Brian's Japan Adventure

February 28^th, 2008

Stranger and Stranger

I got up a little early and updated my resume, writing a nice cover letter to the Elementary School principal. I stated my interest and mentioned Y-San and the Junior High Vice Principal as references. I then asked Y-San to fax it to the principal. I also sent a copy to my contact at the Company Office that called me last night. Maybe something else will come along later on.

My Own Worst Enemy

I always hated Physical Education in school. I was always the last kid called on to be on the teams and so forth. I hated sports. I took any

opportunity to take in a sick note and miss class. I always thought physical education teachers were the lowest of lowlifes. And now here I am applying to be one. Yes, I could easily become my own worst enemy. What’s the old quote about becoming the thing you despise most?

But still, it’s not all bad. I doubt my Japanese language deficiencies will be a huge issue. There are American teachers that I would be working with, so that will be a big help. I doubt Physical Education requires a huge amount of lesson planning, so my off time would be mostly my own. I like chasing my niece and nephew around the yard and playing at the park; I doubt it would be much of a stretch to go from the two of them to 200 or 300 kids a day, right? Art class could actually be fun. I’m no artist, but these are little kids we’re talking about.

Still, when I handed the resume over to Y-san to fax, she looked at me like I was crazy. She made a face and asked, “Do you know what you are getting into?” I told her it wasn’t my top choice in the world, but it’s the only opportunity that’s come along. I told her I had to try, and the worst thing that could happen is that they say no. No harm in giving them the option. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that, but I don’t want her to think I’m desperately eager for the job, since I’m not. I could be convinced, but that’ll be up to later negotiations… if they decide I’m the best choice. I’m older than the typical intern, and a little out of shape, but I see no reason I couldn’t do it if I set my mind to it. Add to this the fact that from the sound of last night’s call that I may also be the only applicant. Time will tell.

I then came back down the hill and ran into Marc getting up and ready. His class for today has been cancelled too. Finals are approaching. He really should have gone home last week.

He mentioned that yesterday he was up in the office and somehow it came up that he wouldn’t mind staying on over the summer. Hearing this, Y-San asked him if he really wanted to do it, since there is only one student coming next time. He said he would. I assume since he said “yes” right away that there was no reason for her to mention it to me. I don’t think Marc’s being asked first was a planned thing; he was in the right place at the right time. At least that’s the way I am going to interpret my not being asked to stay on. On reflection, this may have been the reason for Y-San’s reaction to my asking her to fax the resume this morning; shock that I might be willing to stay on, and regret at what she did yesterday.

However, this morning he got a call from home telling him that his brother is going to be married sometime over the summer. He wants to attend that, and it’s more important to him than staying here doing the same thing for another four months. He then went up the hill to tell Y-San that he couldn’t stay here after all. I told him to mention that I might be interested in doing it, although I did not mention the Fukuyama application to him

So just hypothetically, let’s say I have to make a decision:

1) I can go home. That’s hardly a bad thing, as months of blog postings should make clear. I will be going home in a couple of weeks, regardless. It’s just a matter of whether or not I have a reason to return to Japan or not.

2) I can stay here another four months or so, from April 1^st to sometime in late July or early August. This period is a lot shorter than what I have already done, and there are almost no vacations during this period. Still, I’ll have my weekends and the schedule shouldn’t be any more difficult than what I have already done. I will have an apartment to myself, although it might be more expensive than where I am now. I’ll be making exactly the same amount of money. When it’s over, I’ll be able to claim an entire school year worth of experience, which is far better than six months.

3)  As the Art/Phys-Ed Teacher in Fukuyama, I would be paid more, possibly a lot more. I would have a real job rather than an internship. I would have an apartment to myself, I assume, but it would certainly cost more than this one. This would be a full-time position with a one-year contract, insurance and benefits rather than just cash in an envelope. It would also be jus tone school, so the crazy daily traveling would stop and I could focus on just one school and get to know the students.

Sigh. All this to think over and it’s not even 11:30 am yet. I expect the phone to ring at any moment; it could be a long day.

Nope, Didn’t See That Coming.

11:37am. [Update]

I hadn’t even shut down the computer after typing the above when Y-San called, officially offering me option #2. She mentioned that she didn’t realize I was interested in staying before this morning; I had mentioned it was back before Christmas, but hadn’t really kept on her about it. I told her I liked the idea but asked if I could let her know for sure on Monday, which was fine with her. My work Visa is good for a full-year, so there will be no problem with that; I would have to get a renewal on it for the Fukuyama position, but I don’t think that’s a difficult problem.

