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JoshuaZ · 02:01 AM

I'm only posting this because someone asked in a different thread. Here is the recent history of JoshuaZ, who disappeared off MacNN and now sometimes comes back.

When last we saw JoshuaZ he was living the good life in Hiroshima, Japan. Teaching English and spending all his money SCUBA diving around Asia. Well after 3 years teaching he finally found a nice fellow English teacher who somehow liked him. After a year of long train rides across Hiroshima every weekend, they decided they should find new jobs and live together.

So they quit their easy Hiroshima jobs and applied for joys in Tokyo. Which they thought they had, until the last minute when both of them found out theiy were completely unemployed. Through a wonderful twist of fate a random job called them and they both got jobs in the same city in a nearby prefecture.

Welllll they then found out that JoshuaZ's work VISA had run out by a week, and thanks to him not having a job to extended his VISA that previous week, his Japanese Work VISA expired. So back in the US on a short vacation they decided to get married in Chicago so JoshuaZ could leech off his lady's valid Work VISA. Only no one could know. Thats right, no one in either of the families knows about their forbidden VISA marriage in Chicago which only cost $50. (In case you're wondering, getting a new teaching work VISA in Japan takes something like 3 months, and my new job needed us in two weeks.)

So now JoshuaZ is living at the base of Mt. Fuji with his lady. Teaching at another public school, for far less pay, trying to figure his life out. Probably going to get a masters degree in Education starting next summer.

So thats what you missed in the life of JoshuaZ this past year, when he more or less stopped posting on webforums of all kinds (its not you, its me. Actually, its the dumbasses on some Japanese ex-pat forums I posted on).

turtle777 · Oct 16, 2009, 01:41 AM

Wow, congrats. Quite a story.

But why can't the family know ?
Because of their preconceived ideas of how things ought to be ?
(What you did doesn't sound illegal to me, just using a loophole to get the Visa.)

-t

imitchellg5 · Oct 16, 2009, 01:58 AM

Beautiful pics. The third person is weird

JoshuaZ · Oct 16, 2009, 01:59 AM

We both think that our respective families would be 'down' with a court house marriage. Elements of hers and mine are a bit more... traditional. So we're keeping it on the down low until we make it super official.

The whole VISA thing is mostly ok, except my real 'marriage' VISA just came through after two months of 'volunteering' at my current job, and even now I'm only allowed to work 28 hours a week...

Laminar · Oct 16, 2009, 08:13 AM

Originally Posted by JoshuaZ

Thats right, no one in either of the families knows about their forbidden VISA marriage in Chicago which only cost $50.

I envy you.

Dork. · Oct 16, 2009, 08:32 AM

お祝いの言葉 !
Google told me that means "Congratulations". What does it really mean?

(I hope no one in your family reads MacNN....)

osiris · Oct 16, 2009, 08:58 AM

おめでとうございます！ Congrats !!!!　 I wish you happiness and joy!

btw is that Lake Kawaguchiko? I stayed at Ryokan (Ubuya) with nearly the exactly the same view!

Spheric Harlot · Oct 16, 2009, 09:01 AM

Originally Posted by osiris

おめでとうございます！ Congrats !!!!　 I wish you happiness and joy!

Seconded!

Originally Posted by osiris

btw is that Lake Kawaguchiko?

(psst: "ko" means "Lake"…)

osiris · Oct 16, 2009, 09:05 AM

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot

Seconded!

(psst: "ko" means "Lake"…)

It also signifies female. Whoa - a female lake. (though the kanji in Kawaguchiko is not the female form)
My Japanese is rusty.

Spheric Harlot · Oct 16, 2009, 09:20 AM

"湖" ("ko") means "lake".

"子" ("ko") means "child" or "little" (as in "kodomo", child), and is often the last syllable of women's names (Machiko, Kumiko, etc.).

"Lake Kawaguchiko" means "Lake Kawaguchi Lake".

Not really relevant to this thread, though.

Doofy · Oct 16, 2009, 09:26 AM

Gotta love the Japanese - even their mountains look like they were designed on a computer.

Congrats Josh.

osiris · Oct 16, 2009, 09:27 AM

Yes, congrats, again.
sorry for the OT

Person Man · Oct 16, 2009, 09:37 AM

Originally Posted by turtle777

Wow, congrats. Quite a story.

