It is highly possible if you take intensive summer courses - which not all universities offer. Otherwise, it`s generally pretty difficult with homework later on.
I managed to get my degree (Majored in Linguistics, minor in Child Development - thesis was on second language acquisition.) in 3 years. I crammed every prerequisite I could manage into the first year, and tested out of as many as I could. I don`t think I actually studied anything related to my degree in the first year.

Lol, I wish I had that kind of carefree attitude.

Well, it's nice to see your doing fine. I don't plan on settling in Japan until maybe I'm 21 or so, I have plenty of matters to settle and do while I'm here, might as well make the best of it. As for learning Japanese, I plan on taking self-taught lessons and online courses for the time being and then take intensive courses in Japanese when I arrive there as well. By the way, how's life treating you Nyororin?

oh i may be a lot of things but carefree is not one of them. i went to a vocational/magnet high school and graduated with a double major in IT related fields. this was all during the .com boom, and we were told our skills would guarantee us fat salaries right out of high school. i took a few classes at community college but then dropped out to focus on my career. shortly afterwards everything took a shit, all those jobs dried up and the field was flooded with skilled people out of work. now everyone wants you have a BS in computer science while earning less than $15/hr.

but honestly i'm glad that i dropped out of college early. gave me time to discover myself and my real passions. i'm pretty much done with IT. i've been doing it for as long as i can remember. never worked anywhere in my life other than computer shops or offices doing IT work. don't know what else i'm going to do, but the plan is to hopefully be accepted at TUJ and major in economics. with 4 years of residency out of the way, if i can find a job and stay another year i'd be eligible for permanent residency IIRC.

those of you who are young and still in school should feel lucky if you know what you're going to do already. i've got a big decision to make. i have my car and my stuff and my job and my friends etc; i've established a life and a career. do i just drop everything, drown myself in debt, head off to some country i've never even visited, where i don't know anybody, where i can't speak the language (much less read a damn thing)? it's scary. really the scariest thing i've ever gotten in to. but Japan is in my heart and it will never go away. i feel like this is my only chance and i better not fuck it up.

blah. sorry about the rant :o

Bachelor of Arts in Global Communications, minoring in Linguistics.

Like the previous post mentioned, CIRs are paid the same as ALT. I want to be a CIR because I want to work in an environment where I can use and practice my Japanese on constant basis in the workplace. It has always been my goal to be completely fluent and literate in Japanese. I also like the job tasks that the CIRs perform rather than the ALTs. The ALT job is a bit of a mixed bag; you might actually be planning and teaching an English course yourself (technically illegal, but it's done in many places), or you might just be the so-called "Human Tape Player".

Also as mentioned before, the bigger cities don't get many CIRs. The biggest cities in Japan are already 'internationalized' to an extent, so thats why most CIRs live and work in the smaller cities. Either way, I'd prefer to go to a smaller city in Japan (not quite rural Japan, but in between). It's in the smaller cities that you really get to experience the heart and soul of Japan, as it were. Tokyo is a fun place to be, but it's just too busy and too international for me.

You make me raise my eyebrows at the first remark - but... Okay.

Life is quite nice for me right now. Is there anything specific you`d like to know about it?

: )

I read alot of this and only makes me want to go to Japan more.

I'm only 16 right now but I plan on moving a few years after high school.

@ Nyororin

how many hours do your husband work per day?
my boyfriend works 10 /day.
he says thats normal in japan.
for me its very much..

how is you everyday life. don t you miss your husband?
i could imagine that it could be sometimes hard for you to stay all day long, more or less alone with your child.
please, dont misunderstand me. i only want to know how you feel.
do feel lonely sometimes?
seems like you don t .

i m thinking about going to japan only because of my boyfriend.
but i m thinking about the disadvantages of doing that too.
maybe you are a person who could explain my future everyday life in japan.

No really, it's great to see you doing fine now. Hmm, about the question, since I'm also planning on studying Japanese in Japan as a regular everyday person and not as a student, I remember you saying they offer a handful of classes there in the city, so I was wondering is it free and can I just walk in and attend or is there some sort of application process there as well? I have plenty of questions, just can't seem to think of any at the moment. Also, just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to answer my questions, its been very helpful and much appreciated.

That depends entirely on the level of work at the time. Sometimes he is busy, sometimes he comes home as soon as the day is over. When the company isn`t busy, he works from 9 to 6. When they are busy, from 9 to 11. I`d say around 1/3rd of the year is busy. The rest is quite normal.

This is probably the most difficult to answer question ever. It`s normal, everyday, life.

Is there a reason I should? He comes home after work, and is at home on weekends. If he weren`t working, I would have to work, so either way we`re not going to be together all day long.

No, I don`t. I also don`t sit around at home all day alone with my son. I leave the house quite regularly and do things.

Everyday life is as varied in Japan as it is in every country. I don`t imagine everyone lives the same type of life in your country, so what sort of life you would lead in Japan is totally up to you.