Zulu King Tone
Posted Jul 10 2007
Dear Tone,It's good that you took a step ahead by moving out of the 'hood. It's fun when you are young because all you think about is about having fun. But as you grow up you start thinking more about your future. At first I wasn't really thinking about going to college, then I start hearing more things about college. That’s what made me change my mind. I want to go to college and graduate then do what you did and move to a different country to live. It seems that speaking Japenese is hard. Was is hard for you to get used to it? Especially because you don’t get to see a lot of your people? But don’t take it the wrong way. I would have felt the same, especially if I didn’t see Latinos. I like the fact that over there everything moves quick. Trains over here don’t go as fast as over there. Why was it so expensive to get your hair done? I would have just said "never mind."
By the way you describe everything that is going on it sounds like if you are used to everything. I know that my goal is live in a different country but I don’t think I'll make it.-Edgar B.
You’re a hard worker from the 'hood living in Japan and making your money. A new language is hard to learn for some people but when you do, it's better. Being a teacher and a Black man you have to give 100%. Everywhere you go you have to hustle. If a person has no hustle they are not going to make it. I can see how Africans think African American are spoiled. Wear what you want, work with what you got.-Ed H.
I liked this article because it shows you that a person from the “hood” likes Japan and he isn’t that excited to go back home to visit. So that shows you that anyone could live there and that it’s a cool place to live. Also, Latinos live in Japan. Many of them come from the military and they decide to stay. This makes more Latinos try to visit Japan. I liked the entire article. It showed me that other countries are just as good as the U.S. or better. I would like to visit Japan to see all this things.-Ezequiel A.
Japan sounds hard and with many problems. The interview had many details that were helpful. Japan seems like it has many rules and laws that are way different from the U.S. Also the way Japan's daily life goes seems boring. It looks like there is nothing to do in Japan. Just work, work,work and work.
I think that Japan is boring and stressful for everyone that does is not used to the ways of it. Japan is for working people that already know how it works and are use to proceeding in life. If I were to go to Japan to live I would not be able to last one day because I cannot live without my daily basics. Also the language seems real hard because there are three written alphabets.
My questions are about money, food, and the jobs. First, was the money in Yen difficult to understand? It does not seem hard but it looks confusing. The second is,was it easy to get used to the foods? Because over there the food looks smaller and also different. Last, are the jobs different from the ones in the U.S.? In Japan it looks like all the jobs need a college diploma.
What I liked is that there are some new things to try out. Also, that there is more chances to get better jobs. Also, there is no violence and there is trust. The main problems is that there is no one to get help from. Other things seem more difficult. For example, I do not like chinese food and I cannot get used to the crowds. Being crushed by to many people that you do not know is annoying.-Leticia M.
Tone’s interview is very interesting in many ways. One very interesting thing that he says is that he ended up in Japan because of a job that sent him out there. Now he says that he goes back home once a year and isn't in a rush to go back. I think is interesting how someone would accept to go far away from their family just for a job. One thing that he mentioned is after being in Japan for five years he says that he is still learning the language, even today. It impresses me how you never stop learning something new. Tone is a teacher in Japan and he says that many Americans don't make it, so he has his own way of teaching and his curriculum. This ussually happens to many teachers all around the world and I think that many teachers start acting strict because of that. Tone says how his teaching experience has been kind of weird because of beeing in Japan. He says that kids will ask questions that they have heard from stereotypes. Personally, I think that stereotypes are all over the world and people just have to ignore them or deal with them. Another very interesting fact that caught my attention is how is says that Nigerians may be a doctor back at home but in Japan they dont have right so they dont have any other choice than to hustle. This caughts my attention because here in the U.S. all kinds of people hustle not only one specific group. All people should have equal rights.-Maricela C.
The first thing that comes to mind is, I can't believe black people are accepted in suck a homogenous society. It's really great to know that there are some black people in Japan working. Shows us brothas that anything is possible if you can dream it. And I dream big and teaching in Japan is one of my dreams. And to see that a black man teaching in Japan and just being able to take in Japanese culture is just wild. I would love to do what Zulu King Tone does, I read about the Nova program but that's only part of it. What could be more exciting than living in a Foreign country and being around so much more than the average man.