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By Cari, on October 26th, 2007%
It’sOva: probably the only part of the situation that anyone can laugh at.
Nova files for bankruptcy with debt of ¥43.9 billion Not surprised, but it’s still bittersweet.
The crippling blow came in June, when the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ordered Nova to partially suspend business because of false advertising. The penalty, which included a ban on long-term lesson contracts, caused student enrollment to plummet and sparked the closure of several schools. Paychecks began coming in late.
That’s interesting to read given the timing of taking Financial Techniques for Tourism Development this summer. Not everything can be accounted for in a . . . → Keep Going: Roasted Bunny
By Cari, on October 22nd, 2007%
yeah, that sounds a lot better in Japanese….I no naka no kawazu taikai o shirazu.
I remember when I first learned the proverb from one of my students the first time I was in Japan, but I forgot about it until I read it this morning in The Blue-Eyed Salaryman.
Cover included because I can’t even begin to tell you how much attention it garnered this morning on the platform waiting for the train. I love the “salaryman” font myself. I haven’t gotten too far into the book yet, but in many ways it reminds me of The Accidental Office Lady, which . . . → Keep Going: A frog in a well knows not the ocean…
By Cari, on October 7th, 2007%
Things have only gotten more interesting in the last month. I’ve enjoyed the Facebook groups as a venue for re-connecting with old friends from either stint in Japan but they’ve also given me far more information about the current state of the bunny.
Nova Collapse Feared is certainly an attention-garnering headline, but it doesn’t say anything new. The fact that students are turning up having not been notified that their school closed is very symbolic of Japan. In that sense, I’m not surprised that information hasn’t been more forthcoming… it’s not the Japanese way. As for the staff, it’s sad. I was . . . → Keep Going: Bunny: Redux
By Cari, on September 16th, 2007%
So it seems that NOVA’s financial struggles, due in part to their METI sanction handed down in June, have come to a head with teachers not being paid according to their contract. Reports had surfaced last month of a huge operating loss, but I admit I’m somewhat surprised. I guess I just didn’t think it would get so bad so quickly.
I didn’t love Nova and they weren’t perfect, but part of the reason I went back when I returned to Japan in November 2005 was because they’d always done what they’d promised for foreign teachers: they arranged the visa, arranged housing . . . → Keep Going: Bunny Goes Bust?
By Cari, on May 27th, 2007%
When I can’t figure something out, i.e. the coin operated cold drink dispenser in the local shop, I think people will expect it. After all, I’m a foreigner. And then I realize that I don’t look like one. When that happened in Spain, it didn’t seem abnormal because I was only one month removed from Japan, but now it’s been a year. I’m surprised it hit me the way it did. Of course the whole foreigner thing (as well as thinking ikura desu ka? when I was wanting to ask the price of something in the shop) is further complicated by . . . → Keep Going: Gaijin…but I don’t look it
By Cari, on April 12th, 2007%
First encounter with a place, as with love, is one you never forget. As I’ve alluded to in the past, for me, it’s Spain. Even today, almost five years since my first return trip to Spain in October 2002, I can’t forget the feeling of seeing the same statues at Atocha and the same vendors near El Prado. It truly felt like I never left. It’s funny how some places just get their claws into you.
During my two years Down Under, I eventually made it to the real outback, fed kangaroos by hand and even held a koala at . . . → Keep Going: First Encounter
By Cari, on March 22nd, 2007%
Thanks – got it – that is a very fine, thoughtful review; would you please let the reviewer know how much it is appreciated? The author Lesley Thomas was very gratified to read it, and would like to tell her that she is working on another book about women in Lapp and ancient Norse cultures.
E-mails like this are part of why I love doing the review for Front Street Press. Although Far Eastern Press seems to be a bit bigger than Golden Quill Press/The Write Source was when I worked with them on Tell it to the Future, there’s just *something* . . . → Keep Going: Reviews and Tattoos
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