Brian’s Japan Adventure

March 4th, 2008

Fukuyama High School, Day Two

OK, it finally happened. After all the train rides and trips Ive taken, I finally screwed up. I did the exact same thing as I did yesterday, and stood in the same line in the Okayama Station for the 9:11 train to Fukuyama.  At 9:11, the train behind me pulled away, and a bright orange Sun Liner train pulled up in front of me.  The Sun Liners are more expensive luxury trains than you have to pay extra for. That doesn’t bother me so much as the knowledge that it doesn’t stop at every station along the way, and I usually get off at one of the little ones. It turns out the correct 9:11 train was the one that left behind me—they changed platforms since yesterday and I didn’t bother reading the schedule. They’ve never done that before. There was a Japanese couple freaking out over the same mistake, so it wasn’t just my Gaijin-ness manifesting.

The next correct train left at 9:30, and I was on it. At 10:25, I arrived in Fukuyama and hustled enough to make the 20-minute into a 15-minute walk. I still ended up getting to the school fifteen minutes before class started. Fortunately, the walk up their mountain isn’t as bad as some of the others, so I wasn’t out of breath or sweating too badly when class started. If anything, it may have been a good thing, since I didn’t see the Vice Principal so close to the start of classes.  As far as I’m concerned it’s OK to screw up so log as your aren’t actually late because of it. Whew!

I See The Light!

On the way there, Y-San called to tell me my final pay will be in tomorrow.  I’ll be doing Hiroshima, so I’ll have to wait until Thursday to pick it up.  She also wanted to know if it would be all right if some maintenance men went into the apartment to change light bulbs today. It seems Marc told her there was a problem before he left.  I guess the light in his room was doing the same thing mine was doing and he didn’t want to say anything either. It’s good to know I’m not the only one who can’t change a light bulb.

Classes

I didn’t have ot be introduced to anyone today, so I got right to it in class. I asked them if they had any questions, and of course, no one did. So we did the secret questions on little slips of paper yet again. I’m not going to do it anymore, but I did want to do it one more time now that they know the routine. This way they can put better (or riskier) questions on the slips on the second day. I Might try it again on the final day if there is time. I got a lot more complex questions about America and things to see when they are here, and I talked quite a bit about where Americans go on vacation and why Americans don’t go abroad for vacation as often as other people.  There were lots of good questions today, and only a couple of silly ones. There were a couple of “I love you” notes today, so I must be doing better than yesterday where I only got one.

Then we moved on to the real lesson, which was how to introduce yourself and talk about your interests. They mostly knew all this stuff, but it was the material we were supposed to cover today, so we did it. There was an activity at the end where they wrote their favorite school subject, sport, free time activity, birthday, and favorite food, but no names, on a little slip of paper. Then I collected the slips, mixed them up, and handed them out randomly to other students.  Then I told them to find out who had their card by asking “What is your favorite Sport?” and seeing what the person holding the card has. It was going pretty well, but we ran out of time before everyone was able to finish the activity. That’s OK, they had enough time to practice the questions, which was the real point.  Then ten minutes later, I did exactly the same thing with the second class. We ran out of time there too.  I’d much rather run out of time with a lesson than stand there wondering what to do next when everything is done!

As the second class ended, the teacher who is going with them as guardian entered the room. He’s not the official teacher for this class (who stayed out again today), but he is involved since he’s going with them. For all I know, he may be the one who created the course materials I am using.  He asked me to go to lunch with him. Drat!

Why Do They Make Slick Chopsticks?

So we went down to the cafeteria. As always, the students said hello, eager to speak to me. They really are all very friendly here, and although I think the job that I applied for is a little out of the question now, I really don’t think I’d have any trouble fitting here as a permanent teacher. It’s a pretty nice school overall.  I’m not a fan of the city or the walk from the station, but I do like the people who are here.  The teacher invited another teacher who is going along on the trip to eat with us, so there were three of us then. This other teacher has never been to America before, and he had lots of questions, mostly about baseball, of which I know little. It’s like they really don’t know what to ask about America. I bet once their plane lands, they’ll have a million of them, but it’ll be too late to ask me then!

