Here comes the first blog entry and I don't really know what to write. It's been a year since I made the decision to go back to Japan.
It's part of my Master's degree to do an internship and I thought about going to Japan for that.
Since I study project management, it was easy for me to find companies where I could apply my knowledge and learn new things. However, Corona came around the corner and threw a spanner in the works. None of the companies in Japan responded to me or I only received refusals.
So I had to come up with a plan B.
I knew that it was enough to have a connection with the internship in a small branch of my studies.
Accordingly, I decided to join a programme run by the organisation World-Unite in which I attend a language school part-time and work part-time in a ryokan/onsen. There is the possibility of living with a host family and thus experiencing Japan intensively once again.
Around that time (Oktober 2020) I received a positive answer from VW Japan.
First, I got a promise from VW that they were interested in taking me on as an intern. In December I received an email saying that the Corona figures did not allow me to start in March, and at the end of January 2021 I was informed that no new interns would be taken on until summer 2021. Thank you, Corona....
Up to this point, my plan was as follows:
- from May to September, internship at VW Japan
- from October to March 2022 language school and Ryokan
- going back to Germany and writing my Master's thesis
After I received the last mail from VW, I was incredibly unsure what to do. My perfect plan was broken, and I now needed a plan C! XD
Plan C is up to date and hopefully Corona is safe!
With some stress and effort, I managed to register for the language school a quarter early. I applied for my new passport, registered with the language school and sent all the registration forms POSTAL to Japan.
Thank you to the German post office for your super reliable work!
While I was registering, I looked for funding options for my stay. The costs of the language school, accommodation and the programme itself should not be underestimated, and as a student, it's not easy to get a loan in Germany.
So I applied for a PROMOS scholarship at my university and received a partial scholarship! With that, I can at least pay for the flight and the quarantine period.
Besides my studies, I worked as a temp and was able to put a little money aside every month. In the meantime, it's enough to pay for the language school. So all that's missing is the money for the host family...
So if you have any ideas on where I can get €5,000 within the next three months, please let me know.
In the meantime, I'm preparing everything for my visa application in Germany as well as my interview documents for the host family and the Ryokans/Onsen I want to apply to. Learning Japanese should not be neglected either. My goal is to use my time in Japan in the best possible way to make great progress in language and specific knowledge about my working environment.
The short version of the current plan is as follows:
- End of June flight to Japan + two weeks quaratine
- From July to December language school and ryokan
- From January to June, possibly an internship at VW or continue working at the Ryokan.
- From May to July I write my master's thesis in Japan. Possibly at VW or in the ryokan.
- September Hokkaido trip with Lu
- back to Germany master thesis colloquium
As you can see, the last year has been very very exciting for me. Many changes of plans and yet the stars seem to be aligned for me to go to Japan. I am optimistic that I will find a great host family and a great workplace with wonderful colleagues. I'm really looking forward to seeing my friends in Japan again and making new ones. I am looking forward to meeting some of the Instagram community and having a wonderful year in Japan.
I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Please excuse my somewhat bumpy writing, I haven't written a blog post in over 4 years.
If you have any questions about my trip or the preparations, please ask. Suggestions for topics I could write about are also very welcome.
Stay healthy
Sayu
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