There are times when I really have to stop myself and say "Dang dude, you live in Japan!" I've been surrounded with such nice people and (mostly) good kids that I really feel like this is a home away from home. Lately it has started to seem so much like home that the natural beauty which used to leave me breathless on a daily basis has lost a lot of its appeal. In fact, a large part of the honeymoon period that most people experience upon arrival in Japan has slowly worn off. I am thankful though that I never truly experienced any culture shock or homesickness (save for a very brief period shortly after arriving).
However, on my walk to work this morning, for one reason or another, I was once again taken aback by my surroundings and decided to take this short video:
Granted it's been really ugly here all day (and raining almost non-stop), but it was still quite beautiful.
Changing gears - I've been just as busy as ever. This weekend I'm going north to Iga (famous for being the birth place of the Ninja and a well-known castle). Next weekend I'm going to Nagoya to see a pretty spectacular light display. The following weekend there will be a big festival in Owase (the big-ish city just south of me) in which the town splits into 2 teams and have a friendly "brawl". Then the next weekend I'm probably going to head South to the Shingu area of Wakayama to hang out with other JETs and celebrate their birthdays. Haha - so yeah, that makes my next free weekend somewhere in mid to late February... I guess I can't really complain though. It is pretty nice to always have something to do and people to see/hang out with.
My school schedule is also pretty busy. I teach anywhere from 19 to 22 classes a week (with only about 7 or 8 of these being at Junior High). The rest are all at my 5 Elementary schools, meaning I'm usually running the show for the full 45 minutes of class. These classes are all pretty well-behaved (save for 1 or 2 "bad" classes), but everything is done at full volume and with high energy. This of course results in some very fun, rewarding, and ultimately exhausting days.
Sometimes I find myself wishing I taught at fewer schools... but my situation is really not that bad. Five out of seven of my schools all have less than 60 students, so it's not that hard to learn the names of the kids at those schools. And I'm VERY fortunate that my furthest schools are only a 10 minute bus ride away. Other JETs that I know have schools that take 40 minutes to get to! Some even have to take a taxi to get to their schools because there are no buses.
*****
In other news, I have long since signed my recontracting papers - meaning I will be here at least until July 2013. But I'm kind of already planning to be here 3-4 years. At this point, when I return to America I want to attend graduate school but (as is life) these plans are subject to change.
Staying in Japan will give me the opportunity to save a lot of money, but at the same time it has me worried about a few things:
- Driving... I have not driven a car in 6 months. If I don't end up getting a car during my stay here, I worry about having to "learn" to drive all over again.
- My English... It's getting worse. Constantly having to dumb down your English so that others around you can *hopefully* understand does not bode well for becoming a graduate student.
- Time... It's not on my side. If I stay four years that means I will come back to America as a 27 year-old. Add to that 3-4 years for graduate school and... BAM! I'll already be in my 30s. Where does a wife and kid(s) fit into that???
Maybe these are things that I really shouldn't be worried about as a soon-to-be 24 year-old... but they do creep into my thoughts every now and again.
Anyway, I haven't got much else to share for this post. So, here are some pictures!
Enjoy! And ttyl!
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| A gathering of (almost) all the JETs that live near me. |
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| I bought a couch! It doubles as a bed and has all sorts of cool features. |
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| View out my hotel room in Tsu (the capital of my prefecture [state]) |
