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The story of one young man's miserable few months (through his own faults) teaching English in Japan.
Marvin Matthews, a young American who graduated last year from university, takes an English-teaching job in Sapporo, Japan, for a few reasons. First, a year after graduation, he is still living with his parents, because he has been unable to procure a full-time job. Additionally, it is his understanding that teaching in Japan is essentially a paid vacation. Finally, and perhaps most important, he has been informed that Japanese women absolutely adore foreign men.
Arriving in Japan, he soon learns that the second and third reasons are not entirely accurate. He has to work much harder than expected, and has approximately no success with the local female population. Frustrated--and in possession of almost no redeeming qualities--he lashes out at all those around him. Making no attempt to adjust to life in a different country, he chooses to blame the "inscrutable" Japanese (as well as most of Sapporo's foreign population, simply because they are to him "Japan apologists") for everything that goes wrong in his life in Japan.
Although tongue-in-cheek, and somewhat exaggerated in places, much of what occurs in The Bridge Across the Pacific is based on actual events. Reader who have lived in Japan (and those who have not, for that matter) will likely recognize Marvin, and what he represents.
Excerpt
(Marvin to a new English teacher) "Two weeks on the job, and already trying to be like the natives. Reality check. You're white. Nothing you can do is going to change that. Although I can see where you'd want to try to be Japanese, I guess. Try being yourself, like I have, and you get pounded by a ton of bricks....Let me give you some advice. You're never going to be accepted here. Believe me, I've been here for nearly six months. I know these things."
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