Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Interlude - Why I'm Here

So I've pounded out a few posts featuring several of Tokyo's finest attractions, events, experiences, and all that.  Perhaps now's a good time for a little breather, not that I'll take any actual time away from the process really.  This is just a snapshot into the person behind the posts on this part of the internets.

The initial post on this blog was actually the introduction to me, but the subsequent posts shed more into what my interests are, what I find to be fun and rewarding, things like that.  I'm sure as the posts continue, the layers will continue to be peeled... if anyone is actually attentively peeling, then I guess they are learning about the enigma that is me.  But I'll take this moment to tell the story of the reason I'm here.

I'm employed by United States Army Garrison Japan (USAG Japan for short), hence my presence here at Camp Zama, Kanagawa prefecture, for a few years, and more to come in the future as we go along in this process of life.  Without a doubt, the complete package of this existence here is the best I've ever had.  The package consists of:

- Location: being in the "suburbs" of Tokyo has the best of both worlds; easy access to the best city in the world and a quieter neighborhood in which to relax and unwind at home.
- Salary/benefits: won't go into detail but I'm not starving for cash and don't have to worry very much about having to shell out large amounts of money  here (really!).
- People (in and out of work): I have international experience with employment, and I will go as far to say that the people working alongside me here in Camp Zama are the best all-around and it isn't even close to anywhere else.  Along with international work experience I've also had extensive international friend experience.  And the friends I've made here in Zama and the Tokyo area are truly the best; maybe not to the level of my best friends in high school but as adults they made time for me when I'm free to have fun, and they've taught me so much, all without even an ounce of judgment or reservation for anything about me.
- Work environment:  Much better than any other place I've been employed.  No "traps", no "gut checks", no backstabbing.

And, I've had previous experience working at and living in Yokota Air Base (nearby) and Camp Foster (Okinawa).  Camp Zama as a whole has both beat in my opinion, and it's not even close.  So if you are considering employment for the US government in Japan, my heart would reach out to you to tell you to come right here to Camp Zama.  If you're interested, I'm not the best source of advice in getting hired over here (I've only been working for the government for less than 5 years) but I'd be happy to share with you what I can and do my best to help.

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