But why can't the family know ?
Because of their preconceived ideas of how things ought to be ?
(What you did doesn't sound illegal to me, just using a loophole to get the Visa.)

-t

What he did was no different from what my parents did so my father could stay legally in the U.S.

My American mother met my Greek father in Germany while she was living there. They dated for a little over a year before she left Germany to come back to the U.S. After another 9 months of letter writing back and forth he asked her to marry him. He came to the U.S. on a fiancee's visa. They had to get married within 30 days or he had to go back to Greece.

First thing they did was get married. Then he met her folks. The real wedding wasn't done until about a month later.

Oneota · Oct 16, 2009, 12:55 PM

Congrats, Josh! And the tradition of GAC Alums leading interesting lives continues....

Chuckit · Oct 16, 2009, 01:52 PM

Originally Posted by Dork.

お祝いの言葉 !
Google told me that means "Congratulations". What does it really mean?

It does mean that, but in the literal sense of, like, "congratulatory words."

JoshuaZ · 09:10 PM

Originally Posted by osiris

おめでとうございます！ Congrats !!!!　 I wish you happiness and joy!

btw is that Lake Kawaguchiko? I stayed at Ryokan (Ubuya) with nearly the exactly the same view!

Good eye, it is in fact Kawaguchiko. I live about a 10 minute bike ride from the lake, in the next town over. I can (mostly) see Fuji from my apartment window. I can most certainly see Fuji from everyplace I go in town. Its quite the sight.

The only downside to living in Yamanashi (besides having a lot of access to wonderful Yamanashi wine, damn you wine!) is that I'm only 3 hours away from amazing diving in Izu, easy access if I wanted to. Only I have no money, and its very expensive!

Anyone want to sponsor a diving trip for me?

The Godfather · Oct 16, 2009, 10:10 PM

Only if you tell me how to get an English teaching job in Japan, preferably close by a kick-butt engineering university.

JoshuaZ · Oct 17, 2009, 02:10 AM

Have a college degree of some kind.

Save up around $5000-10,000 in seed money. (Oh, you'll need it)

GaijinPot: Jobs, Apartments, and Information for living in Japan

Apply for a whole bunch of jobs.

Take a job.

Come to Japan.

Enjoy.

Laminar · Oct 17, 2009, 10:25 AM

I have a few friends teaching English in South Korea right now. Their plane tickets were paid for, housing is paid for, and they get a stipend of ~$1500-$2000 US per month.

seanc · Oct 17, 2009, 12:52 PM

Off topic, but those underwater pictures are beautiful. Do you have them in a higher resolution?

JoshuaZ · Oct 17, 2009, 08:34 PM

Originally Posted by Laminar

I have a few friends teaching English in South Korea right now. Their plane tickets were paid for, housing is paid for, and they get a stipend of ~$1500-$2000 US per month.

Yeah, they were probably with the JET Programme (I was) which is great if you can get into it.

Otherwise most private English teaching jobs require 1) A VISA (before you apply) 2) You to already be in the country 3) The ability to move to a new location quickly (which is expensive in Japan.)

Also, getting paid $1500-2000 a month in Japan as an English teacher is on the very very low end of the game, even if that includes apartment. If not, man, I don't know how they're living in Japan only making $1500 a month and paying for an apartment.

JoshuaZ · Oct 17, 2009, 09:34 PM

Originally Posted by seanc

Off topic, but those underwater pictures are beautiful. Do you have them in a higher resolution?

Sure, PM me what you want and I can send you a copy in a higher resolution. (Tell me what resolution you want as well.)

moonmonkey · Oct 18, 2009, 01:39 AM

Congrats on your marriage.
FYI
in japan you can get pills that make your poo taste delicious.

Jens Peter · Oct 18, 2009, 03:58 AM

Congratulations on the marriage - I was at Kawaguchiko just last week, when the typhoon visited, so we didn't get to see the mountain, but your pictures are beautiful!

OreoCookie · 08:39 AM

ご結婚本当におめでとうございます!

