Thank you to those who kept on checking my blog for updates while I was completely away for the past 3 months. I returned to Japan to work.
I have a long story of having to GIVE UP on University in Frankfurt and the return to Japan.
After completing a language school in December 2012, we were at the tutor in the University in Frankfurt in March 2013.
She told me that I will be able to enroll in the school with the translation (either in English or in German) of the graduation from the last school I finished because I have finished 13 year-education (12 years till high school + 1 year of collage). And I've done it right away.
It was because the due date for Winter semester was on 15th July, we'd had enough time to await their answer.
Waiting for 1 month, 2 months, and finally the end of 3rd month, June 2013, I received a letter from the University. It said that they need not the graduation certificate of my collage, but of my high school. Plus its transcripts and completion unit certificate.
We had only 2 weeks and a few days till the dead line.
I begged (and hurried) my mom in Japan to get those certificates from my hight school in Niigata, a prefecture away from Tokyo, the North Japan.
This sort of documents must be translated by a translator who's certificated by the embassy. We called one by one who's on the list of the authorized translators. We were in a hurry.
The woman who accepted our request called Ms. Nobuko who's working full time as a Japanese-German translator.
Of course she'd had much of work to do besides my documents to translate but that was so nice of her that she gave priority to my papers.
All procedure had to be carried through Mail.
From Niigata, where my high school is, to Tokyo, Tokyo to Germany.
I was just wondering why they had to take the whole 3 months to let me know that the required papers were wrong.
After Ms. Nobuko had received my documents we started to contact each other as often as possible.
On 12th July, Friday, she let us know that the documents are done and we drove to her place.
We'd made sure everything was correct in her translation and they were ready to sent by express delivery and delivered by the next Monday, 15th July.
We were relieved. Even though she was busy she hurried the work and even her husband, German, cooperated her to finish to make it by the due date.
I really feel sorry about it. I had to hurry them.
On the afternoon on 15th. July, I searched my certificates on DHL website for its current location and saw they were delivered on time at University.
It finally made me believe I'm in.
A month and a half had passed since then, the end of August, I got their letter.
Opening it with an expectation of the allowance of entrance.
It was written that a transcript and a form of completed credit of subjects in collage are required.
Disappointed.
Why, now, do they say they need these papers from my collage even though they didn't mention it when I had to get ones of my high school?
Why didn't they tell me this in June?
But still I was eager to join the school. I asked my mom again to get ones from my collage.
Each of both in Japanese and in English.
They told me on the phone that at this point, I could no longer make it by Winter semester, which means the entrance would be not in September, but in next April (May?).
It's taking too long.
I sent them as soon as these certificates arrived from Japan.
And on 30th, September, Monday, me being down, I got a letter.
There was:
"You need to send us the certificate of your high school". WHICH I HAD SENT IN JULY.
I got no words to say.
plus,
"Send us the certificate of National Center Test for University Admissions". that's new request.
I started to apply for the University in March 2013 and it was already October.
It was taking almost 1 year just to apply and wait for the school and obviously they don't know what they had received from me.
Why do they require me to send them the high school certificate again? and now new order of paper?
I was working on it in vain.
The circumstances of University admission in Germany has been also getting different recently.
They have stopped obligatory military service in July 2011 and now there are more people who want to go to University. This means it makes it difficult for for foreigners, like me, to join them.
I can simply see that they want more German kids (and others who have no difficulty in German language and grown up there).
Despite of advocates of equality what's actually happen to rejected-foreigners like me is just the opposite.
Those who want to study and work in this country, will sure be benefit for this country but I just wonder why this happens.
They trim their possibility by rejecting foreigners.
I wanted to study more.
I had decided to return home to save up because I didn't want to waste my time anymore and I was turning 25.
I could've worked in Germany but with my German language level isn't much enough to save up to how much we need.
As we don't have kids yet, and I can work in Japan, I decided to take advantage of it.
And we can save up at the same time. Jan flies to Japan once a week and we get to see each other exactly the same as we did in Germany.
If you are a core reader of my blog, you already know that I worked hard to save school expenses for 3 years after my dad's disappearance and family collapse. Where I finally stood on the start line after finishing the language school and I didn't get to have a place in University.
Somehow, the reality that I never make it to University both in the states (I've already finished all credit for a freshman grade: 3 years to study left) and in Germany after years of struggle, I thought I'm not an University person.
Then I have work.
It seems simple but this is my reason to come back to Japan.
Now I'm working in Roppongi, Tokyo.
Returning to Japan, job hunting, and work have kept me from updating my blog for 3 months.
I'm sorry to those who have accessed my blog for updates.
I will start again to make posts here as often as possible.
Thanks!