I think likely I will go with her offer but I now have already submitted the application at Fukuyama, so I ought to follow-through on that tomorrow. Financially, the Fukuyama position will be clearly better, but as far as what would look better on a resume, I’m not sure: One full year as a “pure” English teacher or a half year as an English teacher and full-year as a PhysEd/Art teacher? I’m not going to put the cart before the horse, but at least now I have one choice to make. It’d be nice to have two.

I guess the first thing is to decide if I actually WANT to stay another four months. If I don’t want to do that, then the full year would be a big mistake. I’ll be going home as scheduled, so I can get my hair cut, buy new shoes, eat 45 burritos, renew my driver’s license and so forth, so my “maintenance” can be accomplished then. I would certainly not want to stay here continuously without a trip a trip home at all. I wouldn’t have to take home everything I have here now; I could leave my warm-weather clothes and take home what I won’t need, bringing back some fresh replacements. That would alleviate my “how am I going to get all this home” problem quite nicely. One problem with staying another four months is that will be darned near impossible to find another teaching job that late in the summer when it finally ends. If I were to just go home now or at the end of the Fukuyama year, I’ll have all summer to look for new work.

I’ll meet up with the Fukuyama principal tomorrow, but right now, I like the four-month stay better.

February 27^th, 2008

 A Smooth Day with a Plot Twist Ending 

I rode the Shinkansen to Hiroshima as always, and arrived early to find that today was not the Parent’s Day for the three-year-olds. That’ll be next week. Today was the “nothing special” day.  I’m sure I didn’t misunderstand what I was told last week.  I have found that past, present, and future often seem to get lost in translation here, so I shouldn’t be surprised. Oh well, no great harm in this surprise. 

 Bus, no car!  Car, no bus! 

As I arrived, Mr. Kindergarten told me that I would not ride the bus to the Culture Center after class, his secretary would drive me the school car. I have no idea why this change would be, but I was already picturing a surprise party. Two weeks early would be a surprise indeed. I then did the usual kindergarten routines, practicing the stuff I knew they knew well so they would be all set for next time.  When classes were done, he told me that the school car was in the shop and I should take the bus as usual. I wonder what that was really about?  The weather was pretty decent and the walk to the bus stop isn’t that far, so a ride in the car isn’t any great kindness or anything. Maybe I’ll find out more next week.

 Potty Mouth 

I then rode the bus to the Culture Center and did the afternoon class. We talked about our weeks and then did a grammar activity about future perfect and future continuous tenses. Somewhere during all this, one of the students mentioned that she had read in my blog about the squat toilets. Yes, they read here too.  That threw a monkey wrench into things and we ended up spending fifteen minutes talking about the merits of pooping while standing up. Really classy stuff!  One of the students is going to Iran next week and won’t be back while I am still here, so we said our goodbyes today.

The class went smoothly and then it was lunch time. I wanted to do some shopping, so I walked in a direction I had never bee before and found both a McDonalds and a Mos Burger about half as far away as the ones I had been visiting. These two weren’t on my tourist map, so I never even looked that way before. I had more Mos Burger lunch and then headed back.  I ate well, but there was nothing in the way of gift shops.

 Endings and Goodbyes 

Then it was time for the late class. The Old Man came in about a half an hour before everyone else. He usually comes in a little early for some one-on-one chat time since he knows I’m there. He had planned to go to China and Macao on a gambling trip next month, and although he doesn’t leave until the 10^th or something, he can’t come to next week’s class due to trip preparations. So this would be his last class. The younger man told me he wouldn’t be in during March either. I assume they are paying by the month for this class, and since there are only two weeks in March, some of them have decided to start their vacations a little early.  I had expected them to all be there next week, so I didn’t even have my camera with me. I will not make that mistake again.

We walked about our weeks and then finished the “Are you for it or against it?” worksheet from last week. I don’t know how, but the subject of toilets came up again, so I told them about my love of the Japanese-style toilet. They loved it, and laughed and laughed. One lady said Japanese people have strong legs from doing the Japanese Tea Ceremony. Somehow, I don’t think they spend that much time doing the tea ceremony.

 A Change of View 

Then our time was up, and we all rode down in the elevator together. The old man shook my hand we wished each other good luck. As my taxi pulled away to the train station, I spotted him giving me the deepest bow I have ever received here. It’s a sight that I will never forget. I don’t think I have ever received such a serious and honest show of respect before. Sure, I’ve won awards, had successes, and had many people say I’ve done a good job, but that’s not the same as personal respect.

