Quote:
Originally Posted by SHAD0W
Hey Pete, fellow Brit here from Yorkshire.
I agree with the second post, take some time to get used to Japan first before you set things in stone. I stayed there for 2 months in May/June last year and it's like a different planet. Yeah it's every bit as awesome as you think, if not more, but it's a very different place to live. First of all, the weather. I hate hot temperatures and thats British hot, not tropical hot. Temperatures were always around 30℃, even on days where it was totally pouring down with rain, or days when theres a grey overcast (like a typical day in England) the temperature would still be that high and it's crazy humid - and that's just in Spring time! Then theres the earthquakes. I had never experienced one (appart from that random one we had in England about 2 years back in the middle of the night) and it's quite scary. There's also the bugs. They're HUGE!
Can you keep up with the speed? Most cities I went to are like being in London, very fast and stressful.
I know my comments may come across as negative, but I had the most awesome time out there and I have no doubt you will too, but please go visit before you commit yourself to a lifetime of living on a different planet.
Also, 1-2 hours a day is not enough for conversational in 3 years. I've been studying Japanese that long now and every day that I don't study, I loose about a months worth of practice.
Try alljapaneseallthetime.com
I hope I've helped.
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Hey Shadow, East Yorkshire here!
Many thanks for putting things in a bit more perspective, and i guess it would be a mistake to just rush out there without spending a bit of time first to get to grips. I dont mind the hot weather, but humid and hot is different, this might be a challenge, only part that concerns me is the bugs! I dont mind eating them, had plenty whilst in china but they were on a plate! When theyre huge and crawling all over you and just in close proximity that I guess could be my biggest obstacle and one to overcome quickly!
I do remember the quake, lol! Woke me upp, id been out drinking and only had a couple of hours kip before had to go to work, was pretty amusing, guess its no comparison to the ones you would experience over in Japan!
Only thing that concerns me is that I would atleast be able to communicate with the locals, I mean not fluently, just how to get around, set up rentals for apartments, hire things and generally order in estaurants etc in their language, i was hoping three years with everyday study for 1 or 2 hours to achieve this. Not too worry, I may just have to work a bit harder, and I will most certainly check out the website you have suggested.
If you dont mind me asking, allthough you mentioned you stayed for 2 months in Japan, do you plan on returing? And are you keeping up with your study of the language?
Thanks.
Pete