The very first thing that crosses someone’s mind hearing the word “Germany” is in the most cases probably “beer.” A reasonable thought in view of over 5,000 different types of beer produced in this country. Popular worldwide many Japanese as well use to enjoy this alcoholic – or sometimes non-alcoholic – beverage on several occasions: whether in bars when meeting with business partners, or get-togethers with friends, or after coming back home from a long day at work. Someone who turned his interest in beer and its complex production process into his profession is 36-years-old Saito Toshiyuki. Living with his wife and two little kids in a suburb in Southern Germany, Saito is responsible for the in-house beer production of a traditional Swabian tavern located in Nürtingen, a small town near Stuttgart.
    But how does a Japanese end up living in a German suburb brewing his own beer? To understand his path to becoming a master brewer, let’s take a look on his professional development. Born in Kitami, a quite populous city in Hokkaido, Saito decided after graduating high school to attend the TSUJI Culinary Institute in Osaka, followed by the TSUJI Culinary Techniques Institute with emphasis on Japanese cuisine. Successfully graduating these, Saito started to work as a licensed chef. Up to that point, he didn’t have any particular interest in beer apart from drinking one here and there. What called his attention was a special edition of a culinary magazine dealing with German beers and their master brewers: from this moment on Saito set his mind on going to Germany to learn the art of beer-brewing. Quitting his employment, he started to get German lessons while working as a so-called “freeter” (a Japanese neologism composed of the English word “free” and the German word for worker, “Arbeiter”). His desire to get to know more about German gastronomic culture lead him back to Hokkaido, where he worked closely with a German ham and sausage meister on a North plain farm in Okoppe. “He was the one who gave me the address of the German beer association and in response to a written request they mailed me a list of 50-60 breweries. After sending job applications to each one of them, I finally got two acceptance letters and I took up the job at a brewery in the Black Forest in Southern Germany.”
    “When I told my parents and the people around me that I want to go to Germany to learn about beer,” he says, “they arranged things for me. How I met the sausage meister, how I found my employment, how I lived in Germany for eleven years - these were all possible because of the people I was fortunate to meet, who gave me help.”
    For the next four years, Saito served his apprenticeship and learned the principles of brewing. He started brewing beer on his own when he got a job at the “Hausbrauerei Schlachthof Bräu,” a Swabian tavern with in-house brewery. There, he is not only responsible for the brewing but acts as chef, in service as well as at the bar: a many-sided job with a lot of responsibility.
    When asked what life is like in Germany, he answers, “Comfortable. The houses are spacious, the beer is delicious and there’s no really hard work. It’s a life with great latitude.” However, living in a foreign country with a completely different culture and mentality also caused him many problems. “The biggest problem I had to face was the language. I learned German in Japan by going to an English conversation school near the train station, but the German that is actually spoken in Germany was difficult. Learning the language while drinking beer at pubs was the best way to do it. Beer is a beverage that can make people cheerful. It can take away the "emotional barrier" that is normally there somewhere in their minds. Even though I made mistakes, I was able to keep on speaking without being afraid to do so.” Besides, there are many different dialects, and normally, people do not talk to someone so patiently like, for example, his German teacher in Japan. Nevertheless, or perhaps just because of that, he considers the ability to speak the national language absolutely necessary if one plans to work in a foreign country. Besides the language barrier, of course there have been lots of other problems, too. Unfortunately, he had the bitter experience that in times of trouble, the embassy does not really help; and he became aware of the importance of building relationships to people in your daily life that you can count on.

    For Saito, it was easy to interact and become familiar with people because of a common interest: beer. “When you drink beer with someone at pubs, you can immediately open up to each other. In my case, there was already the fact that ‘I came to Germany because I like German beer,’ so I think it was easier for me to adjust and fit in. No matter what country you’re from, it’s not a bad feeling to hear that somebody likes your country's products or culture, is it? So I talked about those kinds of things while drinking beer with guys I had just met. Sometimes they would even treat me to drinks.”
    In the future, Saito wants to get to know even more types of beer and sales method and ideas of several German breweries. Although he enjoys life in Germany, his wish for the future is clear: “Someday I want to go back to Japan and start my own brewery.”

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Before we begin, could you tell us a little about yourself and your work experiences?

I am originally Russian and, as of now, still a citizen of the Russian Federation. I have graduated from a Russian high school and afterwards went to Wales for two more years of high school aiming to improve my English. After that, I chose to apply to an American university. American Liberal Arts education gives one a chance to try out various classes in freshman year before declaring one’s major, and I needed that freedom. My first job in America was part-time IT tutoring for students and professors at the university’s IT office, which I did through every academic year. My next job was in the summer after my freshman year: being an assistant in a robotics research with the Computer Science department. Sophomore summer, I worked at the British Embassy back in Russia as an entrance-clearance assistant.

You have had quite a variety of jobs. What made you want to work outside of your own country?

In a way, for me it all naturally turned out like that. As a student, I needed money to support myself with personal expenses and textbooks. That’s how I first started working part-time at college. My next job as a robotics research assistant was related to my major. It was a great opportunity to brush up on my programming skills. By next summer, I had started getting homesick and yearned to spend some time in the culture where I belong, which led to my job at the British Embassy in Moscow.

How did you go about job hunting?

