Teaching in Japan with Elaisha

In this episode, Debbie sits down with her friend and performing arts colleague Elaisha, who spent eight unforgettable years living and working in Japan. Together, they explore what it’s really like to pack up your life and move overseas, from learning a complex new language and navigating cultural differences to teaching across kindergartens, high schools, and language schools.

Elaisha shares hilarious, heartfelt, and eye-opening stories from her time in Japan, including spontaneous adventures, classroom moments that stayed with her, and the realities of integrating into a new culture. They discuss the Japanese education system, respect for teachers, festivals and traditions, and how learning even a little of the local language can completely transform your experience abroad.

This conversation is packed with honest reflections, practical advice, and encouragement for anyone considering teaching overseas, immersing themselves in a new culture, or simply saying yes to adventure.

Hosted by Debbie Ross
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or to chat, please email: nurturingeducators@gmail.com or visit  www.nurturingeducators.co.nz

Thanks for listening! 

Transcript

Debbie: Hey, everyone. Today I'm chatting with my friend and work colleague from the performing arts department who's just spent eight years living and working in Japan. We share a love for adventure and being outdoors. Today we will talk about language, culture, creativity, and her best advice for anyone thinking of doing the same. Let's dive in. Welcome, Elaisha. How are you?

Elaisha: Yeah, I'm good, thanks.

Debbie: Great. Would you like to tell us a little bit about yourself?

Elaisha: Yeah, obviously, my name's Elaisha. I was born in New Zealand and moved around a lot as a kid, got a twin, an older sister, a younger sister, and I grew up with my mom, so it's been a very, you know, feminist life, basically.

Debbie: Cool. And what drew you to performing art?

Elaisha: So my mum was a drama teacher, and when I was a student, her best friend was the drama teacher at my school, he was lovely and I just really loved the drama classes. and I guess it just kind of grew in me. Yeah, and, you know, I love it now, so...

Debbie: And what do you reckon is the most adventurous thing that you've done?

Elaisha: Oh, well, I do love an adventure, and I can be quite spontaneous. Like, I have booked flights on the day and just disappeared.

Debbie: Love it.

Elaisha: It's quite fun. Why not? Where am I going? I might just go here. Let's go.

Elaisha: I think the most adventurous thing I've done is when I came back from Japan, I had a friend's wedding at the end of the year of my first year of teachers college, or the only year of teacher's College. And I decided I talked to a guy about it early in the year. He was saying he was doing something called TA, which is the hike off the whole of New Zealand. And I thought, oh, that sounds fun. 

Debbie: How long long is that? 

Elaisha: Well, it takes about six months generally.

Debbie: Okay.

Elaisha: And he was like, I'm doing a Nobo, so northbound. So from the bottom of the south to the top of the north island. And then I talked to another guy who'd done it and by the end of the year, I completely forgotten and then one guy reminded me and about that was two weeks before the end of my semester. And I was like, oh, no, I will do that. So like two weeks later, like I'd flown back from my friend's wedding in Fiji the next day I jumped on a plane and went down to the bottom of the south island and just started walking.

Debbie: Amazing. So you've done the whole thing.

Elaisha: I only did the South Island because I was pressed for time. I mean, I got a job here, obviously. And yeah, so I had to come back for that. And yeah, but I did two months of walking, just straight up the South Island. It was really fun.

Debbie: So cool. And what made you move to Japan?

Elaisha: Well, it was actually my friend. I wanted to visit Japan, and I was managing a motel at the time, and I was talking to my friend. I was like, oh, maybe I'll visit Japan sometime. He was like, why don't you just move there? And I thought, what can I do? I could, yeah. And he was like, well, just go there and teach. And I was already studying to teach anyway. So I was like, oh, you're all right? So a month later, I just disappeared off to Japan.

Debbie: Wow. So, you're fluent in Japanese now?

Elaisha: I'm not fluent. I can speak enough to get by, but it is such a complicated language, and it took me a while. You know, I focussed on writing rather than speaking, and I was too nervous to speak and I dated some people and they just wanted to practice their English, you know, so things like that to making friends with people who spoke English, were kind of detrimental to that process, but yeah, I can speak enough to get by. Yeah, quite easily.

Debbie: I like that. And how long did it take you to learn?

