I have been here in New York now for just under six full years. Tomorrow I will leave. I don’t know exactly what to say about this; rather, there is too much to say, and it is hard to say it all at once, it is even hard to think it all at once. Perhaps I shall just start from the beginning, and go from there.
My first day in New York (as a resident, not a tourist) was August 26, 2001. In fact, upon first thinking about it, I thought that it was the 28th, but it was easy for me to find out the exact date, and correct my thought. On the way to the airport, early that morning (I suppose that it was about five oclock because I remember seeing the dark sky beyond the orange streetlights that followed along the freeway), in the car, news was airing that a popular music star, Aaliyah, had died in a plane crash. She was younger than my 23 years at the time. She had died the previous day. Having looked up the date of her death on the internet, it is easy for me to find the exact date that I arrived in New York. I suppose that the 28th sticks in my mind because, perhaps, that was the first day of school.
I came to New York to attend Columbia University, en route to earning a master’s degree in philosophy. I thought that I wanted to be a philosophy professor; in order to do that, I would need to get a doctorate degree in philosophy, thus, the master’s degree was the next step. (I imagine that I still want to get the doctorate and become a university professor, but it will have to wait for the future.) In fact, I had wanted to move to New York for a long time. In high school, I applied to New York University as an undergraduate, and I got it. I expected to go there, but it was far too expensive, and my parents could not afford it. (When I was a freshman in high school, my guidance counselor passed out a questionnaire that asked about our expectations about going to college. I put that I might go, rather than certain. I knew even then that finances played a huge role in whether or not I would go to college.) So I ended up going to Cal Poly, Pomona for undergrad, and having to wait until graduate school before I could move to New York. Such is how things happen, I suppose.
The master’s program at Columbia was structured so that it could be completed in one year. That year was the greatest year of my formal education. There were thirteen new graduate philosophy students, I think. Five of them were doctorate students, and the rest of us were master’s students. (Thinking about that, perhaps there were more than only eight of us master’s students, but I can’t be sure.) That year was great because it put me in my place; while at Cal Poly, I felt that I was the most brilliant philosophy student around, but having spent that year at Columbia humbled me a great deal. That was such a good thing, though, because I realized that there was so much more that I did not know or understand, so much more that I needed to learn. I loved the idea that the world before me was so much more vast with so much more to explore (this is an idea that still lives in me, and drives my soul).
The brilliance of the professors goes without saying. Akeel Bilgrami would walk into to class after all the students filled the room, some even sitting on the window sill as a seat. He never had anything in his hands, such as a bag or brief case or even a folder containing class notes. He put his elbows on the podium, an looked down for a moment, silently. Then he would lecture for the whole class time with such command of the subject matter that the words flowed so simply, as if delivered by an actor (in fact, someone had said that he had trained as an actor in his youth). Whenever he wrote anything on the board, the words would be in illegible scribbles, except once. I don’t remember the context, but he used as an example the phrase “Unpunctuality is the cancer of my soul,” and wrote it perfectly, so as to make clear to all of us that this aphorism meant so much to him.
Another professor that particularly left an impression was David Albert. I thought it odd, or at least presumptuous that for both of the classes that I took with him, the assigned texts were his own books. In any case, I did learn a lot, and philosophical ideas were made clear to me that other professors had left murky. He would always make clear his distinctly Jewish background by often making exclamatory remarks with Yiddish words. In fact, it was the first time that I had heard my name used as a word. He remarked that there was a big problem in physics, and that physicists and philosophers were looking for a solution to this “tsouris.” Having made contributions to this problem, he had interesting stories to tell about the character and personalities of the physicists that we were reading about. He told us about David Bohm telling Albert Einstein about his own solution to this problem, to which Einstein replied that, although it worked, it seemed cheap. Professor Albert then explained to us students, “Where I come from, cheap is good.” I think that the most valuable learning that Professor Albert imparted to me, however, were his stories about famed Columbia philosophy professor Sidney Morgenbesser, who, unfortunately for me, was retired by the time I had begun my studies there.
Having never known or met Professor Morgenbesser, I don’t feel adequate to give a proper summation. However, there are quotes that I might be able to relate. Remarking on his own lack of published output, he said, “Moses published one book. What did he do after that?” Another time, while in the audience of a lecturing philosopher who claimed that while a double negative amounts to a positive, a double positive never amounts to a negative, Professor Morgenbesser said, “yeah, yeah.” It is these short, witty, yet insightful remarks that reveal to me what a tremendous mind he must have had.
As much as I learned from the professors, I think that I actually learned more from my fellow students during my short time at Columbia. I loved sitting in the library with friends, and actually discussing the ideas from class. I did not do that much, if at all, at Cal Poly. Bouncing ideas off of one another only lead to greater understanding of, not only the subject matter, but what I believed, and refinement of those beliefs, and even prejudices.