About this time it finally hit me that I am indeed going to miss a lot about this place.  Granted, I may seem to do nothing but complain in this blog, but there is a lot here that I really like. I have come to believe that the Japanese people are generally the most giving, hospitable people on the planet. They try to foresee any need that you might have and prepare for it. They are very free with small gifts and shows of appreciation.  They love to take you out to dinner.  Yes, I am going to miss a lot of things.  Not the complete lack of burritos, and the existence of squat toilets, but many things nevertheless.

I think from now until the end, I will focus on the things I will miss and have enjoyed here. The list is quite long; it’s not all sushi and walking up mountains.  Anyway, I arrived home at ten and went right to bed. I didn’t sleep too well last night for some reason and was really tired. I got to sleep right away this time.

 But Wait! There’s More! 

And then the phone rang.  It was from someone who’d name I recognized as being from The Company’s Corporate Office. Not the office where Y-San works, but someone higher up in the organization. He wanted to talk to me about the joy and wonder of becoming a Physical Education and Art Teacher in Fukuyama.  I can’t think of any job in the world that I am less qualified for, but it sounds like they are getting desperate; what the heck, I may as well give it a shot. If they don’t say “no,” I can always do it… Assuming I don’t actually talk myself into wanting it.   I’d like to know that at least I got an offer to stay. I told him I would fax him a resume in the morning.  And then I went back to bed.

 Stop! 

And then the phone rang again. I assumed he’d forgotten something, but it turned out to be from home. I guess my weekly call was running later than usual. We did some quick catch-up, but nothing new or important was happening there.  Finally, I got back to bed and stayed there.

February 26th, 2008

 Five Down!  Or is it Six Now? 

It’s cold, windy, and raining today. That means it must be Tuesday!  I left the house at the last minute, and the rain had stopped for a while. Fortunately, I was able to make it to the little station before it all broke loose again. When I arrived in Fukuyama, however, it was still raining pretty hard. Oh well, I brought an umbrella.  I had to arrive about twenty minutes early today since the classes were all shortened by a little bit. I forgot to ask why they were shorter than usual, but they were, so that’s what really matters.

 Details On Next Week… Sorta 

I got to the teachers office and the assistant principal made copies for me.  I asked him about next week, and he said to do the same thing regarding my train tickets and to meet him there next Monday and he’d show me where to go for my new classes. That sounds pretty good, but I think I’ll talk to Y-San on Thursday and get her to call and make sure everything is straight. I’d hate to get there next Saturday and find that the office ladies who give me my train tickets don’t work on Saturday. That will be my last day there, so fixing it afterwards isn’t really an option.

 Today: My Last Tuesday Junior High Classes 

I went to the first class and we more or less all survived. The noisy kid was at an all-time peak today, and I doubt many of the good students could even hear me. I had to ask most of them to repeat what they said, and even they were starting to get annoyed, especially since they all realized it was the last time they would have me in class. As usual, the teacher did nothing to shut the kid up; I guess that’s the benefit of going to an expensive private school in Japan; you can scream and run around all you want to, no matter how much it disrupts teaching and learning.  We are not amused.

Then I went to the second class, also run by the same teacher. This group reacted normally, and they interacted like a normal bunch of kids. They got rowdy a few times, but this is Junior High school after all.  No one was continually a problem, and most of them learned a thing or two.  My lesson in both classes was pretty short, since I wanted to save time at the end for questions and answers. Neither class was too eager to ask me anything on my first day, but they know me know. The questions today ended up taking up half the class, so they must have gotten used to me by now.

The third class on Tuesdays is the High School class, but as I mentioned last week, is cancelled for today. That means I had the third period off, so I waited in the chat room.  I would stick around and do my fourth class there (the “Chat Room” class).  The teacher had the heater on, but I guess it wasn’t working, because after an hour, my breath was still visible in there. Fortunately, I had my coat and gloves with me.  When the teacher came in at the start of the chat room session, she thought I was ready to leave. Then I explained that I had been wearing my coat for the past hour.  While it’s true that the weather in Ohio gets much colder than this, in Ohio, we actually turn on the heat once in a while!!!

After the chat room period was over, I walked back down the hill, along the busy highway to the train station… in the rain. When I got to the station, the first thing I did was to buy two cans of hot coffee. Not for the mouth, for the pockets!  Eventually, by the time I got back to Okayama, I was mostly warm again. Then it was time to ride my boke home… in the rain.

