Last year when I started this blog I had big plans to update it every-week with stories of my adventures back in Japan. I had hoped to bring my happy moments here for all my friends and family to share. And yet unfortunately two things have prevented that. One being that my computer broke shortly after my last update. But more importantly another event occurred that changed many things in my life my first year back in Japan. This past year has been without a doubt one of the most, if not the most, difficult years in my entire life. I look back at it with shock that I was able to survive it in the way that I did. Now that things are better, and that I have a new computer to write this, I feel its finally time to tell the story of what happened to me this past year. A story I still have a hard time believing, and one Ill never forget.
Last year, I returned to Japan to work in the English conversation industry. Most specifically I was to join a company that at the time was the juggernaut of that industry, a company called NOVA. For years I had been unsuccessful in returning to Japan due to some medical conditions and other issues. But in October 2006 I had a interview with Nova in my old college town of Austin, Texas. The interview went so well that I was offered a job with NOVA just a few weeks later. I would be returning to Japan in February 2007, to a place called Kofu, which was just about 2 hours west of Tokyo. I was of course excited and extremely happy that I would be returning to the place I wanted to live the most in my entire life. I was a little nervous considering NOVAs reputation of not being the best school on the block in Japan, but I had read enough impressions to feel that maybe not all the negative stories were true. But what would happen over the next year would show just how true these impressions were, and just how bad this company could be.
A few weeks before I was to leave, NOVA appeared in the news thanks to a story about some of its teachers being arrested for drug possession. It was a odd story and had no connection to the events that would occur shortly thereafter. But it was interesting to read, particularly how they made sure to label the school these people worked at. Knowing that stories like these sometimes lead to others, I kinda got concerned at what could happen next. What did happen next was huge. Just a few days before I was to leave for Japan, word came that NOVA was being investigated by the Japanese government for many possible violations related to the refusal to give refunds to students who demanded them. To make a long story short, students at NOVA would buy points when they signed up. These points could be used to take lessons at a NOVA branch, or over a video phone like device that NOVA sold. Almost always students would buy very large groups of points at one time as buying more saved them money. However many students would decide to quit and wanted a refund for their lessons. Also some would come in for a demo lesson, sign up, and then want to quit quickly. In these situations there is supposed to be some sort of period of time where a full refund is allowed by law. But NOVA in both situations seemed to take matters into their own hands and redefined the idea of how much of a refund the students could receive. And from what I've learned, it was never 100%. This led to tons of complaints to government agencies about NOVA, and some lawsuits. But usually stories about these almost never were reported. This story however was much different, it was big news all over Japan, and as I was about to leave for it, it made me horrified! I seriously started to worry about my job, and I hadn't even left for Japan yet.
So a few days later, in late February 2007, I said goodbye to my family and boarded a plane and headed back to Japan. I arrived at Narita airport outside Tokyo and was met by the NOVA contingent, as well as some other new arrival teachers. Immediately I was shocked by how nice everyone was, including the NOVA staff, and at the documentation I had received. It was all professional and not as I had read online. I was helped on my way to the trains I needed to board to get to Kofu, and given all the info I needed. As I rode the late night train to Kofu I thought, "Maybe its not bad at all." I finally arrived late at night at Kofu Station and was picked up by my boss at my branch, who was a really nice guy. He took me to my apartment where I finally was able to relax after what was I felt a trip that was way too long. After meeting my new roommate, and talking about the recent news, I went to relax, happy that my wish had finally come true, but still nervous about all the news. My new boss reassured me however that it was just formalities and that I should not worry at all.
After a few days of exploring my new hometown, buying a Nintendo Wii, and getting settled in again to Japan, I started work at my NOVA branch in the center of Kofu. I was lucky to be trained in branch by one of the area trainers, which made me happy as I didn't want to go all over Japan to train. I also met my fellow workers, many of whom I would get to know very closely over the next year. All came from different places all over the world, and every one was nice and great to talk to and work with. The Japanese staff were also very kind and friendly to me, although I have to admit I was quite shy at first, even with my Japanese language ability. I also was greeted by a letter on the teachers message board, that came from the NOVA head office. It was in regards to the recent news about the government investigation into the company. Just like my boss said, it said that the allegations were not true and that they were cooperating with the government and that everything would continue as normal. I decided at this point that there was no reason to panic, and to just relax and try my best to enjoy my time and not worry about things out of my control.
