Going to Japan after high school...

[Ezrach]

How Japanese society will react to this influx of foreigner labor is a big question. Germany's experience doesn't make one hopeful.

Don't buy into the hype. It's fatal. Do you remember when Japan was going to be a bigger economical power than the States? All signs pointed in that direction. Then came 1990.

The population is currently in a slump figure, but times change. It's not a problem until it is a problem. Until then, it's all speculation.

[keatonatron]

Once the baby-boomers start dying out, they'll stop straining the economy and there won't be a problem anymore

[Oyaji]

Victory, do you know what the following words mean and how they apply to PRESENT DAY Japanese society? (I'll start with the basics) 市町村合併　学校統合　地方交付税削減　高齢化　少子化　過疎地域

None of those are "hype" - they are all very serious real problems. When you have lived in Japan for twenty years, have operated your own business, have put your children through Japanese schools, have served on and even chaired numerous education, culture, welfare, and yes, economic boards and committees, then I will listen to your theories. For now I will go on my own experience, and on what I hear from the people I meet from all walks of life as I regularly travel around the various areas of the country.　It is a problem.

[KINGZ]

Someone please tell me why everyone thinks the grass is always greener on the other side. I'm seeing a recurring event here with some of the ppl that think life would be so much better in Japan. IE, I don’t fit in, there are no jobs here, and no one likes me, ect... Take a closer look. Between US and Japan there are allot in common, i.e. there are crimes, gangs, pedophiles, rapist, bums, bullying. I don't care where you go in the world, all countries have the same problems, some more than others, but they exist. Just because you read things about Japan, thinking it would be great, the US and all nations have the same thing about them. I could make the Middle East look good too on paper. Running away will not fix anything. Now this is not pointed at everyone. Mainly the ppl trying to run away from life.

[AJBryant]

Someone please tell me why everyone thinks the grass is always greener on the other side.

The other guy uses mulch, and lets his dog poop on YOUR lawn.

Seriously, though -- I agree wholeheartedly.

I'm reminded of the parable of an old man meeting a few men on the road who were leaving their hometowns and moving on. "Old man," the first asked, "what are the people like in that town?"
"I have to think about it. How are the people where you're from?"
"They're all cruel, stingy, mean... they cheat, they steal, they lie. They're horrid."
The old man thought for a moment. "You'll find the people in the next town are exactly as the one you left," he said.
Another man comes by, and asks the same question, and gets the same asked back.
"Well, they're very artistic. They love theatre, they love the arts, literature... very cultured."
The old man said, "You'll find the people in the next town are exactly as the one you left."


Tony

[two_heads_talking]

Forgive my bluntness.. (this is directed at the OP) if you are seeing a psychiatrist, the last thing you should be asking us is what to do..

Personally i think psychiatrists have agendas and I will leave it at that..

You should seek the professional help you have currently and have them give you the guidance you obviously need..

something my father told me when I was in high school.. Grow up, live a little and when you have mastered all that life has to offer, come back and tell me how poor a parent I really was..

[KINGZ]

AJBryant wrote:

Someone please tell me why everyone thinks the grass is always greener on the other side.

The other guy uses mulch, and lets his dog poop on YOUR lawn.

Tony

I knew it Tony, keep your dog off my lawn. lol

two_heads_talking wrote:
Forgive my bluntness.. (this is directed at the OP) if you are seeing a psychiatrist, the last thing you should be asking us is what to do..

Personally i think psychiatrists have agendas and I will leave it at that..

You should seek the professional help you have currently and have them give you the guidance you obviously need..

something my father told me when I was in high school.. Grow up, live a little and when you have mastered all that life has to offer, come back and tell me how poor a parent I really was..

I don’t know about his professional help he has now, if its true his psychiatrists said "my psychiatrist actually told me that I should get away from them as soon as I can" to a 15 year old kid, then there is something wrong. If things are that bad at home that it’s harming the kids mental stability, then the psychiatrists would report and have the child remove not tell a child to leave ASAP.
Ill just leave it at that.



How many here remember being a teen and thinking you knew everything and wanting to move out due to you thought you have bad parrents.

[Ren]

My living situation isn't as much of an "Emergancy, get out now" situation rather than a "You will never be happy around these people, when you graduate high school you should move away and start your own life and own things without them." Thats as close to what she said that I can remember.

And to the people talking about me running away from my problems, I'm not running away from anything. When people grow up, they leave. That's simply what I am trying to do. Thanks everyone for being so straight forward though, I appreciate it.

[clay]

Ren wrote:
My living situation isn't as much of an "Emergancy, get out now" situation rather than a "You will never be happy around these people, when you graduate high school you should move away and start your own life and own things without them." Thats as close to what she said that I can remember.