Elaisha: Well, when I first went there, I didn't really know any Japanese. Like, I mean, I knew how to, you know, Watashi wa Elaisha, Watashi wa ju-san-sai des, which means my name's Elaisha, and I'm 13. I was not 13, of course, you know? But that's when I went there knowing. So by the time I got there, I was like, okay, well, I'll teach to myself some more. And I got some computer apps and stuff like that. And they taught me some, you know, funny ways to learn words like, you know, one of them. I remember they were like, senmentai means basin. Think of, some men die in a basin. Sen-men-dai. Or Neko means cat. Imagine holding a cat by the neck.

Debbie: Oh!

Elaisha: So things like that, things easy ways to remember. Yeah. And it made it a lot easier, except for I've never used the word senmentai. That's not a typical Japanese word. So like some of the words were good and some of them weren't and it wasn't teaching me any of the kanji of the writing things. So it took a while to learn a bit, but my students were really funny. They wanted me to learn Japanese as much as I wanted them to learn English. So that'd be like teaching me. Yeah, yeah. And it was funny for a while. Yeah, we had these kanji flash cards and would show them the kanji and they have to say the English word. So like maybe we show them the kanji, like the picture that means tree. And they would say tree and then they would ask me what it meant and do you have what it was in Japanese? And I'd be like, oh like, you know, ki or like, depending on the kanji. And I remember we got to really complicated ones and that'd say Nandaka, which means um, but I thought that was what they were saying the reading was. So I'd be like, oh, okay, so you know, river is Nandake. Oh, I thought that, you know, mountain was Nandaka. Oh, anyway. So I thought everything was Nandake for a long time.

Debbie: Lost in translation, eh. Oh, that's such a fun way to learn, though, way?

Elaisha: Oh, it was great, yeah.

Debbie: Yeah. So what do you reckon helped you learn the best apart from obviously what you just said?

Elaisha: Probably just actually sitting down and studying and using it in real life. Like that's the easiest thing. I think that's the hard thing about learning a language in a in your own hometown because you don't have the chance to actually use it. So I think like, you know, going out to the pubs at night and like, you know, talking to people and making these broken conversations and me and my friend would, you know, would have a drink and say, you know, okay, from now, we will only speak Japanese, you know, and we're just try our best to figure out what we wanted to communicate. And it was really funny. It was terrible. It was like very much pigeon Japanese, you know, but yeah, you try.

Debbie: You were trying. You were immersing yourself, which is really important, eh?

Elaisha: And one of my friends, she did, she encouraged me, she said, like, no, your Japanese is fine. You just need to practice and your pronunciation is really good, so we just need to get you speaking like better sentences. And yeah, we kind of worked on that. So that was really nice, I think. Yeah. And learning the kanji as well, that makes it a bit, it's a bit fun, you know, it's like a little jigsaw puzzle. You're like, oh, that has got a tree and a river, that must mean...

Debbie: That's really good. And so how did speaking Japanese change your experience while you were there?

Elaisha: Well, I mean, most Japanese look at a foreigner, especially one, you know, like I'm quite, you know, very pale, well, not very pale, especially not right now, you know, like, I'm obviously a white girl from somewhere. And they'll look at me and they'll be like, oh, she doesn't know Japanese so that, you know, they always try and speak English to me, which is sometimes very difficult. Like, they'll say things like, oh, now Skald. And I'm like, now, now what? And they're trying to say school, like sun thunderstorm. But that's not a word that we really use generally. But they're like, I know this English word because it's the same in Japanese. And I'm like, I don't know what you're talking about. But yeah, like.... What was I asking? I was just trying to thought. Yeah, I lost that train of thought. Sorry.

Debbie: I forgot too. Oh, how did it help my talking Japanese experience?

Elaisha: Yeah, so like, you know, going and talking to people, they were just saying like, oh, your Japanese is so good. And start off with stupid small things, like a lady on the train and she just said to me, Iaringu kawaii desu ne. And everyone knows Iaringu is earring, right? But kawaii, most people know means, do you know?

Debbie: Cute.

Elaisha: Cute. It's very, like, you know, you know, for like people who watch anime and stuff, but it just means cute that she was just saying your earrings are cute. And I was like, Arigato. And she was like, oh, your Japanese is so good. All I'd said was like, thank you. But at least you're trying and I think they appreciate that. They really do. They love that. So it it made it very nice, you know, but you just feel a bit proud of yourself. Like, oh, I can communicate and and also I liked eavesdropping on people's conversations. That was really fun, you know? We had some guys at a bar once and they said, oh, am I allowed to talk about drinking?