We had some kind of ramen in very good soup. Naturally there was a big bowl of rice, some kind of fruit medley, and some kin of nasty cold pork thing mixed in with mushrooms and bean sprouts. The latter would have been good hot, but cold pork is just kind of gross in my opinion.  The ramen was great, but the chopsticks they have here are the plastic kind. I have trouble with those; I vastly prefer the wooden style, since they have some texture and can hold food better. The plastic type is just too slick for something like wet noodles. I managed to get it all in my mouth, but my shirtfront didn’t far too well.  You’re supposed to slurp your noodles here, and the louder, the better.  Fortunately, I was eating AFTER classes were over, because my slurping isn’t pretty.  Let’s just say I had to wipe noodle soup off my glasses a couple of times. Again, wooden chopsticks are the way to go for beginners!

The second teacher was apparently eating too slowly for the first, so the first teacher told him to hurry up (I am assuming).  He ended up shoving half the bowl of rice in his mouth and then covered his mouth as we walked back to the main school- he couldn’t get it down but didn’t want to look rude by gagging or spitting it out. It’s be funny if it weren’t so… OK, it is funny.

Anyway, I thanked them and hustled back down to the train station to get there before the train left.  I have some spare time after class before the train arrives, but eating lunch is really pushing my schedule. If I get to the station too late, I’ll have to wait a full hour for the next train, which will be a long cold wait on the platform. Today’s lunch did go longer than I would have preferred, so I really had to move it on the way back. I took the 20-minute in ten minutes on the way back (it’s downhill, which helps).

OK, Now This Is Just Silly: The Light Bulb Joke, Take Six.

On the way home, Y-San called again.  The maintenance guys had been to the apartment, but ran into a snag. Apparently, our light fixtures have a small center bulb and a larger outer bulb.  We only had replacements for one size in the apartment, so they have to get new bulbs before they can fix the problems. The only problem is that there’s nothing in the budget until April, so they can’t fix the light bulbs until then. Come on, they can’t afford three light bulbs?  Wow, I thought only America ran things like that!  At least now I know that even if I had found a way to get up to the light fixture, I wouldn’t have had the bulbs anyway.

So let’s see, “How Many people does it take to change a light bulb?”  It takes me, Marc, Y-San, a professional maintenance team, and the financial department of a large international education corporation.  Actually, it must take more than that, since it’s still not fixed.

I Know The Future

When I arrived back in Okayama, I went up the mountain and printed out my “Past Participle” stuff that I should have done yesterday.  Y-San seemed much more cheerful today, joking about the light-bulb budget, and discussing what happens next week with me.  On Tuesday morning, she’ll do a walk-through of the apartment, so I need to have everything cleaned by then.  Sometime either Monday or Tuesday, I will have to attend a quick ceremony where somebody important (head of the university, or maybe department head, I don’t remember) hands me a completion certificate for finishing the internship program here. It’s another photo-op type of thing.  Marc mentioned to me last week that he had already done it. She’ll let me know exactly when that will be. Then finally, he will pick me up at the apartment on Thursday and drive to Okayama Station, where I will leave town for the last time.  So I think with the exception of the timing on the ceremony, I know pretty much everything that’s going to happen now.

I also got an email from Kat, the teacher from the summer Japanese Exchange student program at the Home University.  She agreed with Dr. M’s statement that this year they will only have one teacher (she’s going to be very tired).  So I guess I am not going to be involved this year.  Maybe I can volunteer to help out if I have time. It’d still be fun, and I cannot imagine them not wanting some help.  I’ll wait before I commit to anything too early though.  I am glad that I didn’t have to wait too long to get a straight answer though.

Afterwards, I went back to the apartment. I had planned on going to the Carryout tonight, as I usually do on Tuesday.  By the time dinner rolled around, I wasn’t much in the mood to go out, so I started hitting the noodle bowls. I have a bunch of noodle bowls here, and it’d be good to “make them gone” before I leave, at least most of them.  I had ramen for lunch, and noodle bowls for dinner. Yay for Japanese food!

