If you have .0000005ths of a brain you'll find work in your home country and take paid vacations, no offense or anything, just think of it this way, right now your a cheerleader, why would you want to get on the team? Exactly. You won't be living large teaching english or being a translator, trust me, when I was there I met two canadian girls who were signed up for the NOVA program which some but not all colleges offer where you'd teach english, they described how the conditions were terrible, always the same books, always the same thing over and over again and they both had to stay, living in Japan for four more years. Their sponsered apartments were extremely small and their salary seemed to hardly cover anything besides living exspenses, it's not just NOVA too, i've met people in the JET program and i've heard just as bad stories of the conditions of work. So my advice to anyone, invest your time in a good education and/or a job youll enjoy doing, not be a slave in order to get a paycheck and live in a hole. I don't reccomend just as much Navy or the Military, things like that and being an english teacher fronts obligations you must advid by, you cant just go sightseeing like youd want to and plus why would you want to be in Japan for that long? i've been to Japan sooooo many times, each of the times i've felt it was played out after the first two/three weeks, it gets repetative, the same thing over and over again and as much as youd think it's perfect and it's this dreamland that's waiting for you, you'll loose most of interest after several trips, trust me, don't waste 3-5 years off your life because you gave it up to work in japan, you only live once, ask yourself why your going, if it's the girls well then move to southern california and listen to yourself talk next time. Word is bond.
Josh