Debbie: Yeah, sure.

Elaisha: Yeah. We had these guys in bar and they could hear them next to us in our house and they're going, you know, oh, look at these foreigners, you know, like, oh, let's go hit on them. This is so funny. We'll go offer them a drink. And they came over and they're like, hey, trying to think they were so cool. And I was like, I just said it in Japanese. like, are you buying us that drink you were talking about or not? Like, let's go. They got so uncomfortable. They're like, oh, oh, oh. And I was like, yeah, yeah, you're right. I understand.

Debbie: So what's one of the Japanese traditions that you loved?

Elaisha: Oh, there were so many, like the festivals were really cool. I really liked, I mean, the fireworks festivals were amazing in there, but like, oh, they've got 20,000 fireworks at this one. It was insane. And there would be, you know, like one of my favourite memories is when I worked at a kindergarten and my boss, there's a thing called Hina Matsuri, which is the Doll Festival, and girls, when they turn maybe three and five, they celebrate this. So I'm not quite sure it is. Anyway, we went to my boss's house and there's a specific song that we would listen to and she would sit there and just play it on the Shamisen and it was just... It was just beautiful, you know, like all the girls are sitting there, like, you know, listening so carefully and the boys are sitting there like, it was very, very sweet, yeah.

Debbie: It was just special moment.

Elaisha: Yeah, really special moment, yeah. Yeah. All the people are really good. Yeah, no, yeah.

Debbie: Diverse countries do festivals as well.

Elaisha: They do them so well. Like, I feel like we're lacking in New Zealand, unfortunately, but...

Debbie: We need to up our game, I think. Yeah. Alright, so, any funny or challenging moments from your time there?

Elaisha: Definitely a lot of like, you know, awkward things. I remember one kid and she just every she'd always grabbed my boobs and I'd grab her hands. She was like, you know, five. And she just, maybe four, she just would keep doing it. And one time her mum was dropping her off and you know and I was like, and she did it again. I kind of like pushed her hands away, like, no, don't do that. And I was like, ah, what do you say in English? And I was like, what? And she was like, oh, I like, you know, breast or... And I was like, oh, um boobs or breasts. And then she just kind of laughed and like pointed at my boobs and was like, like, boobs. I was like, oh. Now you can see why they're like that, mom. Cool. Thank you.

Debbie: Yeah, let you know things...

Elaisha: Or like, I'd had too many pina coladas on the beach... You know, I was with my friends. They are Japanese DJs. They were really cute. Went to the beach with them and we drank lots of pina coladas on the way. We got there, we were playing with the water guns and stuff. and then it turns out like one of the kids I taught at the Eikaiwa, the evening school, she's like, maybe four years old and she was there with her mom, obviously, and her mom comes up. She's like, oh, look, it's my kid. And I'm like, oh, and I'm like, hey! Too many pina coladas. I'm like, let's try 'I'm a little teapot'. So I start dancing and singing and, I have a little teapot, short and stout. Doing the whole song doing all the actions on the beach, because usually at the end, she dances with me, at the end, she's like, "Drink me, drink me," and pretends to be a cup. But she was just so embarrassed, you know, I got out of her normal situation. She was just standing there watching me with all the adults around.

Debbie: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Very, yeah. So for people going over there or thinking about doing a trip overseas and working in a foreign country, what advice would you give to someone going?

Elaisha: Be careful not to just pick friends that you can speak, you know, like English with. That's my big hinderance for learning the language, but also there are lots of community groups that you can join. And I think that's really important to get onto straight away. Like I know in my last year or two, I joined a like learning Japanese group and it was just really good. The teacher was really lovely. Everyone was interested in the culture. She teach us other things other than the language. So finding something like that is really useful. And there's a lot of community run groups. So I think just really figuring out a way to integrate with the community and ensure that you are always giving back, I guess.

Debbie: Yeah. There's such great advice too, because otherwise, I know, you know, New Zealanders are quite good at going overseas and finding other New Zealanders.

Elaisha: Yeah, yeah, exactly, yeah. Congregating in hope. So it's so easy and you're just like, oh, oh, where were you brought up? Oh, immediately, friends, so easy. And then you just meet them and that's it. You know?

Debbie: Yeah. You can do that in New Zealand.

