English: the best and worst of it

Best things about being a native English speaker in Japan:
- it is easier to get around and get help (sad to say but I think Japanese people are more receptive to English-speaking foreigners than say, those from places like SE Asia)
- concerning TESL, finding a job is relatively easy in the city (unless in Tokyo where number of teachers is practically at saturation point?)
- most subway and JR train signs are in romaji (romanized Japanese)
- some places in Tokyo are bilingual and cater to English-speakers, too (for example, restaurants in MaruBiru like Mango tree...see previous blog posts)
- it is quite easy to communicate with other foreigners using English (though knowing other languages like Chinese, Korean, Portuguese would help here)

Worst things about being a native English speaker in Japan:
- one does not need to try hard to learn Japanese (oftentimes knowing English is sufficient enough to get around...but many Chinese people pick Japanese up in a snap!)
- one has to be careful not to pick up friends who just wanna polish up their English (I reeeeeally hate feeling like an English teacher w/friends. Man, gimme a break. I wanna relax just like others! If you want to learn English, take a lesson - not necessarily mine but anyone's!)
- it is hard to find a job outside of the TESL scene (teaching English is great now...but in the future??? I want something fresh, new, inspiring! Change of pace...)
- quite often menus are in 3 writing systems: kanji, hiragana, katakana (seldom is the English menu)

All in all, like anything else, there are pro's and con's to being a native English speaker.

I used to think my friends wanted to keep up with English so I used English to write them. One friend asked me if I would like to try writing in Japanese, even in romaji. She told me she spends a lot of time composing a letter to me in English and it is fair if I do the same in Japanese. I cannot tell you how delighted I was for her to say that! From then on, I tried (and try) my best to compose in 80% Japanese and some mixed English buzzwords. I am glad despite her wanting to know more English, she encourages me to write and speak more in Japanese.

Sometimes I felt at a loss, really depressed, like many people were just interested in using me as English practice. At least non-native English speakers do not have to doubt or second-guess their friends...lucky Chinese folks here, ha ha. Don't get me wrong though...it took a good 2 years to figure out but now I have a better sense of detecting superficial friends. Less friends but more time to focus on the good ones. Again, think the smart, particularly Japanese way: quality over quantity!