Are you an English teacher? (2 cents in 2 minutes)

[SanfranciscoUB]

I was in Japan on my Ghost Protocol-0 spy mission and no one talked to me which was very comfortable for my spying mission. :D

[myargonauts]

@SanfranciscoUB excellent - I'm glad it's all going to plan... :P

[EvilOtakuEmpire]

i am not looknig forward to being called an american all the time......

[markshmily]

Just for fun I'd say I was a spy but I wasn't allowed to talk about it. :P

Oh and I'd wear sunglasses all the time. lol :P

[MrOonter]

I think it's just the opposite for me. I mention that I'm an English teacher and I end up with benefits. I swear, to this day, that I passed my driving test on the first try because I talked about being a teacher.

[JapanAndThings]

Most people don`t usually ask if I`m a teacher, but they do guess/assume other things.

[Limastudent]

At least people are talking to you. When I was there I was avoided like the plague. Rarely did a stranger talk to me. I was so heart broken about that when I arrived in Tokyo. I thought people would be interested in a young blonde woman, but at that time ( ok, a long time ago) I was shunned and it really hurt and added to my loneliness. In fact, eye contact was avoided. Hard.

[myargonauts]

@Limastudent other foreigners avoided you or Japanese folks or both? Yeah, it can be socially isolating at times, but I think nowadays, Japanese people are finally getting over their shyness/trepidation about speaking to foreigners and interacting with us.

[Limastudent]

@myargonauts I hate to give away my age bracket, but I lived in Japan 30 years ago as a teacher in Tokyo. From jvloggers I can view the many changes in today's Japan with great interest. Many of my experiences, due to the times in the early 80's, were very different. Often foreigners would not speak to each other to keep the mystique of being the only "stranger in a strange land". I was actually pointed to with gasps in the heart of Tokyo. Many times a received hate speech about WW2.

[Limastudent]

@Limastudent Just a personal view into the historical evolution of Japanese views towards foreigners. It may be of interest for younger followers to understand that with each generation comes great change but the background was not often so nice.

Still, the most interesting years of my life were in Asia.

[nikkei325i]

@Limastudent I agree with myargonauts. When exactly were you there if you don't mind me asking? From experience (as of my visits from 2006 to 2011) the younger generation is MUCH more open about foreigners and perhaps are are even willing to approach you to ask for a picture with them. Moreover, I feel like so many younger Japanese are studying abroad or at least going abroad by high school that they are much more open minded than the older generation of Japanese.

[qchome]

i have been asked (maybe) 5 times if i am an english teacher,and all 5 times on the grounds of osaka castle.

nice russian accent.

[olmyjulia]

I live in a tourist town, so people tend to assume that I'm just on vacation at first glance. If I tell them I'm living there, they'll then go to "Oh, are you studying abroad?" (I'm younger - 24) Then when it gets out that I'm a teacher, they act pretty surprised and ask about my commute, all that fun stuff. The guys working over at Eneos all recognize me, though. They initiate conversations all the time if they're not busy. I love the Eneos guys!

[myargonauts]

@olmyjulia My Eneos guys in Taisha were the best! They always took good care of me and my car/scooter.

[NikkeinJapan]

I got a coworker who thought I was Canadian all this time...until I corrected her when she brought it up at the end-of-the-year party.

[azngen1233]

has anyone every yelled "white pig go home~" to you in japan?

[myargonauts]

@azngen1233 IN English? After the initial shock, I would be quite impressed for someone to use English like that... :P

[MaebashiNick]

I get asked a lot too, and when I tell them I am in fact an English teacher, they always act super surprised and say something like.. えー本当に！！すごい！！. then that's usually followed by.. teach me teach me

[akatsukigirl02]

I really love watching your videos because you always give out lots of useful information. But I especially like your shorter videos because as much as I want to listen to everything you have to say, I sometimes lose patience if the videos REALLY long! XD So thanks for the quick but interesting video!

[myargonauts]

@akatsukigirl02 glad you're enjoying them. I understand people have a lot to watch and do on their computers everyday, so I try to make short videos. But I'll still make longer ones too. :)

[kwad8]

I am an English teacher in Korea and I have lived here for almost 3 years. The situation is similar here as well. Koreans often ask foreigners (especially white foreigners) if they are English teachers. However since I am not white, Koreans usually assume or ask if I am US army. Foreigners who are not white are usually assumed to be military or factory workers. Overall foreigners are usually assumed to be English teachers unless they fit another profile or stereotype.

[myargonauts]

@kwad8 interesting - thanks for the comment

[Krimson]

@myargonauts hmm wonder whats better, teach in korea or japan? if you like both culture : < its hard to choose...wonder if could do both eventually? XDD

[Misha0angel]

Are there lots of exchange students at the university you teach at?

[myargonauts]

@Misha0angel Sadly, no.  I think the lure of rural Japan is not as enticing as the lure of schools in Osaka or Tokyo.

[Andr3wco7]

Thx 4 upload!

