Growing Up
Don’t let me be the first to tell you this is a difficult task to accomplish for perhaps anyone and everyone. With the influx of new JETs coming into the country and all their shiny faces over what adventures await them next, it makes me really think of what I’ve dealt with and overcome since I was a shiny, new, first-year JET. Exploring-wise, absolutely nothing, really. I’m not an adventurer – I have video games for that. Let’s see though…I’d like to think I’m starting to get to know the people around me a bit more. I want to make friends, so I’m branching out and joining different sports groups. I’ll focus on trying to get tennis down. Hah. I want to develop better relationships with my students as well, since I hardly ever see them. I want to lose weight so I can buy some better clothes here. I want to get better at Japanese to broaden my choices once JET is over. I want to do everything I can. I know I won’t be able to, but I’d definitely like to do what all is possible.
I was admonished by one of my JTEs because she believed the way I reprimanded a child was inappropriate. Instead of calling him out in front of the class, I should have spoke to him outside of class. Which of the Japanese boys is he so that I can do that? I can’t differentiate this kid from the other boys I don’t yet know. This is yet another reason I’d like to get to know my students better outside of class. Honestly, though, I disagree greatly with what my JTE said. She views these students as kids, whose hearts are fragile, whose moods can plummet or rise without warning, and whose pride is quite strong. The problem I got angry with the kid over is the fact that he addressed me by my first name, instead of by my last as I’ve requested. Honestly, I don’t even know why he knows my first name, or why he felt it appropriate to call me by. The JTE tells me I should treat him like a child and just gently admonish him. This is a high school student, who in three years time, will be off working or heading to university. In no way, in my opinion, is he a child. It’s also been three months since I’ve met this kid. There is no excuse for him not knowing my name by now, especially if all the elementary and junior high school students do. I will not treat him like a child, and I will not change my way of reprimand if he decides to be coy again. If Japanese schools are meant for learning and growing both, then I will force this kid to grow up and learn my name. I don’t care if he sees me once a week. Some elementary kids only see me for a couple of hours of the day, and they know what to call me. I’m sorry, JTE. I will not yield should this happen again. I also do not appreciate you believing I’m in need of counseling, simply because I’m emotional. I don’t know about Japan, but as an American, you’ve insulted me. As long as I can accomplish what I need to do, when I need to, as much as I need to, you’ve no right to call me childish or speak of my way of living. My life is private, and I will grow on my own without your butting in.
I finally got my car last week, and since insuring it, have driven to Hakodate and back a couple of times now. Got to see two movies (After Earth and 風立ちぬ (The Wind Rises)). Surprisingly, both movies were about growing up and while understanding your circumstances and environment, pushing forward and living anyway. Meets today’s theme perfectly.
Tomorrow, I have my first tennis practice at a school in Hakodate. I’m rather excited to see how that goes. I have also reached my second year as of today. More growing up to do, I suppose.
Past Five Months
Wow, has it really been that long since I last updated? Can scarcely believe it.
So, lots of things have happened since October.
- November:
- My high school here had their 50th anniversary, so got to go to that little party…thing.
- December:
- The Hokkaido JETs had their dumb, little mid-year conference all JETs were required to attend in Sapporo. Just to be clear, Hokkaido is rather large (far larger than it looks on a map) and it takes forever to get anywhere. Train routes are also not available throughout its entirety, and so some people in the east, and those over 6 hours driving distance usually must take a flight over to New Chitose Airport. For example, it takes me approximately five hours to get to Sapporo via train…and that’s on the fast ones. It’s also quite costly to travel anywhere on the northernmost island. It costs me around $120-160 at least for a round trip via train to Sapporo. Due to the unbelievable expense and the time it takes to get there, I’m not keen on ever traveling to Sapporo…especially for something that was hardly my choice. Oh well.
- I spent my birthday with a couple of coworkers and a fellow ALT from Matsumae. It was a good day, short and sweet.
- January:
- For the last few days of December and the first six of January, I stayed in Osaka with my old host family. While it was fun to see everyone again, I immediately remember why I can’t live with anyone other than my mother, who knows my every quirk.
- February:
- The third-years had their final exams and no longer needed to come to school in order to prepare for university or whatever else without stress.