So for the next many months, I worked at three different branches in and around Kofu. At all three branches I was introduced to some of the most interesting and wonderful students I had ever met. All these students were hard working and a joy to teach. And most of all, they were very friendly. I loved my job a lot, it was challenging and fun. But it was difficult at first too, as I tried very hard to improve as much as possible. At first I started teaching only adults, which isn't the most easy thing to do, especially with only three days of training. But I tried very very hard to improve my skills and try new techniques I learned from the other teachers. I also started teaching kids, which while fun, was not the best thing in the world. I loved teaching kids, but looking back at it now, the materials we were given, and the procedures we used to teach English to them was kind of a joke. I sometimes would compare it to daycare, and thats how it felt. I also taught something called Voice. This was a class where any of the students can just come in and talk about anything. There were no books, but we could make games up and do just about anything. I enjoyed this a lot, however my voice classes tended to degrade into constant, "What anime do you like Matt?" sessions. So much so, I would find out later that the one complaint I received at NOVA was in relation to this. But in the end everything was good. My branch was very successful, always full with students eager to learn. I was making a nice amount of money, and I was really enjoying my job. And slowly the news about NOVA seemed to quiet down. This happen especially after a unfortunate event occurred where a NOVA teacher in another part of Japan had been found murdered. At first some of the Japanese media were quick to pounce on the fact she worked at NOVA, but within a day, in every media report, NOVA was never mentioned, and the sign at her branch would be blocked out when shown on TV. Other than that, I never saw any news on NOVA. It seemed like things would be OK. I distinctly remember a Sunday evening poker game that would be held in my apartment (against my wishes) by my roommates, where a fellow foreign teacher at another company that was there asked us if there had been any update on NOVAs legal troubles. I said at that time that it had all quieted down, and that maybe everything would be OK. Little did I know how wrong I was, and I would learn just a few days later just how bad the situation really was.
While I had stopped paying attention to the news, NOVA had lost a key battle in the Japanese Supreme Court over the refund issue. This was a major blow to the company, but not as big as what happened on June 13, 2007. On that day, which was one of my days off, I received a weird phone call from a friend in Tokyo. He asked me if NOVA would close forever the next day, as he just heard so on the news. I didn't believe him that such a thing could happen. Yet when I went home, I saw why he was worried. NOVA was all over the news, as the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry handed NOVA a major sentence of punishment over its business practices. For six months, NOVA would be banned from signing any long term contracts of more than one year to new students. This was a major blow to NOVA as this is the main resource of income for the company. The president of NOVA, a man named Sahashi, as all Japanese business leaders do in major scandals, apologized with a bow for the cameras. However his bow was insanely short for a apology, but it was the big news of the day. As you can imagine, my anxiety level jumped 10000 percent at this point. I fully expected the next day to be one of the worst days, as I expected NOVA to be a ghost town.
However when I went to my branch on that day, I found it to be the busiest day I had ever seen! Every class was filled with 4 man classes. Now my first thought was "OK They are all just trying to use up their points before its too late." But when I talked with the students I was reassured that this was not the case and that they were very worried about all of us and thats why they were there that day. My boss also spent the day trying to reassure us that while the decision was a terrible one for the company, it did not mean the end of NOVA and that still while there would be difficulties over the next six months, if we worked hard, we would get through them and we would be OK. He kept saying especially how Kofu was different, how successful our branch was, and how the students would never leave us and that it would be OK. By the end of the day I felt more confident in my skills and my job. I felt like it was possible that we could get through this if we tried, and that it wasn't the end. And I was right, it wasn't the end. It was only the beginning of the terrible end that would soon come.
As June went to July things seemed to be normal. We couldn't sign new students to long term plans, but we could still do other things. And so the staff were hard at work trying to keep everyone happy and sign people up to short term plans. There were some cancelations, but nothing like what was happening in the big cities, where students were canceling in huge numbers. Kofu was certainly different. August seemed to be the same, but I noticed at this time that the staff were not very happy, they looked very depressed whenever I talked to them. I soon found out why. It turns out that staff had not been paid on time, and were still waiting for their salary. While we received ours on the normal time of the 15th of the month, they did not receive theirs on their normal day. This was very odd as this had never happened. It was explained away as being a computer error. There had also been word that some of the foreign teachers had not been paid at the usual 9:30AM time as always. Nerves had started to rise again. At this time, I had begun to move into my own apartment. I had grown tired of living with roommates and wanted a place of my own. I was very happy to have my own place finally, and looked forward to the future. But I was then informed that the pay situation with the staff had gotten worse. It had happened again for a 2nd month in a row, where they weren't paid. Immediately I started to grow suspicious, because the next words out of my bosses mouth was, "don't expect your pay on the 15th!" I didn't believe that at all, there was no way that could happen I thought.
September 15th should've been a normal pay day, like the 6 previous ones I had since joining NOVA. However at 9:30AM, which was the time my money was always deposited into my account by NOVA, I found there was nothing in my bank account. A hour later, still nothing. As I left for work at Noon, there was still nothing. I arrived at my branch around 1 PM and immediately ran to my boss asking what was going on. He told me that it was probably a computer glitch just like the other ones we had seen the past many months with deposits. I reluctantly agreed with him, but I knew truthfully that was not the case. I would find out a few hours later the truth. A letter would be posted in our small teachers room from the head office. It had stated that due to some sort of error, the funds would not be posted that day, and instead would be deposited in our accounts on September 19th. There was no shock, but there was plenty of anger from all of the teachers. We were asked to be patient and realize the seriousness of the situation, considering NOVAs legal troubles. We also received a letter from the head of NOVA, the man named Sahashi, apologizing for the late funds and a assurance we would be paid on the 19th.