I hate to break this to you, but being in a family doesn't mean automatic happiness. Being a family means working and living through the thick as well as the thin - together.

Unless your parents are physically abusing you, why not go to them and work through these problems?

I am sure this may sound harsh, but you're 15! We oldtimers have all been your age and have all gone through some heavy stuff, I am sure. I remember many events that as a teenager I thought meant the end of the world. But now I can look back and laugh. Thank God I lived through my teenage (well, and college) years. You will too!

But the one thing I can tell you is you will grow up and one day you may not find your parents there. Like I said, unless there are some serious issues that simply cannot be worked through (physical abuse being the foremost thought), cherish the moments you have now with your family. You may not have that chance in the future.

[Ren]

I suppose that I could wait until after college and then try Japan. I have also been thinking about Canada... I just don't want to spend my whole life in one place.

[Sumi]

clay wrote:

Ren wrote:
My living situation isn't as much of an "Emergancy, get out now" situation rather than a "You will never be happy around these people, when you graduate high school you should move away and start your own life and own things without them." Thats as close to what she said that I can remember.

I hate to break this to you, but being in a family doesn't mean automatic happiness. Being a family means working and living through the thick as well as the thin - together.

Unless your parents are physically abusing you, why not go to them and work through these problems?

I am sure this may sound harsh, but you're 15! We oldtimers have all been your age and have all gone through some heavy stuff, I am sure. I remember many events that as a teenager I thought meant the end of the world. But now I can look back and laugh. Thank God I lived through my teenage (well, and college) years. You will too!

But the one thing I can tell you is you will grow up and one day you may not find your parents there. Like I said, unless there are some serious issues that simply cannot be worked through (physical abuse being the foremost thought), cherish the moments you have now with your family. You may not have that chance in the future.

Yes, I understand what you are saying as well. Although, my mother & I don't get along as they do in the movies, we still love each other. Even when I'm ready to just jump out the window, in the back of my head I know that within days I'll miss being home.

Although, I do want to move to Japan and work towards becoming a citizen, the only thing keeping me here is my family and friends. They are the main ones supporting me!

[Budomaru]

two_heads_talking wrote:
something my father told me when I was in high school.. Grow up, live a little and when you have mastered all that life has to offer, come back and tell me how poor a parent I really was..

i'll vote against this - classic slyness attack by a father (no personal offense meant).

i'd suggest the OP clear up his/her own feelings instead of heeding people's opinions of lives that are not his/her own and follow advice that probably wont work for him/her - doing psychotherapy is a big plus and a therapist can help a lot if you have the patience and will to try hard to improve yourself and your life - the way that is best for you, not what worked for random strangers.

[Ezrach]

Ren wrote:
I suppose that I could wait until after college and then try Japan. I have also been thinking about Canada... I just don't want to spend my whole life in one place.

It's perfectly fine to want to see the world. In uni, you'll have chances to visit many places through various programs. (exchange programs, summer programs, etc.) Don't rush it, is what most of us are saying here. You've got plenty of time to do plenty of things.

The first time I left the States was the summer after my first year in uni. I've been back and forth to Japan a few times (a year as a student, a year for work), and have since moved to Korea. I'm 23 years old, and although that may sound like a century away from your age now, to most of the other foreigners I meet both here in Korea and in Japan, I'm still a kid.

[two_heads_talking]

Budomaru wrote:

two_heads_talking wrote:
something my father told me when I was in high school.. Grow up, live a little and when you have mastered all that life has to offer, come back and tell me how poor a parent I really was..

i'll vote against this - classic slyness attack by a father (no personal offense meant).

you would have to know my father.. the man has no slyness in him.. he was always straight with me and brutally honest.. he was basically saying the typical "you don't know what you have until it is gone) and i take no offense to this at all.

ask yourself this.. when you find the faults of your parents, how hard are you looking? it's pretty easy to find others faults.. it is in the finding of our own faults that we really grow, and we soon realize our parents are no different than we are, they just have a few more years of experience is all..

I love my dad, always have, always will, even when he was blistering my backside for being a moron.. lol.. did we always get along? nope, do we always see eye to eye? nope.. do i wish i was 18 again? hell no..

[AJBryant]

I am sure this may sound harsh, but you're 15! We oldtimers have all been your age and have all gone through some heavy stuff, I am sure. I remember many events that as a teenager I thought meant the end of the world. But now I can look back and laugh.

Did you ever think there'd be a time you'd say something like this? And if someone had said this to you at 15, would you have listened?

This is funny as heck, because for me the answer is "no" to both of those, and because of that second "no" I think I should have been kicked in the head by any number of adults when I was a kid.

Remember those threads where I talked about knowing the age of people posting? That "wisdom gap" is precisely the reason why.

Tony