So as of October 26th, the company that Emma and I worked for, NOVA, has filed for bankruptcy. As of now (Nov. 3rd) they are trying to find a sponsor to buy up all their debt and take over the company, but nothing has surfaced yet. Emma and I got paid in September for our work in August, but that is the last time we got a paycheck.
We had heard rumors that NOVA was in trouble, but unfortunately did not get any concrete information from upper management. The CEO continued to send faxes to our school saying he was sorry for the delay in pay, but that things would be OK. We found out that Nova filed for bankruptcy on one of our days off so we had our last day of work without knowing it.
This is sad because it leaves things feeling unfinished. We didn’t get to say goodbye to our students, and feel especially bad we did not get to say goodbye to our kids classes that we adored.
What is ironic is that the reason we chose to work for NOVA out of all the other English Language schools is because we thought it was the most reliable. It was the largest in Japan with over 300,000 students, and (at the time) had a great reputation. We learned a lot in our time there and met amazing people. We will miss seeing our students and staff every day!
DON’T FREAK OUT! We’re doing okay. We are staying in our apartment (which is a NOVA apartment) for as long as possible, as we haven’t had to pay rent on it. We’ve been job hunting in our area and in Kyoto, but it’s a bit difficult as there are about 4000 other ex-NOVA teachers looking for jobs at the same time. We’ve got a few part time jobs here and there to make some cash, but nothing full time so far. Cross your fingers for us that we will be able to find other jobs so we will be able to stay in Japan for the year that we planned!
We are healthy, in good spirits, and relaxing. If nothing else, our biggest problem is boredom. So don’t go crazy with worry about us, just keep us in your thoughts!
Here are links to some articles about our situation. It’s too complex to write and explain here, and it gets tiring to keep typing it in emails.
Wall Street Journal
Japan Times Q and A
1 comment:
Hi guys! It's Bri here! I was just reading about your situation over in Japan. That's a real bummer, sounds like you guys were having fun too. I hope it works out, and you get to continue teaching.
Now, about your living situation...do you think that you'll be staying there for a while? Since it's Nova housing and all? I'm sure you're finding out new information each day.
I'm thinking about you all the time. Hope all continues to go well.
Love,
Bri:)
P.S. Nice bike Willard:) Oh yea, I don't have you guys' e-mail addresses:( Mine is Lov85236@aol.com. I like to e-mail people when I get bored from studying!
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