This is a major difference. Back in March, the third year students graduated, the staff changed around, and everything went bonkers. First of all, the way that being employed in Japan is very different than many of us might imagine. Were I not a foreigner working here and instead subject to the same rules as everybody else, I would undoubtedly leave the country quickly. Why? A very large contingent of Japan's full-time workers, especially teachers, are on a rotation schedule. That is, they stay employed at one location for a certain period of time, often not longer than three years, and then they are moved to a new location. Note the passive construction; this is not a choice for workers. The new location, depending on the job, will either be a couple hours or the length of the country away from one's current home. This inevitably means that one's social groups and, moreover, home, must be left behind on a frequent basis. It is simply part of the system, and one that I could never live with.
So with the new influx of teachers and the changing of what classes certain teachers will teach, I was in the situation of suddenly teaching with 4 teachers who I had never taught with before. The adjustment period was fairly long, and I'm not 100% pleased with the way it turned out. That's partly my fault, I'm sure, for lacking flexibility. Either that, or I perceive inflexibility in me because my mindset is gradually converging with a more Japanese one. And that's not necessarily a good thing. Being here for over a year (10 months + 4 months homestay) allows you a fairly deep perspective. Though I've only seen the tip of the iceberg and may never actually see the rest, I still feel qualified to make certain claims. One is that anime nerds back home are idiots. Blind infatuation with a country, any country, is foolish. Just like wielding a gun and screaming "God loves the USA" seems a little outlandish, so does becoming enamored with a nation one knows nothing about. There is still a great deal I love about this country: the general sense of social harmony, people who look out for one another with what seems to be pure selflessness and no ulterior motives, and the food, for example. But recently I have been consistently reminded of the ignorance that is rampant in Japanese culture. That word carries some heavy connotations, but be glad that I'm not labeling the country racist, as many before me have. The problem (which is not a problem at all, depending on perspective) is that Japan is still, to a large extent, a fairly closed country. Foreign travel is popular, but in towns like mine, lots of people have never been abroad. And like many of us, even if they do go abroad, such an opportunity doesn't make them understand the country. For my fellow recent graduates, try to recall if you ever saw an exchange student drinking with others. Chances are that the kid got pelted with stereotypical questions the entire night by rowdy, drunken students. The whole situation is comical for everyone involved. But after that student hears the same questions 1000 times, especially ones that implicitly demean his home country, he's going to become a little frustrated. I have heard countless times from Japanese how they fear the dangers of the US. Part of this has some solid logical foundation: the crime rate is flat out worse. But still, if you're not involved with drugs or gangs, you typically don't worry about getting shot or stabbed on a daily basis. Half of me can't blame people because they simply don't know a lot about foreign countries, but sometimes it's hard to stifle a gut reaction to things that seem to border on hostility or racism. I make it sound like a crisis, but this is merely an observation that I have had a chance to learn more about.
That's enough of that. My life has been fairly dominated by recent events, including school. Yet the primary factor is undoubtedly the fact that I now have a girlfriend. This began about a week after my last post, so it's clear to me that the lack of posts is directly related. My Japanese vocabulary has increased at a steady pace, but my confidence and ability to engage in smooth, unhindered conversation has made leaps and bounds. Two of yesterdays conversations included laser eye surgery and the benefits of unsaturated fats. Granted, there are hiccups in communication when I don't know specific words (surgery was a problem), but it generally goes quite well. I recently realized that one's vocabulary increases via study for a certain amount of time, and then it increases based on necessity. For recent conversations, I have ended up learning the words for polyunsaturated fat and urethra. The two were not related, and I won't summarize why they needed to be used. Anyway, things are going well. I bought a massive TV for no good reason, but I am still paying more than the minimum on my student loans, so finances must be decent. In July, a three week excursion around the country with my brother, Eric, is coming, so there should plenty of pictures from that. I'll try to update again soon with some more specific stories or interesting tidbits from recently, but it's mostly been a steady progression. I'm just living life; but I'm in Japan. All in all, everything is good, the weather is becoming great, and I am quite pleased. Time to go to class. Recently, I'm constantly in class, it seems. Oh well. Talk to you later, America!