[guibin]

ah what about Asian Americans in Japan? When I was a exchange student in Japan a few years back, no one gave me a second a glance. It was all directed at another exchange student friend of mine who was white. Do you know any Asian American JETs?

[myargonauts]

@guibin yep, have known plenty of Asian JETs from many different countries, including America, Canada and Australia. No denying their experience in Japan is much different than mine, but all that I've known have had a good time on JET just like me.

[MaebashiNick]

@guibin I have some Asian American JET friends and I would say it's a lot different for them. Mostly because everyone expects them to speak Japanese, whether they can or not. So if we went out to eat in a large group, most of the time the people working would look right past us(white Americans, Australians, Canadians, ext.) and they would want to speak with our Asian friend

[elsamuraiguapo]

Well I could answer your question Jason, but I'm from San Diego so you already know well what it's like here.

[onceatraveler]

I only escaped the "are you an English teacher?" question once in Japan, and that was when I was volunteering in Ofunato, the tsunami-affected area. It was quite remarkable. Kids were more respectful, there were fewer touristy-type questions. All in all, it was one of the times I felt the most respected in Japan.

[AndySan]

How do the Japanese treat the foreign (ie American) military?

[myargonauts]

@AndySan I think that would depend on location - my guess is the guys and gals stationed in Okinawa, where relations are strained, are treated somewhat differently than those stationed in Yokohama for example. But overall, I've heard that relations have improved in the wake of the tsunami assistance the US provided immediately following the disaster.

[KansaiJesse]

When I was attending my Japanese university, most of the students knew I was also a student, but b/c I have a nice well groomed beard, all the guards mistook me for a teacher which they promptly saluted me when I would arrive or leave through the main gate.

[AwesomeKazuaki]

Teacher, the outfit fits you well! you look like a Japanese judge! You're really handsome!

[OtacooI]

unless your young looking. then they might assume youre a student.

[freedomwv]

Yeah man, I have gotten the 'are you a English teacher' question from time to time. Although, I have also gotten the 'are you a artist' and 'are you a business man' question as well. I live in Tokyo so the degree of anti-foreigner or stereotypes is a bit different. The one thing that is true about Tokyo is that most J-folk assume that I am American, which I am. The big advantage of living in Tokyo is that I run into more people who will attempt to judge me on the content of my character.

[Gimmeaflakeman]

I want to hear more of your Russian accent. Good vid.

[myargonauts]

@Gimmeaflakeman have me on "2 1/2 Oyaji" and I'll do all my accents for you :P

[wobina]

I live in San Francisco and we are VERY diverse. But I've learned through personal experience and psychology class that diversity actually INCREASES racism. Like tend to stick with like even in a diverse place. Our neighborhoods are broken up by race (Chinatown, Japantown, The Fillmore (black), Little Saigon (Viet), Pacific Heights (white) etc.)

[hoosierhana]

in the town i'm in, there are only 3 of us foreigners... so yeah, they know i'm an english teacher and most of the time the first question is "are you from america?" and then "where in america?" and... as soon as i answer indiana most people stop talking b/c they don't know where it is!!! lol

[myargonauts]

@hoosierhana Well, the SuperBowl is in Indiana this year! :)

[apocaRUFF]

@hoosierhana Indiana? Where's that???

Not really, spent quite a few good vacations in Indiana :P

[lankeysob]

How much of your lessons are in English and how much is in Japanese?

[myargonauts]

@lankeysob My lessons are almost 100% in English. Of course, I use Japanese at times for explanation or like simple commands, like "pass your papers to the front" and I can chat with students after class in Japanese about their grade, etc - but in class, it's ALL English.

[lankeysob]

@myargonauts Ok cool thanks! Got a few more semesters left until I'm going over to teach, "hopefully." Was just curious about how you do your lectures. Anyways, Thanks!

[alphafour]

I'm living in Hyogo but I commute to Suita city and Umeda because I'm both an exchange student and an English teacher at GABA. When I tell clients at GABA I'm only 21 they look a bit puzzled but when they see that I delivered a good lesson they don't seem to mind so much (or so I hope..)

[ItchyKneeSon]

People tend to be more surprised when I tell them I'm an English teacher here. People think I'm either a student or businessman. Which is kind of funny because I'm one of like 10 white people that live in this city and after nearly two years here, a lot of people have heard of me.

[Forbzyful]

Cheers Jason. Found this interesting =)

[ericsurf6]

Respect Jason! Remember, the longer and greyer the beard, the more respect you get.

[myargonauts]

@ericsurf6 Eric - have you seen the new Van Halen video? You could so play David Lee Roth in a bio-pic!! :)

[PannaIka]

The point came across well. As a student in Texas it's diverse, but there aren't that many Asian people around. The few I do see don't look at with scrutiny. :P

Also this video is 2 Jason minutes.

[myargonauts]

@PannaIka under 3 minutes is still in the "realm of 2 minutes" :)



[nyannyan123456]

@PannaIka Two Jason minutes thats funny. I really like his videos all the same though.