Things have been quiet of late, both here on the blog, and in general.
The good news is that I’ve been working on a few things in the pipeline and have managed to get a rough and raw livestreaming chat show going with the help of a friend. Continue reading Kotatsu Chatsu
April is a time of year in Japanese schools that I’ve written about before, but despite that it still hasn’t gotten any easier every year to see teachers I’ve come to know well move on to other schools.
This year I’ve had to say goodbye to one of my favorite teachers at my visit school as she has had to move on to a new school after 8 years of teaching at my current visit school. Continue reading Saying Goodbye
Driving in Japan is an exercise in patience. First you need to go through what seems like a million miles of red tape just to get your license. Afterwards comes the second hurdle, actually being able to use your car to and from work.
Companies here in Japan are notoriously strict when it comes to allowing their employees to use their own vehicles to commute to and from work and even more strict with foreigners looking to do the same. Continue reading Driving Trials and Tribulations
It just struck me today that in a few months I’ll be entering my fifth year as a JET ALT this coming July.
I stumbled on the email I got from the South African embassy all the way back in 2011 to tell us the details of our final arrangements which was pretty nostalgic to read. At that point I had no idea what my school would be like or what my town was like or how to even teach English classes! Continue reading Friday Ramblings
Last week saw me finish off my last two classes for the academic year with the students getting ready to take their final tests and then have a short break before starting the new school year at the beginning of April. Continue reading Closing Out the School Year
With the end of August in sight it means that in the next few weeks classes will start up and the summer holidays will be a thing of the past.
It also means that I’ll get to start teaching at my new school and get an idea of what the teachers and students will be like. So far my main school seems rather high level compared to where I taught previously and it also looks like I’m going to have to be far more active in terms of creating materials and activities rather than relying on the lessons I did over the past three years. I think that’s a good thing though, because if there is no challenge to your job then your motivation to push yourself begins to wane a little. Continue reading The End of Summer
I’m just about all set up in my new ALT position after a few busy weeks of paperwork, moving and what feels like a thousand other things that are all part and parcel of moving work & home in Japan.
The school I’m working at now is pretty high level and offers not just English but several other language courses for kids such as Spanish and Korean. Continue reading In the Heat of Summer
