New job etc.
Just thought I'd fire off a quick missive to let you all know how I'm doing. Yet again, apologies for the long time between posts...I am truly honored that people still actually read this blog, and hopefully I'll be able to post more once my free time increases.
I am 3 weeks into the new job now...it's going well, I'm enjoying it. I work for a multinational publishing/communications company called ITP, and the branch I work at (in Nisshin-shi, a largely uninteresting eastern suburb of Nagoya) exclusively produces manuals for Toyota cars. My job largely involves proofreading said manuals that have been translated into English, as well as some translation (the translation work will increase as my knowledge increases). I am the only gaijin in a building of 90-odd people so I feel somewhat conspicuous (luckily there are numerous English speakers, though). These last 3 weeks have mainly consisted of training exercises and receiving various explanations (there's a lot to get my head around), and generally getting used to stuff outside of the hermetically-sealed world of Yamasa and in real, scary Japanese society.
So, it might not sound like the most exciting of companies to some of you (the glamorous world of OWNER'S MANUALS! whooo), but I feel like I'm learning lots, and I feel lucky and thankful to whatever higher power you might happen to believe in for the chance to be here doing this. As was largely not the case with my previous jobs in the UK, here I have the chance to experience a society that still feels alien and exciting to me and to learn new things every day. And not just Japanese...through my proofreading work and through trying to explain grammatical errors to my co-workers (why is it wrong? I don't know, it just is! the drawback of being a native speaker) it's become necessary to research and study the English language as well (did you know that, if you have a list of 3 or more things - for instance "English, French, and Spanish" - the often un-used comma between the 2nd item and the 'and' is known as the Oxford Comma? Which is like where I'm from and stuff. Yay Oxford).
I am still in Okazaki at the moment and, whilst this has given me a chance to still hang out at the school bar more often than I probably should, the daily commute hasn't been ideal (usually around an hour and a half, door-to-door). But this Saturday I should be moving into my own swingin' bachelor pad in Hirabari (eastern part of Nagoya) which will put me within cycling distance of work (or 10 mins by subway). Let's fun!! ^^
