Nail Biting Stuff

So it's been a week since I heard about being placed in the prefecture of Mie for my tenure as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET Programme).

This is wonderful news, as my wife and I had asked to be placed somewhere Rural. Even if we're placed in one of Mie's larger cities, it's still going to feel a lot less urban than living in the CBD of one of South Africa's capital cities. :D

I am very excited about my placement, but there's a fair amount of anxiety about my wife's placement which is still inconclusive at the moment. Even though we've received some reassurance that the programme tries wherever possible to locate spouses within a reasonable distance from one-another, it's still not the kind of conclusive reassurance that we as Westerners derive from, for example, both my wife and I signing a legally binding contract saying "By signing below you accept your position at location X."

This is apparently a typical difference between Western-business-philosophy and Eastern-business-philosophy. In fact, when I contacted the powers-that-be regarding progress for the second time this week (Ok, I know, I know I probably should have been patient and not phoned twice in one week, but it's something that's really causing us a lot of anxiety!), I was told in a fairly firm tone that my actions seemed to imply that they had the information and were nonetheless withholding it from me. I was then told that when they know, they'll let us know.

Now just to be clear, this is not the modus operandi here in South Africa, where customer service is, without being sensational, honestly quite appalling.

What follows is not an exaggeration:

On the same day that I followed up for the second time on progress regarding our placement, 

• I had arranged to meet someone at my apartment between 9am and 12am for an inspection. She never arrived and did not try to contact me. I followed up with her to find out what was going on. She then said she needed to speak to her husband and then would phone me back... which she did not.
• I had to go back to the Department of Home Affairs that still had no record of us giving them a very specific official document, despite us giving them a copy... certified by the police... twice. They didn't inform me that anything was missing. I had to phone them to find out that they needed my input.
• I met a letting agent who said she would pop in to our apartment before leaving after her day's work. She didn't arrive that day (although in her defence she did come the next day).

So the point I'm trying to make here is that here in South Africa, if you want something done, you need to follow up and make sure that things are proceeding smoothly.

Now I'm in the position where I feel stressed and have been discouraged from pro-actively seeking reassurance.

Mamma Mie! This is going to be a bumpy ride.