As all our fellow teachers out there know, the year really comes to an end on the last day of school - not on December 31 as most people seem to believe. As we near the end of this school year - our first in Japan - I've been reflecting on our year as 'newbies' and all the newness that has come our way... New jobs Both Jon and I have enjoyed our new jobs and feel we've made positive contributions to our new school. We look forward to another year at CA and the professional challenges a new year brings (after all, I've got more pink study carrels to rid the library of!). New culture We've gotten just a glimpse of the Japanese culture (sumo, maiko, onsen, ohanami, and sushi-go-round jump to mind) and can't wait to experience more of this country's old traditions and new innovations. New friends This is one of the things we like best about international teaching. There's always a great bunch of people waiting to embrace you as one of their own. New places We've taken some great trips - both inside Japan and out - to Shanghai, Hiroshima, Beppu, Kyoto, Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai. As always, we're looking forward to our trip back to North America for our summer holidays, and our much-anticipated travels to Russia can't come soon enough. New favorites Someone asked me what I like best about living in Japan, and I think I've finally narrowed it down to my top three. All fascinating bits of the Japanese culture aside (sumo, maiko, onsen, ohanami, and sushi-go-round again come to mind), my favorite day-to-day Japanese ingenuities are...
my mama-san bike (both functional AND fashionable!),
my train pass (this is the card I never leave home without),
and our heated toilet seat! This, I must admit, is my all-time favorite. It truly is ingenious. Nothing feels better on a cold winter night... On a sticky day in May, however, nothing feels worse, as I discovered a few weeks ago. Luckily for me, the Japanese think of everything - this feature can be turned off/on as needed.
That, in a nutshell, is our year in review. School's out on June 13!
2 comments:
What about our new Indian restaurant?
That's at the top of my 'Favorite Haunts of Rokko Island' list. Didn't think I should list an Indian restaurant as one of my Japanese things!
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