as to your main point (not the shit slinging bit - thats been covered already)
though it may come off as harsh (the general advice) it could save a lot of people lurking/reading a lot of money/heartache/stress
I was a freeter for 18 months or so (currently undergoing a course of psychiatric treatment, although not taking the antidepressants+tranqs they said I should take, so feel free to dismiss anything I say)
I came over to Japan all of a sudden (due to my parents in law not being in the best of health) and as I earnt a pretty good salary in rondon hadnt really bothered picking up any skills relavant to Japan (apart from the spoken language) and hence the only choice where I lived was eikaiwa , tho with luck, I ended up working with kids which was bloody excellent fun actually and I earnt enough to pay the bills and live, but not much else (took about 15 months to finally get my mind around living there) I could have earnt more, and almost certainly will when we go back there (am working on some qualifications now) I asked about what was possible for me (I am a first class researcher and very good at training people and have a lot of experience working with vip's but that wasnt usefull where I lived) and received good solid no bullshit responses from the people here.
What you might want to consider is that quite a few people here on FG have "made it" either through a good solid education, a good business plan and an ability to adapt or just plain good connections and a bit of good luck
What you won't see here (at least I never have done) is snobbery
There are unemployed people here, kids teachers, nova slaves, going up to people working for corps or own their own business, the common thing is a love/continuing fascination (albeit often a love/hate thing) with Japan and a desire to communicate with people who want to do something with their experiences/knowledge and to bounce ideas about, receive constructive criticism and naturally to vent their frustrations about Japan and the everyday absurdities.
I don't agree with the clique thing, its just that a good few people here who live down south happen to meet up now and again so naturally there would be a closer affinity..
Japan can make one feel very isolated and frustrated especially when you see other foreigners on tv or on the street who are successfull in decent jobs or married to money, whereas you find yourself doing a job which may be driving you crazy, all I can say is either keep studying here and make the best of what skills you have, or see your time in Japan at the moment as holiday and research time, and go home and improve yourself, save some money so on your return you can give making a real go of it here your best shot.
There were periods when I went through hell in Japan and nobody ever flamed me or heaped shit on me here, someone even offered me a place to stay for a while and chill out in Thailand.. Someone else even offered me a can of deodorant when I posted about being embarrased about japanese deodorants not covering up my sweat during classes when I first arrived.
What I`m trying to say is, I guess, you`ll never find a forum with people as honest, varied and talented as FG.
I`ve ranted enough, and probably bored you to tears, I hope you weren't trolling and get to be a regular here!..As I have put in a few (stupid )flames of my own in the past:
"there are good people here, this is the best Japan related forum. "
nuff said
Isnt that SPESHALLLL
