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!

life in the left lane

         

     Yesterday marked a first for me: driving a car in Japan. It was our second day here, and we needed to get across town to do some clothes and grocery shopping. Feeling a little apprehensive, I clenched the keys tightly in my fist, and walked over to the driver’s side door. “Hey, wrong side!” Naomi helpfully called out as I looked down to see that I was indeed on the wrong side of the car.
     “Nope, just giving things a once over before we go. Haha!” I breezily remarked as I jogged over to the correct side.
     As we all piled inside, I gave my best reassuring smile, taking extra care as I started up the car and pulled out of the driveway.
     “You’ll need to make a left at the first light,” her mom said as we started down the street.
     “Sure, no problem!” I remarked as I casually reached over to turn on the left turn signal, and instead found the front wipers unexplainably moving back and forth across the windshield. “Ah!” I managed to get out as I quickly attempted to correct my mistake.
     “You OK up there?” Naomi inquired from the back.
     “Sure sure, just didn’t realize everything was reversed in these crazy cars. Haha!”
     A couple of moderately close calls, and a good deal of back seat coaching later, we arrived in one piece at our destination. I couldn’t remember the last time I had to concentrate so hard just to drive down to the local mall, and I felt both thrilled at my accomplishment, and utterly mentally exhausted.

     And so I find myself back in Japan. Though I’ve spent the past six years comfortably driving on the right side, Naomi and I came to the mutual decision during our time in New York to make the transition back to this country of opposites. And newness. And familiarities. And chances. Driving on the left side is something that is going to take some getting used to. I don’t expect to get the hang of it immediately, but it’s something I hope to continue to improve at over the months and years to come.

     I’m excited for what the future holds. This year is proving to be one of transitions, and there’s much to look forward to. I will be using this space to share all the ups and downs of the journey, and other random thoughts and observations along the way. Feel free to drop by on occasion to check up on us, leave a comment, and otherwise share in this experience with us. Should be fun!

     After we finished shopping, and feeling pretty tired, we headed back to the car, and Naomi’s mom asked if I wanted her to drive us back home. “Nah, I got this,” I suavely replied with a wink and a smile as I confidently strutted over to the car and opened the door.
     “Wrong side again!” Naomi observed as she pointed to the other side of the car.
     “Ah yes, so it is. Haha!”