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emilie_rainbowInstead of going straight to graduate school at the end of next year, I think I want to move to Japan for a year or so. Go to one of the language schools, immerse myself in the language and culture, live in a tiny apartment in Tokyo, get a job tutoring English or a bilingual internship.
I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do with my life lately and I really don't know anymore. I want to do something within the anime/manga industry, but I don't know what. Translation, editing, adapting, marketing...they all sound like viable options, and they all sound interesting. If it didn't mean a life of poverty, I think I'd just stay a student forever, but since that isn't practical, I need to come up with some kind of real plan. I've been leaning towards getting a degree in marketing, but I haven't reached the level of fluency I want with the Japanese language yet. A lot of the reason I wanted an East Asian studies degree was so that I could further work on the language. I want to research the culture and write about it and just learn, too, but I could do that in an informal way if I went to language school in Japan. And, really, one year in Japan is as expensive or maybe even a little less expensive than two years of graduate school.
So...yeah. I don't know if this is actually going to be feasible, but it's what I'd really like to do. I need to go back to Japan, and I think this sounds like a good way to get that accomplished. I mean, I need to look into scholarships (language school seems to average around a little less than $10,000 for one year, plus housing, food, airfare, etc), and getting a visa and all that jazz, but I'd really like to do this. I miss Tokyo like burning.
And Joel said he's willing to come with me. What more do I need?
I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do with my life lately and I really don't know anymore. I want to do something within the anime/manga industry, but I don't know what. Translation, editing, adapting, marketing...they all sound like viable options, and they all sound interesting. If it didn't mean a life of poverty, I think I'd just stay a student forever, but since that isn't practical, I need to come up with some kind of real plan. I've been leaning towards getting a degree in marketing, but I haven't reached the level of fluency I want with the Japanese language yet. A lot of the reason I wanted an East Asian studies degree was so that I could further work on the language. I want to research the culture and write about it and just learn, too, but I could do that in an informal way if I went to language school in Japan. And, really, one year in Japan is as expensive or maybe even a little less expensive than two years of graduate school.
So...yeah. I don't know if this is actually going to be feasible, but it's what I'd really like to do. I need to go back to Japan, and I think this sounds like a good way to get that accomplished. I mean, I need to look into scholarships (language school seems to average around a little less than $10,000 for one year, plus housing, food, airfare, etc), and getting a visa and all that jazz, but I'd really like to do this. I miss Tokyo like burning.
And Joel said he's willing to come with me. What more do I need?