I stopped by the carryout, picked up my usual, and rode home. I watched the second-last episode of Doctor Who’s season. It will be over next Tuesday- that’s pretty good timing for me. And that’s pretty much it for tonight. It’s currently 8:40, and I’m about to organize and pack up lesson materials for tomorrow. 

 The Rest Of My Schedule 

I have a stack of lessons here than I printed up this past weekend, and they will be enough for this Wednesday and the following one for both adult classes. I am reasonably certain that the third Wednesday, March 12^th, will be all about the going-away party in both classes. That means I really only have two more times in the classroom with them.

Tomorrow is also Parent’s Day for the three-year-olds at the kindergarten. That’ll be a hoot. I think next week is “nothing special” at the kindergarten, and the 12^th will be the big day for the five-year-old class.

This Friday will be the last day of Junior High School. Today was the last time for some of the classes, but Friday will be the real end for that whole school.

Next week’s classes will be in the High School (I think). After Friday, I have nothing left but the special High School class and the usual Wednesday routine.  I looked through the lessons I was given for this class, and it all seems straightforward and easy to implement. I’ll talk more about this stuff when the time comes, but it doesn’t look like I will need to find any special materials or do anything other than cover the material provided. The kids are going to America a week or two after I leave here, so they wil; be highly motivated to learn, so I don’t really expect any problems.

And that’s my whole future schedule. I doubt anything will change because there simply aren’t any free days. This weekend will be normal, then I work six days without a break, and then next Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday I have off to pack and wrap things up here. And that’s about it!

February 25^th, 2008

 Shopping Trip 

I went up to the office first thing this morning and printed out some lessons for the rest of this week.  I have two possibilities that I need to decide between for tomorrow & Friday’s classless. I have one that can be used for BOTH adult classes on Wednesday, and another two that are good for the early Wednesday adult class.  I may or may not need something for the late class for next week, but otherwise, my lesson-hunting days are about over. Unless, that is, I need to find things for next week’s special classes. I probably will, but I don’t know what kind of material yet. Hopefully, someone will explain that tomorrow.

I came back down the hill to the apartment around 10:30, and had to decide what to do for the day.  I’ve been spending way too much time on the Internet recently; I may as well be home for all the use I’m making of my free time here. Besides, the library is closed on Mondays, and I paid for Megalo twice last week.

My “free days” are getting fewer and fewer, and I still don’t have any gifts for the people at home, so I decided to go shopping.  Technically, I could do it anytime after the Library, but that laptop computer gets heavy and bulky after carrying it a few hours. So I decided to make a special trip just for shopping.

I rode the bus downtown, got off at the Tenmaya bus station. I walked from the bus station through the South portion of the Tenmaya Arcade.  I was tempted to go in and pay a visit on “Mister Donut,” but decided I had better things to do. I wandered through the arcade, passing up signs that said Rolex, Gucci, Bulgari, Armani, and the like. Unlike in America (Dayton anyway), folks here actually shop on a regular basis at these kinds of stores. I suspect this is why people say Japan has such high prices. I tell you, if Wal-Mart ever came to Japan, the economy would … well, I don’t know, but it wouldn’t be pretty.

I didn’t really find anything in that half of the Arcade. I’ll check the parts I missed on the weekend. Next, I went into The Loft, and went through their various departments. Finally, on the third floor, I found the perfect gift. I bought it instantly without any debate. The problem is that I don’t know who to give it to. My brother and sister-in-law might actually use this thing, but I know my parents would like it too, although it would sit in the box forever.  I’ll hold on to it and see what else turns up before I decide who gets this one.

I found lots of little toys. Disney is extremely popular here. I couldn’t decide on anything that really screamed, “must have!” at me.  I’ll take a look at the toy department at Happy Town next time I am there. I found the little kids hard to buy for at Christmas, and that situation isn’t going to change now.  They like all kinds of things, so picking “a toy” isn’t hard, but I don’t want to get them something they could just as easily get at home. I left The Loft and went across the street to Cred, but didn’t buy anything there either. I found a few picture books that I could pick up if I can’t find anything else.

I walked on down the road toward the train station. I looked into a neat little antique shop that sells classic Japanese board games. I’d love to pick up a nice Shogi or Go board, but they’re hundreds of dollars and made of incredibly heavy solid wood. I don’t think it’d be worth shipping them home, and I don’t have anyone to play those games with me in the USA anyway.

