This week is a break between first and second semesters, but its yet to be that restful. Even when I thought I was done with all of it, I've had a surprising amount of resume/application/paperwork related stuff left over in preparation for next week's move. Also discovered I need to open a bank account tomorrow, which is great considering tomorrow is a national holiday ("Culture Day!") and thus banks are closed.
Tonight was my first full-on Japanese interview, conducted via skype. It was with Rakuten, one of the companies I would be more interested in and also felt I had a pretty decent chance at. Right before the interview I had a sudden crisis come up with the new apartment that finished only minutes before the interview, so I was maybe a little flustered to begin with. And then as soon as I turned on the skype video camera I realized I had forgotten to change into the dress shirt I had laid out and was instead still in my gym clothes.
Even after that I didn't feel it went that well, but I figure as much as anything I need experience in handling Japanese style interviews, so hopefully it will help me at later attempts. Although I'm bummed I might have missed my shot with Rakuten.
Had another interview with an American company scheduled for late tonight, (11 pm is about the only reasonable time that overlaps with their business hours) but as I was waiting for their representative to appear on skype I received an email saying "double-booked your interview lolwut sorry". Mrrrrrhhh.
More exciting stories: I had a conversation about dicks with the other guys in judo class. I was so happy when I realized the guy was asking me whether Americans shave their pubes. This is a cultural milestone in male bonding, and it means I have been accepted.
It did take me a while to realize that, though, as he was trying to phrase the question in very broken English, and from picking up "under" and "long" I assumed he was asking whether Americans wear longjohns, and I explained "they sometimes do when its really cold". This answer to the pubes question elicited unexpected laughter.
Also had another great conversation with Train Friend, who previously offered that if he met a girl who wanted to date me he would let me know. This time, as we transferred trains, I asked if he smelt something funny. He calmly explained "it is the smell of girls".
In others news of bridging cultural differences, please allow yourself to be enriched by the cultural goodness of Ayaman Japan performing Poi Poi.
No comments:
Post a Comment