20/20

Dear Chris,
Spent the last couple of hours reading the site. Some pretty funny stuff! I was thinking of going to Japan via Geos in the near future but after reading the stories and the message board I'm getting second thoughts. Is there anything good you can say about Geos? If you were given a second chance, would you do Geos again?
Sincerely,
Rudy Blundell.

Dear Rudy,

Thank you for your kind and generous e-mail. I must say that it is a refreshing change from the typical hate filled rants that I receive. I swear to God I don't know how my ex-girlfriends and former employers found my e-mail address. I don't try to promote the site in any way.

Please forgive the lateness of my reply. You see, the day I received this e-mail, I was busily engaged in some serious soul searching. Which Puffy gal is more musical? Which is the "cute" one?

I was in deep, brow-furrowed thought when the phone rang. It was the local newspaper delivery service asking me if I was interested in subscribing to the Yomiuri Shimbun. I said, "No." The guy then rather cleverly guesses I'm a foreigner and asks me if I want to subscribe to the Japan Times.

"The Japan Times?!" I shouted,"The paper that runs a weekly column by Amy Chavez? No fucking way!"

Naturally I was too flustered by the thought of receiving anything by Amy "I-Live-On-A-Little-Island-And-Every-Day-Is-A-Bad-Hair-Day" Chavez delivered to my door once a week to continue my pondering.

Anyways, would I do it again? Hmmmmm...difficult question. Yes. I probably would. Let me explain. When I first came to Japan I had no idea about eikaiwa. I had a vague notion that it involved teaching. GEOS gave me the time I needed to learn that a friendly teacher is waaaaay more popular than a strict, stern taskmaster. Especially in eikaiwa. I also found some very good text books that I continued to use after working at GEOS in my illustrious eikaiwa career. Those text books are available at many good bookstores here in Japan. Or you could rip them off from your school-whoops! Did I say that?

In that GEOS supplied apartment, I should have offered my own English lessons. I should have poached students left right and centre from GEOS. I should have...ah, hell, I should have done lots of things. I didn't because I didn't know the game.

Also, Geos, NOVA, et al, seem to be some kind McDonald's-like training ground. I'll bet if you go into a job interview at some mom and pop eikaiwa place and you're up against a guy fresh from customs and immigration at Narita sporting a Mr. Wong T-shirt, you'll get the job because you've gone through boot camp with one of the Big 3. Find out where he bought the Mr. Wong shirt, by the way.

Something I would do differently is not stay longer than 18 months. That's about all any sane person should be able to take. I should have heeded the warning signs: spastic flinching upon viewing the building the school was in, catching myself saying, "Always Be Closing!", listening to the alarm clock ring, shutting it off, remaining on the futon without an ounce of motivation to get up, watching the clock tick off the minutes noting the buses that I've just missed that would have taken me to work.

I hope this answers your questions, Rudy.
Take care,
Cheers,
Chris