Greetings and salutations!

It’s Official

While there have been rumours, rumblings, and possibilities over the last little while, I am finally able to confirm that I will, in fact, be heading back to Japan this summer….while some of you may be scratching your heads at that one, let me explain:

(Short Version Part i)
Ever since returning from Israel in 2003, I have been seeking various avenues through which I might return on a long term basis. I returned to Israel this past winter, in part, to investigate further career related opportunities. Now, you may recall that I also travelled to Japan in the summer of 2004, and returned under less than ideal circumstances; I’ll address that in a moment. A short story even shorter, it is tremendously difficult to get a working visa, as a Gentile (non-Jew), in Israel. Despite exhaustive attempts by myself and promises of sponsorship from several companies, it has become clear that relocating to Israel is a logistical improbability at this time (those last 3 words are the key ones).

After finally coming to accept the realities of timing in regard to my return to Israel, I decided to evaluate my remaining options. At present, I’m going to avoid going into a long explanation of why I want to be in Israel, why I want to leave Canada, and why I’m returning to Japan. Those of you who know me should have a pretty good idea in that regard. The main thing I should clarify is that I am NOT leaving a place that I hate for a place that I love! I am leaving a place that I enjoy and in which I have been very blessed, for further exploration (personally as well as culturally) of another place.

(Short Version Part ii)
I have chosen to return to Japan for a number of reasons (which I’ve already noted I’m not going to get into in detail) including rectification of past decisions and a genuine desire to spend more time in the country. As many of you know, I’ve been drawn to the East for some time now. While it’s true I had a difficult experience during my last trip to Japan; that had more to do with isolation than anything else. I’m a little older, a little wiser (one can only hope) and I feel much better prepared for this journey. I am confident I will enjoy this experience.

It also helps that the situation will be different in nearly every respect. Rather than living and working alone in a small, isolated town (relatively) and teaching children exclusively, I will be living in Osaka (a city of 4 million people) with some roommates (fellow teachers) and working in a building with 200 other people. I will also be teaching adults as well as young people. So I am excited about what lies ahead.

I should quickly add that I’ll be working for Nova (don’t even start) in their Osaka HQ in the Multimedia Centre. My departure has been tentatively scheduled for June 20th. In the meantime I am keeping very busy with preparations and my ongoing work at Anduro Marketing. There remains much to organize such as packing, making financial arrangements (anyone interested in making a helpful donation, I’d love to hear from you), filling out paperwork, modifying accounts, and so on. On that note I should add that I’ve now sold the Xbox, the bike, and my PC. All that remains is the 21” Prima TV and a set of 5.1 Altec Lansing PC Speakers w/Sub – let me know if you’re interested. Aside from that, you’re now up to date!

My Review on CalgaryMovies.com

Be sure to check out my review of the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children DVD on CalgaryMovies.com!

News of the World

Of course, there’s a bunch of really messed up stuff happening here in Canada (murders in Ontario, Medicine Hat and elsewhere, the flag lowering controversy, and so on) but, as usual, I’ve got my eye on the other parts of the world. I want to focus on the recent terrorist bombings in Egypt, a horrible event which Hamas referred to as “a criminal attack which is against all human values.” I don’t mean to detract from the tragic nature of the events in Egypt, in fact they should serve as a confirmation to the Muslim world that radicals don’t care who they kill, but the reactions are in stark contrast to last week’s bombing in Tel Aviv which the governing Hamas called “an act of self defence.”

The bigger issue these days, though, is clearly Iran. After a recent press conference spewing more blatant anti-Semitism while holding up their middle finger to the IAEA and the UN regarding their nuclear ambitions, Iran has clearly put itself in the middle of a diplomatic shit storm. The speech was met with widespread international condemnation and Israel announced they would soon launch a satellite in order to get better intelligence on the goings on in Iran. Of course, the spectre of Israel’s attack on the Osirak reactor in Iraq in 1981 comes to mind – and Israel needs to get more transparent about its own nuclear program….but the craziness continues.

With Hope,
Joseph

Nova Japan | Calgary Movies | Iran Nuclear Program