ANMI English Tips & Tools: To Overseas

2007-09-30

To Overseas

Notes from the KH Class:

Do not use the word to before the word overseas.

× I want to go go to overseas during my winter break.
◎ I want to go overseas during my winter break.　(冬休みの間、海外旅行に行きたい。)

Use "to" with a specific place. "Overseas" is not a specific place--it is too general, so you cannot use "to" + "overseas."

Examples:

I went to Italy.
I went to work.
I went to the office.
I went to the park.
I went to the theater.

However, if you use the word "visit," then we don't use "to."

Examples:

I visited Italy.
I visited my old workplace.
I visited my company's head office in Tokyo.
I visited the park near my apartment.
I visited my friend's house in Gamagori.

Benefits vs Salary

Benefits includes everything besides your salary.
Example:

My company offers employees many good benefits including 20 days of paid vacation annually, a very good health and dental plan, a transportation allowance, a housing allowance, child-rearing allowance, a 401K, and free use of corporate recreational facilities.

My company doesn't offer a high enough salary. 給料が足りない・給料が安い。

My salary is a little low, but my benefits are quite good.

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Many Japanese housewives prefer to work at my kind of job because they mistakenly believe that such a position carries with it a high status. In addition, since they are housewives, they don't care too much about whether or not they get paid a relatively high salary. Therefore, they have flooded the ～ job market and have driven down salaries. This situation makes it hard for people like me who are trying to make a living working as a ～.