So I waited, with no money other than the funds I could borrow from others. It was a very nerve racking time. I had no savings, no food, and very little hope. Rumors started flying in the branch and on the net about the reality of the situation. Everyone waited for the 19th for some sort of sign that things would be OK. The 19th came, and while they were late by a few hours, my salary was deposited into my account as promised. Later that night, after a day of calm and reassurance, we received another message from Sahashi again apologizing and this time making a promise that the situation would not happen again. The letter stated that plans had been drawn up to solve all the problems within NOVA due to the legal issues and payment of salaries. Considering we had been paid that day, I had felt a sense of hope returning. But in reality I did not know the full gravity of the situation. I did not know some people, particularly those higher than me, weren't all paid. I did not know the staff were not paid that day like the teachers. I also did not know that the promises of Sahashi in those letters were nothing more than baseless lies.
Considering the situation, as well as the rumors coming from the net regarding NOVA, I tried my best to stretch my budget as far as possible for September and October. While I had received a promise of payment, I knew that if they couldn't pay me once, chances are it could happen again. October came around and once again I started hearing from my bosses that most likely there would be no salary paid on the 15th. Rumors were that NOVA had very little money, that the lawsuits, the METI decision, and the mass cancelations across the country at the big city branches, had brought the company to the brink. NOVA Kofu was still pretty much normal, but the staff and the teachers were all on high levels of stress. We tried our best to keep our heads up and to teach as best we could, but in reality the situation was making us very nervous and very worried. At the same time we started hearing rumors of a stock buying scheme that could occur on the 25th of October, a day which my bosses started to say could be the make or brake day for NOVA.
So October 15th comes around, and as predicted there is no salary given to anyone in the company. Again just like in September, we received letters from the head of NOVA saying again there were some problems. We were given a promise of a light at the end of the darkness, or some stupid proverb like that, and a date of October 25th, which would be the new date of payment of salary. We were expected to hold our ground, to give ourselves to the company, and sacrifice to save it. I had even agreed to a salary cut/shift swap to help my branch out at this time. At this point, the anger started to show itself. Word started spreading of massive calls in of sickness by teachers in the main city branches, of branches closing due to people walking out or striking. At our branches however, that was not the case. We cared so much about the students that we decided not to strike or call in sick, but instead to continue to work. In our eyes, it would be wrong to hurt the students in anyway, which we worried about considering the future of NOVA. And also, we didn't have much of a alternative. So we waited for October 25th. During the wait the rumors grew, and there was even a arrest of a man regarding the stock buying scheme. It was a nerve racking time. My birthday was on October 18th, but with all these things happening, it was a horrible one. With no money, I couldn't celebrate, and everyone I knew forgot it was my birthday. I was quite depressed.
So October 25th comes, its my short day at work, and I find once I get there another letter, that the day of payment would not come. Again it was to be delayed. I do not even remember the new day that was posted, as I was too upset to remember it. The stock buying scheme never happened. I ended up teaching my classes that day through great depression. I especially remembered teaching this one girl who had just signed up for NOVA the week before, to practice her English to see her husband who was working in the states. I felt so bad for her as she was so nice and had just signed up to lessons when the company was about to fail, and yet I could not say a word to her or any student about it. I remember leaving that day unsure of my future. I biked home and actually had a small accident. I was so upset I threw my bike onto the ground because of everything that had been happening. I got home and started to contemplate what to do. Should I go to school the next day? Should I stay home and refuse to teach until I got paid? What should I do? I agonized over it, but I came to a decision, since the next day I would be going to the small branch outside of Kofu that I only went to once a week, I decided I would go and teach there one more time, to say goodbye to the students I taught there, as I knew I might not have a chance again to say that. And then I would refuse to work until I got paid. However, my plan never occurred.
I awoke the next morning to the sounds of my cell phone going off very early. As I picked it up I noticed the name flashing on it was my boss. I answered it and was told that in the middle of the morning Sahashi had been removed from office in a emergency meeting of the board at NOVA and that all NOVA branches would be closed that day. And so I would get a day off of work. I hung up the phone, happy that I wouldn't have to work, but then turned on the TV and the net to get the true story. However by this time the NOVA story was already second place news, behind the press conference of a boxer apologizing for not being sportsman like in a boxing match, in one of the dumbest forced apology events I had ever seen. But I did finally see the news on the networks and the net about the NOVA situation, and I found out it was much worse. NOVA was going into bankruptcy protection, and the reality was that all branches were to be closed indefinitely. All the money at all the branches had been collected the day before. The keys had all been sent to Osaka. The situation was bleak.
