EDTC 560

Jeff McCarty (Suzuki)

I was born in Toronto and grew up basically in Montreal. I went to Concordia University and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature.

I've had various jobs in the banking sector from 1984 till 1990. I worked in all sorts of departments at the Head Office in Toronto. It was interesting and challenging at the beginning. I saw ridiculous amounts of money: made by the bank in the stock market, lost by bad speculation, traded in the international money markets, and spent on all sorts of shaky projects. The one thing that I remember the most while working in that sector was the constant political backstabbing going on amongst my colleagues. It was just too much for me to see and endure.

I decided to get away from it all and put it all behind me while I still had the opportunity to do something else. I was offered a job in the construction sector as a cost estimator for a large construction company. The hours were sometimes very demanding. I would meet architects and engineers sometimes at 5 or 6 in the morning or at 7 or 8 at night at all sorts of job sites and in all sorts of weather conditions. I was always available anywhere from 50 to 70 hours a week. I enjoyed what I learned and what I saw during the 9 years that I worked there.

In 1999, I finally decided to do something completely different. With the help of a friend at the Japanese Embassy, I went to work in Japan. I taught English at a High School. That was 5 1/2 years ago now, and I can now call Japan my home.

Shortly after having arrived here, I met and dated a very special Japanese woman. One thing lead to the next and we got married. We built a house and we have a little boy who just turned 2 years old. We are expecting another child this year (please another son).

I now work part-time at a small private Class Demonstration Japanese University teaching English, and I have a small English school in my house with approximately 40 students.

Lesson
I am fluent in English and in French. I think I can communicate in Japanese maybe at an intermediate level, but I can't read well. I find the language difficult to learn (especially if you're like me and don't apply yourself to that task)

Getting a Master`s Degree has always been a dream of mine. Online education provided by U of P has made it a reality for me. I can continue my education in English in a non-English speaking country half-way around the globe.

Since Sushi is very popular, I've included some pictures of some of my other family members.