Wow, it's been over 3 months since I last posted any entry for this blog. I could explain the various reasons for why I've not been updating, but I'll just skip to my current situation in Japan.
Just last week, I moved from Kamisu city to Chikusei city. The reason for this, was that I found out in early January that the Board of Education in Kamisu would not renew its contract with my employer. It shocked them, as they believed that they had a good chance of having another 3 years in Kamisu, but I heard that the past 2 were not exactly the best for the company and its ALTs in Kamisu. In any case, all ALTs working for the company had to move out on the 27th of last month. Some ALTs decided to return to their home countries at the end of the semester; others - including most of my friends - chose to find work in other companies in Japan (ALT or otherwise); while a few (including myself) opted to stay on with the company. In my case, I have only worked with the company for 6 months, and to take a chance to go with another company, and deal with all the costs associated with moving to wherever another company would place me, I felt it would have set all my plans back - including the decision to go back to my home country during the summer break, and to go to Kyoto during the winter break to visit my girlfriend.
Just before leaving Kamisu, the company offered me a few choices on where I could work. All of them unfortunately offered less pay than what I was receiving in Kamisu, though I ultimately decided on Chikusei. While the pay is still less than Kamisu's, it was probably the highest paying out of all the options that were given to me.
Despite only having been in Chikusei for over a week, and not having the chance to fully explore the wider area, I'm certainly happy with my apartment, and ease of access to most necessities from my apartment. Unlike where I was living in Kamisu, I can easily walk to a supermarket, city hall, post office, convenience store, and even a train station within 5 minutes of my apartment. The train station especially is convenient when I went to Tokyo for a week to see my mother, who was visiting. Because of this, I'm not having to use my car so much to get around - usually for getting to the two schools I'll be working at.
Speaking of which, I had the opportunity to visit the two schools. Unlike in Kamisu where I was working at elementary schools only, I'll be working at a Junior High School and an elementary school. The Junior High School staff seemed to be really busy in preparing for the opening ceremony happening either today or tomorrow, but the elementary school staff seemed nice. In addition, they seem to be really on board for the team teaching, in that they want to hold a regular meeting once a week so that we can plan the lesson together. I welcome this, compared to when I was in Kamisu where I was effectively given free reign on what to teach the children, using the Kamisu plan as a loose guide on topic ideas. Do not get me wrong, I have no hard feelings against those teachers, but for new ALTs, the kind of support that this school is providing would have really helped for those 6 months, though the teachers seemed to be really happy with my work, so it all worked out in the end.
I will be starting school next Monday. I am a little bit nervous, simply because I have never worked at a Junior High School before, though I have been told that it is vastly different compared to an Elementary School, where the ALT's role is more to support the teacher, rather than running the class. I will just wait and see how that goes.
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