The Lifer

The Lifer

"I'll probably die here; I'm cool with that"  lifer

*For more posts similar to this one, see The People in Japan

Here's the thing about lifers: they have resigned themselves to the fact that they are most likely never leaving Japan.

This is neither good nor bad. It's a simple fact that has been fully accepted and allows 'the lifer' to enjoy themselves to the utmost in Japan.

Lifers are great people to get to know, but finding them and befriending one is a fantastic challenge.

Much like the pod person, the lifer is difficult to spot. However, this is just because the lifer has long abandoned hanging out in places where short-timers and FOBs do. Lifers completely live and work in Japan and run in their own circles.

The lifer will avoid fellow foreigners like the plague because conversations with newbs and tourists have become so monotonous.

Here are the best ways to spot a lifer:

• Is the only middle-aged foreigner in a large group of Japanese people.
• Pushing a double stroller with a forlorn look
• Has been teaching at a Japanese university for more than 10 years
• Walks right by you without even a look or a nod
• Lives in a house, with a mortgage
• You notice a foreigner and think: 'Has that person been here the whole time'
• Japanese people walk up to them to ask directions

The lifer appears to wear camouflage. If you spend any amount of time in Japan, the chances are that you will often come into contact with them and not even know it. They are so comfortable being in Japan that they blend right into the scenery, even to the Japanese.

Don't confuse the lifer with pod person. The lifers usually have a great sense of humour about their situation.

Do you have a question about Japan or a topic that you are interested in that you haven't found on this blog? If so, please tell me about it in a comment. I will get a post up about it as soon as possible. Thanks for reading!!

Divvying up Gym Time

10 Million Clubs, One Gym

"How many freakin athletic clubs ARE THERE?"  newbie teacher

*For more posts similar to this one, see School Culture

This is a short informational post.

The first thing you need to know about the club activities in Japan is that they are year-round!

This creates a lot of scheduling problems for practice time. For the most part, each athletic club meets almost everyday after school and sometimes even before school (yes, in the morning).

Here are the main clubs that need to share gym time: boys and girls basketball, boys and girls volleyball, kendo, boys and girls table tennis (ping-pong), boys and girls badminton and judo. Not every school has every sport, but we're still talking about 8 or more clubs needing the gym year-round.

So, all of the coaches meet once a week or so to settle the gym schedule. This takes place at a meeting that takes, at the more maniacal schools, up to an hour a more.

Most of the time the gym will be split in half by an enormous net hanging from the ceiling, with teams practicing on both sides.

The only problem with this set-up is the damn ping-pong team! The little balls keep going through the net and getting stepped on by the team on the other side!

Do you have a question about Japan or a topic that you are interested in that you haven't found on this blog? If so, please tell me about it in a comment. I will get a post up about it as soon as possible. Thanks for reading!!