Tomorrow is of course, Hiroshima. Nothing special happening that I am aware or. It’s parent’s day for the 3-year-olds, but that won’t take long. The afternoon and evening classes are going to be the last regular classes for those groups, so we’ll probably be pretty busy. Next Wednesday I have two going-away parties to attend,, but I don’t know what kind of food we’re having yet. They all know my opinion on “squishies” by now, so I am not too worried about it.

March 3^rd, 2008

New Class At The End Of My Stay.

The alarm rang at 7:30 and I got ready to go. There’s no sneaking around hoping to get to the shower first now that Marc is gone. I usually got up long before he did and hit the shower first thing in the morning, but he was usually in there by the time I wanted to shave in the morning. Today I did what I wanted, when I wanted. Ahhhhh!

Then I rode to Hokaiin Station at 8:40 to catch the 8:57 train to Okayama. At the Okayama Station, I stopped in the “Daily-In” store and bought my lunch, a box with a small sandwich pair or an egg salad and ham/lettuce sandwich in it.  I also picked up a little bag of individually wrapped meat snacks like little Slim Jims. That’s 298Y for the sandwich and 210Y for the meat sticks for a total of 508Y.  I’ve bought this combination that I’ve started carrying individual yen coins for 8Y part. I figure at that rate I’ll run out of “pennies” in the penny jar in about ten years. Anyway, I caught the 9:11 train to Fukuyama and rode until just about 10:00. I walked along the cold and windy highway to the school, and arrived there at 10:30, with a little break before class started.

 I Want You To Have Lunch With My Boss 

I ran into the Vice Principal as I had hoped, and showed me where to go and introduced me to the teacher for today’s class. The Vice Principal asked if I had free time in the afternoon, and I knew what was coming. The next thing I knew I was committed to having lunch with the Principal.  Not the man standing in front of me, but his boss.  I don’t know what it is with these guys.  The Vice Principal speaks at least a little English, but doesn’t go to lunch with me. The main Principal speaks nearly no English, but always wants to have lunch with me. Go figure! 

Anyway, the teacher for today’s new class seemed nice, but had very little to say.  I have found that most of the English teachers in Fukuyama are very shy about speaking English to me, and this is for reasons I have explained in the past. Their accent is very heavy, and I think it embarrasses them, not to mention they have a hard time understanding me as well. Teaching English grammar and vocabulary an actually speaking to a real live human American is not the same thing at all.

The 11:00 bell rang and I walked into the classroom.  This is a group of around 25 students, both boys and girls of around 15-16 years old. They’ll be going to Washington DC and New York City later in March, and this week is set aside so that I can teach them about what they will do and need to know.  They’ll also get the benefit of listening practice to an American before getting off the plane. I think it’s a good idea and really good timing for them.  The teacher for this class left the room after the first couple of minutes and never came back; I guess he figured the class was going to behave and wanted to let me do my thing. Good; I vastly prefer doing it on my own.

 Victory? Do They Know Something I Don’t? 

I very briefly introduced myself, since I have all week to talk about me, I didn’t get into that very much yet. I asked them if they had any questions, and as usual, the room was pretty quiet. I have learned a trick or two though, and had an ice-breaking activity ready to go.  I handed out little slips of paper and had them write anonymous questions on the slips of paper; tha’s right it’s the same activity we did way back with “my” exchange students. It worked then, and it worked pretty well now too. In the span of five minutes, I had a stack of 25 questions to answer.  It was the usual stuff like “how old are you,” “Do you have a girlfriend in Japan,” “What is you favorite food” and so on.  There were a couple of on=topic questions like, “How long will it take to fly to America.” There were even a couple of unexpectedly strange ones like “The time is ripe for victory!”  Huh?  That might be something up there with “All your base are belong to us.” Heh-heh.