Elaisha: Yeah, so making an effort to get to know the locals through community groups and stuff, yeah.

Debbie: Great advice. So would you live there again or do you want to go overseas and live elsewhere?

Elaisha: Well, originally when I moved to Japan, I was going to do five years in Japan, then five years in France, and then, you know, I got a boyfriend, I stay a little longer, and that kept happening. So and then I got a cat and you can't live with a cat. I think like I'd be interested in going somewhere else. I'm not sure where, like maybe Italy or I've given up in France for now or like Greece or. Yeah, somewhere to warm. preferably.

Debbie: Yeah. And this is a great thing with teaching, is you can kind of go in anywhere.

Elaisha: Yeah, absolutely. We can teach English anywhere... And there are international schools left, right and centre, yeah.

Debbie: They like having people from, well, New Zealand, maybe.

Elaisha: I think so.

Debbie: Oh, that's great. So... Oh, I've lost my... Oh. What's something you wish you... Oh, I'll say that again. That was bad. I know we did that one. Oh, 16, okay. So, how was your transition back into New Zealand life?

Elaisha: It was pretty, it was a bit difficult in the way that I was anxious about doing anything. Like, I was like, if I'm going to the supermarket, okay, well, will I be able to find this? And, okay, well, what if they ask me this? Like I had this thought back in the back of my head, you know, I like, what did this happens? What did this happen? Like every time I went out in Japan, I'd be like, okay, do I have enough knowledge to be able to communicate that I want to find mascarpone? You know, like that sort of thing. And so I had a bit of anxiety about going out and like communicating with people and all that. And then, like slowly, obviously that got a lot better. I mean, you know, like I knew I could communicate, but it was just so consistent, you know, like, if I'm driving somewhere and someone stops me and says something to me, like, you know, are they speaking to me in English? Are they speaking in Japanese? Are they going to tell me that, you know, hey, your gas things open or, you know, or are they saying like you were driving too fast and you hit a squirrel? I don't know. You know, just like the little mild panic. So like coming back, I had a bit of quite a lot of like quite heavy anxiety. Also I came back at COVID as well, which people in New Zealand were very, very, very anxious about COVID whereas in New Zealand, there were a lot more chill about it. Yeah. So that was quite hard. And then I lived with some pretty toxic people and they were just like, you can't spend time with anyone else outside the flat. It wasn't lockdown or anything, but they just didn't want, you know, I was like, okay, well, I'm trying to make new friends. Yeah.

Debbie: That would be hard. Yeah. And I guess after spending such a long amount of time over in Japan, you get used to certain way of doing things and then coming back home, you're like, oh, okay. We're not lining for the bus, are we? We just get on, okay, willy-nilly. Yep, that's fine. Yep, cool, cool, cool. Very different way of. So how does schools differ between New Zealand? Because what age group did you teach over there?

Elaisha: All. I did I worked at elementary for a while. I worked with high school kids in my Eikaiwa, and I worked at a kindergarten for like most of the time.

Debbie: Which one did you prefer?

Elaisha: The kindergarten was adorable. The kids would be like, you know, one time I was really sad, and one of the kids came up to me and he was like, Elaisha sensei, why do you look so beautiful today? I would like just broken up with my boyfriend had been crying all morning and I got in and I was just like... And then he was like, hug! And then about eight of them all came and hugged me. And then they thought it was hilarious because I couldn't like hold them, so it was like falling over and then they just like basically jumped on me and they were all like tickling me and stuff. And I was like, will you stop? I'll kick one of you and I don't mean it, they were so sweet, you know, and like, cute. And they're very easy to, like, you know, I don't want to say control, but, like, you know, you I be like, oh, I don't know if you're old enough for homework and they'd like, no, we're old enough, we're old enough. And I'd like, oh, I don't know if you were old enough, you'd be sitting up nicely with your hands behind your back and we called it a ribbon that you hold your hands behind your back. and like they would all sit up with their hands behind their back and they were like, shoulders back and they'll be smiling up at me. And then I'd be like, okay, I'll give you homework. I'd like, yay! I'm just like, definitely doesn't work here.

Debbie: No way. Are you guys old enough for homework? No, miss, we won't be doing any of that.

Elaisha: But they were just so, you know, like, and you'd just be like, oh, my gosh, you were so good at writing the letter A, you know? Or you'...

Debbie: Education is very important thing over there, eh? Like, yeah. There is too, but over there, they really work extra hard. Yeah.