At this point, you can imagine how I felt, utter shock that the worst had indeed happened. But that comes no where close to understanding the full situation I was in. I had no money, no savings, no food, nothing. I had bills overdue to pay. Rent to pay. Everything was a disaster. The only people I could go to borrow money could only give me a little at a time. I ended up some days just eating a bowl of rice and a glass of water. I could afford very little. And yet my situation was better than many others. Some teachers were being thrown out of their apartments around the country. Some were forced to leave immediately and return to their home countries. Some even apparently taught for food. In reality I did too. At one point I was teaching private lessons to make enough for lunch, and a kind student I was teaching brought me a bag of rice because she was so worried I had nothing to eat. Sadly while the students received a lot of attention in the news, the plight of the teachers did not. Although the NOVA union, a group that did not represent any of us in Kofu and did nothing of wealth for anyone, seemed to be able to get on TV, thanks to embarrassing press conferences where members of their union would dress in pink bunny outfits mimicking the nova mascot. And so I struggled once again, hoping that something would change. My boss told me to be patient, that the lawyers that were now running NOVA were looking for a sponsor, or another company, to take over the NOVA brand. Only a couple of weeks after the collapse of NOVA word appeared on the news programs late at night in Japan that indeed a sponsor had been found. A company named G - Communication would take over the NOVA brand. At this point I jumped for joy thinking that maybe my troubles would soon come to a end. But then I heard that only 30 schools would reopen. Reality set in, and I felt lower than ever. The next day it got worse.
The next day all the workers at the NOVA Kofu branches would meet up for what it turned out to be one final time together, at a place called Hello Work. Hello Work is a government agency that deals with helping the unemployed find jobs. Our bosses had decided that it would be good to get everyone together to get some information from the government about the situation. Before we went inside we discussed the G Com news. Our boss told us to be patient and hopeful, that not all the info about G Com was out yet, and that Kofu could become one of the 30 schools. We went to the Hello Work meeting, and we were greeted with one of the most unprepared and most unprofessional and unhelpful group I had ever witnessed. There was absolutely no one there who could speak a word of English, so we had to rely on ourselves as translators. Once we informed them that none of us wanted to leave Japan, they were at loss at what to do. The government officials there had apparently from the looks in their faces been more prepared to tell us what to do to leave japan rather than to stay and find new jobs. Their lack of help, and their lack of ability to answer questions even asked in Japanese was incredibly embarrassing and totally unhelpful. We all left that day very angry.
So I continued to work private lessons, and started looking online for job ads. Unfortunately the market was so flooded with thousands of teachers at a time where there was no jobs. G Com held a meeting in Tokyo for all NOVA teachers where the head of the company made his plans known, saying in the meeting that all employees who wanted to be rehired would be. A promise that would be very important in the future. But I sat and waited to see what would happen, worrying everyday. But all of a sudden, I received a phone call from my boss, and another from our area manager at NOVA. G Com had picked NOVA Kofu to be one of the 30 schools to reopen, and I was offered my old job back. I immediately said I would return, and I was told to come back to work on November 26th. I was very happy, and very hopeful that all my sacrifices and struggles would now be over, and I would be rewarded for my hard work. The night before I would return to NOVA, I went to Tokyo to celebrate by seeing a fantastic pro wrestling show, that made me laugh, smile, and be happy. At this point I felt I had survived the worse, and that only the good times were to come.
The next day I reported to work to find two of the old staff members there, and two strange temp staff members. I would later find out that two of the girls that had worked there had decided not to return to NOVA. Slowly over the next hour, all twelve teachers were gathered together, as the area manager arrived to give us papers to sign. We were to resign from the old NOVA and to sign with the new NOVA now run by G Communication. ironically on this same day, literally just hours after I signed my resignation, it was officially announced that by the end of the week, the old NOVA would be officially shut down by the trustees and that all employees would be let go. As for my new employers, all of us were quite confused that no one would be signing a contract that day. This particularly made one teacher uncomfortable, who decided not to sign that day and to wait. Another teacher had come, only just to ask a few questions, as he had decided to leave NOVA and teach at another school in western Japan. So out of the 12 teachers employed by NOVA on October 26th in Kofu, 10 of us willingly returned to the company just one month later. That day was a day I will never forget. Students returned to sign up with the new company. They unfortunately had to pay extra to sign up with the new NOVA as G Com was not going to fully honor their old points they had purchased. But that day many people returned. One woman particularly cried her eyes out when she saw us. She had been very worried about all of us over that past many weeks. It hit me so hard that I actually cried on my way home from work that night. It was a emotional time.