And then the ice was broken and they seemed more comfortable talking once they got to ask their questions. I told them to think of more questions for tomorrow, and now that they know the procedure they hopefully will ask more on-topic things then. So that was the first half of the 50-minute class.

 Papers!  Let Me See You Papers! 

For the second half of class, we got into the prepared lesson.  This material was all supplied by the school, but it seems like it may have been customized for this trip. It was a worksheet relating to the dialog between the student and immigrations and customs officials. They’ll each go through something like this as soon as the plane lands, so this is both good practice and a way to possibly minimize trouble later. I explained about customs declarations and what it was all about, then read the script to them once. I them read it again, having them repeat the words. Then I had them practice in pairs with one being the officer and the other being the student. I walked around, “interrogating” one student from each of the groups. They “got it” just fine, but they weren’t happy when I told them that the script was just an example and that I didn’t know exactly what they would be asked. They want US Customs officials to stick to the script!

And that was pretty much it for the first class. The bell rang, I waited ten minutes for the next group of around 25 students to come in, and then did the same exact thing a second time. It went flawless both times. It was probably the most successful “first day” I have had yet.

Then it was lunch with the Principal.  The cafeteria was serving Tonkatsu curry today, so that wasn’t bad.  I just know if this keeps up, I’m going to eventually get something really nasty (“squishy”). The portions they serve in the cafeteria are just incredibly huge, and it’s not just because I’m a guest; they all get bug mounds of food. I asked him when the sakura time (famous cherry-blossom searson) was in Fukuyama and he replied “First week in April.”  That was the complete transcript of our lunch conversation.  Then it was time to go, and I walked back to the station and rode home.

 Is That Your Final Answer? 

Reaching Okayama, I decided to ride the bus form the station all the way up the mountain to the university rather than go home first. I’d have to walk back to Hokaiin Station later to pick up my bicycle, but it was getting late in the day and I was hoping to avoid the walk up the mountain by taking the bus. The bus dropped me off at the base of the escalator up the mountain, and the next thing I know I’m standing outside Y-San’s office door.

Did I really want to do this?  Did I really want to go in there and tell her I decided not to stay on here over the summer? Yes.  I ma the most indecisive person I know of, but once I have it worked out I don’t usually dwell on past decisions. I pretty much “solved” my thinking on this last night. I went in and told her.  She didn’t really seem surprised. Actually, see even seemed a little relieved. It could be that my staying on here complicated things in their own right; if nothing else she’d have to prepare another apartment. I had planned on sticking around up there and printing off lessons for Wednesday, but I decided it was probably better not to stick around today. So I apologized once again, and walked back to the apartment.

I then sat around the house for a couple of hours listening to Podcasts with half an ear listening for the phone to ring.  I think if the Fukuyama Elementary folks were going to call, they would have done it right away, so each day I am a little more relieved at not having to make that decision.  Y-San didn’t ask my reason for not staying, so there’s not much chance of her offering me plane fare or offering any kind of alternatives to stay. So the phone was quiet this afternoon, and that’s fine with me.

 This Evening and Tomorrow 

After it got dark, I walked over towards Hokaiin Station. I went into the Lawson store near the station and picked up some chips and a donut. The Yamazaki convenience store at the corner of my street closed up last Friday; it appears they are remodeling and won’t re-open until the 23^rd. After Lawsons, I collected my bike and rode home.

That’s pretty much it for today. I started two new classes, and closed the door on one Summer opportunity. Tomorrow will be a repeat of today, but the two classes will be working on general conversation and personal introductions. “My name is____,” “I am from ____,” “My favorite sport is ____,” and so forth. Little things to work into conversation with people they meet in America. I suspect this will be pretty easy for them, so I should probably come up with some kind of short game or activity to fill leftover time. I’ve done lessons on this particular material repeatedly in the Junior High classes, so it’s nothing new for me. My biggest worry for tomorrow is how to avoid lunch with the Principal!

