All part of the fun

As I await responses from several jobs here in Sapporo, Japan (yes, I'm back in Sapporo -- I like it here), I've had a new experience that has added a whole new dimension to feeling like a foreigner in Japan, which really isn't a very rare experience for visitors. However, as someone applying for jobs already in the country, I must deal with the dreaded ... visa issues. Not having a visa -- yet wanting a visa once already in the country -- makes you feel like you're doing some dirty, like you're trying to emigrate ... secretly.

For larger companies, it's not a big deal. There's a secretary or two that handles all the paper work and guides you through the process. However, for smaller firms and NPOs, for example there's a certain labor and financial cost to sponsoring someone's visa. Therein lies the "catch-22" of the situation. You need the visa in order to get the job -- but in order to get the visa, you have to have the job. What makes it a little weird for everyone is that there is a certain amount of grey area, like a month's time where even if a firm decides to hire you, you can't really work until the visa is approved, and Immigration Services does not necessarily have to approve your visa. To complicate things further, different types of jobs demand different types of visa.

Of course, this will all be ancient history once a single job offers me a job and Immigration Services gives me a single visa.

In the meantime, I've got a new bike, new haircut, and a wicked cool new cell phone. Now I just need that j-o-b so that all that money the internet tells me I owe Sallie Mae, et al. can begin to vanish.