Osaka for girls

This might seem harsh - but maybe you should dump your boyfriend and you do what you feel is best for yourself and he can do what is best for himself.

You were going to be moving to Canada for a year. It's not clear if he was coming to Canada or not but either (i) he wasn't coming and you were happy not to be with him for a year or (ii) he was coming and he's done a 100% rearrangement of your plans on zero notice.

Neither of them sound too promising for a long term relationship.

Yes Telephoto! That's EXACTLY what Japan needs more of! Another bitter foreign woman complaining about her lack of dating/sex/intimacy! Damn Abigail, where's that corn jug?

Thanks Telephoto but that wasn't the kind of advice I was looking for. Believe me I understand what you're saying but as a stranger without knowing anything about the situation you're not going to understand. Canada will still happen the order is the only thing that will change...

ECC is a pretty big school, but I don't know a lot about it. I wouldn't reccommentd NOVA. They are everywhere, but they don't have a great reputation in regards to the quality of their teachers or programs and have recently been in legal trouble, which may mean they might be scaling back their operations.

The other big one is AEON. I worked for their childrens operation Amity. Amity workers tend to have a lot bigger class schedules then other schools, but I didn't mind so much as I enjoy working with kids. The big thing you should consider regardless of who you go with is that working conditions can be quite different from what you've come to expect at home. The one issue I had was that I didn't get sick leave and if I was sick I, not only did I not get paid, but I still had to make up all my missed classes. Also be aware that culture within your workplace will be different. Make sure you do plenty of research before you go.

The other option for work is to go onto a website like gaijinpot and find a job a smaller school, where you may be able to do a bit more negotiating. Good luck and have fun, it's a great experience.

JeanieB, my girlfriend is Japanese but all of her co-workers are foreigners. Out of the 6 consultants they have now, only 1 speaks Japanese. Japanese is not important because she or another assistant can sit in as a translator.

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<hr>The one issue I had was that I didn't get sick leave and if I was sick I, not only did I not get paid, but I still had to make up all my missed classes. <hr></blockquote>

In Taiwan it's the same but if you make up the classes, you get paid for that time. Same in Japan? Just curious.

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<hr>My boyfriend has been lined up work with ECC I think it is called. Apparently it is one of the bigger ones. Anyone know anything about it? I was looking into one yesterday called Nova. Hard to judge based on the internet! :-) <hr></blockquote>Look for work before you come, and you are limited to about a dozen places. You either have to travel to them based on their schedules of recruiting, or you get a phone interview from some of the others.

Look for work while you are here, and you open more doors of opportunity, but you will have to support yourself, probably for 2-3 months before the first paycheck comes. And, some of the Big Four conversation schools refuse to interview in Japan.

NOVA has always had poor reports from its teachers, but that's what you get when you are the biggest chain. Yes, it has had illegal clauses in its contracts (and still does), but it's what you make of it. Many are happy. The average lifespan there now is less than a year, though. Moreover, as mentioned only in passing above, NOVA has just had some serious legal problems, so for the moment, even though it used to be all right (IMO) to take on work there, I'd tread cautiously and avoid it.