren't offered, then I'll just have to take another 4 credit class at Witt, rendering that other useless class kind of useless (although it was a pretty interesting class-the teacher had gone to North Korea and showed us pictures of it and stuff--another major diversion from the main topic).
So you can imagine my frustration. D; The good thing is, even if I can't take those last 2 credits for my major here, then I can take them in the form of a EAS Econ class at Witt which will go toward an Econ minor, which may decide whether or not I do an Econ minor or a Business minor. Geh. It's just so complicated, and as I'm sure you can tell, it all rides on what I can do in Nichidai, which is a shaky foundation.
And the scary thing is, I don't register for Nichidai's spring classes until the end of March, which is when I also register for NEXT FALL'S classes at Witt. T__T It's such a fine division, you guys, idek. I might stress really bad that week. Or play it super cool. Who knows, lol.
But on a side note, in the debate between Economics and Business, which I've only just (like right now xD) narrowed it down to, is kind of a rough one. Business might be better for what I see myself doing but Economics might be more interesting and/or relate-able to EAS. But Business has more class requirements, which don't cross over with EAS, so if I can't get that last EAS course in while I'm in Japan and it comes down to that one EAS Econ course, then I might have to automatically pick Econ. What also adds in is if there are any use-able honors classes in either semester for either minors or the major, but lord, I do not know if I can wait as long as second semester to take that last required honors class, because they might all SUCK and then I would be miserable for my last semester of college, and no one wants that. T__T I would love to consult with my adviser right now but it's useless because I don't know what that freakin' spring schedule would be yet NICHIDAI WHY DO YOU REGISTER THE WEEK BEFORE CLASSES START DUMBEST IDEA EVER
Ughhhhhh...for now all I can do is wait until I find out what my classes will be for the spring in Nichidai and then work from there. But I keep thinking about it so I can't just leave it alone and wait until the end of March! T__T *twiddles thumbs impatiently*
Anyway that's my rant about things I've been thinking about lately. >_>; Hopefully I didn't bore you and/or confuse you too much. xD; Wish me luck in being frugal and traveling these next two months and in sorting out this whole confusing matter! -_-;