Recent Happenings

I've been pretty busy lately, which is why I haven't updated this thing in such a long time. Sorry. I've been looking for jobs (no luck so far) and have come to the conclusion that there is deflation at work in this country, or at least in the English Conversation industry. The standard salary seems to be going down, slightly, and there are definitely more and more part-time jobs. There are also a lot more "semi-part-time" jobs, e.g., jobs where you work 5 hours a day every day. Sigh. I guess Japanese housewives have less disposable income these days and can't afford to take English classes just for the fun of it anymore...

It's been so long since I updated that I'm having trouble remembering what I've been doing lately. I had a Halloween lesson and dressed up as a wandering samurai; I wore my iaido uniform and I also went and bought some straw sandals and a big straw hat. I think my students were just confused by the whole situation. Some of them are absolutely humourless and just looked at me and said "Good morning" and that was that. Some of them, however, were shocked and awed (odd?)

Last weekeend I went to Nagano prefecture for a martial-arts seminar. It was really fun but kind of expensive. I took the bullet train there, and we stayed in a little Japanese inn with a natural hot spring spa. Quite relaxing to train all day and then get into a steaming hot bath after. And the mountains were beautiful. Not the best picture, but...

Next weekend, with any luck, I'll be off to Kyoto for a few days. The fall colours there should be really beautiful, and I might even be able to throw a job interview into the mix. We'll see how that goes. Hope everyone is well,

Jeff