hi all,
I've been meaning to pay my health insurance for several days now, but I just went to the post office and discovered that they only deal with health insurance from 9AM to 4PM, which means I'd have to leave work about an hour early in order to make it there in time. Since I haven't even been paid yet, I don't really want to lose more money by taking time off to take care of it.
There's also my rent, phone bill, school lunch bill, and several other bills piling up at this time. One of the teacher's at my school found out that I like rock climbing/hiking and gave me a brochure about the Osato district of Kumagaya, about an hour from Ageo, where I work. There are several mountain top temples and hiking trails around the area. The trip to get out there costs about １７５０円 (almost $18), so I think that trip might have to wait until after I get my first paycheck.
The weather the last few days has been very frivolous. It will be very sunny and warm one day, then overcast and rainy the next. Once last week, I could even see a snow capped mountain peak in the far distance, but for several days it has been too overcast and foggy to make it out.
My work day routine has basically been to come in around 8:05 or so, say good morning to everyone on my way to my desk in the teacher's room, then sit around trying to find something to do for 7 hours. I bought a book a few days ago, so I've been reading that mostly, and I've also been going through my old Japanese textbook and re-learning the kanji and vocab that I've forgotten. Occasionally, one of the English teachers will come up to me and ask me to come to class. If I haven't met the class before, a good chunk of the lesson is me doing my self-introduction, which is just me talking about myself in English slowly, and drawing on the board, and talking about where I'm from, my family, and my hobbies. If I have met the class before, then I basically just do what the teacher asks me. Usually, this is handing out papers, pronouncing vocabulary words, or repeating bits of dialog from the textbook. Other than that, I just stand to the side of the room and try not to distract the students or look too bored. My basic purpose is to be a living tape recorder.
Now obviously, the Japanese educational system is doing something right when it comes to other topics like math and science, so it is somewhat perturbing to have such a blatantly ineffective educational method used. It is also strange to think that my Japanese might improve more than my students' English during my stay here.
Yesterday, an OL (office lady) at my school said there was some kind of party for teachers this Friday in Ageo, but I haven't decided whether I want to go. There are a couple teachers who've been friendly to me, and several who spent the first couple days talking with me, but now everyone comes and goes and ignores me. From talking to other ALT's, I guess this is actually really typical. Also, these parties usually cost about $45 to $100 dollars, as they include drinks and food. So, I'd basically be paying to hang out with people who have been pretending I don't exist.
Cheers,
