KONNICHIWHAT!?: The part that's not so fun

So welcome to November ladies and germs. At first, I didn't think I'd even make it this far with how I was feeling, but low and behold here I am. I can now say, after having taught at each of my three schools, that the job itself isn't so bad. Of course there are good and bad days, good and bad kids, but that's just the nature of the gig. However, the part that I'm not a big fan of is the spontaneous, "now I'm sending you to ______ to cover for so and so", aspect. That's exactly what's been thrown my way this week and I'm none to thrilled. Yeah, on one hand it's cool to see some different area of Kyushu (the island I'm on), but I'm a huge fan of organization, planning and structure. This company is lacking in those areas and it's been a challenge for me in terms of adapting to this off-the-cuff style of running things. I don't like being told a few days prior that I'm going to be doing heavy commuting, to two different cities, two days in a row. To make matters more obnoxious, I'm covering for a JT (Japanese teacher) in one area, because they can't find a JT (whatever that's supposed to mean), and we're obviously not trained on JT lesson's because we're NT's (Native teachers). Incredibly annoying. However, it's this type of crap that will eat one alive if their head isn't in the right place and I've been working hard to put mine in the right place. Now I'm going at it with a, "give 'em my best and if it's not good enough..." mentality and it's helped me relax a bit more. I should also mention that both schools are so far off that I'll be staying in a hotel on both Thursday and Friday night. I just have a hard time finding the logic in making someone commutes for three hours and some change, for two hours of lessons. They must really be hard-up for coverage I guess. One of the schools I'm covering at is so remote that the map instructions say to bring a flashlight! Here's to hoping I don't end up in a rice field with a broken leg, stranded at 1 in the morning.