Elaisha: The respect for teachers is a lot heavier. But the difference, like with the students, like when you get to high school level the kids are allowed to sleep in class, it's up to them to catch up if they don't listen. Yeah, it's not on the teacher to sit there and hand feed the kids. It's like, here is the information. I'm giving it to you, if you don't listen, that's on you. And a lot of the kids will go to after school schools. Like, if they're falling behind in something, they get sometimes on the weekend. So, yeah, you know, it's just, you'ck they give them a lot more responsibility. The students. Yeah.

Debbie: Yeah.

Elaisha: Yeah, the students have a lot more responsibility, I think. And they can do it, you know, like they will be at school till 6 p.m. every night and they go home and then they study whereas, you know, in New Zealand, like the kids are like, 3:10, bye, and you'll like your homework. And they're like, nah, don't do that.

Debbie: Teachers are too. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can't lie, you know. That was me walking down the stairs with a bottle of wine at 3:11.

Elaisha: Yeah. Goodbye, I'm going. I have a bottle of wine and it's 3:11. I remember last term I left and I one of the kids. I was like, "Miss, what are you doing?" And I was like, "No, it's 3:11, I don't work here anymore." She was like, "What have you quit?" I was like, no, it's the holidays. I mean, there's obviously joking and I do not answer her, but I was a little bit serious. But yeah, like, you know, the kids have a lot more respect for teachers. The parents have a lot more respect for teachers, and I think, I mean, the other thing is teachers work harder, that you're not allowed to leave till the principal's left.

Debbie: Oh, wow.

Elaisha: Yeah. Like, you sit there and you will have nothing to do, but until your leader has gone, it's the same in any job in Japan.

Debbie: And what time do they normally go?

Elaisha: Depends. It can be as late as six or seven or eight. Yeah, sometimes even later than that. Yeah. So their work hours can be extended because I was a foreigner, I was really lucky. You know, I wasn't going to follow that cultural norm. There's no way I was going to sit there and shuffle papers for hours. Let's go home to eat, and maybe go out. Yeah. So, and I'll just say, you know, I've got another job because I always had about three jobs going at once. So I was like, it's got to go to my next job. Sorry, bye. Osaki ni shitsurei shimasu. Like, you have to say in Japanese, when you leave a room, you know, like, I'm so sorry to leave before you. It was like the, you know, like, bye, I've got to go before this...

Debbie: It's very polite, yeah.

Elaisha: Yeah, it's.

Debbie: What crazy subjects do they do over there? Is it similar to here, or...

Elaisha: We don't have any of the, like, artistic ones. They might do art. I'm not sure. They do PE. Yep, they do PE.

Debbie: Performing arts?

Elaisha: No. No, they wouldn't have dance or drama or any of the, you know. I was lucky.

Debbie: But other languages? Or just English.

Elaisha: Maybe they might do like Korean or Chinese, but I think it's just English. The English is everyone must learn English. So English is compulsory. But I think everything else is, yeah, I don't know. I didn't I didn't know any students who took any other languages, so I'm not sure they do offer them. I don't think they do. Yeah. But they do like history. I know one of my students was like, no, we only learn about Korean history. He was really angry about that. I was like, okay. Fine. Yeah. But, yeah, and yeah, just, you know, math and sciences and things like that, but you know, they don't have anything that seems to encourage creativity, which is a shame, you know, they do the after school if they have to.

Debbie: Man. Yeah. That's interesting.

Elaisha: Yeah. Our kids are so lucky here with all the options that they get to do.

Debbie: Yeah. No, it's it's really interesting.

Elaisha: Like, with kindergarten, we did performances. You know, we did English and Music Festival and we did like maybe four or five different festivals that would be, you know, sports festival, which would have a two dances, Tanabata we'd have another couple of dances and there were so many festivals that would just, you know, choreograph a dance and then teach all the kids to dance and then they'd perform in front of their parents and relatives, and sometimes we do the plays and, you know, I'd be writing scripts out and trying to like translate that into Japanese for the Japanese teacher who then would fix it. You know, and it would be just like a script for, you know, little Red Riding Hood, but I have to make it. So there's three Little Red Riding hoods and three, you know, because you know, there's like 12 students and then 12 in the other half. So yeah, it was quite fun, you know, and then, okay, well, there's only 11 in this half, so that means I've got to cut down one character and which character do I cut down? It was, you know, it's fun, though. Like, you'd always had to know, like, okay, well, the weakest student has to go in the middle, because then they get the, you know, the first student says their line, like, Nice to meet you. My name is Little Red Riding Hood. And then the second one would say, like, you know, I'm going to visit my grandma. Third one, She lives in the woods or something, you know, or like, my grandmother lives in the woods. So if the second one missed their line, we're like, well, that's fine. You know? That all makes sense. Yeah, generally. You somewhere, you. And the kids are, you know, like, they're not not proficient enough to like, actually be knowing what all of the words meant. So they'd just be like, You know. Sometimes, you know, if they're really too small for it, you know?