Neil and I were sitting in the library, trying to figure out how some math problem was put together. I saw another student, Damien, from class, and called him over. I thought that since he had his bachelor’s degree in math from Harvard, that he would be able to help us out. He didn’t. But he did keep remarking that the solution had to be so simple. After he left, Neil told me that he had wished that I did not call Damien over because he had a pompous air about him. It was something that I didn’t see before, but after he said it, I could understand where he was coming from. Neil said that all people that he met from Harvard were like that. Ever since then, I have had this prejudice in that everyone that I meet who went to Harvard seems pompous (I am sure that they are not all that way, though).
There is so much more that I can tell about that year at Columbia, but for now, I will leave it at that.
After finishing my year at Columbia, I was worried about what I was going to do. School was the excuse for me to come and stay here in New York for a year, but now what? It seemed that I needed to find a job. After that one year, I realized that I was not yet ready to apply to a doctorate program; or perhaps I was ready, in any case, I did not apply to one, and thus had nowhere to go in the fall. I wasn’t even sure that I would be able to survive through the summer here. I had not really thought about what I wanted to do for a job, and now it was biting me in the ass. To be honest, I didn’t even know what I was qualified to do. My plan was to be a perpetual student, and then teach, but I didn’t apply, so it seemed that the perpetuity was at an end. I saw an ad on the subway train to teach in New York City public schools. The idea of teaching primary or secondary education had occurred to me before, so it didn’t seem like such a big leap for me. This time I actually did apply.
I remember that the job interview went well until the end. It seemed to me that I had expressed to many of my political ideas, and when I left, I felt that there was no way that I was going to get the job. About a month later, I guess, I remember thinking about the possibility of going back and living with my parents. It did not seem attractive, but I couldn’t think of any other possibilities. As I was thinking about this, I got the mail, and there was a package informing me that I had been offered a job to teach. So I didn’t have to go back and live with my parents after all.
I remember thinking that the job teaching little kids would be easy, despite what all the people said who were giving us a crash course on teaching during the summer. I also remember thinking that most of the other future teachers around me seemed particularly stupid (in fact it is one of my tremendous character flaws that I often think I am much more intelligent than most other people). In any case, the job ended up being very difficult, and taxing on my soul, and many of the people whom I thought were stupid were able to adapt remarkably well (or at least so it seemed to me). I had an awful first year, and the only reason that I kept working at the job was because I didn’t think there was much else out there to do with my limited qualifications as a philosophy student. Furthermore, I had acquired a lifestyle over the previous five years or so that put me in a bit of debt, and having bills to pay is not conducive to quitting a job without any prospects. I ended up staying at that job for five years. During those five years, there is not one day of work that I really enjoyed.
That said, I do feel that I can say that I learned a lot at that job. Mainly what I had to learn has to do with the nature of people. I do not mean it in a derogatory manner (though many may take it that way), but it seems to me that people are no different from other animals. This goes for the children that I taught, and the adults I worked with. It seems to me that when you want to train a person, it is not at all different from training a dog. Why should this have surprised me? Afterall, people are just animals in the evolutionary web. So we happen to think a little bit more than dogs do, but we still want the same things: food, sex and reproduction, security, and praise and acceptance from those around us. There cannot be much more to it than that, can there be? It seems anything that might be added to the list of things we need would also be added to the list of things that a dog needs. (Now the reader is able to more clearly see how the job has destroyed my soul.) Only one time did a remnance of my soul seem to exist while teaching.
I had heard several people talk about the good feeling that they got when a young student finally understood some concept. I never got that good feeling. Perhaps I never taught well enough for a student to understand anything, but I don't think that is it. Rather, seeing a kid add some simple numbers just doesn't do it for me. Instead, something else did it for me, only once. One student of mine, Leslie, was having a bad day. For whatever reason, he was upset at everything around him that day. At the end of the day, he was still upset, and I walked with him outside of the school, and then back inside so that he could go to some after-school program. Right now, I don't remember what I said to him, but I must have said something, because by the time we got back in the building, he responded. He thanked me for walking with him and calming him down, and he stuck out his hand to shake mine. I was touched. In five years of teaching, it is the only memory I have that I feel is worth having.
I did enjoy my life outside of work, though. As much as I disliked the job, it did afford me the resources to follow other things. The most obvious example of this is when I went to Europe during the summer of 2005. I had always wanted to go to Europe, and now I had the money and the time to do it. But that trip was only as valuable as it was because of other things that happened.
I don’t know what spurned me to do it, but one day I decided to go to the Museum of Modern Art. I had taken an art history class in college, but I never really had that much of an interest in painting or sculpture. I think that having been out of school for a while (although I was actually taking courses to complete a master’s degree in education as a requirement for my job, ironically I did not really consider those classes to be educational to me in any way), I needed something to challenge my mind. There were three things that drew me to art.
First, I had always been curious about what made modern art interesting to people. Certainly, one can look at classical art and find beauty in it, since such paintings typically look like something that the viewer can identify with. However, there is so much in modern art that just doesn’t fit that standard. What is it, then?
