{"id":2254,"date":"2012-12-04T10:20:26","date_gmt":"2012-12-04T01:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/?p=2254"},"modified":"2013-01-11T13:01:22","modified_gmt":"2013-01-11T04:01:22","slug":"life-after-jet-rare-skill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/2012\/12\/life-after-jet-rare-skill\/","title":{"rendered":"Life After JET:<\/b> Rare Skill"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>Living in a small, rural\u00c2\u00a0Japanese village made\u00c2\u00a0me stronger.<\/div>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like this. Now, after Japan,\u00c2\u00a0I train American students to\u00c2\u00a0prepare for the culture shock\u00c2\u00a0they will experience while living\u00c2\u00a0abroad. So, in small groups,\u00c2\u00a0I have them throw a tennis\u00c2\u00a0ball around to each other with\u00c2\u00a0one eye closed, using their bad\u00c2\u00a0throwing hand. This is awesome\u00c2\u00a0at first. Fun. They laugh.<\/div>\n
Then I say to the students,\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What if I asked you to do\u00c2\u00a0that for a year?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/div>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d get annoyed and want to\u00c2\u00a0open my eyes and throw with\u00c2\u00a0my normal hand,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d they say.<\/div>\n
Well, this is an analogy for\u00c2\u00a0culture shock. At first, when\u00c2\u00a0I went to Japan, I was like\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Woo Hoo! Life is a crazy train\u00c2\u00a0of fabulousness!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Then, after\u00c2\u00a0a while, I had to adapt to the\u00c2\u00a0difficulties involving Japanese\u00c2\u00a0language, social norms, and\u00c2\u00a0daily life, and \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as if I was\u00c2\u00a0asked to close my eyes and\u00c2\u00a0throw with my bad hand for\u00c2\u00a0a very long time \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I became\u00c2\u00a0a bit annoyed and tired after the\u00c2\u00a0initial fun-filled period was over.<\/div>\n
My point is that living in Japan\u00c2\u00a0for a long period of time is a\u00c2\u00a0skill. You have to adapt and\u00c2\u00a0improve yourself to do it well.\u00c2\u00a0So, if you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t give up, and\u00c2\u00a0can function like a normal\u00c2\u00a0human being in Japanese\u00c2\u00a0society after one or more years,\u00c2\u00a0you’ve\u00c2\u00a0acquired a skill: Cultural\u00c2\u00a0Adaptability. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re stronger\u00c2\u00a0now in ways others who stayed\u00c2\u00a0at home are not.<\/div>\n
I had a networking phone\u00c2\u00a0interview with an executive\u00c2\u00a0coach from a major business\u00c2\u00a0in America, and he said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Well,\u00c2\u00a0Brian, I look at your resume and\u00c2\u00a0I think, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcGee, this kid has had\u00c2\u00a0some neat experiences, and now\u00c2\u00a0he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trying to make sense of it\u00c2\u00a0and turn it into a career.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcNeat?\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00c2\u00a0It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lucky for me he\u00c2\u00a0couldn’t\u00c2\u00a0see\u00c2\u00a0the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You did not just say that\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0expression on my face. In Japan,\u00c2\u00a0I learned completely new ways\u00c2\u00a0to communicate – verbally,\u00c2\u00a0culturally, and physically – and\u00c2\u00a0I learned to stand on my own\u00c2\u00a0two feet when everyone and\u00c2\u00a0everything I ever knew were no\u00c2\u00a0longer there to support me. I am\u00c2\u00a0strong. That explanation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a bit\u00c2\u00a0long for the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcskill\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 section on my\u00c2\u00a0resume, and I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just write\u00c2\u00a0down \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I am strong\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as a skill. But\u00c2\u00a0I am strong. And so are you. You\u00c2\u00a0who are reading this. Or, you will\u00c2\u00a0be after a year. Stronger. Sturdier\u00c2\u00a0on your own two feet.<\/div>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m finished saying the word\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcstrong\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 now, because I know you\u00c2\u00a0get the point already. Sometimes\u00c2\u00a0though, people just need to be\u00c2\u00a0reminded of how great they are.\u00c2\u00a0That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m writing. Sure,\u00c2\u00a0living in Japan won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help you\u00c2\u00a0with the skills you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d receive\u00c2\u00a0in grad school, or at a good job\u00c2\u00a0back home. But you can still get\u00c2\u00a0a good job or go to grad school\u00c2\u00a0later. For now though, you have\u00c2\u00a0the opportunity to sharpen\u00c2\u00a0different skills. Take it. Stay in Japan for a year or longer.\u00c2\u00a0Re-contract, if you want, because\u00c2\u00a0sticking it out will only help\u00c2\u00a0you, as long as you meet your\u00c2\u00a0challenges head-on. If you threw\u00c2\u00a0a ball with your bad hand and\u00c2\u00a0one eye closed everyday for\u00c2\u00a0a year, you would be better at\u00c2\u00a0that. Well, everyday in Japan,\u00c2\u00a0you stick with a situation\u00c2\u00a0that tests your communication\u00c2\u00a0skills, habits, perspectives,\u00c2\u00a0stomach, patience, and social\u00c2\u00a0identity. The skills you learn\u00c2\u00a0from Japan are rare, and\u00c2\u00a0make you a more capable\u00c2\u00a0human being. I want to see what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re\u00c2\u00a0capable of next.<\/div>\n

Brian Keller<\/p>\n

briananthonykeller@yahoo.com<\/p>\n

Taka High School\u00c2\u00a02008 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 2011<\/p>\n

Hyogo, Japan<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Living in a small, rural\u00c2\u00a0Japanese village made\u00c2\u00a0me stronger. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like this. Now, after Japan,\u00c2\u00a0I train American students to\u00c2\u00a0prepare for the culture shock\u00c2\u00a0they will experience while living\u00c2\u00a0abroad. So, in small groups,\u00c2\u00a0I have them throw a tennis\u00c2\u00a0ball around to each other with\u00c2\u00a0one eye closed, using their bad\u00c2\u00a0throwing hand. This is awesome\u00c2\u00a0at first. Fun. They laugh. Then I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":2255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false},"categories":[295,126],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Office.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2254"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2254\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}