Debbie: Yeah. Oh yeah. With the timetable during the day, do they stay at school for lunch? If they don't finish till six o'clock?

Elaisha: Yeah, they'll stay at school for lunch. So they stay at school for all that.

Debbie: Lunch?

Elaisha: Yep, school provides lunch. And kids clean the school after they have had their lunch. So they'll eat their lunch, recycle of their containers that get sent back to the bento factory or whatever. And then they sit there and they wipe all the desks and stuff like that and then each class will have a, you know, it's their week on cleaning, so they clean the bathrooms they've clean everything.

Debbie: Well oiled machine there.

Elaisha: Yes, yes. So good.

Debbie: Yes, exactly. And it's teaching the kids like, if you make a mess, you have to pick up after it. So don't make a mess.

Elaisha: I feel like we need to do that. We really need to do that. I would love to see the kids. You know, I don't think their parents would like it, but I think that would be very good for them to learn. And also for their future, you know, like they never they're not going to have a maid their whole lives, hopefully. Some might, I don't know. Yeah.

Debbie: But yeah. Yeah. Oh, wow. Some very valuable lessons to be brought back here, eh?

Elaisha: Yeah. But they leave school at, you know, 3:30 or whatever and go to their after school school. So like they weren't staying at the school until six. They'd go to, you know, they'd travel over to many hours of, yeah.

Debbie: Yeah, exactly. And like, when do they spend time with their friends, you know? Yeah. Yeah. So how did you go about getting visas? Did you just...

Elaisha: Well, I didn't have a visa when I went over because it was just sudden, you know? But I So it was actually quite difficult.

Debbie: So you need to have a flight out if you don't have a visa.

Elaisha: But I went in and I said to the guy, I was like, look, I've got a job. He's in the middle of applying for my visa. Like, I've sent him all of the documents. We just waiting for reply. And the guy said, okay, well, look, you know, we'll book your flight to Korea. That's your ticket out. You can either take it or not, you know? And I was like, great. So I booked that and I got in with like just a tourist visa and then of course it got upgraded. But yeah, I mean that's probably not legal. And it's it's where do I...

Debbie: Yeah, and it was it was just, there was the time, you know, the timing and I needed to go and train and get to the teacher. And there's a lot of teachers that do that. I think most of them get there, like they'll come through the JET program or something and they'll have their visas before they go. I don't think there's many of that have to do it last minute. But lots of schools that want to take on English speaking teachers.

Elaisha: Yeah, usually they do it through the JET program because that's just reliable for them. They always know they'll have someone. Some of them do direct hire and some of them have like sister cities. Like I know my city was the sister city to Iowa. So, you know, my ex he was Iowa and he came through the sister city partnership. So they think I think the money is about the same as JET's good money, but you never know where you're going to go and you don't know what the school's going to be like. And sometimes it might be more work or sometimes it might be less work. Like sometimes they're like, here are your lesson plans and you're like, oh, cool. Or sometimes they'll just use you as a tape recording. They're like, say this sentence and you're like, this is a pen.

Debbie: Oh, goodness. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Elaisha: That's the JET program, though. Like, my school was very different, but yeah.

Debbie: Yeah. Yeah. Oh, fascinating. Yeah. So good. Hey, well, it's been so nice to have you today. I've really loved hearing about your journey in your time in Japan, and I think there's been some good takeaways for teachers out there, and especially those who might be interested in doing a stint overseas. So thank you. I wish you all the best and good luck in your teacher journey.

Elaisha: Thank you. It was lovely.

Debbie: Yeah. Take care.

Disclaimer: This transcript was generated using AI technology and may contain errors or inaccuracies. Please refer to the original audio for complete accuracy.