March 2^nd, 2008

 Don’t Feed The Animals 

I started out this morning doing the usual library routine.  I stopped in at the McDonalds in the Tenmaya arcade as usual, and halfway through the meal I noticed a larg bug crawling across the floor. I’m pretty sure it was a cockroach. I saw several other people watching it too. No one moved to squash it or anything; they all just watched it like it was the official mascot of McDonalds, like a puppy or something.  I’ve never seen anything like that here before (except for the bug at Otis), but I bet bugs are pretty common.  I got up and left before I saw people bending down to feed the little guy.

 And They’re Off! 

I got to the library, which hadn’t quite opened yet. The front doors were open to the lobby, but the electric gate to the library was still closed. There were probably a hundred people waiting to get in. People here don’t just mill around waiting for something to open; they make lines. Lines here aren’t like lines in America. The idea of personal space is vastly different here. People will get right up to the person in front of them. Not touching, exactly, but within an inch or two. I suspect this is why people tend to cut in line in front of me; I stand back at the usual distance for an “American line.” Anyway, there were a hundred people chest-to-back standing inches apart waiting for the gate to go up. Finally, as the big clock chimed ten o’clock, the gate rose up, and let the people in. The lines go through the theft-detect system quickly and orderly, but once they get through the scanner, they break into a run, running to wherever they need to go.  They are in a hurry, because, you know, they might run out of books.

People here run for no reason. I don’t mean children, I mean respectably dressed middle-aged people. Today I watched some guy in his 50’s run upstairs to be the first to grab in Internet desk.  He plopped his coat down to “reserve” a desk, then ran to find a book then ran back to the desk, and proceeded to spend the next two hours reading. What was the hurry for?  This isn’t really all that unusual; I see the same thing every week.  Naturally, I avoid competing with them. I hang back until the lines at the gate are gone or reduced significantly. I then go in, walk up the steps, head toward the area where the Internet-wired desks are, walk over to that area and pick out a desk without a hassle. There are always dozens of desks still available at opening time. I did get there once late in the afternoon and had to wait for someone to get up and leave, but only once, and it was late in the day. I’ve never had the least trouble getting what I want early in the morning. You always hear about the massive crowds and pushing and so forth in Tokyo, but really, there isn’t any need for that kind of behavior here. Okayama just isn’t that crowded, certainly no more than a place like Dayton.

 Internet Updates 

So anyway, I found a seat easily, like I always do, and plugged in. The library doesn’t offer wireless access at all, which I find strange.  They could serve many more people if they didn’t limit the number if Internet users to the number of available desks. Maybe it’s for security reasons, I don’t know. I posted my most recent blogs, answered a few mails and the usual stuff. 

One email was from Dr. M. at the Home University. She has returned from Thailand and is getting caught up with work in her office. She said her secretary had my TEFL certificate sitting there, and was waiting for the mailing address. Hopefully, it will get home before I do.  I thanked her, and mentioned that I was interested in working this August with the Japanese exchange students again if they wanted me back.  I also dropped similar notes to the other teacher in that program, Kat, and the boss of the department in charge of the program.  Dr. M. wrote back (she must be a “night person” to be online while I am at the library) saying she believed they were going to do it this year with only departmental staff.  She’s in contact with their department, but she doesn’t work with them, so her information may or may not be correct, but that doesn’t sound good for me doing it again this year. If it’s true, that’s too bad. I was really hoping to do it again; it was fun last year.  Then again, I was “staff” last year, so that statement doesn’t absolutely exclude me.  I’m sure I’ll a get a more definitive answer on that before too long, as it’s just about time for them to start thinking about that program again.

Next, I got to work and downloaded a number of lessons and worksheets for Past Participles. The problem is, I’m not sure when I am going to have the opportunity to print them out up in the office.  I guess I’ll have to go up there in the afternoon after the Fukuyama classes.

Indecisive? Moi?

Then I got into chat with PT and that took a couple of hours. We mostly discussed my options for staying here and going home. No matter how much we tossed it around, there just isn’t a black and white right or wrong answer. Staying or going is just going to be a choice. If you’ve come to the conclusion yet that I’m indecisive, you don’t know the half of it.

