>> I'm starting to get feed up about patio11 and the all's well attitude and "we'll manage, thank you very much". I don't know that he ever said that they don'

>> I'm starting to get feed up about patio11 and the all's well attitude and "we'll manage, thank you very much". I don't know that he ever said that they don't need help. One thing he did say is that you are not going to BE much help if you come and don't speak Japanese. (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2318005 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2318005) I appreciate the thought, but it takes $2k to bring you here, which is enough to put an out of work Japanese twenty-something on the project for a month. He's literate and can understand directions. (note: I can attest from personal experience that people that don't speak Japanese can have difficulty getting around without assistance once they leave Tokyo)