For the part-time job in college, I knew I would have one before I even arrived on campus. American colleges understand that there are students in need of an extra income, so there are always openings available. One can apply through the special system on the college website. For the summer research, I simply inquired of my professors, and, being qualified by the courses I took in programming, I applied for the robotics one. A summer job in Russia was a little bit trickier to find. To begin with, I wanted to make use of my English abilities, so my targets were internships at international companies. I aimed for such names as Procter and Gamble, Japan Tobacco International, Adidas, etc., but unfortunately, all of them required a face-to-face interview, which I could not attend because I was in the middle of my semester final exams then. While I was looking on Internet for what was available, an idea struck me to check the British and American embassies’ websites. Luckily, the British embassy had a few openings, for which I could apply online with a résumé and a cover letter. They contacted me later in June by e-mail, and after a security interview I could start working.

What range of jobs would you say is available for those who wish to work abroad?

From what I know, if your goal is merely to experience living in another country, you can go on a short-term basis with jobs such as picking strawberries, waitressing, or teaching your mother tongue. All could be easily found on Internet. ‘Work and travel’ would be a good program to look into for the U.S. On the other hand, if you are intending to work as a professional, what I see from my little experience is that you would have to either work it out through a company in your country that has branches worldwide or go for graduate/undergraduate study in the desired country. For both, of course, fluency in the language of the country would be a must.

Do you have particularly memorable moments from working abroad? How did you feel about the differences in culture and language?

There have been funny moments when by accident I would use words that are non-existent in English. Most of the times my coworkers would simply laugh. It has not caused me any serious troubles yet. But of course, at times it can be difficult. Some tasks take more time for me to complete if they require reading detailed technicalities.

What are some positive aspects of working abroad?

In the U.S., I would say the freedom - the ability to share one’s thoughts freely. Regardless of one’s rank, new insights are always respected, appreciated and encouraged.

What about the negative aspects?

Definitely, the cultural difference. Of course, in the U.S. the topic of conversation would always be American movies, American politics, American writers, etc. I miss the same kind of conversations in my country where everyone knows what I am talking about, and I know to what everyone is referring. If you decide to live in another country, it is true that you have to adapt to that country’s culture in a major way.

Which job was your favorite so far? What do you have in mind for the future?

My favorite has been the robotics research because it is related to my major. As of now, I am resolved to try to stay in the U.S. for a year after I graduate, trying myself as a programmer. My student visa permits me a year of work experience upon graduation. If I get an offer to stay longer from the company I will be working for, I’ll then decide whether to stay or return home, depending on how much I miss my family and my culture.

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Yuki Kawae is a graduate student at Rhode Island School of Design, soon to graduate. He has lived in the US for about thirteen years, ever since middle school, and is planning to start work there. Let’s find out what he has seen of job hunting and internships in the US.

What is job hunting like in the US?

    The most crucial part, I think, is being pushy. You need to keep on pushing and be persistent, trying to get in touch directly with those you want to be hired by. Finding a way to have direct contact with them is probably the first step – at least when you want to work in design. Take my friend for example – she sent e-mails to a design firm for about a year without getting any reply, but when she finally tried calling them as a last resort, they said, “We didn’t know about that. Do you want to come in for an interview?” So she works there now. The firm even got her a visa, since she’s Indonesian. As you can see, direct contact is important. Japanese people might think that would be impolite or annoying for the company and refrain from it – but I think being persistent is better.
    I also have the impression that job hunting isn’t as patterned as it is in Japan. The individual, the company, the positions – they all seem to be moving freely. Even after you start work, how you build your career – whether it’s moving up in your current company or moving on to a different one – is up to you. You look at your own abilities and experiences, then decide what position is suitable for yourself.

How are the interviews different from Japan?

The biggest difference is that if the interviewer asks the interviewee’s age, married or single, et cetera, this is seen as discrimination. In Japan, people aren’t supposed to ask these types of questions, but they still do - and it’s all written out on the résumé anyway. In the US, there’s a lot of thought to discrimination; they don’t write age limits and things like that in job descriptions. If they want to avoid getting applicants who are old or physically challenged, for instance, they write: “Those able to lift ten kilos with both hands.”

How would you compare the two internships you’ve done in Japan and the US?

    Well, I think the internship I did in New York isn’t really “America.” My boss was Italian, and the office advisor was Japanese. The work ethic there was very strict. I always worked really late, whereas my friends at other internships always finished around 5 or 6 pm and went out for a drink at bars and so on. American firms are probably more relaxed. I think it’s important to create a mood in the firm that suits the work (in my case, design) and to respect the employees’ lives.
    In my internship in Japan, they taught me not only work but also manners. They were strict about that, but maybe they were kinder than in New York. The hard work I put in was always noted and appreciated by my employer. In the US, everything was taken matter-of-factly because it was part of the work. Though it depends on the firm, I heard that in the US, people adhere to their own job descriptions – in other words, their authority and responsibility. Whatever’s outside it, they don’t do.

While you were doing your internship, did you ever feel a difference in how you were treated because of your ethnic background?

Not at all. I think it’s all up to you –how much you interact with others and try to talk with them. If you’re too afraid to act, they might look at you in a strange way. It’s good to mingle.

What is the good part about working in the US?

Individuality. You can keep your individuality.

What is the bad part?

The food, I guess.

Do you want to work there for all your life?

Wherever the job takes me, I’ll go – wherever I can make quality work. But eventually, I believe I should go back to Japan.