I just completed the online registration for a TOEIC exam on November 29th. The TOEIC is the “Test of English for International Communication” and if you are asking yourself why this is noteworthy news for me, it’s all because of five little word:
We will move to Japan!
I can’t tell you how excited I am (@^_____^@)
And because I already talked to my boss this week I feel that it is okay to finally put it on my blog.
So what happened till the last time I wrote? – A lot to be honest.
As mentioned before I was away for one and a half months on medical rehabilitation because of my migraines and general exhaustion. In the beginning I didn’t know what to expect and was somewhat apprehensive, but I am very glad I got the chance to go. It was exhausting at times as I got in touch with my emotions again but it was neccessary and the physiotherapy really helped with my migraines.
At the same time my husband had just gotten back from Japan and was (for the first time) home alone in our apartment and got to know how I’m normally feeling. In Japan he had met up with the director of a small company who he’d gotten to know years earlier while teaching him some chinese. This director then just went ahead and offered my husband the perfect job.
I was just so happy, though I didn’t want to believe it yet.
I never thought it would go so fast. The visa was applied for by the company and two weeks ago on friday he already was able to receive it at the consulate here in Düsseldorf. Last week he then immediately flew to Japan and is now already working full-time. The best part though is that he has fun doing it.
That means it is decided, next year we will move to Japan and live there for at least a few years. Of course this also means that I won’t see my family as much, won’t see my niece and nephew grow up as closely as I was able so far. It means that I will have a buttload to do until we move and I have to make a very good plan of everything I need to think about before leaving.
The planning is end of march next year so there is still time left and until then I will post the progress here and probably a whole lot of mental jumping up and down because I’m so “§@”§$%”/ excited.
So to come back to my opening: Why do I take the TOEIC? Because TOEIC test scores are very helpful if you are thinking about finding a job in Japan. Of course I will have to write my resume in english and japanese, but as for any skill you have it just comes in handy when you have numbers and scores to back it up. By the way, has anyone participated in the TOEIC before? If so, any pointers for me? So far I’m concentrating on mock-up tests.
I lost my heart in Japan 
Hey, I’ve been reading through your blog as I was very interested in your move to japan and what you had been through. I’m curious about TOEIC. I’ve never heard of it before. I’ve been looking at different blogs to find the best way to get a job in Japan without a profession over the past few months. Would this be something I would benefit from looking into do you think? By this point you’ve got a lot more knowledge on finding a job out there than me 🙂 Any advice would be much appreciated.
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It really depends on what you want to do. I saw lots and lots of job ads for corporate jobs that requested a TOEIC Score, though I am pretty sure that doesn’t matter if you are a native english speaker.
If you think about starting as an english teacher (ALT = Assistant Language Teacher) then rather than the TOEIC something like a teaching certificate would be beneficial. Though, I think if you are a native english speaker you shouldn’t have any problem finding a position. The TOEIC was for me a good choice because english is not my mother tongue 🙂
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oo okay it’s probably something we wouldn’t need then. My partner is already a teacher, so he is looking at joining the TEFL course.
I personally do not want to be an english teacher, which is why I’m learning japanese as best as I can. I am determined to find a job that doesn’t require teaching english at all. I’ve looked at the sukura house which helps you get a job and accommodation for us foreigners. http://www.sakura-house.com/en
I was just curious if you were aware of any other places like this 🙂
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If he is already a teacher I think he’ll have no trouble finding a job teaching english. As you are planning quite in advance maybe it would you could take a look at the JET Program for your partner? (http://www.jetprogramme.org/index.html)
I’m not sure that sakura house actually helps you find a job. I only heard of them in regards of accommodation. I don’t know any similar project at the top of my hat, but I will have a look around and let you know when I find something 🙂
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Thank you for your reply 🙂 I’m sorry I didn’t realise you sent it! usually I get notified by email when someone responds to my messages!
Where abouts in Tokyo are you staying?
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No Problem 🙂
We are actually living a little outside from Tokyo, about 25 minutes from Ueno
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Hey Marina, I’m starting to look at locations for us to live in Japan and we are thinking far north Tokyo. Where abouts do you live and how long does it take for you to commute to Tokyo? 🙂 Thanks in advance!
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We have been living in Soka, which is Saitama prefecture and it took about 30 minutes to Ueno.
Now we are living in Yokohama and it takes about 16 minutes to Shinagawa or 30 minutes to Shibuya or Shinjuku.
It really depends on where you are going to work because commute in Tokyo itself can take a lot of time. The loop of the Yamanote line takes one hour to get around one time.
You can use the jorudan website or app to check how long it would take to get from one place to another (and how easy it would be)
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