Also, I had seen paintings at people’s homes that I felt like I could make, and I felt like I should do something to hang on my own walls. To be sure, I can’t even draw, but I felt like I could splatter paint so that it would look acceptable. Before doing that, though, I wanted to actually look at these paintings in person, and see if there was anything that I was missing, that might actually stop me from trying to smear paint by myself.
The third thing that drew me to art was the desire to know about the world around me. What was this modern world that I was living in, and what about it would compel someone to completely throw away all classical notions of art, and simply spill paint on a canvas. Even more, what about the modern world would make someone else accept that as art?
During my first visit to MOMA, the main museum was closed, and they instead had a satellite branch open in Queens. The place was small for a museum, but was big enough. The first painting that I saw on the wall was Picasso’s seminal work, Mademoiselles de’ Avignon. This is certainly the most important painting of the 20th century, and while I had seen it a book during my art history class, it didn’t make an impression on my the way it did upon my first time seeing it in person. Perhaps it is an exaggeration, but only slightly so, to say that it knocked the wind out of me, with all the straight lines, sharp angles, and deformed women. From that moment, I wanted to immerse myself in art, and understand everything I could. In fact, I did start smearing paint on canvas and put it on my walls. While I was doing that, I was also studying art history, and in doing so, developing my own style of painting, which only recently matured to something presentable.
Along with art, my musical education also expanded while I was in New York. There were very much the same questions and problems with music that I had with art. Again, I wanted to know about the modern world that I was living in, and the art and music that was being created. All in all, I needed to know because I also wanted to create art in this modern world. I have little interest in saying things that have already been said (although there is some good exercise that comes with doing what has already been done ages ago). (The good thing for me is that in this modern age, there are a variety of ways that I am able to overlook my lack of traditional skills.) I am not quite there yet with my other artistic pursuits, like poetry and animation, but I’m working at it.
The point is that, although I had creative projects before I lived in New York, it was while living here that such creative projects really took off. Who would have guessed that I would have gotten into painting or poetry or opera? I don’t know if it is just maturity on my part, or how much the city did have to do with it, but in any case, there is so much I learned here about the world and about myself that has made me such a happy person.
There is one recurring thought that I have about my having come to live in New York. I remember walking one late night outside of some midtown restaurant that I had just eaten at with my girlfriend. I remember looking up at the stars in the dark sky, and feeling the cool air breeze, and being surrounded by tall buildings. I thought about how proud I was of myself for having come to New York. It was a dream of mine to live in New York, and I had done it. Of course there was help from people along the way, especially my mother during that first year while still in school. I don’t really express too much pride for my accomplishments (perhaps my standards are too high), but this and only one other thing am I so proud of having done. Often, when I see the tall buildings, and I am in a contemplative mood, I look up and think, “I have done it. And I can do anything.” I am leaving tomorrow.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
All packed up
This week flew by, as I knew it would. I didn't do much, really. I just sat around and thought about what needed to be done. One day I wrote down a list of important things to do (like take care of certain financial things), and I did them. It really wasn't a lot, and that's why I just spent most of the time relaxing, not doing much. Then Thursday came, and I decided that I should pack my last bags finally. Before Paola left, I packed my first bag, the biggest, with all of my professional type clothes and stuff that I wouldn't need before I left New York. It was oversized, and I knew that I would be charged more for putting it on the airplane. So when I packed my last bags on Thursday, I realized that I had a lot of extra room in my other bags, so I moved things around, and now everything is within the proper size limits to not get charged more (by interesting coincidence, all three bags weigh 47 pounds). I hope I don't forget anything, because I am not coming back this time.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Getting ready to move- July 10, 2007
It has been quite a month since we heard that Paola got the job with N___. We have been doing a lot to prepare for moving to Japan.
Paola decided that since she has not seen her mom since December, she would go out to Italy to spend some time with her before moving to Japan, especially since she would not see her mom for at least another year once we go to Japan. Because she was doing this, her time frame for getting everything moved was that much less. Actually, she is going to Italy today, July 10, so it came out to about 2 weeks of preparation and moving. My parents were so helpful to both of us by allowing us to ship all of out packed boxes to them to put in storage while we are in Japan. My brother was also helpful in that he decided to take over the apartment in New York, so a lot of stuff did not need to be moved. In any case, moving is still a big project, and people have their own ways of dealing with it. That said, Paola and I sometimes did not see eye to eye on some things, and I accused her of being neurotic with how she works. She would pack boxes up, and then unpack them because she thought that it might be better to pack it another way. She was also just plain anxious and nervous about the whole thing; most people get a bit nervous or anxious with big changes. I am not one of those people, but Paola is, and it took me a little while to realize understand her feelings. We finally shipped all of her boxes to my parents in Los Angeles, and her luggage is all packed, and her itinerary is complete, and she leaves today. Now that everything is done, everything is good, so there isn't much for either of us to complain about.
