Living Overseas
- At July 16, 2019
- By admin
- In Annes Letters
0
Dear Family and Friends,
One of my greatest joys as a foreign language teacher is when I am able to entice my students to a curiosity about a world wider than the rather provincial one many of them exclusively know. I have had luck in the past, and so am rewarded in many ways. A few former students, for example, work in international airports or as airline stewardesses; one is inundated with foreigners in Shinjuku Station in Tokyo; and several, after graduating, have lived overseas and return fluent in English. I am always honored when any of my students keep in touch with me, enabling us to become friends and equals as we continue to share our many life’s adventures, some exotic, most very mundane.
The other day I asked a student-now friend to come talk to one of my current university English classes. This remarkable woman is a major buyer of wines for a large chain store in Japan. She uses English everyday with clients, either on the Internet or the phone, and travels all over the world checking out vineyards and wineries. I am always impressed when I hear she is off to France or Spain, California or Chile, and sometime in the future South Africa.
My current students listened enraptured by Junko’s tales of how she further developed her English after graduating and how she uses it constantly in her work today. Of course, there were many questions after the lecture. One student’s stood out the most poignantly for me, probably because it related so closely to my own reality of living in a foreign country.
“I have never been overseas, and I want to go. But I can’t decide whether to take a tour or to live in another country. What do you suggest?”
Junko, with her years of experience, said, “Listen, when you are in your 20s, you should challenge yourself to everything you can. Some things will be really tough, but you will learn so much. And having the chance to live overseas gets harder the older you get. So, I say, do it now!”
Since I have my own store of foreign adventures, I took the liberty to add to Junko’s wise advice. “When you take a tour, things are all planned. You see the pretty places and take picture-perfect photos. But most often you don’t really have any contact with local people. But when you actually live overseas, you have lots of opportunities to do that. There are fun things like festivals . . .
“But you also have to deal with everyday things in a foreign language and culture. You have to go to the post office and supermarket. You might have to see a dentist or go to the hospital. You struggle to decipher forms that come in the mail. And you have to pay bills and go to the bank.
One of my greatest joys as a foreign language teacher is when I am able to entice my students to a curiosity about a world wider than the rather provincial one many of them exclusively know. I have had luck in the past, and so am rewarded in many ways. A few former students, for example, work in international airports or as airline stewardesses; one is inundated with foreigners in Shinjuku Station in Tokyo; and several, after graduating, have lived overseas and return fluent in English. I am always honored when any of my students keep in touch with me, enabling us to become friends and equals as we continue to share our many life’s adventures, some exotic, most very mundane.
The other day I asked a student-now friend to come talk to one of my current university English classes. This remarkable woman is a major buyer of wines for a large chain store in Japan. She uses English everyday with clients, either on the Internet or the phone, and travels all over the world checking out vineyards and wineries. I am always impressed when I hear she is off to France or Spain, California or Chile, and sometime in the future South Africa.
My current students listened enraptured by Junko’s tales of how she further developed her English after graduating and how she uses it constantly in her work today. Of course, there were many questions after the lecture. One student’s stood out the most poignantly for me, probably because it related so closely to my own reality of living in a foreign country.
“I have never been overseas, and I want to go. But I can’t decide whether to take a tour or to live in another country. What do you suggest?”
Junko, with her years of experience, said, “Listen, when you are in your 20s, you should challenge yourself to everything you can. Some things will be really tough, but you will learn so much. And having the chance to live overseas gets harder the older you get. So, I say, do it now!”
Since I have my own store of foreign adventures, I took the liberty to add to Junko’s wise advice. “When you take a tour, things are all planned. You see the pretty places and take picture-perfect photos. But most often you don’t really have any contact with local people. But when you actually live overseas, you have lots of opportunities to do that. There are fun things like festivals . . .
“and going places with friends.
“But you also have to deal with everyday things in a foreign language and culture. You have to go to the post office and supermarket. You might have to see a dentist or go to the hospital. You struggle to decipher forms that come in the mail. And you have to pay bills and go to the bank.
“Just now, for example, I am dealing with a broken toilet. I had to call the manager by myself, explain the situation all in Japanese, and make an appointment for the plumber to come.
“I was lucky this time because I was successful. But that is not always the case. But it is OK. It is all part of living overseas and learning as much about myself as about those whom I meet every day.
“Good luck. It is challenging, but always rewarding. And you can return to Japan anytime. But your overseas experiences will always be part of who you. They can never be taken away.”
Love,
Anne
“Good luck. It is challenging, but always rewarding. And you can return to Japan anytime. But your overseas experiences will always be part of who you. They can never be taken away.”
Love,
Anne