That whole first week was really interesting, we did not teach any lessons, just greeted the students returning. We also played lots of Nintendo Wii and UNO to pass the time. Our first day of lessons would be that Sunday. I would have to make a major sacrifice to teach that day. I was supposed to take the Japanese Proficiency Test that weekend, something I had wanted to do for 7 years, but I gave it up last year at the last minute so that I could be there for the students and teach them. I wish I could've taken the test, but I was willing to sacrifice it for a year for the school, the students, and my job. We started teaching again, but it was very slow. Usually we would only have one or two lessons a day, as there were few students at our branch. Most did not know NOVA had reopened, especially since two of the branches in the area would remain closed. But we were paid, on time, as promised by this new company. It was not much for November, but it was good to receive some money again. Still at this time I was struggling with paying bills, many being severely past due, and also trying to find money for food. But things seemed to be looking up. Everyday more students were returning. Our morale was higher. We even learned the one teacher who hadn't signed on that first day, had taken G Com's B plan, where he would receive a advance payment for December, and then return to work in January. Everything seemed to be going great. We even had a Christmas party for staff and teachers where we would finally celebrate. But thats when the bad news started to happen again. Before even the first toast, the branch manager announced that she was leaving NOVA Kofu in just one week. It had been a surprise to us all. NOVA Kofu would be down to just one staff girl handling all the students. We enjoyed our party but I had this strange feeling that things just might get worse again.
Word then got around that G Com had decided to not hire any of the people that had signed on to their B plan. We all at our branch started to worry about our fellow teacher who was to return on this plan in January. But we had not received any word from him about this, as he was visiting relatives in Australia. As the New Years holiday came and went, word came that G Com had changed their minds after negotiations with one of the NOVA unions. However we then learned from our boss that the teacher had decided to not return for other reasons. This was a sad moment for us and the students as this teacher had been a part of our branch for a very long time, and was well liked by everyone. He particularly was very helpful to me and was a great friend.
Then some strange things happened. All of a sudden at the beginning of January our area manager called us to ask us about our Japanese abilities. It was a strange question that none of us got a answer to about why it was asked. Days later, a mandate was given to our boss by the area manager to collect our foreigner cards to be copied for the G Com head office. However due to questions of the legality of this, our branch decided as a whole to refuse to do this. Word then spread just days later that many of the higher ups that had been rehired to NOVA, such as the area managers were fired or demoted to simple teachers. G Com was taking over everything and replacing these people with Japanese staff. Worries were starting to return, but my bosses were quick to tell me not to worry or believe any rumor on the net. But I knew better and I decided to check the net again for any new NOVA rumors, and one came that was chilling. Word started to spread that at many branches G Com had begun sending teachers home on 60% salary to cut costs. This was the situation that happened when NOVA collapsed in October. When the schools closed, we were still employed but at home, making only 60% salary. This rumor worried me as it was coming from multiple sources proven to be correct over the many weeks. I went to my boss with this rumor and he quickly denied it. Yet a strange thing happened, After this denial, I learned from the staff girl that a G Com representative would be coming to visit our branch on that Friday. She told me that she was told he was her boss, but that she didn't even know that until he had called her the day before. She said he was coming to view aspects of the branch. I found it odd considering the rumors and started to think that the rumor and the visit were one in the same. But my bosses were not convinced of this. They had made big plans to have us do lots of busy work to fill in the empty parts of the schedule to show that we were working hard to this person. But yet while others were not worried, i was very nervous.