I have been quite a bit more laid back as far as all this goes. Perhaps it has not hit me yet, but it does not seem like such a big deal to me to have to move. I suppose that things are a bit easier for me since my brother, Mike, is taking over the apartment, and I don't really have to pack that much stuff to ship. He told me that I can leave my books, which would have been the most daunting thing to pack and ship since I have over three full bookshelves. Also, Mike will use all of my music equipment like guitars and amps, so that is a lot of other stuff that I don't have to pack and ship. He will use some of the furniture too. Perhaps I was less anxious and nervous than Paola becuase I don't have that much to do to move except pack up my clothes in luggage and go.
It is just as well that I pack up and go since I have been here in New York for too long. It is not that it is a bad place, or anything like that. Rather, having moved here, and finding out that it is possible to live wherever I want to, after about six years I think that I should move on and see something else. When I still lived with my parents as a kid, I knew that for college I wanted to move far away (I knew then that I wanted to go to New York). I have always had an adventurous spirit in me, I suppose. Unlike some people, I don't like the notion of settling down so right now, and I want to move around. Vacations are great, but I am cheap, and vacations cost a lot of money, so I feel like it is best to just move somewhere else, get a job there, and, in a sense, get paid for being on vacation. I suppose that the best possible job for that sort of mind set would be a travel writer, or travel critic. But, I don't have that job, and I don't know anyone who can help me get that sort of gig, so I have to work with what I know. It just so happens that teachers are needed everywhere around the world, so it works out for me.
Like Paola, I am going to see my family before we move to Japan. That means that in about a week and a half, I will go to Los Angeles, and spend my last month in America there. I also am excited to see a lot of my friends there, whom I haven't seen since last summer. Paola will come out and meet me in Los Angeles in late August for about a week or two before we move to Japan.
There are some curious things about our job in Japan. Certainly, we have been told that we have jobs, and that we will be able to move there and work there in September. However, we do not yet know where in Japan we will be (it could be Tokyo (our first and only choice) or Kyoto, or Osaka, or Sapporo, or anywhere else in Japan. We don't know. Another thing is that we don't know exactly when we are going to go. They have not given us a specific date yet, but have only said September. That could be early September, or late September, or somewhere in between. This is in contrast with the other company, A__, that offered me a job back in May. When the rep called me to offer the job, he knew what city (Nagoya), what branch in that city, and even the address where I would live. In any case, it has caused some anxiety in me, since I know where I would like to go, but don't yet know.
Another issue is with the travel visas. Paola is taking her passport with her when she goes to Rome. However, the Japanese in America are going to need that passport since they have to issue the work visa. There is some nervousness becuase of this issue, but in the end, I am sure that it will all work out.
Paola decided that since she has not seen her mom since December, she would go out to Italy to spend some time with her before moving to Japan, especially since she would not see her mom for at least another year once we go to Japan. Because she was doing this, her time frame for getting everything moved was that much less. Actually, she is going to Italy today, July 10, so it came out to about 2 weeks of preparation and moving. My parents were so helpful to both of us by allowing us to ship all of out packed boxes to them to put in storage while we are in Japan. My brother was also helpful in that he decided to take over the apartment in New York, so a lot of stuff did not need to be moved. In any case, moving is still a big project, and people have their own ways of dealing with it. That said, Paola and I sometimes did not see eye to eye on some things, and I accused her of being neurotic with how she works. She would pack boxes up, and then unpack them because she thought that it might be better to pack it another way. She was also just plain anxious and nervous about the whole thing; most people get a bit nervous or anxious with big changes. I am not one of those people, but Paola is, and it took me a little while to realize understand her feelings. We finally shipped all of her boxes to my parents in Los Angeles, and her luggage is all packed, and her itinerary is complete, and she leaves today. Now that everything is done, everything is good, so there isn't much for either of us to complain about.
I have been quite a bit more laid back as far as all this goes. Perhaps it has not hit me yet, but it does not seem like such a big deal to me to have to move. I suppose that things are a bit easier for me since my brother, Mike, is taking over the apartment, and I don't really have to pack that much stuff to ship. He told me that I can leave my books, which would have been the most daunting thing to pack and ship since I have over three full bookshelves. Also, Mike will use all of my music equipment like guitars and amps, so that is a lot of other stuff that I don't have to pack and ship. He will use some of the furniture too. Perhaps I was less anxious and nervous than Paola becuase I don't have that much to do to move except pack up my clothes in luggage and go.
It is just as well that I pack up and go since I have been here in New York for too long. It is not that it is a bad place, or anything like that. Rather, having moved here, and finding out that it is possible to live wherever I want to, after about six years I think that I should move on and see something else. When I still lived with my parents as a kid, I knew that for college I wanted to move far away (I knew then that I wanted to go to New York). I have always had an adventurous spirit in me, I suppose. Unlike some people, I don't like the notion of settling down so right now, and I want to move around. Vacations are great, but I am cheap, and vacations cost a lot of money, so I feel like it is best to just move somewhere else, get a job there, and, in a sense, get paid for being on vacation. I suppose that the best possible job for that sort of mind set would be a travel writer, or travel critic. But, I don't have that job, and I don't know anyone who can help me get that sort of gig, so I have to work with what I know. It just so happens that teachers are needed everywhere around the world, so it works out for me.