久しぶりの更新です。私の記事をチェックしててくれた方、すいませんでした。
日本に帰って来たのには少し理由があるんです。。
大学を諦めた理由。
2012年12月に語学学校を修了した後、翌年2013年3月にフランクフルトにある大学に入学申請をしたました。当月中旬に当大学のチューターに直接会い、私は13年間の教育(12+1年専門学校)を終えているから最終学歴の翻訳(英語かドイツ語)が有れば入学申請できると言われ用意。冬セメの申込締め切りが7月15日までだったので十分に時間があるとはいったものの1ヶ月,2ヶ月待っても返事は来ず、3ヶ月経った6月の終わりにやっと便りが。
そこには専門学校の卒業証明書ではなく高校のものを送るように、と書いてありました。プラス、修了単位証明書と成績証明書も。
締め切りまであと2週間と少しのところで大変な事態に。日本にいる母に急いで連絡し、新潟の高校にもかなり急かす形で発行してもらいました。
こういった類いの翻訳にはドイツ大使館に承認をもらった翻訳家でないと受領されないため大忙しで片っ端から電話をかけ、引き受けてくださったのがNobukoさんという女性。
翻訳作業は簡単に訳せばいいというものじゃないため時間も労力も必要な仕事。彼女はフルタイムで通訳として活動しているためもちろんやらなければいけないのは私の書類の翻訳以外にもたくさんあるわけです。
全て郵送でのやりとりですから締め切りまでは時間がありません。
新潟から母へ、母のいる日本からドイツへ、そして私のもとから信子さんのもとへ。
ひたすら、「なんでこの連絡に3ヶ月もかかったのか」と意味も無く苛立っていました。
書類が信子さんのもとへ届いてからはわたし、じょんと3人で密に電話やメールで連絡を取り合い7月12日金曜日、翻訳書面が出来たと連絡をいただいたので車を飛ばして彼女のもとへ。
書面内容の確認をし、明日土曜に速達で送れば、締め切りの月曜に着くね、とようやく胸を撫で下ろしました。彼女は忙しいのに、ご主人にも協力していただいたそうで、急かしてしまって本当に申し訳ないと思いました。
7月15日月曜日午後、DHLの追跡番号で書類の位置を検索し、大学に着いたのを確認。
今度こそ入学に必要な書類は整ったんだから入れる、なんて確信しました。
その後、8月下旬。
入学資格を獲得の通知かと思い封を開けると。
最終学歴の専門学校の成績証明書と修了単位課目が必要と書かれていました。
がっかりです。
最初に、専門学校の情報が必要なのではなくて、高校のものが必要って言ったのに今度は何でまた?
だったら6月の時点で何で専門学校分の必要書類も言わなかったんでしょうか?
でも入学はしたかったので再び母に連絡して、発行料も負担してもらい取り寄せてもらいました。
和訳・英訳一部ずつ。
この時点で、冬セメの入学は不可能なので夏セメになると言われました。つまり入学は9月から翌年(4月?)になったってことです。
そして9月30日、失望で凹んでいた月曜日、郵便が届きました。
そこには
もうとっくに送ったにも関わらず"高校の卒業証明書を郵送してください、と。
もう呆れて何も言えません。
しかも
大学入試センター試験の証明書も送れと。これは新登場です。
入学申請をしたのが3月でもうこの時点で10月です。こんなやり取りに時間を費やしていたら申請だけで1年経ってしまいます。無駄に。
最近のドイツの大学入学事情も変わって来ているようです。というのも、たしか一昨年からドイツの兵役制度がなくなり(自由化)大学進学したい人が増えたことから、納得もいきますが、彼ら大学側はピュアなドイツ人が欲しいわけですよ。
私みたいな完全な外国人にはなかなか入れさせてもらえないんですね。
平等を唱えてる割にはやってることは視野が狭いっていうか。
現地の大学で学びたく、現地で働けば自分の国には利益になるのに、なんでこうなるんでしょうかね? もっとドイツ語の学習も含めて学びたい、現地の人間になりたいって人の芽を摘むことになります。
時間はもう無駄にしたくないし、25にもなるし、将来の貯蓄を一刻も始めたいので、泣く泣く私は日本に戻ることにしたわけです。
現地で仕事をすることは可能ですが、今の私のドイツ語レベルでは思うように貯金ができません。
子どももいないし、日本に帰れば十分に稼げるチャンスがあるんですから、ここはそれを利用しようと決めました。そうすればお互い同時進行で貯蓄ができます。
18歳の頃からずっと大学に進むべく仕事して学費を貯めて、ドイツで語学学校も出てさあやっとスタートというところで弾かれました。
何だか、これだけ遠回りしても、どうあがいても大学に行けないっていうのは、つまり私は大学に行けない人間なんだな、なんて思いました。
なんなら仕事を極めるか。
簡単ですが、こんな理由で帰国しました。
今は六本木で仕事をしています。
帰国、就活、仕事で3ヶ月もブログは放ったらかしでした。今後はまた出来るだけ頻繁に更新したいと思います。
xoxo
Meg
