| Monday, February 12, 2007 |
| Doraemon says... |
After my 3rd visit to the post office last week made me cry for the 2nd time, I went to my town bakery. Must have looked as sad and defeated as I felt, because the baker gave me this tasty little guy, filled with chocolate (not red beans)!!
 And so, after two and a half somewhat turbulent years in Japan, I'm making plans to move on. The ALT job has been good to me, but... no surprise, I didn't recontract. Just getting by in any job and any social scene is hard enough, but made harder when you feel stupid and incompetent when trying to do simple tasks, and your social interactions are so few and far between that you forget how to make conversation seem natural. I talk to the postmaster more often than my parents. The people I see with the most regularity are 2 senior citizen guys at my gym, whom I would call "friends" if only I knew their names. And if only we talked about more than the weather and what workouts we were doing that day. ("Weight machines?" "No, just the treadmill and then a swim, how about you?")
I've only had one passing thought about staying. On a midterm-test day, I was allowed to teach at the nursery school. It was fun and games and songs all day, with two snacktimes and mandatory naps for kids and the less-important teachers, and I haven't used that much Japanese in ages. Fantastic! I drifted off to sleep on the futons, surrounded by all the little children in their flannel jammies, and when the headmaster gently rang the wake-up bell for snacktime, I was groggy and happy. I could do this for another year, I thought! And then I realized that it wouldn't be my job if I recontracted, since I'd more likely be teaching 5 classes a day at the elementaries. Damn. Unemployed by August. Professional volunteer work, here I come. |
posted by Raychaa @ 11:55 PM  |
|
| 1 comments: |
-
Maybey you should think about volunteer or non-profit management. Just a thought! I hope this means you're returning stateside...a coffee date is definitely LONG overdue...
|
| |
| << Home |
| |
|
|
|
| So wrong it's right. And then wrong. And then wrong again... welcome to the inaka. |
| About Me |
|
Name: Raychaa
Home:
About Me: “No man, not even a doctor, ever gives any other definition of what a nurse should be than this - 'devoted and obedient'. This definition would do just as well for a porter. It might even do for a horse. It would not do for a policeman.” (Florence Nightingale)
Profile
|
| Previous Post |
|
| Archives |
|
| Shoutbox |
For travel-volunteer junkies Responsible Nomad My favorite place, favorite kids
PEPY Ride: Cambodia
|
| Pretty People |
|
| Powered by |
 |
|
Maybey you should think about volunteer or non-profit management. Just a thought! I hope this means you're returning stateside...a coffee date is definitely LONG overdue...