Hello boys and girls! You may or may not know me; My name is Ben Brannan and teaching in Japan is my dream! This blog is meant to document my journey to, and through, Japan. I also hope to inspire and help others who wish to do the same! I will be working as an ALT and teaching English--anyone else looking to do this can definitely learn from my coming experience! But how did a rogue computer scientist end up getting a job in Japan?
A little over a year ago, I wasn't very happy with the way things were going. A lot of people tend to stick with their life even if they're unhappy because, face it, change isn't always comfortable. But one Sunday morning I woke up (unusually early) and started evaluating my life. I realized I didn't enjoy my degree--or my future job prospects. So I set out to fix the things I didn't like in life which resulted in a pretty spur of the moment application to AEON in the summer of 2010.
I should take time out now to thank Motoko Toki, the NY Recruiter with AEON. She saw in me enough promise to warrant a second interview. Although I didn't get an offer, it gave me enough confidence and hope to re-apply for AEON and several other eikaiwas and ALT providers. I also met a great applicant at this first interview, Sean Rector, who quickly became my friend!
So during my last semester of college (Spring 2011) I applied to Gaba, Berlitz, Interac, and once again to AEON. I tried applying to ECC but I had somehow missed the recruitment window. Out of these, Berlitz never offered an interview and AEON, weirdly, didn't offer me a second interview. This time, I met Tia Haywood, who was also pretty awesome!
I was offered a position by Gaba (an eikaiwa teaching one-to-one with adults) and Interac (an ALT provider teaching children in public school). After much deliberation, I decided to accept the job with Interac and will start sometime between August 2011 and November 2011!
Awesome! Time to start the countdown! Erm... except I don't know the date I leave :|
