掲示板 Forums - Moving to japan in a year, i need advice please
Top > 日本語を勉強しましょう / Let's study Japanese! > Anything About Japanese
I know very little about Japan, but I'd like to think I know a little about life. I'm sure that you'll do well in Japan and make plenty of friends.
Be polite by default, but be casual when asked to. Be yourself, and you'll find friends with similar interests. Maybe join a club. Take my advice with a grain of salt, because what I know about Japan is derived from watching the anime they produce, so I'm no authority figure on the subject.
頑張ってください！
Nono!! youre a great help, thank you so much!! i really appreciate it, ill try my best to fit in socially 
I think Lucirie’s concerns are valid and ought to be taken seriously. One problem I see is that if they start school a year from now, they will be entering in the middle of the term. That will make it harder to join clubs and make new friends. It will also put them on the spot academically, adding to the challenge of coming from a different schooling system.
If it all possible, I would try to join the school in April at the beginning of the school year. Maybe that means leaving for Japan a few months early. It might mean missing the end of the academic year in the old school. The other option is to take a gap year (nine months), spending that time getting used to Japan and Japanese.
Thank you so much for your attention
Luckily i do get to decide when to go as it is my parents decision, so i will send this message to my mother, tahnk you so much!!
My guess is that they are part of an exchange program, and probably do not have a lot of say in when they go.
I was a high school teacher (in Japan) for a number of years. If I had to give only one suggestion, it would be to join a club, and be careful about which club you join. This is not to say that there are *dangerous* clubs, but you tend to see a HUGE variation in club sizes in Japan. It might be the baseball club with 60-80 members, of the culture club with 8.
If you are looking to find a social "home" for yourself, then a smaller club will probably make it easier for you to be around the same people each day and have a higher chance of talking to them, getting to know them, etc.
The decision to travel was made by parents as a result of poor conditions from where i live currently. As im from an arab country this will be a huge switch for me, however this was needed because of political tension making things more dangerous than theyve ever been. I have control as to when i could go as im the one who first proposed this travel, with both of my parents as Lebanese with ofcourse no knowledge of japan or the language, Renshuu has really been my lifeline and i couldnt thank you more
I do have some hobbies which i really hope would allow me to connect with potensial friends, i love my instruments and ill without a doubt join a music club.. is what ive always said, but arent those type of clubs really lagre? especially orchestral clubs and the like.. they'll probably be competitive too.
But even with worst-case-scenario, i am currently 14, by the time i travel ill be close to 16, so even if things dont go smoothly, it's just 2 years of school lol
but really, thank you all for the advice, i really didnt expect this much help, this is all really precious to me!!
I was an exchange student too, once. Not to Japan, to be sure. In my experience, exchange students tend to hang out with each other, despite everyone’s best efforts to the contrary. That community includes host families, past participants, and future exchange prospects. It’s not what anyone considers ideal, but it’s a safety net that many fall back on.
However, bullying of exchange students cannot be tolerated. They are guests of the host community and need to be treated as such. Otherwise the exchange program falls apart.
If an exchange program is the reason for “Moving to Japan …” then it isn’t really a move, just an extended visit.
I do wish it was an exchange program as atleast id have people i can talk to and rely on, instead ill be going there with no connections and no one i know. even worse, its in the countryside so i cant really hope to find english speakers. But im sure they will be welcoming!!
Thank you so much for your reply
Inaka many people are a very close-knit community. You`ll be entering the most volatile time of anyone's life.
Some may be very welcoming however, because again Inaka means not much happens and having a forigener suddenly come in could be like a wow factor. You could very well be something like a leprechaun or bigfoot. Everyone wants to know you.
Others have already said it, but join a club you want to partake in(just be ready for the commitment).
You`ll more than likely be a great help to a lot of the students during English class so take that as an opportunity to get to know some of the other students. They may see you struggling in a subject, so they may want to help in return.
In terms of memes? Most of what the kids know you should know as well. There are a few japanese exclusive memes(running meme with Gundam IBO theme, dancing CW pumpkin man with Hathaway flash`s main theme), but generally if a meme is popular in the US chances are its popular in Japan. Like Japanese people are aware of the throwing PC in the trash meme.
If all else fails, just use cat memes.
Learning Japanese? Books and using sites like Renshu as supplementary material. But going to Japan will be THE best method of learning, but try to avoid staying with your fellow foreigners. Again join clubs, go to certain places like card shops(if you are a fan of CCGs).
Maybe i could rile up some folk tales, ill be sure to wander the local woods in a full fur suit for maximum efficiency
I hope i wont have to resort to Facebook mom humor so im praying for shit-posts to be common
But really, thank you so much for your reply i really appreciate it
Ill def have to take advantage of my gaijin-specialties to socialize there
Worst case scenario ill just rot under some stairs
Before you go, find a song in Japanese you can probably sing well in karaoke, ie suits your vocal range. Practise it as much as you can now so you will be able to impress your new friends when the time comes. (Then, don't ever admit you practised it.)
I SUCK AT SIGNING!!!!!!!!!
but hey atleast it'd make others laugh
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