Before You Teach English in Japan (trip warrior wounded)
No commentsBy Albert Garcia
Teaching English in Japan truly can be the opportunity and experience of a lifetime. The chance to make life long friends, learn a new language and start your international career off. It can be all this and it can be none of this. Along with the skyrocketing popularity of those hungry to experience Japan has also come the unscrupulous recruiters and job placement organizations who promise the naive teacher the world and give them nothing.
Let’s look at some common methods recruiters use to lure unsuspecting teachers into unfair contracts, bad working conditions and poor living conditions.
Often you’ll see adds that seem simply too good to be true. You may see adds that will promise or guarantee placement, personal apartments, free language lessons, piles of paid vacation all with the added allure of the chance to experience the unique culture of Japan.
Basically, if it sounds too good to be true it is. Because of the competitive nature of running English schools in Japan any one school can’t afford to give 10 times what another does. It flat-out doesn’t make sense.
Having said this, here is a short list of tell-tale signs that something is “fishy” or a scam.
1. The recruiter asks for fees up front for placing you. The company that employs you will pay any legitimate recruiting firm.
2. They ask for “visa processing fees” or some other administrative fee. Payment of these fees is the responsibility of your employer and not you.
3. They don’t use a legitimate street address. Instead they rely on a post office box address.
4. Any company that charges you for job leads claiming that they have an inside track on ‘great jobs” that never make it to the paper or internet. The truth about getting good job leads is actually learning about them from other teachers who have worked those jobs and now are headed home.
5. Be suspicious of overly prestigious sounding names.
6. Get everything in writing. Look at the contract carefully and make sure everything is in line with accepted labor practices. Ask in Japan ESL forums if something you find in your contract is accepted or is typical of other schools’ contracts. (You’ll be surprised at how much you can learn in a short period of time.
7. Never fall for the “We’ll get you a working visa after you arrive” line. (It’s illegal to teach in Japan without a working visa or other proper visas like a spousal visa.)
8. Don’t cave into a pressure pitch like “there are only 2 more positions available, so we need a firm commitment from you now” sort of a thing. Haven’t you seen enough of this in T.V. commercials telling you to “call while supplies last” or “hurry supplies are limited.” Same thing.
9. Never give out personal information like credit card or bank information.
10. Don’t even consider a company that won’t issue you a working contract or one that will bill you per job lead.
Following this simple advice and using a little common sense will go along way towards making sure you never get caught in a recruiter’s scam.
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A Visit to Le Pere Lachaise
By Albert Garcia
Le Pere Lachaise is a beautiful and historic cemetery. For a grave-hunter, it is a vital stop on a trip through Paris. It is most probably the worst-laid-out cemetery. But, in spite of the frustrating layout, it is an amazing place to visit.
The Cimitire du Pre Lachaise, which occupies 44 hectares on the eastern border of Paris, is one of the city’s less noticeable attractions, yet features on many a visitor’s itinerary. The cemetery is named after the Jesuit priest Pre Franois de la Chaise, who was confessor to Louis XIV. It became the most prestigious burial ground in the whole of the city, due to its location and royal connections. Created on the orders of Napoleon in 1804 by the famous architect Alexandre Broignart its design is based on that of an English park and features not only many large trees, but also sculptures and monuments by illustrious French artists. Some 70,000 graves adorn the site, with famous names including writers, such as Molire, La Fontaine, Honor de Balzac and Oscar Wilde, singers Edith Piaf and Maria Callas, composer Frdric Chopin and impressionist painter Camille arro. Jim Morrison’s grave invariably attracts the most attention, despite attempts by the authorities to discourage the cult atmosphere that can threaten to disturb the otherwise respectful ambience. Pre Lachaise is the largest green space in Paris and the peaceful surroundings make it a popular place to escape the bustle of the city.
The gravesites at Pre-Lachaise vary from a simple, unadorned headstone to towering monuments and even elaborate mini chapels dedicated to the memory of a well-known person or family. A lot of the tombs are about the size and shape of a phone booth, with just adequate space for a mourner to step inside, kneel to say a prayer, and leave some flowers. It’s a beautiful and tranquil place-full of history and death, yet somehow strangely uplifting.
The cemetery manages to compress an increasing number of bodies into a restricted and already crowded space. One way it does this is by combining the remains of multiple family members in the same grave. At Pre-Lachaise, it is not uncommon to reopen a grave after a body has decomposed and add another one. Some family tombs contain dozens of bodies, often in several separate graves.
