Job, I think...

Hey people,

Things aren't totally confirmed, as in I haven't been given a contract to sign and Jeff hasn't crunched the numbers to make sure I will win financially on this one, but it looks like I have a JOB.  Yay!

It's in Onomichi, well, actually on an island out from Onomichi, so will take about 1 hr 45 to get to from our little place in Jinseki.  My plan is to drive down, work the day, stay the night in the staff accomodation, work the next day, then drive back to Jinseki.  I intend to work four days a week, so that way I would drive in one direction each working day, spending two nights a week down on my little island.  It's not ideal being that far from home so often, but it will stop me going certifiably insane at home (school isn't a lot better.  I understand so little and I'm not picking new stuff up fast.  Think I'm just too beginner to improve from just listening). 

Also it will mean we have our little city/island pad, so when we want to go drinking in the city with friends, we can bus home after.  Last time we went out 'drinking' with our friends I was sober driver, so when we left the city I had a 1.5 hr drive home on dark, windy roads (windy? windey?  I think windy but I mean they winds round, not that there it is windy as in blowing a gale... Sometimes English is sucky!).  In Japan you can't even have one alcoholic drink and drive, so it wasn't the awesomeness that it could have been...

So Jeff is going to number crunch tonight, to make sure that me working four days a week will get enough money to cover my Onomichi rent, my fuel and other car costs (the bridge to the island is a toll bridge) and still have me earning.  So watch this space!

I gave my Japanese teacher, Ken, the bad news today.  I was expecting to do this big speil explaining how Jeff and I wanted the extra money to travel with and how much I had appreciated the opportunity and everything, but it ended up being a 30 second conversation.  He kinda just went 'ok' and took off - always a bad sign! 

Further, I'm not sure if I've made things better or worse by telling him I would like to come in on some of my days off.  I wanted to say that because a) it is a good opportunity for me to practise my Japanese on the students, b) most importantly, I felt that it would show Ken and the other teachers that I appreciated what they had done for me and still wanted to hang out with them when I could, and c) I thought Ken would take it better if I weaned myself off the school slowly, rather than spurning it totally. 

However, later in class Ken told me, in front of the students, that they were doing a play and performing it in front of their parents.  I said, "Cool", which meant, "I hope you're only telling me this because you are intending to invite me to watch..."  He then said, "And you are part of it, you will be in it because you are one of us." 

So as well-meaning as my comment about coming in every now and then on my day off was, maybe I gave him false home about how much I would be round.  I told him I would be working four days a week, but maybe he thinks I will be working some weekends (which I won't be)...?  I'm now wondering if I should have shut up about coming in on my days off.  It just seemed easier, to only come in every now and then, rather than trying to tie up all my loose ends in one go - collecting my drawings from art class, paying for all my school lunches that I haven't been billed for yet, giving a thank-you speech to the teachers, etc.  To slowly fade from the school just seemed an easier option.  Even so I will have to get a small thankyou gift for the teachers and a larger one for Ken (they are really big on gift-giving in Japan). 

Oh - just heard lots of noise and rustling in the neighbour's garden.  Thought it was my neighbour.  It wasn't, it was a crow!  Those things are MASSIVE!

So that's where things are at atm in the life of Charly.

Off to cook dinner so it's on the table when Jeff gets home - what a good little wife!  Trying to make up for the fact I will soon be ditching Jeff to cook for himself four out of five weeknights!!  (The 'early' shift finishes at 8pm, so I wouldn't be back to Jinseki until around 10pm)

Hope you are all well,
Charly