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[quote=WillardD][quote=Anonymous]Will you be able to send your children to international school upon your return to Japan? I couldn’t quite tell from your post whether you already live abroad, just not in an English-speaking country, but if you are not already abroad, please consider the effect that coming back to local Japanese middle and high school may have on your children. I ended up staying in the US, but I grew up around a lot of chu-zai families, not in a Japanese immersion school (not in the DC area). Even if they were only away for a few years, most of the kids were bullied, some quite badly, after they got back to Japan. The exception seems to be the ones who went to international school.

Subject-readiness at their grade level may also present a problem once they’re back in Japan. If you do not do Japanese school, may I suggest looking into mail-order courses such as Benesse? They are designed to keep kids living abroad on pace with the curriculum back home.

Regarding the DC area specifically, the Japanese language immersion programs at Great Falls and Fox Mill are part of the Fairfax County Public School system, and therefore free and accessible if you live in Fairfax County. Elementary in Fairfax County is K-6, which I know was one of your concerns upthread. But in terms of an actual Japanese community, there seems to be more of that in Bethesda and Rockville in Maryland. I don’t see too many Japanese in McLean or Great Falls, even though they’re frequently mentioned on message boards like KaigaiLink. In Northern Virginia I have seen some moms of younger babies out at playgrounds and cafes during the day in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington. Clarendon is walkable and very accessible to DC by Metro. However, it is in Arlington County, not Fairfax County, and does not have a Japanese language program in its public school system.

I hope this is even a little bit helpful. I will say that this area is fairly polite, and has a fairly large population of East Asian people, so yes there will be culture shock, but it won’t be nearly as bad as other parts of the US. Good luck with your decision![/quote]

Thank you so much for this.  We currently live in Japan and kids go to public school.  Yes, planning for a return to Japan is indeed another concern for us. It's crazy that we have to plan ahead for something that far but our current choices will indeed affect that.  If they were away for just a few years (say 3-4) wouldn't they still retain their old ways and blend right in when they get back in a regular Japanese school?  I'd prefer that they have the option to pick, and not be forced into international school, but being away also deprives them of the competitiveness to pass the local HS exams for the good schools.  I heard the weekend Japanese schools (or perhaps Bennese) only prepares them for the curriculum when they return, but not the juku kind for the entrance exams.

I am assuming you are Japanese that moved to the US when you were young?  Would you mind sharing your experience and how you felt just so I can know what to expect and what to prepare my kids for?[/quote]

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