Back to life...Back to reality

My first day back at Ichi-ko and I am late. I wobble through the doors and everyone does their surprised "I can't believe you came to work today even though I have been at school all week with nothing to do" face. I get that face a lot. These teachers need to take a quality vacation. I give them all the sweets that I promised them, MOMIJI manju (soft cake shaped like a maple leaf with sweet bean in them). Little do they know, the manju is a week past its expiration date. I realized that by taking a 2-plus week trip, I have destroyed the freshness of an omiyage that is meant for the typical 5 day vacation Japanese person. I'm a failure. I quickly reasoned the hardness of the cake being from the coldness of the weather...nice Juni. The teachers ate it with relish. But here I am, back at work, which I did miss a great deal while I was away. Not really the boring nothing to do quiet workroom, or getting up at 7 am, but I did truly miss my students. I guess that's a good sign. But here I am at work, doing nothing because there is nothing to do, so what do I do with my time? I start to plan my next trip, a 10 day vacation to Kyushu and Okinawa, which would make it the final lap of completing the Japan travel circuit. I feel a bit glutonous, planning for a vacation just after finishing another. I try to hide my guide book so that my English-speaking teachers won't see what I'm up to. I make a very showy deal when I do a little real work so that it qualifies me reading about the tropical beaches of the Okinawan Islands. And although Morioka is still not snowy, the coldness makes me look forward to tropical weather. So here I am sitting at work, dreading and counting down for my next class and wishing for warmer weather.

New JET Problems

In the JET Program there are two types of Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs). First is a Prefectural JET like myself, who is hired through a school (Ichi-ko). Then there are Municipal JETs who are hired through a city's Board of Education and goes to many schools. In the group of 40 JETs that came to Iwate last year, about 15 were Municipal JETs. Now, it is official that the Educational Board of Iwate will not be accepting anymore new Prefectural JETs. Their budgets are really tight and they figure that the best way to cut costs is to not have foreign teachers. This is OK for my situation. I can stay for my three years, but I am the last (whew!) This is a real shock to the JET program. Morioka alone has 4 JETs that are leaving out of 7. No JET will take their place. Schools will now have to hire independent foreigners and since it will be a pain and added expenses, I'm sure that many school will not be hiring an ALT. While I'm glad and thankful that I will be able to stay and have the JET experience, it is quite a bummer to know that only a handfull of new JETs will be coming in the summer, and even sadder to know that I will probably be the last JET in Iwate.

"Bento" means "March" in Japanese

Because of all the graduations, exams, corrections, farewell parties, and welcoming parties, I have had my fill of food this month. The best part of this month, however was in the free bentos that our school would give the teachers. So, to give everyone a chance to feel the Japanese spirit in the best way, I want to share with you my school bentos. I wish you all can taste it. It is as good as it looks. Now I have to wait a whole year for more bentos.






Itadakimasu!

Ron's New Job!

When coming to Japan as a foreigner, there is a vast number of potential jobs one can take: Teacher at an elementary school, teacher at a junior high school, teacher at a high school, teacher at a college, teacher at an English conversation school, or celebrity. So basically the only possible job is a teacher, unless you are very lucky. In Japan, a foreigner must have passed the second level of the Japanese competency test in order to work in the normal workforce. Level Two means fluent. Level One means fluent and able to read Japanese newspapers. We are currently around a level 3. There are 4 possible.

Surprisingly though, through a chance of fate, dedication, and random coincidence, Ron has managed to snag a job that gives him the greatest opportunity... He can finally learn Japanese.

Coming to Japan, both Ron and I had three goals: save money, travel Japan, and learn Japanese. Although Straight Talk was a wonderful place to work at with priceless memories, this new job puts Ron with people who only speak Japanese. Ron is now paid to have an eight-hour intensive Japanese lesson for five days a week.

So what is this new job? What place has Ron now commited to work at?

Ron now works for Morioka's senior center as a helper. Ron now cooks, cleans, and tends to the needs of Japan's aging community. His co-workers are kind and helpful and are fully commited to keeping these seniors happy and healthy. Ron has truly found a wonderful opportunity. He now works Mondays to Fridays from 9 to 5, a schedule that gives us plenty of time to be together, cook meals, run errands, take walks around the area, and sleep at a decent time. Ron now comes home and only speaks Japanese to me. He still isn't able to click off from Japanese to English. It gives him a headache. So I too benefit. After my work, I get an hour a day of my own intensive training.

This week has shown great promise for a real chance to learn Japanese. Ron and I have been struggling on our own to learn it, but with this job, I believe that we will make all three goals come true.