More than too much

There are times when too much has happened to go back and write everything down. Computer/self-indulgent time is at a minimum, and so events come and go without personal documentation.

There are also times when one is so bored at work in Japanese Jr. high schools that one attempts to make up for this oversight by making one monstorous post. This time has finally come.

The summer is far and away the busiest time of the year for me here in Japan. I helped work the Tokyo Orientation sessions again this year, which went quite smoothly for us in the second session. I did a repeat of my vegetarian performance, as well as giving presentations on thriving in rural Japan and sitting in on the GLBT panel to help a friend out (no women had volunteered and they desperately needed someone). Met some really nice people, some of whom live close enough to me here in Japan to actually hang out. Always a bonus.

New JETs have also flooded our area. A lot more close friends returned home this summer than last year, and that has been strange. I knew that would be the case as a third-year though...I'd seen it happen to the other folks around me who were finishing their third year. I miss all the folks that have left, but feel like I'm still connected to them, which is a happy surprise. In another stroke of extremely good luck, we managed to get some really great new people in our area. I'm particularly glad my new co-worker is someone I can consider a true friend already, we've really clicked...I've really lucked out in this department yet again.

The summer was made extra busy by the arrival of my dad and sister for a visit. In ten days we covered 4 major cities--Kyoto, Tokyo, Nara, Osaka--as well as Himeji and Fukusaki's famous attractions. It was both incredibly good to see them and incredibly draining. Acting as travel agent, tour guide, translator and plain-old family member really wears you down. It was nice though for my father to see me doing alright for myself here in Japan, as it was all just an idea to him before. It made me feel very adult. When my dad started to cry at the airport the day they were leaving, I felt sad, but also appreciated and loved in a way that was surprising and new to me. I can count the number of times on one hand that I've seen my father cry, and they were all at the death of family members or pets. So it's kind of a big deal for me.

Of course, the summer is long over now, and work is in full swing. Doing this for the third year has really given me an understanding of how to do my job competantly, and it feels good to be able to walk into an elementary classroom and take charge. Jr. High can still be shitty, but it's in part because I'm not in charge and in part because the kids are being forced through a shitty and pointless curiculum they have no interest in. I can't really hold that against them. The kids at the "better" schools are so much more open to me now though that talking to them outside of class pretty much makes up for the lack of response in the classroom.

This puts me mostly up-to-date with the goings on of the summer, though in a very broad and dry way. There will be another post shortly though, and that may be a little less...dull? We'll see.