Working title

Well, it finally happened. It was a little bit close to the wire, but I managed to secure a really promising job before the start of the new school year. The past few weeks have been endless applications and interviews, but thanks to a last minute faculty departure and a successful interview, I was offered a position as the new English teacher at a private high school here in Yokohama.

We did it!

Going into this, I knew that it would be a little tricky to land a spot in the school system for this coming year. Most of the hiring is done back in late fall, and I was already mentally preparing for the possibility of taking on a less desirable job until the next hiring season. Fortunately though, there was a bit of a flurry in the teaching market as last minute positions suddenly opened up, and schools rushed to fill in the vacancies. Most of these openings tended to be for the elementary and junior high school level, which could have still worked out, but I was pushing off making a decision as long as possible to see if something at a higher level opened up, which fortunately for me did.

When I left Japan the last time, it wasn't for lack of employment. The JET Programme was overall a really great experience, and I was offered the option of staying on another couple years if I had wanted, but the frustration of never really feeling like an actual teacher eventually became too much. I knew that if I ever wanted to truly succeed in Japan, I would need to create a plan. To that end, I moved back to the U.S., taught English in N.Y. for three and a half years, and eventually earned a master's degree in TESOL from Hunter's College. It was a long, winding road, but thankfully I'm starting to see the fruit of that labor finally pay off. It's probably still going to take another few years of navigation and experience to work my way up to my ideal type of position, but I feel like I'm definitely on the right path.

Needless to say, I'm feeling pretty excited! I've been getting things prepared in anticipation of starting my new job, including a mandatory health check I finished up this morning. A chest X-ray, blood sample, and a battery of other minor tests later, and I was good to go. Which reminds me: welcome back health insurance! After spending a ridiculously long time without it, it feels good to finally be an insured member of society again.

I look forward to sharing more about my experiences with my new job, and beyond. The past couple months have been spent laying the groundwork for our new life in Japan: settling into Naomi's parent's place; starting a new job for me, and an old one for Naomi; and of course preparing for the birth of our first child. Odds are, this will be a year we won't soon forget.

In the words of the great philosopher Philip J. Fry:

"I can't wait until I'm old enough to feel ways about stuff."

Let the feels begin!