 Spud Wars 

Passing the antique game shop, I stopped in a Freshness Burger and had their lunch special for 500Y. That was a “salsa burger and fried potato.”  I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it here before, but they don’t call them “French fries,” they call them “fried potatoes.”  I remember once my students got confused when I used a British-produced worksheet that called them “Chips.” Can’t we all just get along?

Then I went into the train station and had 45 minutes until the train going home. I wandered across the other side of the station and went to “Seattle’s Best Coffee” shop. I had a 390Y Cappuccino and played with my Palmpilot on their wireless internet connection. Nothing much was happening online, which was just as well since I had a train to catch.

 Am I Home Already? 

On the train ride back, I considered my day so far. Nothing seemed unusual or foreign anymore. I had shopping to do and I did it. I stopped for the Internet at a coffee shop, bought train tickets, rode the bus, wandered around town without getting lost, bought what I wanted, browsed every interesting store in town, and didn’t learn anything new or run into any problems at all. I guess I’m used to Japan now; it just doesn’t seem that unusual anymore.

Which leads me to the next question: COULD I stay over here forever?  I think I could do it.  I would need help getting my prescriptions filled the first time, and I might have to go to a bigger city than Okayama to find new clothes and shoes in my size, but I think I could do it if I really needed or wanted to. It seems to me that I’m doing pretty much everything I want to be doing here.  Some things, such as Internet and travel, are a hundred times easier in the States, but I’m getting by here without any problems. I haven’t really been going to any great effort studying Japanese lately, but I am still picking up news all the time. With a little effort, I could catch on to that eventually; I bet another six months would have me talking in Japanese regularly. Still, though, in six more months here, they probably still won’t have burritos.  Have I mentioned that I need a burrito?  Seriously, for all the plugs I’ve given Chipotle, they ought to Fed-ex me a few steak burritos right now!

 Marc is counting the Hours 

When I arrived home, Marc was taking a nap on the couch until his phone woke him up; it was Y-san telling him that his afternoon class was cancelled for today.  That means he has one 50-minute class on Wednesday and another on Friday. I think they should have just sent him home last weekend, and so does he.  If you lost track, he will be leaving for America on this upcoming Saturday, 5 days from now.  She wanted to know if he preferred that she to drive him to the train station on Saturday or not. He’s not sure if he wants a ride or will just walk. I, for one, would prefer a ride, so hopefully I’ll get the same offer when my time comes. 

We talked about who would clean up various rooms before they leave.  He’ll take care of his bedroom and the kitchen.  Since he cooks here and I don’t, that seems fair.  I’ll take care of my bedroom, the living room and bathroom. The living room is really easy, and there’s no point in cleaning the bathroom until toward the end of my stay anyway.  He also mentioned that he thinks he can clean off the “Bandit” stuff from his door with hot water. At least now that’s been discussed, and it appears that he does intend to clean it up.

February 24^th, 2008

 S.S.D.D. 

If you don’t know what SSDD stands for, then let’s just say not much happened today that you haven’t read before. Library, etc.

 Gaijin-Talk 

About the only unusual thing that happened here is that they have a new guy working at McDonalds and he tried to overcharge me. See; the McDonalds here really ARE just like the ones in the States!  I’m sure the guy wasn’t being dishonest, he just didn’t understand my order; on the other hand, he’s the first one ever (at McDonald’s anyway) to not understand me pointing at the pictures as well as ordering using the Japanese names for things.

Here’s one thing I have noticed about Japanese people that is interesting. They pretty much expect any Gaijin to not understand Japanese, so they inevitably expect you to point and pantomime. That’s OK. I can live with that; I’ve done it daily for six months. However, even if you speak grammatically correct Japanese, they often won’t understand you. 

It seems that all the Japanese people in Japan speak good Japanese. Duh, right?  That’s obvious, but when you think about it, it has an unexpected side effect. They all speak the same language the same way. Although there are some regional dialectical differences, there are very few people here who would talk with what they would consider a “funny accent.”  In America, we are used to foreigners speaking in grammatically correct English, but with all manner of odd accents. They don’t get many foreigners here; and so have less exposure to foreign accents.  My Japanese, although still improving daily, may as well be Swahili as far as they can tell. 

I can order dinner or a train ticket in completely correct Japanese, and people still often won’t “get” what I’m saying.  Now, I’ll grant that my accent is almost certainly pretty darned awful, but the sentences I use are usually so short it really would take some effort not to understand them.