Now that I chose to stay...

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Holy cow Batman, KIMCHI NABE!!!! I love it (-^u^-)


I was rereading my January post about if I should stay in Japan a third year or go back home.

http://fortheloveofnina.blogspot.com/2008/01/to-third-year-or-not-third-year.html

I decided to stay (obviously) so I've decided to address all the things in my original post that were up in the air.

1. Income - I have a pretty decent income here. I don't have to pay taxes. But in my third year I was told that I would have to start paying them but rumor had it that my school would give me a raise to help me out with that. Well, they didn't give me the raise. Instead, they just took the tax and paid it themselves. I see no change in any of the money that comes to me. SCORE

2. PA - I decided that I would apply to be a prefectural advisor. I was hoping it would give me a sense of purpose for being here in Japan since all my other reasons for being here seemed worthless. Well, I didn't get it. And now that I'm not a PA I can't be more thrilled. Something changed in August when a lot of my good friends left and suddenly I want nothing to do with anyone new. The last thing on my mind is helping others...seriously ;)

3. New Friends - which brings me to my next point. I said that all my good friends left in August and that I was hoping to meet new ones when the new crew came in right after them. Well, that didn't really happen. Instead, I'm now focusing on myself. I've never been more antisocial and loving it. I have no desire to meet anyone new. I have no desire to go to any more parties. I've become the most selfish person in the world. My time is my own and spending it on meeting new people is not how I want to enjoy it.

4. Japanese Study - I am having a hard time believing it but I actually wrote in my last post that I didn't see myself going back to school to study Japanese. Well, that is completely the opposite of what I plan to do now. I am now studying Japanese with a private tutor twice a week and loving it. I have plans to apply for a Japanese school in Sendai (way up in the cold cold north) and study for at least 6 months. I hope that by focusing on Japanese and devoting 0% of my time on English teaching, I'll learn as quickly as I had originally thought I would 2 years ago!

5. Teaching life - I was wrong about working my way up in this business. No, I haven't gotten a raise and my title is still "English Speaking Monkey" but now that I know what I'm doing, now that I understand how to work with the Japanese teachers even better than I did in January, I've really improved on...well, absolutely everything! My classes are more interesting and HEY! they're even more informative! I know that with most of my classes, those students leave knowing more English than when they left! HA! What a concept! Plus, I now have three classes under my control (more or less) and one of those classes was actually designed by me! I wrote the class! I am THE TEACHER! Which is an oddity all together! Granted, it's not the best class ever, but this is my first time ever writing a full years curriculum and I'm really impressed with myself (^u^)

6. So was it the right choice? - I can not be more emphatic when I say "yes". I am so glad I chose to stay. I'm doing better than ever. Life here has hit it's peak. It doesn't get much better than this :) Ok, maybe a little better. But as for Tosayamada, this is the best it's got and I'm loving it.

7. Will you stay a 4th year? - I think I'm 95% sure I will NOT stay a 4th year. I think I accomplished everything I set out for here and much more. I'm reaching my objectives and I see the end in sight. It's time to move on to the next goal.

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