The Sunnyside

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello from Japan! It’s been almost a month since I arrived, and I’ve been trying to write a new post for weeks but never found the time. My new life and job here in Shizuoka have been SO busy! I’ve never had a job before where I worked so hard, but even so I am extremely happy. I have so much to share with you all, so bear with me. :)

Shinkansen (www.japaneselifestyle.com)

After arriving at Shizuoka city by shinkansen (the super-fast bullet train!), I was met by my wonderful manager and Allison, my co-NET (native English teacher). I was super nervous on the train ride over, and as we pulled into my station I straightened my suit jacket and took a deep breath, ready to greet my new workmates with calm, friendly professionalism. I stepped off the platform and looked around, trying to spot anyone who seemed to be looking for me—and then I saw them. Manager and Allison scurried across the platform, big grins on their faces which made me smile in return. They were bouncy happy balls of welcoming joy and for a little while after handshakes, bows, hugs, and introductions we jumped up and down in a little excited circle like we were 10 year olds. :D Any worries I had had on the train ride over dissipated.

I saw a little bit of the station as we walked through to find a bus. Manager and Allison took me to see the apartment, and on the way we met Travis, the teacher I would be replacing at Ekinan Amity. Here was yet another smiling, friendly person! He brought me an umbrella and went with us to the apartment.

The apartment is HUGE in comparison to what the Amity recruiters told us to expect. Three rooms, probably 200-300 square feet total, which doesn’t seem that big, but some NETs at other schools only  have apartments that are 100 sqft so I was extremely lucky! Even better, Travis left me a couch, tv, bookshelves, desk, and (best of all) a kotatsu! This was the piece of furniture that I wanted more than anything else. It’s a low table that has a small heater built right under it and when it’s cold, you throw a blanket over it and turn on the heater and PRESTO, a snuggly warm tent for your legs and feet while you sit. :) I am super happy with the apartment, and have loved living in it since. I have a new futon (already provided), washing machine, TWO burners on my stove (believe it or not, this is another luxury item), and a balcony with a wonderful view. Here’s a video I made of the apartment for you guys! I sound really goofy so please don’t laugh too hard. :P

TL: Hiro-sensei, Mai-san, Manager, Me, BL: Allison, Travis, Marie-san

The week that followed my arrival was a blur of activity. I followed Travis to all of his classes, watched him teach, participated in the lessons, and eventually taught my own. It was a bit overwhelming, especially the lesson planning part, but Travis was full of good advice and gave feedback that really helped me to improve throughout the week. I also got to meet the kids gradually, in a way that was less threatening toward them, which I think helped the shy ones adjust better to the presence of a new teacher.  The kids are extremely cute!!! I especially love baby classes because they are absolutely adorable, but they don’t run around the classroom just yet. :P The parents were all very nice, and my coworkers are phenomenal. I have only had a few opportunities to work with such friendly, fun people (Panera was one of these—hey guys!), and the teachers at Shizuoka Ekinan are some of the best. I love each of them dearly even after just a few weeks.  

(From Left) Fumika-san, Allison, Marie-san, Mai-san and ME!

Having survived my in-school training week, it was time to say goodbye to Travis. All week he had taken photos with the kids, and given out cute souvenir pencils as goodbye gifts, but on Saturday the last class was over and that was it. They were my classes now, my kids, and the responsibility weighed heavily on me. But before I had a chance to get stressed out, we had a small office party with cake and coffee, and then on Sunday we all went out to dinner and karaoke to celebrate! It was SO MUCH FUN! I don’t know how anyone could hate karaoke, it was one of the best times I’ve ever had! I sang Britney Spears, lol. Plus, it was a great way to get to know my new coworkers in a relaxed environment. :) We all cried at the end because Travis was leaving, and even though I hadn’t known him for as long as everyone else I felt really sad and cried too. He had been my mentor for the whole week and I still miss him. After karaoke we went to this tiny hole-in-the-wall bar… but it was full of toys and games! There were darts, UNO, drinking games, and cards. I taught Fumika-san, Mai-san, and Marie-san how to play “Egyptian Rat Screw” and we all got really into it. :P We stayed up all night, playing games and talking, and then took a cab home. It was so much fun!

This is how tired I was... :(

After the awesome weekend, it was time for my first week on my own! And actually, it wasn’t too bad. :) The kids are a lot of fun, and even though some classes are harder to manage than others or are difficult to plan for, overall I really enjoy teaching. The hardest part is the late hours. Anyone who thinks that being an English teacher in Japan is easy work is either a liar or has a skewed sense of reality. The truth is that we work VERY hard! Most days this past week I came in to work between 9 and 11am and don’t go home until 10 or 11pm. Then, once I got home, I spent at least an hour or two working on my lesson plans for the next day. Then up in the morning to do it all over again.

I think time management is something that will be well worth my while to learn quickly. It’s tough because we use a loop calendar and the new loop starts on Thursday, so even though I have all my tues/weds classes planned and ready to go, I have a whole new set that need to be made up for Thurs-Wed, with new material to be taught, props to be made, etc. This past week I got trapped on Wednesday night needing to plan 8 lessons for the next day, and that was a killer. So, this weekend I’m going to try to get ahead on the planning for the upcoming loop in order to lighten my workload during the week. We’ll see how it goes. :)

Even with all of the work, I am still having a great time. I got my bank account, cell phone, internet access plan, and even my health insurance card! Manager, Allison, and Hiro-sensei (one of the other teachers at Ekinan) all helped me out tremendously. They went with me to the stores and bank and helped me fill out the paper work and talk to the employees. I have come to realize that my paltry understanding of Japanese is not adequate to conduct daily business affairs. I will definitely have to practice more if I want to be able to do anything on my own without a translator. Maybe I can take a class on the weekend or something…. My schedule during the week is so busy I don’t really have time to study, but Allison has promised to study with me when we can, so phew! :) I’m so lucky to have such great friends!

One of the things I love here in Shizuoka is the environment itself. It’s beautiful and the weather is phenomenal! During the day if I wear long sleeves I don’t have to wear a coat. It’s like Ohio’s September right now, and it’s December! At night it gets pretty chilly, which is awkward because I have to carry a coat around during the day even when it’s not cold just in case it gets dark. And it gets dark SO FAST here! The sun comes up around 4am, so at 2pm it already looks like late afternoon! But the nights are so pretty, especially with the Christmas lights up everywhere! I’ll have to take some photos for you guys. :) Oh, and I saw Orion the other night. It’s weird that I can see the same stars here that you can at home! If you look up into the sky at night and see Orion, think of me, ok?

All right, that’s all I have for right now. I’ll try to update more regularly, at least once a week on the weekend. But for now please know that I’m happy, healthy (if thinner; none of my clothes fit now!!!), and loving the Land of the Rising Sun!

• Survived my first week by myself! I’m officially a teacher!

• Green leaves on the trees, even though it’s December. :)

• Hot drinks out of vending machines to keep my hands warm on the walk home from work. 

• I'm on the Shizuoka Ekinan website! Check out here for 日本語!

• My heater doesn’t send heat into the kitchen, so in the morning even though my bedroom is toasty it’s freezing in there! Space heater!!!

• Forgot to bring in my laundry from the balcony, so it’s damp and I can’t wear my nightgown.  :/

• Having no idea what anyone is saying to me at stores. Time to break out the textbooks!

• Going to Tokyo next weekend with Allison and her friends! :D

• Winter break is coming up in 2 weeks!