Like Paola, I am going to see my family before we move to Japan. That means that in about a week and a half, I will go to Los Angeles, and spend my last month in America there. I also am excited to see a lot of my friends there, whom I haven't seen since last summer. Paola will come out and meet me in Los Angeles in late August for about a week or two before we move to Japan.
There are some curious things about our job in Japan. Certainly, we have been told that we have jobs, and that we will be able to move there and work there in September. However, we do not yet know where in Japan we will be (it could be Tokyo (our first and only choice) or Kyoto, or Osaka, or Sapporo, or anywhere else in Japan. We don't know. Another thing is that we don't know exactly when we are going to go. They have not given us a specific date yet, but have only said September. That could be early September, or late September, or somewhere in between. This is in contrast with the other company, A__, that offered me a job back in May. When the rep called me to offer the job, he knew what city (Nagoya), what branch in that city, and even the address where I would live. In any case, it has caused some anxiety in me, since I know where I would like to go, but don't yet know.
Another issue is with the travel visas. Paola is taking her passport with her when she goes to Rome. However, the Japanese in America are going to need that passport since they have to issue the work visa. There is some nervousness becuase of this issue, but in the end, I am sure that it will all work out.
Success!- June 19, 2007
On Monday morning, while I was at work, Paola called me from her work. I knew what she was going to say, and sure enough, she got the job! N___ sent her a congratulatory email, and asked for some information for a background check. It was a pretty rough ride, with a lot of ups and downs, but ending, with a big up.
Later that night, though, we realized that this was only the beginning. We don't know where we will be sent in Japan, or even the exact date of departure. Even more, there is a lot of work for us to do before we leave New York. All that work seems to be a bit overwhelming right now, but we will be able to handle it, one step at a time.
Later that night, though, we realized that this was only the beginning. We don't know where we will be sent in Japan, or even the exact date of departure. Even more, there is a lot of work for us to do before we leave New York. All that work seems to be a bit overwhelming right now, but we will be able to handle it, one step at a time.
Paola's update- June 16, 2007
Paola went on her interview with N___ a couple of weeks ago. We were both excited for her to go on the interview, and she was especially nervous. When I met her at home later that day, I found out how things went. She did not feel that she did well at the interview because at one point, during the sample lesson, she froze up and blanked out. This sort of thing happens when people are very nervous, and so it happened to her. She said that she finally worked through it, due to an understanding interviewer (though Paola would not describe her as understanding, I certainly would, since she was actually allowed to coninue with the interview). Based on what Paola told me, I supposed that she would not get offered the job (With my own experience in education, I know that I would not hire her after that interview).
We were both dissappointed by the course of events. I reassured Paola that it was ok if she did not get the job, and that we could reapply at a later date. I supposed that it was due to a lack of preperation on Paola's part. She assumed that the interview would go fairly easy, and she only really worked on the public speaking portion of the interview, which, as it turned out, she did not have to do. Since she froze up during the sample lesson, it might be concluded that she was not well enough prepared for that portion of the interview. Paola felt comfortable enough after the one practice that we had with a sample lesson. She said that she felt overly confident since her online research had led her to believe that N___ hires everyone who applies, unless she is an idiot (I paraphrased a website forum that Paola told me about). Paola felt that she was smarter than an idiot, so she would not have to work too hard to prepare. This made me that much more upset about Paola's apparent lacksidaisicle approach to preparing for something that she wanted. She was also dissappointed. I suppose that people have to learn the hard way.
So as the last couple of weeks have progressed, I thought about what I might do in the fall, or even in the summer, seeing as how I do not have a job lined up. I was starting to get an unsettling feeling, and even wondering if I made the right decision in resigning from my current job. That said, I felt that I had already resigned, and as such, I could not, or would not go back to ask for a job that I knew that I hated. So what was I to do, then? This, plus the realization that I was not going to get to work in Japan as I wanted to, put me in a rather melancholy mood for a couple of days. Even still, there was still some inkling in the back of my mind that said, "Even though the possibility of going to Japan looks bleak, there is still a slight possibility until they actually send Paola a rejection letter."
The main course of action that I was hoping to pursue involved music. I have been working on an opera of grand scale that I hope to produce myself. Since I might be completely free of obligations after June, I was thinking of focussing solely on that. It wouldn't bring in any money, but it is something that I feel I have to do. But a problem with that is that I am pretty sure that I wouldn't focus solely on that, despite my best intentions. There are always distractions, and I have other projects that I think about doing as well.
I was expecting the rejection letter last Monday. I figured that it took them a week to get back to me to tell me that they wanted me, so it would take them less time to realize that they didn't want Paola, plus the time that a letter travels in the mail (as opposed to email, which is how I got my notice). But on Monday, there was no letter in the mail. Tuesday came and went without a letter. On Wednesday, Paola called me before leaving work that N___ called her. They wanted to confirm her letter of recommendation, but could not get in touch with the person who wrote it, having left that office some time ago; they wanted Paola to get some updated contact information for her old supervisor so that they could get in touch with him. What this meant to me was that her application made it past the interview stage, and they were now checking her references. Afterall, why would they want to check her references at all if after the interview if they did not want to accept her?