- March:
- The third-years at the high school had their graduation ceremony on 3/1/2013. Yearbooks were signed, and good-byes were said. I still seem them occasionally pop up at school though, just to see old teachers (it’s only been a couple of weeks!). The junior high school third-years had their graduation ceremony on 3/15/2013. There was a LOT of crying going on at that school…I felt rather awkward. The elementary schools are all due to have their graduation ceremonies on 3/18/2013. I definitely foresee a lot of crying at this upcoming event as well…
So, I’ll try to keep up with this blog again. I felt bad for not working on it, but I guess I got lazy. No big, right?
Any questions about my life here in Japan? Shoot me some questions in the comments area below!
Hm…
The title pretty much indicates how I feel about today.
Was woken up a number of times because of massive thunder cracks and rain through the night, but slept amazingly thanks to my new LED screen heater. :D I’m not quite sure what the LED screen is supposed to do, but…yep, slept great due to it. Was absolutely wonderful.
When I woke up, though, I was excited because it was still raining and raining = free ride to school via my friend. She’s a sweetheart, so I”m sure she’d take me no matter what the weather, but this makes me feel better about bumming a ride. Got to the junior high A-OK, but realized I’d forgotten my indoor shoes and couldn’t play sports in the guest slippers the school provides. That was annoying – last week, I’d gotten to school about 5 minutes after classes began, so I was happy to get to school well in advance this time… I decided to walk over to the high school and get my shoes from there (much closer than my house), and so I left with my gaijin card and phone and trotted off to the high school. Of course, you know, it decided to start raining with me having forgotten my umbrella at the junior high. Hah, whatever. I took off my coat and covered my head with it and kept trotting along until my JTE pulls up next to the sidewalk with her vehicle, peering at me through the window. That was an lol moment, honestly. She was kind enough to drive me the rest of the way to the high school for me to pick up my shoes, and then drove me back to the junior high in time for the morning meeting. Considering how she had to venture back to the high school herself, I was really grateful she took the time to help me.
I had my classes with all the grade levels (7, 8, 9) and had a great time overall. I tried asking a simple (trick) question to the kids:
“If I have one pound of marshmallows and one pound of bricks, which one weighs the most?”
Of course, most said the bricks weighed more, some said the marshmallows… I got crazy answers of “ONE POUND!!!” and “…I don’t know, this is hard!”
I wrote 1kg = 1kg on the board even, and they were still saying the bricks weighed more. I just could not believe what I was hearing, and neither could the head teacher, apparently. I think our mouths were agape with most of the answers. Hilarious kids, hilarious.
I mean, the day was so great…the teacher even asked me to steal some kids’ pens and stuff to practice a “Whose ____ is this?” thing. She ASKED me to steal their stuff. I was totally overjoyed. Awesome day.
However, one thing I will never tolerate is outright, hurtful bullying. I hate that crap. Makes me sick to my stomach. I unfortunately witnessed that today, as one kid held onto another kid’s legs and constantly smashed his foot into the other kid’s genitals. The other kid may have said he was fine, but the expression on his face didn’t look like someone who was fine – it seemed more like someone who was used to the pain and pushed it to the back of his mind.
Seeing that happen irritated me so much, I was completely wound up for my later classes and couldn’t fully concentrate. I did make a point to tell the teacher after all was said and done, but…you know, I never thought I’d ever experience that kind of situation. I’ve read about it, but to actually see it is something else entirely. The teacher had no idea it was occurring at all, and the two kids were immediately confronted about it after school…however, ugh. No. Never again.
On the flip side, one student did come up to me, saying she wished I could be at the junior high every day. That was nice of her to say. I also ate my school lunch with the students for the first time ever at that school, which was also somewhat rewarding. I had a bunch of kids lining up to talk to me in the hallways, and I was just happy to be where I was. The kids are doing their best to learn what English they can, and nothing makes me happier than seeing their faces when they’ve realized they’ve done something right and have actually learned. I love that. I want to see more of that.
I was also called “stubborn” by a friend who is just as stubborn as I am, but has the gall to say she’s not stubborn in the least. The nerve.
Welp, that was my day.
Junior High School Festival
So, the junior high had their school festival today. I ended up arriving a couple hours after it began since I decided to do some chores beforehand.
I arrived initially to an empty looking school, and I actually stared at the sign outside for a long time, wondering if I’d somehow gotten the date/time wrong. Nah, everyone was just in the gym watching the class presentations. I got there as the third years were doing their random dances and magic tricks. I wish I could post up some pictures, but to protect my students identities, that is not an option.