January 19th will go down as one of the worst days I've ever had to experience. I come to work all prepared to show off my best, as all ten of us had. Within a hour the G com representative appeared. He came to the teachers room and gave a very obviously practiced speech in English to us. It was so practiced and unnatural that I knew we were in trouble. He then returned to the front office. AFter thirty minutes I'm in the teachers room with no lesson doing the busy work prepared for us. My boss comes to me with a very serious look in his face and asks me to come with him. The tables in the front room were rearranged in a way where my boss, the g com guy, and my branch manger were sitting in front of me, I knew what was about to happen, and I was to be the first to get the news. The G Com guy spoke only in Japanese, and was absolutely shocked that I could understand him. He then informed me that the situation at G Com was not the best and that a decision had been made that until more students could be brought into the branch a new policy would be in effect. Basically each branch would be under a policy of 40 students to 1 teacher, and thus if there were more teachers than students under this formula, teachers would be sent home. This would be done by seniority. I was told then I would be sent home effective at the end of the day, and that I was expected to finish my work that day. Immediately I was shocked but I knew it would happen. But now I was much more worried about something else, my work visa. It was to expire in just one month. I immediately said I understood the situation but I needed some sort of assurance that NOVA was going to help me with my visa as I did not want to be thrown out of Japan. The man made a promise to me that he would immediately get a answer to me in a few days regarding it. I stood up, and walked back to the teachers room. By then all the teachers were in there and they asked what was wrong. I told them, "Its happening now", in terms of the sending people home. In all, three other teachers were sent home, and a fourth was sent home on a temp basis. We were all promised that if the branch would get more students we would be called back. My boss came into the room afterwords to talk about it, saying they would do everything to bring us back. But the moment I will never forget was the moment when after the G Com guy left, our branch manager came into the teachers room, crying in a way I haven't seen someone cry since the day my grandmother died, saddened by everything, and blaming herself for the events of that day. She had been forced to take over the branch duties by herself, only having been there for less than a year, and she felt she lost our jobs. That was not true of course, and we made sure to let her know that. That day I had three lessons, two with students that were close to me. It was a hard day, but I did the right and professional thing of teaching them without complaints and without protest. One of the students found out and was sadden by my situation. But it was nice to be given care and understanding by them as the student kept asking me if I would be OK. I left NOVA that day, not knowing if I would ever return. I went home with a level of depression I had not seen in my life in years. I informed my family of the events and they were angry and upset just as I was. But I decided to not give up just yet. I was still employed and I still was making money. But I was going to be very cautious and keep my eyes open for any possibilities. I was asked at times to come into the office by my boss to speak to my branch manager, who was still upset over the whole situation, as well as to go out for lunch at times. I was promised to be given updates on my job situation. However as the days passed into weeks, the promise that the G com individual had given me to get me a answer straight a way on my visa became a bold face lie. I waited at home for a answer but received none. I started to panic more and more as the weeks passed. Suddenly after about three weeks my boss informed me that his and my branch managers constant efforts in talking with their bosses had gotten a answer to them, but a cryptic one, that my contract was being written up right now and that it was just a matter of a few days wait. A few days is all I had left on my visa.
Then just a few days before valentines day, and with just over a week left on my visa, I received a bunch of strange phone calls on my phone. They were not listed, and I usually don't pick up the phone for those. Yet when I got four of them from the same number, I looked up the number on the net and found it was from a NOVA branch in the city of Hachiojii. They called again and I answered the phone. A foreign manager I had never heard of introduced himself and said to me that there was good news, that my new contract and visa renewal were right here for me to sign. I was very happy, but then I heard one word, "but." This is when I knew my situation was about to change for the worse. Rumors had begun to spread that now G Com was forcing people to move to other parts of the country to work at branches that were insanely understaffed. If a person refused, they would use that answer to fire or refuse to renew a persons contract. People were being let go and fired left and right because of this policy. I was told that I would have my contract if I moved to Nagoya, Shizuoka, or some other out of the way area. I was not given any word of a consequence of saying no, but I knew what the answer would be. I had no money, so moving was simply impossible. And not only that I had no intention of leaving Kofu. I had many friends here, and I was close to my second home of Tokyo. This with my money situation, even with the tiny help they said they could provide me, as well as my debts, were simply too much for me to say yes. Not only that I was unsure of the future of the company, and was not confident in any of G Coms promises, especially since they had broken every single one of them told to me and others. I told the person on the phone that I can not, and I can only stay in Kofu. It was the only option. He told me he would talk to his bosses about my situation which was quite serious and call me back later that day. I immediately received a email from my boss in Kofu after the phone call (as he knew I would be in contact with G com that day) and I told him the situation. He replied simply by saying "Take it." I replied back saying I would not, and he told me that this was all just going to be temporary and that I would be back in Kofu in a month or so. When I asked him how he knew this, he told me thats what he had been told the night before over the phone, and was told of the places I would be sent. There was just one problem, the cities he names were not the same cities that I was told personally. I knew that no one really knew what was going on. I did consider my situation, and moving briefly, and I countered it with what the odds were of finding a new job would be. I decided that I would not move, I would stand in place and fight for what I thought was right. I had sacrificed plenty for both NOVA and G Com, and I wasn't going to be pushed into a corner and screwed anymore. I received the phone call from the manager that night and was told simply put, this was the only option, my job at Kofu was over, that the move was permanent and that I must decide then. I said no, and he then told me that he was sorry but I would not be offered a new contract and that effective the next week, when my contract ended, I would be unemployed. He asked me if I would be OK, and of course I wasn't, and offered to give me a day to think about it some more, in some Im sure hope that I may decide to move to save my visa. When he called the next day, I never picked up the phone. I informed my bosses of my decision and of my firing, with mixed replies.
