So I survived my first week back at school. Not too much happened: I graded some tests, made some worksheets, edited a few speeches, and prepared some lessons plans. I had no classes, as my 3rd year students were in Kyoto, and the 2nd and 1st year students were taking a special test.
That surprised me a little: my 3rd year teacher invited me to come along on their trip back in May, then the next thing I know they're leaving without me. Oh well. Just one more thing added to the long list of things I don't like about my job or the people I work with.
On the up side, I went indoor rock climbing again this past Sunday, and started the day off with 4 5.10 climbs: 2 top rope, and 2 lead. After that, I only did a few 5.9's, and 5.8's, as my forearms were already shot. Somehow, I always manage to bash my right knee (never the left knee) on the wall somewhere. Below you see the latest bruise, plus some older ones healing.
One of the people I climbed with might try to organize a rock climbing trip outdoors sometime soon, and I've started trying to find some more info on places to climb as well. I realize I've been saying this for months now, but it seems like it could actually happen. The German guy who's been teaching me to lead climb says he'll come, and the potential organizer has her own rope and gear, so between the 3 of us, we have 3 harnesses, 3 pairs of shoes, a lot of 'biners, 12 quickdraws, 4 lengths of webbing, and 2 ropes (no partridge in a pear tree, though). If we can get the French guy to come, we can add 2 harnesses, another pair of shoes, another rope, and more 'biners. Having extra shoes and harnesses is important, since the group of hardcore climbers seems to be pretty small: the beginners often don't have their own gear yet.I've even found some topos (diagrams showing what climbing routes an area has, where anchors and bolts are, and the difficulty of the routes) for a few places, and it looks like there are at least 3 OK crags within 3 hours of Tokyo.
One of the problems is access though. Even for places close to Tokyo, sometimes it is impossible to get to the crag except by car. So having to rent a car drives (haha) the cost of a trip up.
Another Japanese jelly product: grape jelly in a tin can: it says "futte futte jelly," which I think means "shake shake jelly." How much you shake it determines the consistency: shake it a lot and it is smooth, a little and it is still somewhat chunky. Tasty either way.Still single, and still seemingly surrounded by an endless number of happy twosomes. Another ALT offered to hook me up with one of his girlfriend's friends who already has 3 boyfriends. Sounds like a keeper, doesn't she?
I got woken up again around 4 or 5AM a few days ago by what I think was another mild Earthquake. This kinda pisses me off. I'd really like for there to be no ground-shaking, or at least properly scheduled ground-shaking that doesn't interfere with my sleep cycle.
Again, for all my complaining, I don't think I'd hop at the chance to go back to the US right away, and forget going back to Holland. I can really say that my job, my guesthouse, and my lack of girlfriend are the only things that get me in the dumps here. I continue to meet cool people, mostly through the outdoor club, but sometimes at the bars. I've got to rock climbing every weekend for the last month, and might get to go outdoors soon. I've climbed Mt. Fuji, and seen so many amazing things in under 6 months. I can't even believe that it's been almost 6 months already. Before I came here, I thought I might have problems with the food, but except for 2 dishes, even really cheap food has been absolutely delicious.
What it boils down to is that I'm a shy person in a country full of shy people, and also a foreigner in a country where foreigners have never received a warm welcome: of course it's hard to meet people. I've got an entry level job that anyone fresh out of high school could do: they require a college degree, but I've even got an MA on top of that, so of course I feel dissatisfied with my job. I've gone from a 2-story townhouse, to my parents' spacious basement to a room slightly larger than a public restroom stall: of course I don't like my room. Getting what you want is nice, but without some problems along the way, you never appreciate it when you finally get it.
Hmm. So that's how I think I'm going to sum up my first 6 months in Japan. Setting up the obstacles that will be overcome in the months to come.
Cheers,
