this is the new life

i've been living in tokyo for nearly two months now, and i think the adjustment period is finally over.

the area i'm living in now is much more comfortable and convenient than the "bed town" i moved out of. there are bakeries, grocery stores, fruit & veggie vendors, ramen shops and restaurants aplenty along the ten or fifteen minute walk from the train station to my apartment.

below is a photo of my place from just after i moved in. the flowers on the table are one of four bouquets i received from my former schools when i left.



i'm also quite close (ten minutes by bike) to kichijoji, which is a cool area filled with all kinds of shops, restaurants, bars, and so forth. and even better, it has inokashira park.









my new job is going well. it was rough going as i got a feel for the new curriculum, new schools, and teaching on my own, but things are slowly settling into place. i teach at three different schools. all three are about a fifteen minute walk from the nearest station, as is my apartment. this means i walk about an hour a day, which feels really good. i'm glad not to be driving anymore. here's an outline of my work week:

• monday: nakano (12 minute train ride): 2 regular conversation classes and 1 returnee class, all 7th graders. 50 minute classes. 18-22 students per class. teaching solo.
  
• tuesday: edogawa (52 minute train ride): 4 conversation classes, all 7th graders. 65 minute classes; last 15 minutes are to be comprised of a game or activity. about 38 students per class. because of the larger class size and the students' lack of any english background a japanese teacher of english (JTE) comes along for support.
• wednesday: off.
• thursday: nakano again. 1 regular 7th grade conversation class and 2 periods with the same returnee student class from monday.
  
• friday: ranzan (nearly 2 hours by train): 5 conversation classes, all 7th graders. one class has around 40 students and the others are split into around 20. 50 minute classes. JTE may help with the larger class if needed.
• saturday: nakano again. 1 class with the 7th grade returnee students followed by a two hour lesson with returnee elementary school students. then, in the afternoon, 2 consecutive periods teaching an elective conversation class to 9th graders.
• sunday: off.
  

except for the 7th grade returnees, i see each class only once a week. the returnee class has been the most difficult, for several reasons. first, their levels are incredibly varying, making it hard to design an activity where they all feel comfortable participating anything approaching equally. second, i've never designed a curriculum before; until now i was an assistant teacher. writing quizzes, giving assignments, taking attendance -- this is all new to me. third, i've had virtually no guidance from the school. one day a textbook landed on my desk, and that's all i really had to go from. in spite of (or perhaps even because of) not really having any idea what i was doing at first, i'm really enjoying the class. at all three schools, my work now involves much more planning, teaching, and overall effort than my previous position. it was exhausting at first, but i'm also finding it quite rewarding. these kids are learning, and i'm responsible for that. not only that, they're fun! i've said a number of times that teaching wasn't for me, that it doesn't suit my personality, but i'm beginning to wonder if i just wasn't accustomed to it yet.

this is not to say that teaching is necessarily going to turn into a career, and it's certainly not to say that i'll be staying in japan indefinitely. i think i'll be ready to head back to the states in another year. i haven't figured out the details yet.

in the meantime, things are good over here.