March has almost completely left us behind, but a lot has happened, and I feel like I'm getting back into my groove. I was pretty down for the first half of the month or so, and it was hard to look for jobs. People don't want to hire people that don't believe in themselves. I had a few interviews but nothing really worked out.
Ty's giant surprise for our third anniversary was pretty awesome. I didn't like being blindfolded for an hour while we were driving (Harry Potter audio books kept me entertained), but after I found out we were spending a day at an indoor water park I felt much better. XD I mean, who doesn't like to stand under a giant bucket that drops 700 gallons of water on you, and ride on giant water slides? Even the ones that weren't so giant were fun. It was a much-needed escape from reality, and made me remember who I was.
Although I ended up falling into my old mood right when I got back, I was able to snap out of it. For some reason Ty was able to get through to me. I'm not going to get a job with a depressing attitude, sitting on the couch, and he came with me to drop off applications that I would have waited on. I think that was what did it, and made me realize that you can't wait on things forever either, or nothing will get done.
Since last week was spring break for the college students, I was able to meet up with two friends that would have otherwise been insanely busy, and we had tea. Kiyomi is one of those rare Japanese people that actually means what she says, so you can actually talk seriously with her. I completely agree with her that it's really sad that we have such a good Japanese program here, but graduates have such a difficult time finding jobs where they can use Japanese, especially when they decide to stay in the United States - even if they have second majors to support it. It made me feel better knowing that I wasn't the only one struggling with that situation. I know the East Asian Studies chair holds an annual information session where people discuss career paths after graduation, but I went to it, and it didn't help that much. Basically, all they said was that if you want to get a job in the country of your choice, get an English teaching job. It's pretty much the only freaking job you can get in Japan if you're foreign and straight out of college, unless you're lucky.
I really want to help the current Japanese majors understand the main roads, actually. True, after college it's up to you what you want to do with your life, and I feel like the Japanese department doesn't want to get involved in people's personal choices, but I felt SO LOST when I graduated. If they just had an information session about jobs or something, I think it would help them out a lot. It's not forcing them into anything; it's just letting people know possible options.
In any case, talking with her made me feel much better, and I felt like I have my own life, what with going to see a friend and not tagging along with my boyfriend. Coffee or tea was about the one luxury I could afford with what money I had left.
I also went to meet Mariko for tea on Easter Sunday, and although we originally planned to go to a café, I thought it would probably be closed (being a holiday and all), so we went to the 5th floor of the Biochemistry building instead. Mariko was really busy with research there, and there's a kitchen! I hadn't seen her for an entire year. She sounds on track with what she wants to do after she graduates in December, but she's a bit disappointed. She wants to go back to Japan for grad school, but there are no programs in Japan for what she wants to study because it's so new, so she has to stay in the United States, and she'll be so busy that she won't get to go back to Japan 4 times a year like she does now. However, her last semester won't be very busy, so she says once summer starts, she'll be able to hang out more. We're still going to get together for tea again soon because the biochemistry building is convenient for her, and it's free :)
Lastly, I landed a part-time job earlier this week! All the people there seem awesome. Training and orientation is today ^^ Luckily the man I interviewed with was the same cheerful man I talked to on the phone when I scheduled the interview, and the format was the best kind for me: just having a conversation and trying to get a feel for what the other person is like, not asking all those cold, impersonal questions. They were asked, yes, but it was in a much more friendly, congenial way. I'm excited.
Lastly, I woke up this morning and I saw that a friend of mine from studying abroad was on, and I talked to her for the first time in about two years. She's Thai and just got a job at Bridgestone (the tire company) as a Thai<->Japanese interpreter at a factory. She says it's really hard. Interpreting is not easy, after all. I know she'll do well ^^
OK, work starts soon. I'm out.
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