Back in the Swing of Things

It hasn’t been too eventful the past few weeks since I got back from winter vacation, but I’ve stayed busy by doing a few things here and there. I’ve mostly managed to recover from the break, but getting back into the swing of things was a bit tough the first week back. (Picture Above Me and Rob wearing Anpanman and Bikiman masks and Asuka wearing a crown that Rob got for the party)

This month is also decision time for whether to re-contract for another year or not. Last fall, I was seriously considering maybe staying another year because I really do like it here, the living is great and I’ve made some great friends here, but the teaching aspect of the job hasn’t been as fulfilling. I really enjoyed teaching last year, as I worked with great teachers and had a great working relationship, but when the teachers switched in April, my job satisfaction has really dipped with two of the new teachers. In the end, teaching the kids is my job and if I’m not enjoying that aspect anymore, I know that it’s time to head home. I also believe it’s nice to leave a place where you still wanna stay, because it really makes you remember it fondly. So I think it’s time to go when I still like living here. I can write an essay about the problems with education in Japan and tons of reasons to stay and go, but the gist of it is, it will be time to move on when July rolls around.

As for January, the first weekend back from my holiday, I made my way to Akitsu town for the local Oyster festival. The Oysters are great in Hiroshima prefecture, as 50% of Japan’s total oyster output originates from here. So Asuka and I took the local train there and just spent the afternoon sampling some baked oysters and also trying this oyster/congee/ sake stew which was delicious. Wasn’t nothing to crazy, as it’s a real small town but it was a nice way to spend the afternoon. (Picture Below: The walkway to the shrine)

The town also had a really nice shrine dedicated to this monk who found a new way to refine sake. So the shrine had a statue of him and various sake barrels and drinking related statues. It was a bit of a hike to get to, but well worth it.

My principal from Elementary school also drove me to a local oyster farm and brought me a dozen fresh oysters before the break. The principal from Noro-higashi is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met and we also have a good chat when he picks me up. The Oyster farm is located in Yasuura and all the oysters are harvested during the day, so when you buy them raw, they have basically been out of the water for only a few hours. Yesterday, I walked their from one of my elementary school nearby and picked up about 2 dozen of the suckers, the walk back would have been long but the owners were nice enough to drive me back to the station and also give me oranges as a gift. That’s one thing you’ll notice if you ever live in Japan, random acts of kindness happen all the time. (Picture Below: Me, Masato and Jacky after the conference)

Last weekend, there was another meeting in Hiroshima for all the English teachers in the prefecture. Our Mid-year conference took place at the local YMCA and was actually less painful to attend then the one last year. A few of the speeches were excellent and generally most of the information was quite informative. At the end of the last day, there was also a traditional Japanese musical performance. Two ladies played the koto (string instrument) and one man played the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute).

On the same day, Asuka’s friend Aya came down from Yokohama for a visit. Aya was the person who showed me around both Tokyo and Taipei the first days I arrived there, so it was nice to see her again in Hiroshima. We spent the evening at an all you can drink/eat Japanese restaurant, then went to the local game center and burned a few hours playing games. (Picture Below: Aya, Aki and Asuka in from of a UFO catcher)

Well nothing overall exciting the past few weeks, the kids have matured a bit in JHS and the elementary kids are still great as usual. Last year, I also started an English board for my students with both stuff from Canada and trips I’ve taken around Japan and elsewhere. The kids seem to enjoy it, as I also have words of the day, English comics and a section for the kids works.
Well the following month should be busier as I’m heading to Sapporo for the Snow festival next week and also heading to Matsuyama later on in the month. I have most of my last few months played out here and I’m looking forward to enjoying the last stretch of my time in Japan and visiting a few more places while gorging myself silly with food. On that note, go Canucks and hope all is well back home. (Picture Below: Me reading at the manga kissa)

Japanese Factoid#41- Comics or Manga and some of you know, is really big in Japan. There are a ton of titles for every interest and a cost less that a cup of coffee for one large issue. Japan has lots of Manga Kissa or Manga cafe's that charge you a flat rate to read as many comics as you want. It's really affordable at about 5 bucks and hour! I only wish they had huge Manga kissa for western comics back home......