Spring has sprung

Or so it would seem around these parts. The weather has been a little schizo, with signs of warmth hitting me one day and then cold and rainy the next. Wait, is that what spring is like? Anyway, I for one am glad to see winter coming to an end. I certainly dealt with it much better this year than I did when I first got to Japan. I was in a better mental state this time around and just better prepared in terms of warmer clothing. This year has been pretty good so far in regards to my teaching job. I'm happy to have parent observations behind me and I won't have to worry about that pressure for a while. The only thing I have to deal with at the moment is the impending schedule changes starting in April. A lot of new classes are starting up, a few new students and in general, things just just being shaken up a bit.

My far-off school is going to be my most brutal. It's officially a six-day school now, Monday through Saturday. Tuesday night, I believe, is going to be a hotel night (it was previously a Wednesday night), and a couple of days that week are just going to be longer than they were before due to more classes. The school in the town in the middle of nowhere ends up having the most enrolled students...go figure. Whereas my school in the middle of the city has a significantly smaller amount. Having looked at the attendance sheets for the new school year, I'm happy with some of the changes and confused at some of the others. I guess I've been here long enough so that I can look at who is going to be in which class and determine how well they'll do in that mix. Sadly, I don't have any say as to who is in which class.

As of today, I'm in the middle of a coverage week (big surprise), in Beppu for the Australian NT that's leaving at the end of the month. Luckily, the students at her school have been pretty awesome and from what I've been told, Thursday and Friday classes are no problem either. We (the NT's), got our April schedules a bit earlier than usual and again, big freakin' surprise, I'll be covering for another teacher in the third week. This time, at a school I've never been to. I feel like I've taught at just about every school in the area but apparently not. This doesn't bother me too much because there's always potential for them to be super awesome kids. Or it could just be a hellish week for me. We'll see. Enjoy two completely random photos!

Katsu curry. Yummy but crazy high calories.

Happy trails Buster, ya big lug.

The New School Year Approaches

We've just started the month of March (which is still crazy when I think about it), and that means the new school year is getting closer. April brings new students enrolling into new classes and older students adjusting to their new classes. For the most part, it's not a difficult transition for me, but I will have a few new students to warm up to and them to me. All I can do is hope and pray for good kids. There's always the chance a little monster gets thrown into the mix, but we're going to stick with positive thoughts for now. What's left for March then is the last half of parent observations lessons. As of today I have 6 P.O. classes left. Not too shabby. So far they've been going really well. I haven't had any students acting abnormal or creating a scene, knock on wood, and with the classes I have left, I don't see any issues arising. The biggest pain in the butt I have stuck in my mind right now is the fact that the school I'm going to next week, my farthest commute school mind you, is turning into a six day school. That means Monday through Saturday lessons, and possibly two hotel nights. If I didn't already dislike it enough, now I'm close to throwing my hands up at it. This company, after all, is a business. The sales team isn't concerned with how the number of students they enroll affect the lives or schedules of the teachers. They just wanna put butts in classes. I get that, but it doesn't mean it sucks any less. If you think I'm just whining too much, well maybe I am, but it's my blog to whine on!

March also brings the departure of one of our area's native teachers. She's a really cool person that we're all going to miss having around. I'll be covering lessons for her for a week this month, so yeah, that's another reason I wish she was sticking around. All kidding aside, it sucks to see her go. We'll be short-staffed here in Oita and I think it's going to be really hard on all the teachers for a little while until we get some new people. The native teachers aren't the only ones that seem to be leaving. The Japanese teachers have had to do a lot of covering on their end as well. Woe is us right?

In other news, I'm thinking of taking a short trip over to Busan, South Korea for a nice little three day weekend. I know it sounds crazy leaving the country for a three day trip, but get this, and this is no BS, it costs the same, if not less, to travel overseas by air as it does to travel to Tokyo by train. Japan, yet again, blows my mind with it's ridiculous domestic travel pricing. So if I'm going to shell out some dough for a nice break, I'm gonna go somewhere else, rather than the country I live in. Plus, I have a nice friend in Busan who I plan to hang out with. Bonus! I may not like flying very much, but the flight to Busan from Fukuoka is only 55 minutes. That's a piece of cake. By the time your flight has reached it's maximum altitude, you're ready to land. I'll let you all know if that plan goes forward. Until next time!

Italian Balsamic Pringles. These are awesome.

Constant on-screen tsunami warning while watching Supernatural.

My boy's shop sells cherry Dr. Pepper now! Score.

I like the instaweather app. New library almost complete.

This park will be right next to my apartment. Almost done.

R.I.P. Buster, ya big lug.

Dragonball Z movie, KFC campaign. Goku gettin' down with a leg.