Although the tombs of Pre-Lachaise date back as far as 200 years, they are not all equally well maintained. Each family or estate is in charge for the upkeep of its own monuments, and while a few are in excellent condition even after centuries, many have not been touched in decades. So it is very common to see tombs that have collapsed or otherwise fallen into disrepair. Often the engravings are completely worn away, making it impossible to tell who was buried there or when; maps of the cemetery show only the most famous occupants. In recent times, Pre-Lachaise has adopted a standard practice of issuing 30-year leases on gravesites, so that if a lease is not renewed by the family, the remains can be removed, space made for a new grave, and the overall deterioration of the cemetery minimized.
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Tips for Chartering a Private Charter Bus
By chris howe
Are you interested in leasing a giant greyhound bus? If this is your first time chartering a massive greyhound bus, you will not know that you that will be in a position to decide on your own bus and bus driver. There are a large range of enormous greyhound bus chartering companies that have significantly massive fleets of buses with all types of possibilities. If this is the case, it is not uncommon for you to be in a position to settle on your own large greyhound bus to charter with a favourite driver. While this is nice to own your own bus and driver, it might take considerable research and preparation. That’s why one should investigate the benefits and downsides of selecting your own large greyhound bus to charter.
The most clear benefit of selecting your own giant greyhound bus to charter is the very fact that you’ll have exactly what you want. It’s no surprise that buses come in all totally different sizes, shapes, colours and styles. There are many charter buses that are intended for those traveling on business. These buses tend to possess fewer passenger seats, but more conference area house or working space. There also are massive charter buses that are designed to accommodate a massive number of passengers, like an organization that’s chartering a large greyhound bus for a visit, such as a faculty basketball or football team. When choosing your own large greyhound bus, make sure that you’ve got enough space for all your passengers. Moreover, also guarantee there’s adequate space for everybody to be cozy.
Another pro to selecting a particular giant greyhound bus and driver you would like to charter is satisfaction. One among the foremost common reasons why people select to charter giant greyhound buses is because they need a personalised, personal journey without the interference of outsiders. Several of people who charter a massive greyhound bus are bored to death with the hassles and discomforts of economic travel. For several, chartering a large greyhound bus is enough to make a deep sense of satisfaction.
There are various blessings to choosing your own massive greyhound bus to charter. But, one must additionally think about the disadvantages as well. One of those disadvantages is that the unimaginable cost. There are a small number of huge greyhound bus chartering corporations that charge an extra fee to handpick the big greyhound bus and driver of your choice. While this fee, is comparatively tiny, it is enough to notice the pain. It is conjointly important to note that a lot of large greyhound bus chartering firms charge additional money for their highly requested buses and most common drivers. If you are wanting to choose a bus and driver that is fashionable, you will find it a little bit more expensive. And don’t fail to remember to tip your driver. Drivers often get ten percent tip!
One more disadvantage to picking which giant greyhound bus and driver you would prefer to charter is availability. When it involves availability, there are 2 main instances where a drawback may arise. For starters, you will realize that your initial choice of a bus and driver isn’t accessible for the time frame that you wish it. This is often most typically seen with a certain kind of bus style and therefore the time of year your group wishes to take a trip. For example, chartering a giant greyhound bus and driver when there are school soccer playoffs, you will have a troublesome time finding your most well-liked bus and driver.. The upper a bus and driver comes ranked and suggested, the tougher it might be to induce accessible reservations at any time of year. With this in mind, if you select to try and do business with massive greyhound bus chartering company, you will provide to pay a premium to accumulate the bus and driver of your initial choice. Otherwise, you are advised to possess several buses or bus types as a backup plan.
An added disadvantage when selecting your own large greyhound bus is location. Many giant greyhound bus chartering companies have buses and drivers spread across the United States and Canada. If you’re trying to charter a bus in Fairbanks, but the bus and driver of your alternative is found in Homer, you will have a slight dilemma. But for that bus can be making a one-way trip to Fairbanks right round the time that you simply are requesting this charter, you’ll want to pay an further fee to urge the bus and driver of your choice. In some instances, it is not uncommon to possess a bus chartering company refuse your application for that individual bis and driver whether or not you offer to pay the premium.
There are a variety of advantages and drawbacks to handpicking your privately chartered bus and driver. When making your finial decision, you should contemplate whether this equipment is correctly maintained by qualified mechanics.
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