Some news about Nova--the company filed for bankruptcy a couple weeks ago and has until Nov 9 to figure out whether it can find a sponsor or liquidate. So far the rumors are that they found a sponsor and will be re-opening a tiny amount of schools in the Osaka area next month and slowly rebuilding from there. As for when we will be paid the salary owed to us, I think that we are in the middle of the list of priorities with rent for buildings being the first. I don't want anything to do with Nova anymore besides receiving my final payment and I think that I got out just in time. Right now, thousands of teachers barely have any money to scrape by and many have been evicted from their Nova apartments and are staying with friends. Some can't even afford a flight back home and so are stuck in an awful position. As for finding new jobs, the market is saturated with unemployed instructors since the filing for bankruptcy and the amount of jobs available at other companies don't come close to having enough openings for everyone. I've been told it's really tough to find a job right now. It's really unfortunate. I'm all moved into my Fujisawa apartment with two new roommates, one of them being an ex coworker from Nova and so far it's been great. Fujisawa is also a nice place to live because there is always something going on, it's close to the beach, and still not too far from Yokohama and Tokyo. I have been working at my new job for about two weeks now, and I really like it a lot. My coworkers are all in their 20's and the atmosphere is upbeat and energetic. I love them already and we always go out to local bars after work. Berlitz as a company is already far better than Nova ever was in that I feel like a human being when I'm working there and not a dispensable number. And of course, Berlitz will pay me on time monthly, something I used to take for granted before I came to Japan. Once that happens, I can start saving again and then eventually go and experience some more of the country outside of my local area of Fujisawa, Yokohama, and Tokyo and also some other parts of Asia.
Despite all the bumps in the road since I got here, I regret nothing. Retrospect only leads to being unhappy with the present and to want to go back and change things that have already happened would be a waste of time. The only things to do are learn and move forward. If I had by chance chosen a different date to arrive here, say earlier in the summer, I would not have met the people I have become great friends with, possibly would not have even been placed in this region, and would not have a great new job with a better company as I do now. Anything done differently on my part could have possibly resulted in my coming home much earlier than planned and I am satisfied with every choice I made. I have also learned an immense amount about myself and getting through these first few months has boosted my confidence in that I now know that I can make it on my own. I want to thank everyone who sent me messages and supported me emotionally through the whole thing. Your encouragement played a huge part in my being able to work everything out in this very very different and sometimes difficult country, and I know I wouldn't be feeling half as good about my situation had it not been for constant morale boosting on your part. I know some people here who didn't have that kind of support and watched them break down with anxiety about everything that was going on with Nova as it affected every aspect of their lives. Seeing that only made me think more about how lucky I am.
I updated my pictures since the internet at my new place is much better than the old one. Here are the links for those who are interested, newest ones at the top:
Japan (*_^)
http://www.facebook.com/al
Japan <('.'<)
http://www.facebook.com/al
Japan <(^_^)>
http://www.facebook.com/al
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