A surprising shift

I have been working for Interac for almost a decade now.

I started here because back then it was the only company that hired English speakers who didn't know how to speak Japanese. I graduated under a different degree, far from becoming an English teacher. But it was my first time in Japan and I have zero Japanese proficiency. I thought I'd work for the company for a year or two, while I study Japanese and acquire my JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) certificate.

When I first started, I found it very challenging. I didn't really have much trouble dealing with the students, as kids are not that hard to get along with, but all the barriers I faced with my coworkers at school were. The cultural barrier, language barrier, even though at that time I was studying Japanese, so I already knew some expressions and could get by with everyday life, I still struggled a lot.

I remember calling my manager all the time. Complaining and whining about how my week-long training was disparate from the real workplace. I was adamant on quitting after my first contract. In the first 3 months of working, I think my manager was sick of my emails, but with her patience and support, I was able to make it through to summer break.

During the entire summer break, my mind was set on leaving the company, I was already looking for other jobs. But when I came back after the break, I started liking it. I grew accustomed to my surroundings, I learned how to cope and adapt to my situation. I found satisfaction in overcoming the daily mundane challenges of living and making a living in a foreign country.

I guess because I started out realizing that I find joy in growth, I just continued to evolve. Most of it is not recognized by my company, because my assignment is remote from the main office, but it is definitely recognized by my workplace and my peers.

Fast forward to almost a decade later, I still find joy in growing and evolving. I teach in junior high schools. If you think about it, anyone can teach. Everyone has the ability to teach. But not everyone has the ability to be a teacher. To wear the many hats that a teacher has, to embrace the diversity of minds that a teacher gets to work with everyday, with ages ranging from toddlers all the way up to retired co-workers who still volunteer their time at schools. I find myself constantly learning something new about them, and in return, I learn something new about myself too. I get to unlock a perspective, a character in me that I never would have had I taken a different path.