Things are pretty quiet here in Japan atm. Jeff and I are trying to keep our heads down and save money after our road-trip and before the expensiveness that is Hiroshima Orientation (we will be paid back for most of our Orientation expenses, but not for a couple of months).
I'm pretty excited though - two new JETs turn up in our area this weekend (well, actually today - or was it yesterday even? - but I won't be there until the weekend so that's when it counts ;) ) and another (the one who is employed by Jeff's Board of Education) arrives the following week. It will be fun to meet the new people and it will be a good distraction from the heat.
On the topic of heat, I'm trying to face August with a fighting attitude. I only have to last 31 days, then the worst of summer is OVER (just sucks my birthday is in there. Beer garden it is, then??). Admittedly things won't cool down until about mid-September, but September is a month of hope because I wake every day thinking 'maybe THIS is the day it will cool down!' In the meantime I'm trying to ignore the fact that my body hates hot summers (I get itchy legs, a rash on my hands and feet and zits are having a party on my face. A face that is too sweaty to hide with makeup).
Jeff and I are fairly sure we will only stay one more year (although we won't make a final decision until January), so I'm just celebrating that this is our last full summer in Japan. Next summer we will escape to the chilly dreariness of NZ winter. And we will be SO happy about it!!
Currently the kids are on their six week summer holiday. Only in Japan, 'being on holiday' means classes ONLY in the morning. Wtf?? It seems to mean less breaks for teachers too, so I feel doubly guilty sitting in the office playing with my smartphone (hey, sometimes I'm studying Japanese on it! Sometimes...) or tapping away on my laptop.
The good news is that my application for TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) funding was accepted, so last Friday I started my online TEFL course. The only catch is usually these courses would be done over a year or so (mine is a 100 hour course), but for my course to be subsidised I need to get all my paperwork in by 31st January, meaning I have much less time than others could take. Then, when I was paying for my course, but unable to change because this was the course I had nominated when applying for funding, I noticed in the small print that they only give you three months to finish, or you need to pay almost the original amount again to get an extension. Yikes!
Initially I had a little panic attack, but once I started breathing again I realised it was a good thing, because it would allow me time to study Japanese if I want to re-sit my N5-level Japanese test. So... my game plan is to work like crazy in the summer holidays left to me! When I started the course I had five weeks of student holiday left. Although I have a few training things in Hiroshima, most of that time is open for me to do WHATEVER I WANT. No excuse for not doing my TEFL, right?? So far so good - I signed up on Friday, did Module 1 on Sat, Module 2 on Sun, my first tutor assessment on Mon, Module 3 took Tues and Wed (feckin' hard grammar!!) and Module 4 on Wed. Although I'm sure my genkiness will fade (that's best translated as 'gung-ho'ness to those who haven't learnt Japan's favourite word, although dictionaries translate it as energetic), I want to make the most of the initial 'oh, this is new and interesting!' stage. It's a good feeling charging through it quickly. And, err, all the better charging through it quickly because I'm organised, instead of charging through it quickly because I left it to the last minute, which is my usual technique!
Anyway, in summary (was going to write 'summery' there... guess that would work too!), we're spending lots of time sitting at our desks with no school-related work to do. And I'm learning how much I don't know when it comes to grammar.
I hope you're having a good August supping on cold beer or spiked hot chocolate (whichever is more weather appropriate).
Charly
xo
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