My Japan Success Story

After I graduated from university in 2008 and walked straight into the beginning of the economic recession, I began to realise that my opportunities were a touch limited. I was slightly miffed by the idea of having spent 3 years at university only to end up working part time in a local shop to earn my crust, so when a family friend suggested that I could learn to teach English and go live abroad, well it was a light bulb moment to say the least.

I have always wanted to visit Japan and so threw myself into researching how to gain a qualification that would allow me to go and live over there. I came across i-to-i by a basic google search and (after being dragged down to the Leeds office by my mother to check if it was a ‘real’ company) decided to book myself on the 100 hours course. This was the best one available back then and it gave me the added bonus of the job placement which was what really sold it to me, the knowledge that someone could help me get in touch with a reputable agency in Japan.

I started the course and spend the next few months battling through tenses, auxiliary verbs and the like all the while wondering why I was never taught this stuff at school, it seemed incredible that I needed to upgrade my own knowledge so that I could teach what appeared to be advanced English to school children, ‘poor them’ was my first thought. Anyway, after a rather laborious process I finally succeeded in completing my nice and meaty 100 hour course and got my certificate. Once that had arrived at my door it was simply a case of applying to Interac, who contacted me after I submitted my application to i-to-i and hoping they would think me suitable for a teaching role. A telephone, face to face and video interview later I was informed that I had been successful and would be going to Japan. Hooray! Banzai! Insane packing and planning for my visa began as the months began to count down…

A few months later I had arrived completely exhausted and jetlagged in Japan to start the biggest and most incredible adventure of my life. 4 days of orientation training followed (5am morning start with jetlag do not mix, believe me) and then I was off to what was to be my home for the next 13 months, a quaint little town called Shibata on the outskirts of Niigata prefecture which as it turned out was absolutely my idea of a home from home.

Over the year I worked with 8 different schools of elementary and junior high school grade and enjoyed the highs of spontaneous trips around the country, after school activities with students and making some of the most fantastic friends ever as well as the lows of trudging to work through hip high snow and sleet and getting lost in the mountains. Throw in a few festivals, some seriously good food and some close encounters with mountain monkeys and snakes and you have an entirely awe inspiring time from my life.

Now back in the UK, (after getting caught up in the first Iceland ash cloud extravaganza, whoopee!) I am now working as an intern for the company that started it all for me, i-to-i. The irony is that because of my experiences abroad I am well prepared to answer customer queries about living in a foreign country and nothing delights me more than a nice chat with someone about their dream of living in Japan, I understand that dream very well.

Even though I’m due to leave i-to-i in October I’m more than grateful for all the opportunities I have gained through i-to-i especially for giving me the knowledge I needed to achieve a life long dream. I count myself as a great success story as thanks to i-to-i I now have a second home in one of the most fascinating and culturally refined countries in the world and unlike most TEFLers, I got to experience life on the other side of the customer journey from the inside track.

• Japan
• TEFL
• 100 hour TEFL course