Over the day, there were several performances – singing, dancing…awards were given, and fun was had. It was interesting to see all the students participate together like that. In a way, after seeing all the fun they had together, I can see why graduation ceremonies are complete with crying and sadness everywhere. The memories they make at these events, events that they’ve spent countless days practicing with each other, are memories will last for years to come. I think that had I participated in such a thing in my youth, having only my specific class members to depend on instead of being so independent within several different classes, I would have greatly cherished memories conceived back then.
Growing up, it had been mostly about the grades, and making myself stand out enough where I would have a decent future. I wonder…had school been more stressed on getting along with my classmates as opposed to simply learning to understand myself and how I fit into the world around me, would I have wanted to stay in contact with those I grew up with? In any case, I very much enjoyed seeing all my students smile and laugh so much. Tradition is a good thing to adhere to every now and then – gives foundation for the upcoming future.
In other news, I have several students who shy away from me just because they’re generally shy. I guess it’s mean to always say, “You don’t like me, huh?” or, “Why do you dislike me?” to them, but you know what? In their vehement desire to make their position clear that they do, in fact, like me, they stand firm and tell me their exact feelings. They stop running away or back away from me after that, too. Mean though it may seem, they definitely seemed to learn from it and now tend to usually greet me with a smile. I think I just enjoy teasing them a ton though. Makes my day so much better. Heh.
However, there is a point where teasing can be destructive, I suppose. One girl I’ve teased like that for the past few weeks (I only see these kids one day a week) seemed to take my words to heart. I felt bad and eventually admitted, “Nah. I really do like you. You’re a good kid,” and her face completely lit up. I’m not kidding. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone’s face just light up like that before. Her eyes were glittery and shiny…made me think of those girls that appear on anime (Japanese cartoons). Craziness, that. She just looked so happy, and even admitted to that a couple of times. She’s still a little upset that I only call her by her last name though. lol… Yeah, well, kid, your last name is the only part I ever remember…sorry.
I’ll try not to tease these kids too, too much. Have to admit though, it’s waaaaaay fun, honestly.
Oh, made a new friend my age, too. I love this town. :D
Nature…Oh, You!
So, when I first got to Shiriuchi, I was informed that there were a number of bears in the area, though most stayed to the mountains. However, some have a tendency to, you know, go crawling around amidst civilization…like the one today.
Day was going great. Went to the junior high, and even had a good time there. Walked over to the high school in the rain…that was fun too. Spent a majority of my time there before it was time to go home around 19:30 or so. A little bit earlier, though, we heard an announcement of a bear sighting at around 18:00-30 or so. Oh, great, a bear. Where was it located? Oh, at the river. You know, maybe half a block away from the high school. Oh, awesome.
So, getting ready to go home, and my coworker says she’ll go pull up the car and that I wait at the entrance. All right, I could do that. Once I finished changing my shoes though and got out of the building, there she was, standing there with a shaky grin.
“It’s kind of scary, so how about we walk to the car together?”
I thought she was just afraid of the dark or something, so I laughed, but then she said she heard the bear roar. Suddenly, it wasn’t so funny.
We walked next to one another up to the car and got in. She flashed her brights through the forest area adjacent to the parking lot and we noticed there were no bears in sight. Yay. It was otherwise calm ride home, but…that’s worth remembering.
The Comeback
Hello everyone.
So, it’s been a little over a month since I last posted from the State, and I must say, it’s been quite the whirlwind of craziness. I’ll see if I can make a breakdown of all that’s happened up to this point:
July 27th (Fri)
This was the day everything began. I woke up at six or so with enough time to get suitably dressed for my Pre-Departure Orientation, check my luggage once again, and drive my rental car to the airport. I informally said good-bye to the house I’d been living in for the past year, and the people who treated me so kindly by both letting me live there and being my friends. I don’t recall feeling any regret at this point in time, nor do I now. However, it was a point when my life was about to change, and from that point, I needed to learn how to manage on my own. Not to be dramatic or anything. It was pretty dramatic, I guess. I should be an actress – so cool like that.
Anyway, after arriving at the airport and dropping off the car, I met up with the other Salt Lake City JETs and we got on the plane, arriving safely in Denver around ten or so in the morning. We all arrived at the PDO on time as well, and the entirety of the day was devoted to need-to-know stuff about the Tokyo Orientation, and some basic advice. The session finished with a lovely dinner and then off to bed everyone went.
