I am a gaijin… A outside person, a foreigner, an alien. Even if I was a citizen, because of my hair and skin colour, this is what I will always be in Japan.
( it also means I am exotic..something new for me)
A new term I heard recently is flygin, for the people who flew away during the crisis.
I read it was a bit of a sore point at some companies, that some workers with means, left, while others appeared at their desks every day. ( worker/ boss loyalty is very important in Japan… and it flows both ways)
Some Japanese were not happy with embassies moving out of the city.
I went to an international party tonight at an English school. I may be able to get some classes there when my visa comes through.
The school manager was saying that most of his teachers had left… Had become flyjin.
His school was still closed, ( end of march is the end of the school year, it starts again in 2 or 3 weeks into april) so he wasn’t sure what his staffing needs will be when it reopens.
Several people asked me if I left during the crisis. When I said no, I got several different responses… Most of them positive towards me for not leaving.
As I mentioned, my decisions may have been different with a wife and children, but so far, it looks like I made the right ones.
Time will tell, but for now I am gaijin, not flyjin
– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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