Quick Update

This post is just to briefly try to catch everyone up on the recent news in my life. I found an incredible apartment in Kyoto that is close to all of my schools as well as in a nice area. More on that later. I was also supposed to go to Tokyo today to start my training, but lo and behold when I called the hotel to request internet access in my room they informed me that Interac had canceled my reservation. Awesome news all around. So I call Interac and they tell me that my hotel had been canceled because my training had been switched over to my new managing branch of Hamamatsu and they were supposed to have informed me of this and of my new training. The Tokyo branch was as surprised as I was that I had no information about the change in training and after calling the other branch they said that they should have sent me the info. However I assured them that I had received no such email/call as yesterday I bought a train ticket to Tokyo which I obviously wouldn't have done had I known about the training change. So I'm waiting to hear back from them about training as apparently it will be done by my new branch at some as of yet undecided time, but the good news is that my ticket will be refunded. Not that they had much choice in the matter as I told them it absolutely would be if it did turn out that I wouldn't be going to Tokyo for training as the blame lay squarely on their shoulders. So who knows when I'll be training.

Good news is after my Nova experience I have absolutely no expectations for this new company as all ESL companies over here are corrupt/inept/abusive, etc, so today's news didn't faze me in the slightest despite the last minute change of plans. I also am no longer shy about demanding compensation over the company's mistakes, something I would have been hesitant to do before simply because I was not used to dealing with a large overly bureaucratic corporation. Now I have learned that to get what is rightfully mine I have to pursue it aggressively or else they simply ignore you. Also I was shown again that in dealing with a company it is my responsibility to make sure of arrangements they have provided as I will be the one affected by any mistakes on their part. Ah the excitement of the real world never ends. Harsh lessons I suppose, but ones I am certainly taking to heart. I'm learning that ultimately the only person you can count on is yourself and success or failure largely depends upon the work you put into whatever goal you are trying to achieve. Not that I am brushing aside the massive amount of support my family has given me in my time here, but at the end of the day I am responsible for what happens.