New Scenery

It has been a rather crazy week.

I haven’t really focused on work much here, mostly because there hasn’t been much to tell. I was unhappy at Geos and didn’t want to bitch bitch bitch on my blog blog blog. In a nutshell, Geos is a corporation that cares more about making money than about what is best for its teachers and students. I suppose I knew that going into it, however I didn’t know to what extent. As a teacher, I had a quota to reach every month by selling Geos books, Geos videos and pushing students to renew their very expensive contracts at least 6 months in advance. I knew there would be some selling involved, but sheesh. I was teaching an average of 3 classes a day, which honestly just wasn’t enough.

So, I mentioned this to Tracey about a month ago, she didn’t seem too surprised. She has seen a lot of teachers come and go in her 11 years in Japan. Anyway, her boyfriend lives in Utsunomiya (also an embalmer) and works part time teaching English. He called her with an open position, she called me and 3 minutes later I got a call from Bridge Language School. I went down for an interview the following weekend and 72 hours later I was packed, stored and on my way. I never expected it to happen so quickly, and of course that made me nervous. But, I also believe that when an opportunity comes along you have to snatch it up. The worst part about leaving was leaving my students. I didn’t have very many, but the ones I had were wonderful. I will never forget them.

Utsunomiya is a huge city just south of Koriyama and closer to Tokyo. It won’t be too hard to visit my friends in Kori though. I’m likin’ that. Apparently, a famous jazz musician was born in Uts. It doesn’t matter that he left and moved to Tokyo to pursue his career; his reputation has created a small hub there that I’m excited to explore. I don’t expect there will be too much dancing there, but live music is one step closer. The school is much smaller and I will have control of my own curriculum, which I didn’t have with Geos. I also won’t need to be at school if I don’t have classes, he’s giving me a car to use, my apartment will be lower in rent but with the same amount of space, and my salary will be exactly the same. I’ll also have the opportunity to work part time in addition to that if I want to. All in all it’s a much better deal. I also know that if there are books or teaching materials I want to use in addition to his, he will supply them in a heartbeat. I love that. I came to Japan to teach and gain experience in the field before committing to it in the States. I think this was a good move.

Before I forget, here is my new apartment information:

Ono Haitsu 3-107
2310-1 Imaizumicho
Utsunomiya, Tochigi Japan

However, I’m not too sure about the mail situation. So, if you were planning to send me a mattress this week, please wait until further notice.