July 28-29th (Sat-Sun)
Although all persons staying in the hotel were present in time for the bus, the hotel only sit a short bus which seated a maximum of 22 people, but only carried 10 people’s worth of luggage in the back. This was the first problem. The second was a matter of time. As everyone, including our coordinator had expected us to be picked up in one fell swoop, this made a mess of things – the bus actually made three trips to and from from the hotel to the airport. While the first group (the one I was in), made it in time to drop off luggage, get tickets, and make it through security with maybe 20 mins to spare before boarding, the second group made it just in time for boarding. The third group actually caused the plane to delay about ten to twenty minutes so all JETs would be present on the one flight. After the last person boarded, we then had to wait yet another twenty to thirty minutes because of an error caused to the overloading of the plane. This makes sense – approximately 49 JETs were on that plane, each carrying two 50lb bags with them at the very least. This says nothing of the 50-70 other passengers on the plane with their own individual luggage. They ended up solving the issue by taking off some otherwise unnecessary freight and then off we went.
We landed in LAX, got our bags so we could make the transfer from Southwest Airlines to Singapore Airlines, and walked approximately a mile or so around the airport outside, all of us with our immensely heavy and cumbersome luggage. The sun was hot that day, and some people were far more dressed up for the trip than it called for. When we finally arrived at the other terminal on the other side of the freakin’ airport (LAX is effin’ huge. Lemme say that right now.), we joined up with the LA JETs and got in line to check in our luggage. I believe LA had 120 JETs or so, we had a line of nearly 200 JETs prepping their luggage for the plane. Long line – good thing I was towards the front.
I’d heard Singapore Airlines were really picky about the weight limit, so I came up expecting to shell out a crapload of money because of my 4-7lb overweight bag, but…the guy just gave me my boarding pass, smiled, and waved me away. I must say that I believe my face was slackened with shock and I hurried away, lest he change his mind and make me pay. I don’t recall security being all too big a deal, and the wait for boarding was only about half an hour or so. I made a new friend along the way as well, so that was a good experience. The boarding process was simple enough, and I was lucky enough to have an aisle seat at the very front of the economy area…so leg room galore. Unfortunately, was seated in the same row as a family a baby… Shall I forever be cursed to sit next to babies on long effin’ flights?
We landed in Tokyo about 10 hours or so later at 7 in the evening. Upon receiving my luggage I trekked over to customs, was asked about my previous trip to Osaka a few years back and motioned forward. I met up with the other five billion JETs from our flight and we all got ready to leave for the buses. I hit up the restrooms, came back out, grabbed a cart of luggage and went on my merry way. When I arrived at the buses after a 3-5 min trek, I realized I’d gotten the wrong cart of luggage…dunno whose it was, but definitely not mine. This forced me to run back, get MY cart and run back to the buses. I got out the necessary crap I’d need for the Tokyo Orientation and got into the bus.
The ride was smooth, but long – a solid two hours. We arrived at the hotel close to ten, got checked in, and went to our rooms – or at least, I did. However, I already had a dinner date to attend to right after checking in, so I dumped off my luggage, turned on the comp and checked out Facebook. Apparently, she’d arrived at the hotel like…when I did. Meaning she’d been waiting like, 15 minutes for me. Hahah, oops.
This friend was someone I’d met at the University of Utah and maintained contact with – it was excellent seeing her again. We went out to an izakaya, ate some food, talked, and then retired for the night. Luckily, my roommate was the same one I’d had back in Denver, so it was easygoing figuring out shower routines and the such. I took a shower, got in bed, and sank into unconsciousness.
July 30th (Mon)
The first day of all the hustling and bustling. I woke up at around six, seven-ish to get ready to go down to breakfast and make it to the welcome ceremony by nine. Sitting down next to all my Hokkaido peeps, I realized how many of us there truly were in my area alone, much less the whole of Group A arrivals. Approximately 7-800 people (maybe more?) made up the count for Group A, and 43 of them were going to one prefecture alone. Doesn’t seem like a lot, but…it’s one prefecture out of a ton. It’s a lot. I swear. We had the opening ceremonies, and a bunch of other workshops to attend in the afternoon after lunch. We were left to our own devices around five in the evening and I chose to hang out with another of my special friends from Utah. :D That was a bunch of fun. Nothing more of this day to disclose, so moving on…
July 31st (Tue)
This was chock-full of a bunch of workshops, too. Nothing much to report. Had breakfast, went to workshops, hanged out with friends during the evening and got ready for the next leg of my trip.