JoshuaZ · Oct 18, 2009, 09:37 AM

Originally Posted by Jens Peter

Congratulations on the marriage - I was at Kawaguchiko just last week, when the typhoon visited, so we didn't get to see the mountain, but your pictures are beautiful!

You'd be surprised how often you can't see Fuji due to the weather. Yesterday was cloudy, couldn't see it. Today was fine in the morning but by noon it was so hazy you could hardly see it at all, even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Sucks you couldn't see it though.

downinflames68 · Oct 18, 2009, 06:55 PM

Marriage is a joke anyway.

Laminar · Oct 18, 2009, 07:30 PM

Originally Posted by downinflames68

Marriage is a joke anyway.

Bitter much?

JoshuaZ · Oct 18, 2009, 09:03 PM

Originally Posted by downinflames68

Marriage is a joke anyway.

At least I got a VISA out of mine.

downinflames68 · Oct 18, 2009, 09:34 PM

Originally Posted by Laminar

Bitter much?

Yeah a bit. It's bullshit that you can just divorce someone just cuz you "feel like it" without having any particular reason.

JoshuaZ · Oct 18, 2009, 11:16 PM

Originally Posted by downinflames68

Yeah a bit. It's bullshit that you can just divorce someone just cuz you "feel like it" without having any particular reason.

Maybe you should call bullshit on marriage in general because anyone can get married just because they "feel like it" without having any particular reason.

turtle777 · Oct 19, 2009, 12:04 AM

Originally Posted by downinflames68

Yeah a bit. It's bullshit that you can just divorce someone just cuz you "feel like it" without having any particular reason.

And how is that different from a relationship w/o marriage ?

It's not. So blaming marriage is BS.

-t

downinflames68 · Oct 19, 2009, 12:41 AM

Originally Posted by turtle777

And how is that different from a relationship w/o marriage ?

-t

Exactly. Hence, pointless.

Oneota · Oct 19, 2009, 12:55 PM

Originally Posted by JoshuaZ

At least I got a VISA out of mine.

AMEX is better.

olePigeon · Oct 19, 2009, 01:07 PM

Sounds like if you live in Japan you'd want a Diner's Club.

osiris · Oct 19, 2009, 01:07 PM

Or just lotsa cash.

JoshuaZ · Oct 19, 2009, 11:32 PM

Originally Posted by osiris

Or just lotsa cash.

Lots of cash would be correct. Its not cheap to move to Japan.

You need plane fare.
You will probably have to put down 5-6 months rent on an apartment.
If you're an English teacher you'll probably not be paid for the first two months.
Don't expect to find a furnished apartment, so you have the startup cost.
Things here cost just as much as things in the US/ Canada/ Australia/ UK.

So yeah, you do need a lot of cash to move to Japan. (Oh, and places that rent month to month really really screw you over. Expect to pay twice as much as the apartment is worth. Especially if you're in a decent sized city.)

el chupacabra · Oct 20, 2009, 09:19 PM

Originally Posted by JoshuaZ

Sure, PM me what you want and I can send you a copy in a higher resolution. (Tell me what resolution you want as well.)

what kind of camera and lens did you use?
you took those under water?

The Godfather · Oct 21, 2009, 09:58 AM

Originally Posted by downinflames68

Exactly. Hence, pointless.

Getting a tattoo of your lady's name might be a little more permanent.
Having children is the new ball-and-shackle, and not even that.

Looks like I am not cut to be an English teacher, not until my speech in 100% native sounding, and get naturalized here.
Is tuition insanely expensive for out-of-state/coutry, in order to fund an engineering PhD with a teachers pay?

JoshuaZ · Oct 22, 2009, 01:00 AM

Originally Posted by el chupacabra

what kind of camera and lens did you use?
you took those under water?

Yes, I took all those (and so many many many more) underwater. I think most of those were around 10-13 meters deep.

I use a 6 MP Canon IXUS 800 IS, which is more than 4 years old. I use the official canon underwater case for it. I also have a big old dive light I also use to help focus, especially on the macro.

If I had the money I'd upgrade to a newer more high res camera, if for nothing else the ability to crop more. I'd love to get a Canon Powershot G series camera, an off brand underwater case, an external macro lens, and a small LED dive light to put on top for focusing. Yup. I totally would if I had $800. Plus I could record video in HD. Always a fun time in the water.