That is where we stand now. It seems that they are going to review her references, and confirm that the good things that were said were actually said by whom Paola said said them, then they will (hopefully) give her a background check, which, Paola claims, will not turn up any bad stuff, and finally they will offer her the job. Technically, we still have not recieved a notice that she has made it through the preliminary stages, but things are looking a lot better now than they did a couple of weeks ago. My own melancholy has subsided, which was helped by the notice that the computer people are done fixing my computer, and they have sent it back to me after having it for over a week, which has kept me from a lot of my work (I have written three compositions over the last week with pencil and paper, but I still don't know how they sound without my computer). So no matter what happens, I am feeling better now.
We were both dissappointed by the course of events. I reassured Paola that it was ok if she did not get the job, and that we could reapply at a later date. I supposed that it was due to a lack of preperation on Paola's part. She assumed that the interview would go fairly easy, and she only really worked on the public speaking portion of the interview, which, as it turned out, she did not have to do. Since she froze up during the sample lesson, it might be concluded that she was not well enough prepared for that portion of the interview. Paola felt comfortable enough after the one practice that we had with a sample lesson. She said that she felt overly confident since her online research had led her to believe that N___ hires everyone who applies, unless she is an idiot (I paraphrased a website forum that Paola told me about). Paola felt that she was smarter than an idiot, so she would not have to work too hard to prepare. This made me that much more upset about Paola's apparent lacksidaisicle approach to preparing for something that she wanted. She was also dissappointed. I suppose that people have to learn the hard way.
So as the last couple of weeks have progressed, I thought about what I might do in the fall, or even in the summer, seeing as how I do not have a job lined up. I was starting to get an unsettling feeling, and even wondering if I made the right decision in resigning from my current job. That said, I felt that I had already resigned, and as such, I could not, or would not go back to ask for a job that I knew that I hated. So what was I to do, then? This, plus the realization that I was not going to get to work in Japan as I wanted to, put me in a rather melancholy mood for a couple of days. Even still, there was still some inkling in the back of my mind that said, "Even though the possibility of going to Japan looks bleak, there is still a slight possibility until they actually send Paola a rejection letter."
The main course of action that I was hoping to pursue involved music. I have been working on an opera of grand scale that I hope to produce myself. Since I might be completely free of obligations after June, I was thinking of focussing solely on that. It wouldn't bring in any money, but it is something that I feel I have to do. But a problem with that is that I am pretty sure that I wouldn't focus solely on that, despite my best intentions. There are always distractions, and I have other projects that I think about doing as well.
I was expecting the rejection letter last Monday. I figured that it took them a week to get back to me to tell me that they wanted me, so it would take them less time to realize that they didn't want Paola, plus the time that a letter travels in the mail (as opposed to email, which is how I got my notice). But on Monday, there was no letter in the mail. Tuesday came and went without a letter. On Wednesday, Paola called me before leaving work that N___ called her. They wanted to confirm her letter of recommendation, but could not get in touch with the person who wrote it, having left that office some time ago; they wanted Paola to get some updated contact information for her old supervisor so that they could get in touch with him. What this meant to me was that her application made it past the interview stage, and they were now checking her references. Afterall, why would they want to check her references at all if after the interview if they did not want to accept her?
That is where we stand now. It seems that they are going to review her references, and confirm that the good things that were said were actually said by whom Paola said said them, then they will (hopefully) give her a background check, which, Paola claims, will not turn up any bad stuff, and finally they will offer her the job. Technically, we still have not recieved a notice that she has made it through the preliminary stages, but things are looking a lot better now than they did a couple of weeks ago. My own melancholy has subsided, which was helped by the notice that the computer people are done fixing my computer, and they have sent it back to me after having it for over a week, which has kept me from a lot of my work (I have written three compositions over the last week with pencil and paper, but I still don't know how they sound without my computer). So no matter what happens, I am feeling better now.
Job offers in Japan -May 20, 2007
By now I have heard back from both companies. Both A___ and N___ offered me jobs to teach in Japan.
A___ was first, since I interviewed with them first. In fact, I interviewed with them exactly a week before I interviewed with N___. What ended up happening is that they called me in the middle of my interview with N___, while I was on a break. It lifted my spirits that they offered the job. The gentleman told me that, should I accept the position, I would be teaching at a school in Nagoya, as one of two Westerners. That seemed nice that it would be a small school like that. He also told me that the place where they set up for me to live would be about 7 minutes from my place of employment, so that made it even more appealing. However, because A___ was unable to accommodate both Paola and myself, I declined the position. (I think that what they did say was that if Paola and I both applied together (Paola didn’t even bother to apply), they would try to get us as close together as they could, but they were sure that they wouldn’t be able to give us one living space to live together, so that ultimately made the decision for me.)