August 1st (Wed)
All the Hokkaido JETs (excluding people working for the Sapporo BoE) gathered together, did a head count and headed for Haneda airport. It was a good hour or two away, and once we arrived, we got our tickets and checked in like normal. I checked in my single bag and carried my laptop and purse with me onto the plane. The flight was only an hour, and once we got all our luggage upon landing, we made our way to the waiting room where are supervisors or people from our place of work were gathered to pick us up. I met up with my supervisor, had a quick lunch, and then left with him, his wife, and daughter to start our five hour drive back to my new town. It was a long five hours or so. Since we’d landed at Chitose airport at around two or so…I arrived in Shiriuchi-cho at around seven at night. My bags (the ones I sent on ahead at Narita airport to my town), luckily, were waiting for me at my house. I didn’t know what to make of my new home considering how dark it was and how utterly exhausted I’d become… I think I thought it was a house, and that’s about it.
Pretty much after arriving though, one of my future coworkers (who I’m to soon become good friends with) came over to check out the new ALT. She looked so excited that I don’t think my exhaustion could’ve held back my amusement and newly found interest. In addition to her, another coworker came traipsing over, and then it was decided we’d go have dinner together at the yakiniku place. We picked up yet another coworker (I become good friends with her as well) and went on our merry way to the yakiniku place called Hokuto. We ate our fill, with my supervisor kindly footing the bill, and then went back to our homes. I took a shower, got out my futon, and went to bed.
August 2nd (Thurs)
I was introduced to my Board of Education on that day, and I also met the staff over at the sports center. It was a simple enough day. Got a couple of boxes, got things settled, and was then invited to join up with the German sports exchange students as they explore Japan.
August 3rd (Fri)
I, alongside of the Germans, their translator, and the supervisor at the sports center, went rolling down in our bus to Matsumae, a town an hour south of Shiriuchi. We went to the local castle, dressed up as samurai, toured around, and had a genuinely good time.
August 4th (Sat)
Went with the Germans to Hakodate, located an hour north of Shiriuchi on this day. Toured around, went to a warehouse mall, saw the Gouryokaku or whatever tower and toured its park and housing complex. I also had corn and azuki flavored ice cream, and it was actually delicious. Sounds horrible and sick, but was delicious. I could go for another right now, actually.
August 5th (Sun)
Had dinner with the Germans and their host families.
August 7th (Tue)
Went fishing and did some calligraphy with the Germans. Well, I tried fishing and broke a rod, and refused to bother with calligraphy. Definitely not my calling. The ocean ruined my shoes, plus I was soaked from the waist down. :<
August 8th (Wed)
Did some flower pressing with the Germans…was pretty boring, but was what it was. Also had dinner with some people from the high school, which was fairly fun. I enjoyed my time with them, and ate some good food. Was a night of fun.
August 9th (Thurs)
I…uh, think I got my bike this day. Can’t recall crap. Beautiful bike though. :D
August 10th (Fri)
Vice-principal took me out to see parts of Shiriuchi. I went to the local museum and then went to a shrine with a large tower. Took some pics of the sights. Was cool and will upload that stuff later. My newly made friend from the high school was in her hometown for Obon, so I had noooothing to do. Luckily she came back…
August 14th (Tue)
Just in time for Shiriuchi’s festival. I had the (mis?)fortune of seeing her crushed expression as I told her I already went to check it out and had just gotten back home. She looked so sad (apparently didn’t want to go alone) that I decided to go once more. ESPECIALLY because she brought me two ears of corn and a thing of jam from her hometown. Heck yes, I’d go with her after that. The corn was delicious anyway. Had a blast eating the food at the festival and watching the enka performance. Was a good night.
August 17th (Fri)
Had the official welcoming ceremony for me and farewell ceremony for my predecessor at the high school. The students cried after he gave his speech, and then I was up. I didn’t really have much to say except my name, where I was from, that I liked playing video games, hanging out with my peeps, and sleeping. Oh, and that I just wanted to go to sleep right then and there. Then I ended it by apparently saying “yoroshiku onegayshimasu.” Meh, whatever. The kids laughed, and so did some of the teachers, so all’s good. Went to my first couple of classes, and got to know the students better. Was a good day.