Before leaving the house this morning I made a list of pros and cons about staying. Here we go:

 Reasons to Stay in Okayama: 

Experience is valuable; a year is far better than a half year

Jobs are competitive; that experience could make a big difference

Internet businesses aren’t going away; 4 month’s won’t matter

It’s only 16 weeks

I’ll get more language practice, although not that much

Summer will be fun in itself (Cherry blossoms and beaches)

I don’t have any specific job plans at home

As long as I am here, the door is still open to other opportunities

 And Reasons to Go Home Now: 

It’ll be near-impossible to find a teaching job in August

I won’t be able to save any money in the summer here because of high airfare

I won’t be learning much; I already know everything important about survival here.

I am eating badly; the food I can eat is not healthy

4 months is still 4 months

I have nothing to prove by staying longer; I did what I came for

I have the tendency to fall into old habits; I don’t want to go back to my old routines

Don’t you love how 16 weeks is a reason to stay, but 4 months is a reason to go home?

 What Do I Want, Anyway? 

I guess the real factor is what do I want to do in the future?  I like teaching English, but there are a couple of limitations. With a Master’s Degree, a Master’s Level TEFL Certification, and either six months or a year experience, I should be able to get a job anywhere in the world teaching English. Obviously the year would be better, but I don’t think the extra few months will that much of a difference in finding work and beating out the competition. I’m set either way for a career in International teaching if I want to do this again.

The problem arises with teaching in the States; Can I even get a decent job teaching English in America? I doubt it. Universities have their choice of PhDs. Public schools want people with degrees in Education. I could do things at the community-college level, but that’s not a reliable career from what I’ve heard. There are probably small courses at community centers and things along those lines that I could get work doing, but that’s not going to really be making a living.

The third option is of course some form of professional writing, which was really my plan all along when I decided to get a Master’s in English, at least until I got into this teaching thing.  Does writing instruction manuals for toasters and stereos really compare to what I have been doing here?  Not likely.  This time last year, a quiet, safe, easy job sitting at a desk writing on spec sounded good. But now?  Not for long I fear.

A fourth option is simply to go back to doing what I was doing before I decided to return to school.  I will never again run a retail store. Never, never, never!  But I always liked the Internet business model, and could easily get into that. Who am I kidding? I’m already doing that, right now in Japan.  I can’t put in the time I’d like to on it here, but I am currently running an Internet business right at this very moment. Still, I could keep doing it on a limited basis or really dig into it full-time if I wanted.

So really I guess it comes down to this. The number one reason for staying is to be able to say I worked in teaching in Japan for a full year. From looking at the four career options above, it might help a little bit on the first option, but not at all in the other three. Will I ever actually teach overseas again?  I’d certainly like to, and very possibly will for another year or two.  But at my age, and with my health problems (that won’t be going away), I could never make a long-term career out of it. I guess I have to say the extra experience is just not that big a factor in the long run.

 Conclusion 

So tomorrow, when I return from Fukuyama, I plan on telling Y-San that I cannot stay over the summer. If she makes some kind of unexpected incentive offer, such as paying my plane fare or something, I might yet reconsider, but I don’t think she’ll do that.  I’m pretty sure their budget is fixed, so offers like that are unlikely, if not impossible.

And that’s that. I’ll go home in eleven days and for a few weeks I may regret turning down the opportunity to stay, but it’s probably better than coming back here in April and regretting every day for four months. Decision made.

 Done. 

Now watch Fukuyama call me tomorrow with a solid offer on the full-year teaching position.  After all this indecision, how could that not happen?

  The Rest of the Day 

Then left the library and had lunch at CoCo Ichiban. They thought I was crazy when I took a photo of my lunch. I’ll post it in the gallery at some point so you can see what Cheese Tonkatsu Curry looks like. Then it was home on the bus, and I used up the last money on my bus card. From here on out it’s going to be cash on the bus, which is no problem, because I’ll probably only be going downtown next Sunday and either Monday or Tuesday. Other than that, I have no more free time. I guess I’ll have to buy something in the way of gifts on my next trip out. For better or worse, I’m running out of time.

