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A Foreigner’s Struggle

Being a foreigner in any place is an eye-opening experience. In fact I recommend that everyone who has a chance to go to a foreign country take it, because it will greatly increase your perspective. Having a narrow perspective on life is a great inhibitor to really seeing any kind of growth — whether personal or as a community.

But one of the great struggles in living as a foreigner anywhere is schooling. Do you educate your children in your native culture & system or do you educate them in local systems? This of course depends on a whole lot of factors, such as where you see your self ending up in the future. When the kids get old enough to make their own decisions, their desires will modify the best route to take.

But the decision isn’t always clear, and knowing exactly what is best for your family can be a constant struggle. In Japan (specifically the Tokyo area), where there are a number of options available, the decision can be mind-bending at times. It’s the focus of this Life in Japan episode.

It was very interesting reading through the myriad of comments on this video, because there is no clear consensus, whether among the Japanese or the foreigners! If anything clear came from it, it’s that you have to decide where you want to end up in life, and then plan your education accordingly. Doing what is best for your family is so important.

2 replies on “A Foreigner’s Struggle”

As a family getting ready to move to Japan in a few months your videos have been invaluable. Not only in seeing Japan and the fun experiences that can be had but the everyday parts of life. Like talking to your children about their day and how school was. It truly helps our family feel better about the move being able to share these videos with our son to show him that other kids can learn Japanese and make friends and go to school. It helps ease his fears and seeing them have fun in Japan doing things he likes like playing the Switch or going to the park helps a lot.

Thanks so much Kerri! Glad we can be an encouragement. Where in Japan are you planning to move?

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