A Glimpse

Hello and good morning!

This past week has been a blur... The other new teacher and I started orientation on Monday and by Friday we were taking turns leading portions of the class time.  Then, after a weekend that skipped past, we had our first real day of teaching yesterday.  The other teacher and I divided the four daily classes into two and took turns actually teaching.  It was fun, and the kids were cute, but everything has felt rushed, with an overwhelming amount of information given everyday.  The training system is in place, but there are those things that can only be taught on the fly.  What makes it feel more overwhelming is the fact that the kids actually end school in two weeks, so they want us to get as much experience as we can before the year ends. That way we can start the new year (in April) going full steam, which is great.  But at the same time, not having built relationships with the kids throughout the regular year makes it difficult to gauge their levels of English, or know how/when to joke around with them and have fun.  Fortunately, the kids have been fairly well behaved and responsive.  Some of the kids are downright rowdy, while others are so shy they're practically invisible.  I can honestly say, though, that I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the kids I've met so far.  Here's a shoutout to Japanese canned and PET-bottled coffee that are available in supermarkets, konbinis, and vending machines, for carrying me through day to day.

I'll tell you a bit about my weekend before getting to the pictures.  On Saturday, two of the main staff (who are a couple) took us with their kids to a huge mall called LaLaport in a nearby town.  While some malls are smaller, a common thing I've noticed across malls in Japan is that they're not only multi-storied, but extremely long from end to end.  There are so many shops, and more employees working than seems necessary sometimes.  We got there in the late afternoon and left at around 10.  It was pretty tiring, not only because of the walking, but also because the younger daughter (who's 3) began crying on and off throughout the last few hours.  Mothers are truly amazing.  On Sunday, one of the teachers took us out to a cafe in a nearby port town.  We spent some time with her and some of her family, which was nice.  It's always refreshing to spend time with people outside of just work, and I was thankful that this teacher has been reaching out to us in that way.

Thank you for reading thus far, and without further ado, here are some pictures I took (some with DSLR, some just on my phone; none of them are edited, sorry.  I'll do that with later pictures.):

A restaurant where you grill very substantial hamburger patties on your own skillet.

Kin-chan the cat. I was excited when I first thought she was a boy and her name was Gin-chan.

Krispy Kreme Japan's spring special edition donuts.  L to R: Yuzu, Sakura, and Matcha.

The view from my room.

One of the paths that lead to the beach.  It's about five minutes away on foot.

Some shots of the beach.  Sorry, I was too tired to stitch them together.  But I still think each shot looks good on its own.  Shoutout to the strangers chillin' in the first picture.

And finally, an obligatory picture of a lone vending machine in the middle of an abandoned lot.

I'll upload more pictures on another day with some scenery from around the town.  Thanks for reading, and I hope that each of you are finding joy in the little things.  Again, if you have any questions, feel free to ask!  Otherwise, ja mata, ne?