As cool as it was to decline a position (the guy on the phone sounded surprised when I said that I wouldn’t be taking it), it was still a little scary. What if N___ did not accept me after all? That worry was alleviated this week when they sent me an email offering me a position to teach. Before they could actually offer me a position, however, I had to submit to a background check, which cost US$55. So, although they did say that I have the job, they did not give me the details of the position yet (I just might not pass the background check). However, I did get a good feeling that they would try as best they could to set me up where I want to go, which is Tokyo. The other wildcard is Paola’s application.
Paola applied a couple of days after me, and my interview day filled up quickly, so she has to wait until two weeks after my interview, which is the 31st of May, this Thursday. We are both a bit nervous about it, but we are using the extra time to prepare her for the interview. Since I already went through it, I know everything that they are going to throw at her, and I am trying to coach her on a few things, especially the public speaking and teaching portions. I think she will do fine.
Having been offered the job, and with Paola’s interview this week, I am getting very excited about the whole prospect of going to Japan. If I could, I would go right now. But due to visa restrictions (I am going to get a working visa), I will not be allowed to be there before the date designated on the visa. I guess I will have to wait.
A___ was first, since I interviewed with them first. In fact, I interviewed with them exactly a week before I interviewed with N___. What ended up happening is that they called me in the middle of my interview with N___, while I was on a break. It lifted my spirits that they offered the job. The gentleman told me that, should I accept the position, I would be teaching at a school in Nagoya, as one of two Westerners. That seemed nice that it would be a small school like that. He also told me that the place where they set up for me to live would be about 7 minutes from my place of employment, so that made it even more appealing. However, because A___ was unable to accommodate both Paola and myself, I declined the position. (I think that what they did say was that if Paola and I both applied together (Paola didn’t even bother to apply), they would try to get us as close together as they could, but they were sure that they wouldn’t be able to give us one living space to live together, so that ultimately made the decision for me.)
As cool as it was to decline a position (the guy on the phone sounded surprised when I said that I wouldn’t be taking it), it was still a little scary. What if N___ did not accept me after all? That worry was alleviated this week when they sent me an email offering me a position to teach. Before they could actually offer me a position, however, I had to submit to a background check, which cost US$55. So, although they did say that I have the job, they did not give me the details of the position yet (I just might not pass the background check). However, I did get a good feeling that they would try as best they could to set me up where I want to go, which is Tokyo. The other wildcard is Paola’s application.
Paola applied a couple of days after me, and my interview day filled up quickly, so she has to wait until two weeks after my interview, which is the 31st of May, this Thursday. We are both a bit nervous about it, but we are using the extra time to prepare her for the interview. Since I already went through it, I know everything that they are going to throw at her, and I am trying to coach her on a few things, especially the public speaking and teaching portions. I think she will do fine.
Having been offered the job, and with Paola’s interview this week, I am getting very excited about the whole prospect of going to Japan. If I could, I would go right now. But due to visa restrictions (I am going to get a working visa), I will not be allowed to be there before the date designated on the visa. I guess I will have to wait.
Interviews- May 18, 2007
In the last week, I have had three interviews for teaching positions in Japan with two different companies.
First I had one with a company called A_____. The first day was filled with a lot of information about their company, and then I participated in a group interview, in which I presented a teaching lesson, and filled out a written test. They asked me back the next day for a second interview which involved a one-on-one personal interview. This also consisted of some presentations of teaching lessons, but they were more spontaneous, whereas the lesson on the first day was one that I had planned out previously.
Exactly a week after the first interview, I had another interview with another company, N____. Their interview was like the first in that for more than half the time the strengths of the company were presented to a group of us (in both cases, the group was six of us). However, N____ didn't need a second day for a personal interview, but simply scheduled me for the personal interview later in the same afternoon.
The group interview for A____ lasted 4 hours, and the personal interview about 1 and a half hours the next day. For N____, the group interview lasted 2 hours in the morning, and the personal interview lasted half an hour in the afternoon. Needless to say, the interview with A___ was much more intense. Although the N____ interview did include some teaching presentation (which was spontaneous, and given with the half hour personal interview), it was much less demanding than having to prepare a lesson, and present 2 spontaneous lessons, which A___ required.
Before and during both interviews, I was nervous, but especially so during the interviews with A___. I guess that this was because that interview was first, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect, beyond the prepared lesson that I had with me. What made that interview a bit more challenging was the fact that the air conditioning in the room where we were was not working, and it was getting pretty warm in there. I felt like I was sweating a lot, and I frequently had to wipe my brow. That said, even though I had gone through what was the more demanding of the two interviews first, I was still a bit nervous about the second one. For one thing, they didn't require me to bring or prepare anything, so there was that much less that was known before hand.
Even though I did make mistakes during the first interview (different technical errors that the interviewer informed me of), I feel that I made some more glaring omissions during the interview with N___. For one thing, I did not complete the writing sample. There were two pages of multiple choice questions, and one page with two short essay response questions. It is not that the questions were too challenging for me, but rather the time limit imposed did not allow me to finish. I only had fifteen minutes to complete the whole thing. A similar format was given for the writing sample during the interview with A___, but I was given twenty minutes to complete it. All that said, I really am not too worried about it. If I could not complete it in fifteen minutes, I am sure that others could not either. Although I did not like the fact that the only thing I wrote for a question that asked me why I want to move to Japan was, "I like Japanese culture", at least I wrote something, and I knew that during the interview, my talents would be better exhibited.