I was asked to come in the next day to talk to my branch manager once more. She was obviously upset, and took time off from her work to speak to me. She was able to do this as NOVA Kofu had been sent two new staff to man the school with her. It was very hard coming in having to be introduced to the new workers when I had been fired the day before. I felt very low. My branch manager however was so kind to me. I was literally holding back tears, and she listened as I thanked her for trying to save my job. I told her that I couldn't accept their demands and she agreed with me and said I did the right thing. She was upset saying she didn't do enough to help me, but I know she did. She even told me she was told a set of places I would be sent to as well that was different that I and my boss had heard of. She then spent her entire break looking through the phone book for places I could call to find jobs in Kofu. As I left the building, my boss came out again just to make sure I was OK, but by this time I had lost it and started crying. It was too hard for me, too emotional. At the same time this day, I wrote a long letter to the man at G Com that had told me I would be sent home on Jan 19th, begging for another chance at my job in Kofu. Days later I would receive a response to this letter at my branch, but I never read it. I was told basically what it said, and it was the usual nothing can be done response. But I didn't read it as I felt that if I did, G Com would win. I had said what I wanted to say, and my hope was that someone felt horrible for what they had done to me. While Im sure they never did as it was their job to send me home and fire me, if it did make them feel upset or down, then I would be happy.
At the same time I fully decided to put all my effort into trying to save my life in Japan. I returned to Hello Work, this time applying for help in finding a job. Luckily this time the people there were more helpful. I was able to change my visa to a tourist visa so that I could have three months to find a job, and I started calling schools around town looking for jobs. Luckily one of the first schools I called called me back for a interview immediately. I went just days after my firing, and was asked to do some part time work for one day. Which I did, with the hopes that maybe I would get a job at the school. At the same time I received a email from my boss at NOVA. i was still employed with them for a few days, and I was requested to come to a party there that weekend. I went by the office one day before as I had been given the opportunity to use the computers to write up a resume. My bosses and branch manager knew I had no computer at the time and wanted to help me out. Ironically on this day G Com changed the student to teacher ratio to 60:1. Even more ironic is that I broke the news to my branch manager before her bosses did. All her work bringing back students, which she had done a great job in, to bring me back had been for nothing thanks to my firing and the new ratio. At this time, I was asked by my branch manager if I was coming to the party, and then I was told what it was for. It was a welcome and goodbye party. The welcome part was for the new staff, and the goodbye was for the temp staff that had been there for a week. I had thought that maybe the party would be for me, considering of all the people that worked there, and those that had been sent home, I had been the one that was fired and now unemployed, and the one most needing of a party. But it wasn't to be. The day of the party was a bad one. I went to the other school for my day of part time work, and left to find my bicycle had been stolen from the station. I then went to NOVA where I stood around by myself while others worked. No one talked to me or anything. I stood there asking myself "why the heck am I here?" That night most of the NOVA teachers, including all those that had been sent home were there. Everyone was in a good mood, except me. I was not happy. I was beyond depressed and very angry. I came very close many times to storming out of the building, but I only stayed truthfully for the free food. I particularly was not happy at the way many people were constantly reminding me that I was not fired, but let go based on my answer to the move question. By the time the party ended, my boss noticed how angry I was and spent a hour in the freezing cold outside the branch talking to me, trying to listen to my frustrations and depressions. I biked home that night saying that I never wanted to return to that building ever again. However the day before my last official day at NOVA I received a call from the branch from my other boss at the branch asking me to come in the next day to sign some papers regarding the end of my job. I seriously considered saying some choice words and refusing as I didn't want anything to do with NOVA and G Com anymore. However I decided to be the better man and went the next day, signed some papers and left. But I was still not in a good mood. That day I received nothing, not a thank you, not a good bye, nothing. Not even one of those message boards people get when they leave jobs or school in Japan. For a year I sacrificed and worked hard at my branch, and I got almost nothing that day as a thank you.
Meanwhile during this time I continue looking for work. I waited for a answer from the one school, but the promises of phone calls always were late, and answers were never given. I had a second interview with another school but the school didn't have any openings at the time. Luckily I received the best news in weeks when word came that the government of Japan had processed our NOVA backpay very quickly. Thanks to employment insurance, I would be able to receive 80% of the salary I had earned. It was not all the money I was owed, but in the beginning of March, I received nice fat check from the Japanese government that would help me pay off all my debts and keep me in Japan through the end of my visa in case I didn't find a new job. But even better news would come. One night I was searching the net when I came across a job posting for a school near my area. I decided to send my resume through the net, via my Nintendo Wii as I didn't have a PC. Within 10 minutes I had received a phone call from the head of the school asking me if I could come in for a interview that week. I said yes and I ended up going just a few days later. I had a quick interview with the boss and the head teacher. I went well and I was asked to come in for a second interview where I would view some classes and try to interact with the kids in the classes, as this school was mainly a children's English school. I went that day and was absolutely amazed by the children. The school was packed with kids. There were more kids at this one school than all the students at the three nova branches in Kofu combined! And more shocking was the English speaking ability of these kids, it was amazing! I had a great time that day, but I was shocked at what would happen next. At the end of the day, the boss at the school named English Plus, offered me a job with the company right there to start the next week. I immediately said yes. After weeks of not working, months of suffering, and countless hours worrying about my living situation, I had become employed again and saved my life in Japan.