August 18th (Sat)
Decided to be dumb and bike all the way to Kikonai (approximately 30-45 mins by bike (I didn’t know this at the time)) so I could catch a train to Hakodate to buy a TV and stand. Had fun with that. I think I looked around at all the televisions for about half an hour before finally choosing one and figuring out how to get it shipped to me. Came back in the evening, and had to bike all the way back to my house. Suuuuuuucked.
August 19th (Sun)
The people came to deliver my television and set it up. I put together the TV stand, and then decided to put up all my systems on it. I was set. Good day.
August 20-22nd (Mon-Wed)
Went to my Sapporo Orientation and dealt with the dreariness that it was. Made a new friend – the ALT from Matsumae and had a good time with him.
August 23rd (Thurs)
Went to my two out of three of my elementary schools. Was concentrating too much on being on the left side of the road that I didn’t pay attention the way to get there. Uh, oops?
August 24th (Fri)
I’d asked to join my friend’s class…let’s call her Z, and see how the real teachers go about their work. Her nervousness was blatantly obvious, but she taught well. Her teachings were straight and to the point, and not overcomplicated. It was a relaxed environment, and I enjoyed ganging with up the kids against her. I think she had fun overall, too.
August 25th (Sat)
Had a nice little earthquake on this day. Twas fun. lol
August 27th (Mon)
Went to Shiriuchi Elementary for the first time. Ate with the first graders…was absolutely awkward.
August 28th (Tue)
Went to Shiriuchi Junior High. No comment. Next.
August 29th (Wed)
Reposted from my FB:
Went to one of my coworker’s classes (history/sociology – mostly history) yesterday, and she made me start it off with a self-intro. Cool, no big. Kids asked me some questions – cool, awesome. Answered, BAM. Teacher referred to how I know some karate and crap (I’ve gone out with her to dinner a number of times) and the kids wanted to see that. I was like, “How about no…uh, why not let the kendo master show her skills?!” The teacher has participated in kendo for a loooooooooong time.
September 2nd (Sun)
Went with my JTE to her son’s T&F event, and checked out prices for beds and cabinets. Also ate a gigantic burger…delicious, but soooo huge.
September 6th (Thurs)
Arm-wrestled with the staff, and won. Like a boss.
September 7th (Fri)
Went out with Z, and let’s say…Y for dinner at a local eatery. Had a delicious pizza and a wonderful time with these two ladies. Got asked to call them by nicknames…that can only be a good thing, right? :)
September 8th (Sat)
Went to school again, for lack of anything better to do. Went out to a delicious lunch with Y, came back, went home a couple hours later. Took over some treats for Z while she worked on tests, talked with her for a bit, played with some neighborhood kids, and made plans to have dinner with Z and Y in an hour or so. Was a great dinner with delicious meat. :D And veggies. And deliciousness.
September 9th (Sun (Today))
Fast forward to today. So. That’s my past month or so…any questions? Shoot me some comments.
Predecessor Information
Don’t have much to make clear for this particular post except that my predecessor did finally get in contact with me.
He’s an Australian, recently married a couple of years ago and seemingly quite nice. He definitely soothed a lot of my fears with his quite extensive PDF file, detailing not only the items he would be willing to part with (a printer, a laminator, a car), but also listed the schools I would be visiting.
Unlike the info I found before, Shiriuchi apparently has approximately 5,000 people to its name, three elementary schools, one junior high school, and one high school. This reassures me more than anything – if they have that many elementary schools, it means the still have a lot of kids to work with, which is fantastic. With schools all over Japan closing or merging due to the low birthrate recently, it’s nice to hear about a still somewhat booming town. Every class seems to have about 20-30 children, which is the norm I would expect, and yet even more reassuring.
Not only that, but I may even have different housing, as his is apparently falling apart. This also excites me – I can somewhat start from scratch with making it into my new home. And one last thing about schooling: Shiriuchi seems to be proactive in truly teaching their children English, which makes everything even better. If they’re so proactive and are actually interested in the prospect of having their children truly learn, then that makes my job ever more worth it. I’m somewhat excited – although I don’t know much about my BOE in particular, I’m coming to terms with where I will be placed for my new life in Japan.
A Touch of Sun in Every Taste 