Returning home, I watched this weeks episode of LOST. That how just gets better and better every week. There’s only one or two more episode before they run out of episodes for this season.  Did the writer’s strike ever end?  I never did hear if that was resolved.

It seems to be getting warmer here.  Maybe it’s just a couple of “fluke” days, but this weekend has been pretty nice. Or maybe spring is starting. If this really is the beginning of spring, I’d probably end up missing cherry-blossom season anyway.  Anyway, I spent much of the evening sitting on the steps out in front of the apartment listening to podcasts and watching the students ride their bikes down from the University. Yes, there are classes on Sunday up there.  I Took out the trash, four large bags full since Marc cleaned out his room and I cleaned out the fridge today. There’s nothing left in the fridge but Ice Cream Cones, Pepsi Nex, and a giant bottle of green tea.  Oh, and the octopus, fish eggs and fish “stuff” that will become forever legendary as the Christmas gift that keeps on taking up freezer space.

February 29th, 2008

More Endings and a Departure

I half expected the phone to ring this morning, whether it be Y-San, the Fukuyama Principal, the guy from the Company, or someone from home inquiring whether or not I’ve lost my mind.  But it didn’t ring this morning, so I went on with the usual Friday routine for the final time.

I debated all morning on whether or not to take a copy of my resume along and personally hand it to the Elementary School principal. Finally I decided not to.  If they are interested in me, they can call.  If I get too pushy and eager, they might decide that I really want the job badly, which is not at all the case.  I think I could pull it off, but in no way do I feel even remotely qualified for that.  If they are desperate enough to seriously want me for this, they’re going to have to do a little work for it. If they don’t call that’s fine with me too.  I’m interested, but I’m not eager.

Junior High School, Over And Out

I rode the train there as usual and no one ambushed me as I entered the teacher’s office. I kind of thought they might do that rather than phone me. No, nothing like that happened today. For all I know the principal wasn’t even there today. I didn’t even see the assistant principal today. Anyway, the bell rang, and it was time for class.

The first thing in today’s class, the teacher wanted to take my picture with the class.  I am actually surprised more of them didn’t want to do that. I have been reluctant to ask about photos; in America it’s darned near illegal to take photos of other people’s children. Anyway, at the end of class, they presented me with a large printed photograph of me and the class. They must have a really nice photo printer there somewhere. They also presented me with a big cardboard “Thank You” card signed by all of.  I can read their names, but the notes are almost all in Japanese. There are a couple of them that read, “I love you Mr. Brian.” I swear, I honestly think Y-San is the only one in Japan who knows that Brian isn’t my family name.  Literally everywhere, I am either called Brian-Sensei or Mr. Brian; oddly enough, I don’t hear Brian-San very often, probably because I’m mostly around students and teachers and not regular people on the street.

Anyway, the class was nothing unusual; I used the same plan as on Tuesday and that worked well enough. I was hoping to find the assistant principal and talk to him a little more about next week, but he was nowhere to be found today. Surprisingly, the office ladies made a mistake and gave Marc two train tickets instead of just one. I guess they assumed he was coming back next week like I am.  It’s the first “administrative” error that I have seen anyone here make; folks here are usually two steps ahead of all the possibilities. I snagged his extra ticket, so now if there is a problem next week, I’ll be able to get home without digging into my own pocket.

Overall, it was a good day at school, but nothing unexpected happened. I’ll be going to the same campus every day next week for the special trip education class, but it will be in the High School building. I probably won’t see many of these folks again after today.

