I moved to Japan in January of 2007. At that time I had a job with Nova, which was the largest English conversation school, and the biggest foreign employer, in Japan. I came to Japan on a 1-year visa with a 1-year contract with Nova. At the end of that 1 year, I had decided to stay in Japan, however things had changed. Within my 1st year in Japan, Nova went bankrupt and out of business, Geos (2nd biggest in Japan) starting collapsing, 6000 foreign teachers lost their jobs and the English conversation school market shrunk. As a foreigner with an undergrad degree only, I was ineligible for most university jobs and the public school sector was flooded with applicants.
In my desperate search for employment and a visa renewal, I came across Smith’s School of English. My wife and I went for a meeting with Mr. Smith at the company’s head office in Osaka and within a few weeks I was working at Smith’s School of English in Otsu, and my visa had been renewed. 8 years later and I am still at Smith’s and happier than ever. In this time I have gotten married, had 2 children, travelled home for visits and abroad for holidays. I am able to live a stable and happy life in Japan without any financial worries. I am able to adjust my schedule so as to spend as much time as possible with my young children. I am the only father who gets to walk his son to kindergarten everyday! My pace of life is relaxed, my job is fun and rewarding, my visa is solid.
Nine years on and I am living a dream life. Thank you Mr. Smith.
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