If you're not careful, teaching English in a foreign country like Japan can warp your sense of power and identity.

One moment, you're a God amongst men, wowing and dazzling the masses with your heavenly English skills, but the next, you're actualizing your uselessness by asking a second grade elementary school student to repeat his instructions on how to use the coffee machine because you can't read simple Kanji.

The best bet for anyone not staying here for an exceedingly long time is to understand your role, play your part, but recognize the temporary nature of it and not take it to heart.