Just a few days later I went to visit one of my friends at NOVA, who had been sent home. He had decided to quit NOVA and return back to Canada, but was enjoying his last few weeks in Kofu. We went bowling that day, but we dropped by Nova to say hi. There I was able to give my branch manager the good news that I had found a new job. She was very happy to hear the good news. Even more importantly, I was able to see some of the students again for the first time in a long time. Surprisingly all of them had thought I had gone back to the US. I was sadden by this as I had asked the staff at NOVA to make sure the students knew I was still in Kofu, but I understood that they must be dealing with a lot of issues with the school now and that it must've slipped through. They were all happy to see me and they all were even happier at my good news. That was the last time I walked into that building, and to this day I vow that I will not walk into NOVA again. While there were some great times there, there are too many bad memories there as well.
A few weeks later, the students held a goodbye party for my friend at NOVA. I was invited to that party as well. While it was mainly for my friend, it was great that I could go and see many of the students again. I felt like I had done a good job teaching them, and they all said I had. I may not be their teacher anymore, but the friendships I had gained was very important to me.
Its been over three months since that party, and many things have happened. Most importantly for me, I have worked hard at English Plus, improving everyday as a teacher. English Plus is a great school, with great students, but its also a hard job. Its much more challenging than my job at NOVA was, and requires much more effort and work I find. But the challenge and the rewards are great. I make more money there, and my future is much more secure. And just like NOVA, the teachers and staff there are great friends. While I haven't been by NOVA since then, I have kept up with the news. Of the five of us that were sent home back in January, three decided to let their contracts run out and return to their home countries. They were happy with the situation and were glad to be able to enjoy the end of their time in Kofu as much as they could. The final person, who had been working part time with NOVA even after being sent home, found a better job in Tokyo Im told. Sadly the firings continued just recently. Two more teachers, including my boss, were fired for refusing to move to different branches. They had been at the school for years, and were both big helps to me in my time there. And another teacher has decided to quit considering the situation. The two staff girls that were sent to help out the branch were both sent back to their original places as well. Now only the one staff girl and two teachers remain. Meanwhile the number of students in the branch has reached a high level I'm told, and the student to teacher ratio has increased again, and according to rumors is now as high as 300 to 1, but I've heard different rumors on this as well so Im not fully sure on it. G com has struggled to make NOVA be anything close to what it was before. Teachers have been fired left and right to the point now that branches have little to no one to teach their students, and students are now almost unable to book classes at any branch. And the man who ran the old NOVA, the man by the name of Sahashi, was arrested this week in regards to the NOVA collapse. News stories have begun appearing again in regards to the situation giving more insight into what caused the NOVA collapse.
Even though I went through a extremely difficult situation, I have many things I am proud of. For instance, I have no regrets at all at any decision I made in the last year. Every sacrifice I made I made for my students and I did so to help them and my job. I do not regret my decision to not move, and everyone tells me that it was the right decision in the end, and that the request of me to move was not the same you would see other Japanese workers be asked to do for their companies. But most importantly Im proud of my work, and Im proud to have been able to survive the worst parts of this situation. Im proud to have been able to find a new job all by myself in another country, although the help I did receive from my boss and staff manager was very beneficial there. Im proud of the students who I have taught, many of which have come to me thanking me for helping them. Im proud of everything I've done. When people ask me how I feel about what happened, I tell them that I believe you have to go through the worst parts of life sometimes to get to the best parts. I've experienced in this year through one company being asked to lower my salary to help the school, to work when i wasn't paid, being laid off, being rehired by the new owners, to be sent home a second time, and then unfairly fired. I have experienced everything you could imagine bad happening in a company. But now today I a happy. My job is great, Im making money again, and my life is getting back to normal. I no longer am worrying in the same ways I was just 5 months ago. I have a lot of goals now that I can once again try to achieve. The bad times are now over, and now the fun can begin again.
One thing however is for sure, I made a lot of great friends during my time at NOVA Kofu, and I miss them. So of them I haven't heard from in many many months. Many I don't expect to hear from again for a long time, particularly the students. But I am very glad to have met them and hope to see them again soon. And as for the staff and teachers there, it was a group of people the worked hard together through a difficult situation, and came out as great friends. They helped me in so many ways, and I will always thank them for that. So to Jim, Erich, Gareth, Mick, Travis, Jenny, Stephen, Glen, Saori 1, Saori 2, Ai, and Chiharu, and all the others I worked with, I give a big cheers to! They are the best, and I miss working with them all.
So thats my story about my first year of work in Kofu. Work was hard, but fun was fun. A lot of good things have happened too. As promised I will start writing about the fun very shortly. As I finally start working on this blog. Until then, see ya soon!