Bandit’s Final Night On The Town

I then rode the train home, stopped at the carryout, where the old lady asked if I wanted the usual (in Japanese), and then home to eat.  Marc was there counting his accumulated coins into little bundles. He was going to the store to get rid of all his change. He totaled it up to around 2700 Yen, or around $25. He bundled the coins into little stacks of 100Yen each and rode off to Bic Camera to buy a movie to watch on his PSP on the flight home tomorrow. I have been working for the past several weeks to spend off my change so I wouldn’t have bundles of it when the end rolls around.

While he was gone, I watched a documentary on TV about the Mayan Indians in South America and the buildings they left behind. It’s amazing how much of this stuff I can follow now.  I don’t really know the words consciously, but I can follow almost all TV shows now, by instinct more than overtly learned language.

Marc came back and we cleaned out the air filters on the heaters. He was told to do that before we leave, and he wanted it done while there were two of us here. It was no big deal, but boy are the heaters putting out a lot of hot air tonight.  There’s a little hidden flap that hides the air filters; I didn’t even know they had filters or I’d have cleaned them out earlier in the winter. Apparently Y-San herself has to go through the apartment and clean up anything that isn’t right after the students leave. Marc suggested that she probably couldn’t reach the air filters to clean them out herself. That’s why this was the only thing she asked us to do.  Still, knowing she’ll be the one stuck cleaning up after us, now I’m motivated to actually make an effort to clean before leaving.  I had assumed there was just some cleaning person or maintenance staff who would do it. Job descriptions here include all kinds of stuff you wouldn’t see in the States.

Would you believe that he actually washed all the “Bandit” stuff off his door? It’s spotless. I really didn’t think it could be done, but he did it.

Anyway, Marc packed up all his stuff. He apparently had room for everything after throwing out some worn-out clothing. Around 9:00 he rode off to the bar to tell his friends goodbye. He plans to get up early in the morning and finish things up here, then leave around noon for the train station.  He’ll take the Shinkansen to Osaka and then a combination of local trains and subway to get to the airport. Then he’s off to Los Angeles.

Tomorrow and Beyond

Marc turned in his key to Y-San earlier today. That was kind of unnecessary; he could have given it to me tomorrow and I could have turned it in for him. So I need to be here when he leaves so that I can lock the door. That means no library for me tomorrow, at least not early like usual. In the evening, I intend to start cleaning and organizing my own stuff. I don’t want to actually start packing yet, but I do want to start getting things together so I can see what goes and what gets left behind.

As far as the job situation goes, I could still get a phone call tomorrow. I am reasonably certain that Elementary School is in session on Saturdays, so tomorrow is just another day for them.  Again, I’m not jumping up and down waiting for that one.  My biggest fear is that they will be desperate enough to want me, regardless of qualifications.  That will be a tough decision.

My other option, staying here in Okayama and doing the same thing from April to July, is still something that I am seriously considering (agonizing over actually).  There are few holidays in the summer semester, so I won’t be able to travel or do much sightseeing out of town. That means there won’t be much in the way of new adventures. I won’t be learning much of anything new other than more time with the language. They money isn’t even all that attractive once I figure in that the cost of a two-way ticket is nearly one-quarter of the pay for the entire summer. I would still come home with some extra money, but probably not more than I could make if I just stayed at home. Financially, the best thing would be to simply cancel my ticket home in March and just stay here in Japan the whole time; that is NOT going to happen.  Even with little financial benefit, it’d give me a boost on the resume (a year looks better than six months), add to my teaching experience, and allow me to see spring and summer in Japan, which is supposed to be spectacular.

I am pretty bored here right now, but I think a lot of that is just eagerness to get home for even a little while. Things might look more interesting after a break. Or maybe they won’t. That’s why it’s hard to decide. I wish the break was longer, and then I could go home for a little while and then decide what I want to do.  It doesn’t work that way, and as I said yesterday, I have to give Y-San an answer on Monday, or maybe I can stall till Tuesday, but she’s going to want an answer pretty quickly, as  need to apply for an exit visa if I intend to come back.

Today is the last day of February. I have been here six months today. There’s only 13 days to go… or 115 days to go… or 378 days to go. Have I mentioned how much I hate decisions?

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.