The reason for writing this topic is the short dialog that took place while I was waiting the train the other day.
A Japanese old man was next to me, and was peeking on the papers I was reading. He noticed that I noticed that he was peeking, so he started some little small talk about Japan and life in Japan. Then he asked me about the reason why I came to Japan, and I answered him that I am here to study. As he knew that I am a Monbusho student, his tone kind of changed to a sad pitying tone. He told me, and I am quoting here, "A Japanese man can not eat with this small amount of money you are getting". Our conversation ended when we took the train, each in a separate carriage.
Here I have to confirm one thing. Yes. Monbusho students are poor, financially. The amount we take compared to usual Japanese salaries is low, but sufficient enough to live in the most expensive city in the world. For example visiting one's home country, Jordan in this case, is not an easy decision to do due to the financials. I, myself, have not visited for two years now as I also was too busy to take such a vacation.
Yet.....
There is one important statement that should be confirmed also here. Monbusho students are very rich. And now, I am not talking about the financial aspect, but from the perspective of power.
Once you say you are a Monbusho students, doors magically open in front of you. If you are in trouble, all you have to do is to say that you are a Monbusho student. If you want to extend your visa, just say you are Monbusho. If you want to work after your graduation, say the magic word: Monbusho. If you want your family to be granted a visa to visit you: Monbusho. If a police officer stops you to check your ID, just say it: Monbusho. If you want to impress someone, spell out the word: Monbusho.
So, the lack of finance is overcome by the presence of power for Monbusho students.
But still, we kind of a li~~~ttle bit wish that the Japanese government takes some of this power in exchange for a li~~~ttle bit of a raise in our monthly income!!
Friday 11 December 2009
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3 comments:
Let's not forget that a Monbusho student's scholarship is quite big if we think we do nothing to get this money, while poor Japanese students would have to work hard at a part time job to get the same amount. So we're still somewhat richer than the self-financed Japanese students :P
Wow, you guys are really petty. I don't understand how you can all complain about the "little" amount of money you get. That's BS man, you should be happy with what you get. They could give you less. It's a free ride for cripes sake! Forum after forum I read about how you can barely get by or the cut in finances in the last couple years from 180,000 yen/month to 152,000 yen/month is killing your lifestyle. I used to live in Japan and somehow managed to get by on less than 96,000 yen/month. Get real, you ungrateful gits!
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