稲川素子事務所での経験談
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2009年の夏にITの仕事から解雇された後、次の仕事を探すまでの期間、少しでも収入を得ようと稲川素子事務所と契約することにした。リーマン ショックの影響で正社員の仕事を見つけるのは非常に困難な渦中、日本に住む外国人にとってエンターテインメントの仕事は安定していると聞いたから である。困難で、かつ莫大な時間を要する就職活動中、長期の安定した仕事を得られるまではエンターテインメントの仕事をして低迷していた収入の埋 め合わせをできれば、と思ったのだ。ちょうど自由の身だった私は、与えられたどんな仕事でも引き受けることができた。
初めてもらった仕事は、外国人がよく出る歴史劇のテレビでの仕事だった。撮影中、この業界で仕事をしている他の外国人に会った。彼らに、これは私 の最初の仕事で自分は稲川素子事務所に入ったばかりだ、と言ったところ、1人の友好的なアメリカ人の男性が、気を付けるようにとアドバイスをくれ た。彼は私よりも日本のエンターテインメント業界での経験があったので、詳しいことを聞いてみた。すると彼は、“給料をもらうのはいつだと言われ た?”と私に聞いた。“2か月後と言われた”と私は答えた。彼は“6か月くらい見たほうがいい。給料をもらうために、何度も電話をかけて催促し た”と言った。それを言われて心配になり、英語の教師の仕事を探そうかとも考えた。
How You Know You've Been in Japan Too Long
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- You bow when talking on the phone.
- You've figured out kanji for your name.
- You have a personal inkan and a koseki, and you know what those are.
- You've accidentally said 「お疲れ様です」 to a friend from your native country.
- You take your shoes off when visiting your native country.
- You get upset when having to use a toilet without a heated seat and butt spray.
- You forget to tip when visiting your native country.
- You've gotten stuck in the door when rushing for the train on multiple occasions
- You've been scolded by train station staff for rushing into the train on multiple occasions.
- The first thing that
Living in Japan - How to Get Rid of Coins
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Anyone living in or visiting Japan is no stranger to walking around with a bucketful of coins in their pants/purse. The excitement before your first Tokyo subway ride soon quells as you're greeted by a flurry of coins spraying from the ticket machine like a Las Vegas slot hitting the jackpot. Tourism stamina wanes as you really start feeling that 10-pound metal load clinking in your pocket.
I don't know why Japan loves coins, but the reason rests in the fact their paper money starts at 1000 yen, roughly a $10 bill back in better economic times. During my years living here, I've developed a few techniques for coping with coin overload.
How to Get a Credit Card in Japan
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It's tough to beat a credit card's convenience, so I felt naked and demoted after moving to Japan and encountering a sea of rejection when trying to apply for a local credit card. True...I could use my US credit card, but that weak dollar / strong yen exchange rate right now would obliterate my US savings account. In addition, overseas card transactions are often denied by the vendor or credit card company or both; and sending money home to pay the bill effectively strips the credit card of its intrinsic convenience.
Damn, I wanted a local card. But at the same time I understood their reluctance to grant me one. I'm a gaijin, and everybody knows that we're the ones that commit all the crimes here. I could easily go on a crazy "Brewster's Millions" shopping spree and skip town. While jobless irresponsible American me managed to get a decent credit card as a college student, responsibly-employed living-in-Japan me failed time and time again.
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