An interesting thing happened during the interview with N___ yesterday. Exactly a week later, the recruiter from A___ called me up during my break, and gave me an offer for a teaching position in Japan. I would be living and teaching in Nagoya, which is probably the third largest city in Japan. There were a lot of attractive things about the offer, but ultimately I think that I might decline to accept it. The main reason is that they will not offer housing for Paola and myself together. Having just received the offer, though, my spirits were raised, and it only makes me more confident that I will receive a more attractive offer from N___.
First I had one with a company called A_____. The first day was filled with a lot of information about their company, and then I participated in a group interview, in which I presented a teaching lesson, and filled out a written test. They asked me back the next day for a second interview which involved a one-on-one personal interview. This also consisted of some presentations of teaching lessons, but they were more spontaneous, whereas the lesson on the first day was one that I had planned out previously.
Exactly a week after the first interview, I had another interview with another company, N____. Their interview was like the first in that for more than half the time the strengths of the company were presented to a group of us (in both cases, the group was six of us). However, N____ didn't need a second day for a personal interview, but simply scheduled me for the personal interview later in the same afternoon.
The group interview for A____ lasted 4 hours, and the personal interview about 1 and a half hours the next day. For N____, the group interview lasted 2 hours in the morning, and the personal interview lasted half an hour in the afternoon. Needless to say, the interview with A___ was much more intense. Although the N____ interview did include some teaching presentation (which was spontaneous, and given with the half hour personal interview), it was much less demanding than having to prepare a lesson, and present 2 spontaneous lessons, which A___ required.
Before and during both interviews, I was nervous, but especially so during the interviews with A___. I guess that this was because that interview was first, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect, beyond the prepared lesson that I had with me. What made that interview a bit more challenging was the fact that the air conditioning in the room where we were was not working, and it was getting pretty warm in there. I felt like I was sweating a lot, and I frequently had to wipe my brow. That said, even though I had gone through what was the more demanding of the two interviews first, I was still a bit nervous about the second one. For one thing, they didn't require me to bring or prepare anything, so there was that much less that was known before hand.
Even though I did make mistakes during the first interview (different technical errors that the interviewer informed me of), I feel that I made some more glaring omissions during the interview with N___. For one thing, I did not complete the writing sample. There were two pages of multiple choice questions, and one page with two short essay response questions. It is not that the questions were too challenging for me, but rather the time limit imposed did not allow me to finish. I only had fifteen minutes to complete the whole thing. A similar format was given for the writing sample during the interview with A___, but I was given twenty minutes to complete it. All that said, I really am not too worried about it. If I could not complete it in fifteen minutes, I am sure that others could not either. Although I did not like the fact that the only thing I wrote for a question that asked me why I want to move to Japan was, "I like Japanese culture", at least I wrote something, and I knew that during the interview, my talents would be better exhibited.
An interesting thing happened during the interview with N___ yesterday. Exactly a week later, the recruiter from A___ called me up during my break, and gave me an offer for a teaching position in Japan. I would be living and teaching in Nagoya, which is probably the third largest city in Japan. There were a lot of attractive things about the offer, but ultimately I think that I might decline to accept it. The main reason is that they will not offer housing for Paola and myself together. Having just received the offer, though, my spirits were raised, and it only makes me more confident that I will receive a more attractive offer from N___.
Moving on- April 30, 2007
I decided at the beginning of April that I am going to quit my job. This is a long time coming, since about the third month that I have been teaching. This should finish up my fifth year teaching in the South Bronx. I had a friend once tell me that if you do this job for a certain amount of time, you get to go to heaven for free. I wonder if that will still be the case if I go on some rape and murder spree; will I be able to tell God that I am sorry for the raping and murdering, but that I taught in this hell hole for five years, so that should balance things out, right? Another friend who had the good sense to quit after two years told me that he was in Vietnam during the war, and that wasn’t as bad as teaching here.
One benefit that five years teaching experience in hell gives you, though, is that I could probably go and get another job teaching in some other place (hopefully it would not be just a different department of hell, as it was here). So, taking advantage of this benefit, I decided to apply to teach at a school in Japan. That means that I would pack up the few things that I think I need, throw them in a backpack, leave New York, settle in Tokyo (hopefully), and try to become Japanese (probably not). We’ll see what happens.
One benefit that five years teaching experience in hell gives you, though, is that I could probably go and get another job teaching in some other place (hopefully it would not be just a different department of hell, as it was here). So, taking advantage of this benefit, I decided to apply to teach at a school in Japan. That means that I would pack up the few things that I think I need, throw them in a backpack, leave New York, settle in Tokyo (hopefully), and try to become Japanese (probably not). We’ll see what happens.
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