Alright, so just as an FYI: I am now back in BTown and am retiring this site - at least until my next Japanese adventure. Any recent info about trips and other shenanigans can be found on my *gasp* Facebook page. Yeah, I finally gave in and am using the damn thing. Go figure. Cheers for now! Mata ne,
KB
Friday, September 5, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Guess This Is It
It is now after midnight on my last night in my apartment. I’ve just cleaned and packed for eight hours straight and am only now finding a bit of down time while the last load of laundry dries.
A funny thing happened tonight. Strangely enough, the same thing had happened last week at about the same time: when I was driving back from dropping my wet clothes off at the mat. Passing by the neon signs that line the main road, and then the rice paddies that thrive behind our apartments, I had this big sense of HOME and, immediately following, how I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE!
Some folks may be surprised at this. Being an ALT for one year is a bit like dropping out of college, people tend to think of you as a failed cog in the system. I’d say more than 90% of the time I tell people I’m going home in August I get, “So you don’t like Japan, eh?” I know I need thicker skin, but still hearing that statement so frequently really tears me up. I love Japan! I love the culture, the people, the food, the history, and all the differences that sometimes aren’t so enjoyable. I don’t wanna go back!!
…but I know it also wouldn’t be fair of me to stay. I just don’t enjoy my job. I think the JET program is amazing. I think it gives you such an amazing opportunity for very little effort. Yeah, filling out all that paperwork was annoying and the interview was terrifying, but honestly, what is really required of us? We don’t have to have any previous knowledge of the language, we don’t have to have any teaching experience whatsoever, and we don’t have to pay for our transportation. As long as we are open-minded, responsible, and enjoy teaching we can thrive.
My problem is, I just don’t enjoy teaching that much. Please don’t misunderstand this: I ADORE my students. They are cute, funny, witty, and dedicated (well, most anyway, heh). We’ve had some amazing discussions in both English and Japanese, and I’ll admit I cried a little at every goodbye ceremony at my schools. My students are damn cool and I am so proud of them!!
Unfortunately, because of both the academic system here and my limited Japanese skills, I really don’t do much on a daily basis. If you want the full truth, I usually have to kill about 6 hours of every work day. Trying to look busy for 6 hours without the internet is challenging. Trying to look busy for 6 hours every day for an entire year is a psychological nightmare.
I knew that if I recontracted with the JET program it would only be to stay in Japan. I would be using the system to keep my visa, but I would have little interest in my position…and that’s not fair to either the program or my BoE (who pay painful amounts of money to participate in the program). Far better to allow someone with actual interest in teaching to take my place while I get off my lazy butt and get my own visa. :P
Still don’t want to leave, though. It’s rare to find people as genuine and hospitable as those in this town. My coworkers are crazy and fun. My cozy apartment is wonderful and my car rocks. The food is amazing and always fresh. My foreign language skills (as limited as they are) will never be better than they are now, I’m sure. I want to stay!! Bah.
Some physics professor needs to read this and adopt me. Onegaishimasu! I can do second order differentials!! :D
p.s. while this is my last night in my apartment, i don’t actually fly home until August 11th. long story very short: i'll be touring around Osaka for a few, then up to Naeba for the Fuji Rock Festival, then couch hopping with friends until the Sasa Matsuri back here in Uchiko. i won’t have my computer for at least a week. if i decide to not dash back to fetch it, i won’t have it at all until i fly home. my CELL PHONE can READ EMAIL though, so please keep in touch via…
kbeezer_uchiko@ezweb.ne.jp
ja mata, ne?
A funny thing happened tonight. Strangely enough, the same thing had happened last week at about the same time: when I was driving back from dropping my wet clothes off at the mat. Passing by the neon signs that line the main road, and then the rice paddies that thrive behind our apartments, I had this big sense of HOME and, immediately following, how I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE!
Some folks may be surprised at this. Being an ALT for one year is a bit like dropping out of college, people tend to think of you as a failed cog in the system. I’d say more than 90% of the time I tell people I’m going home in August I get, “So you don’t like Japan, eh?” I know I need thicker skin, but still hearing that statement so frequently really tears me up. I love Japan! I love the culture, the people, the food, the history, and all the differences that sometimes aren’t so enjoyable. I don’t wanna go back!!
…but I know it also wouldn’t be fair of me to stay. I just don’t enjoy my job. I think the JET program is amazing. I think it gives you such an amazing opportunity for very little effort. Yeah, filling out all that paperwork was annoying and the interview was terrifying, but honestly, what is really required of us? We don’t have to have any previous knowledge of the language, we don’t have to have any teaching experience whatsoever, and we don’t have to pay for our transportation. As long as we are open-minded, responsible, and enjoy teaching we can thrive.
My problem is, I just don’t enjoy teaching that much. Please don’t misunderstand this: I ADORE my students. They are cute, funny, witty, and dedicated (well, most anyway, heh). We’ve had some amazing discussions in both English and Japanese, and I’ll admit I cried a little at every goodbye ceremony at my schools. My students are damn cool and I am so proud of them!!
Unfortunately, because of both the academic system here and my limited Japanese skills, I really don’t do much on a daily basis. If you want the full truth, I usually have to kill about 6 hours of every work day. Trying to look busy for 6 hours without the internet is challenging. Trying to look busy for 6 hours every day for an entire year is a psychological nightmare.
I knew that if I recontracted with the JET program it would only be to stay in Japan. I would be using the system to keep my visa, but I would have little interest in my position…and that’s not fair to either the program or my BoE (who pay painful amounts of money to participate in the program). Far better to allow someone with actual interest in teaching to take my place while I get off my lazy butt and get my own visa. :P
Still don’t want to leave, though. It’s rare to find people as genuine and hospitable as those in this town. My coworkers are crazy and fun. My cozy apartment is wonderful and my car rocks. The food is amazing and always fresh. My foreign language skills (as limited as they are) will never be better than they are now, I’m sure. I want to stay!! Bah.
Some physics professor needs to read this and adopt me. Onegaishimasu! I can do second order differentials!! :D
p.s. while this is my last night in my apartment, i don’t actually fly home until August 11th. long story very short: i'll be touring around Osaka for a few, then up to Naeba for the Fuji Rock Festival, then couch hopping with friends until the Sasa Matsuri back here in Uchiko. i won’t have my computer for at least a week. if i decide to not dash back to fetch it, i won’t have it at all until i fly home. my CELL PHONE can READ EMAIL though, so please keep in touch via…
kbeezer_uchiko@ezweb.ne.jp
ja mata, ne?
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