...and a partridge in a pear tree
Well, I know my last posting was over a month ago. And I know it was full of hope. Unfortunately, things didn't go in the direction they seemed they were headed. The company didn't release us. Instead they offered us some money to stay in waiting for when a school opened near us. However, when it came time to pay us, it was delayed.
And then the amount was lowered.
And then it was delayed again.
And then lowered again.
And then delayed again.
In the meantime, my health insurance (offered through the old company) expired. And as if it knew something was up, my body got sick. I caught a cold which turned into bronchitis, and while I was still struggling with that, I caught the flu. I was down and out, in serious pain, unable to leave my apartment for days. Luckily my landlord took me into his office and handed me a plethora of things to help me out, all the way from Western medicine (Bayer for my fever) to Eastern medicine (in powder form for my belly ache) to some Japanese home remedies (eat sour foods to kill viruses).
Anyway, none of that is the reason for this posting.
Actually, I'm really sick of complaining about my existence here.
Things are improving:
1) Randy is coming to visit for two weeks. We are going to see other parts of Japan, which suits me just fine after being confined to my apartment for a good part of the last couple months. We will be in Fukuoka for two days, spend Christmas dinner in Osaka with some friends, go to Tokyo for three days for New Years, and then to see the black castle in Matsumoto, followed by a night's stay in a traditional Japanese Inn near hot springs where the Nagano monkeys are often found soaking. Mostly, I'm just glad to see him and spend the holidays with him.
2) I did finally get some money from the company. It's a lot less than they promised initially, and it's a lot later than they said it would be coming, but it did finally come (I was starting to wonder if they were ever going to keep their word on anything)! It basically went to paying rent and utilities for December (which were already late...I almost got my phone cut off!) and January rent and then paid for a massage today that I desperately needed.
3) I had two great visits: one from my dear long-time friend Megan from my L.A., university, and S.F. days, and one from a friend-of-a-friend-who-became-my-friend, Brooke. It was good to get perspectives from other people whose opinions I respect, and I'm sure I talked their ears off, being around native English speakers for the first consistent time periods in a while! Plus, they are both living inspiring lives, which I needed to see. It also helped me see new parts of this city, as well as other nearby places, and it renewed my interest in being here and learning about this culture. I've even picked up my Japanese language books again.
4) My private students are increasing in number. They are telling friends, and I'm getting closer to my goal. Right now, I'm teaching 15 lessons a week, up from the 6 I had two months ago. I'm getting one to three new students a week. My goal is to teach 30 a week, which will earn me more than I was making at that company.
5) My students and Japanese people in general are so incredibly generous! In the past three weeks, I have been given 3 different bags of oranges, some plum wine, a bag of persimmons, a box of almond chocolates, some brandy cakes, a good luck charm to bring me money (modeled after a Japanese chess piece), a bag of loose leaf green tea, a cell phone charm, a Disney pen, and a padded winter Japanese house coat with traditional cloth on the outside (valued at about $70 or so). Talk about the 12 days of Christmas! And that's not to mention all the food and tea they have bought me during our lessons in cafes.
On top of that, I advertised on a bulletin board, which brought me Kotaro, a university photography student who is profiling teachers who got screwed by my company. He is paying me about $45 a session to photograph me and have me work on an exhibition with him. Tonight, he bought me dinner and drinks in addition to the fee, just so that I could write out messages for the exhibition. The messages were my simple answers to his questions like "What have you had to give up, working for that company?", "Why did you choose to stay here even when most other teachers went back to their home countries?", and "What would you say to the president of the company if you met him?" I got paid for doing that!
Point being, I have always had a hard time accepting help or "hand-outs" from others when I'm down. It has made me feel inadequate in my own ability to take care of myself. Well, the Universe isn't letting me do that this time. I'm living in a giving culture that gets upset and feels offended if you turn it down.
SO I guess things are looking up. Once I get my work visa renewed in January, I will be back on track. I will be able to pick my Japanese back up, pick up aikido (at last!), and return to soaking up a new culture during the last third of my stay here.
I don't think I will even be able to comprehend how this has affected me until it's all over. It's been some ride, I gotta say!
And then the amount was lowered.
And then it was delayed again.
And then lowered again.
And then delayed again.
In the meantime, my health insurance (offered through the old company) expired. And as if it knew something was up, my body got sick. I caught a cold which turned into bronchitis, and while I was still struggling with that, I caught the flu. I was down and out, in serious pain, unable to leave my apartment for days. Luckily my landlord took me into his office and handed me a plethora of things to help me out, all the way from Western medicine (Bayer for my fever) to Eastern medicine (in powder form for my belly ache) to some Japanese home remedies (eat sour foods to kill viruses).
Anyway, none of that is the reason for this posting.
Actually, I'm really sick of complaining about my existence here.
Things are improving:
1) Randy is coming to visit for two weeks. We are going to see other parts of Japan, which suits me just fine after being confined to my apartment for a good part of the last couple months. We will be in Fukuoka for two days, spend Christmas dinner in Osaka with some friends, go to Tokyo for three days for New Years, and then to see the black castle in Matsumoto, followed by a night's stay in a traditional Japanese Inn near hot springs where the Nagano monkeys are often found soaking. Mostly, I'm just glad to see him and spend the holidays with him.
2) I did finally get some money from the company. It's a lot less than they promised initially, and it's a lot later than they said it would be coming, but it did finally come (I was starting to wonder if they were ever going to keep their word on anything)! It basically went to paying rent and utilities for December (which were already late...I almost got my phone cut off!) and January rent and then paid for a massage today that I desperately needed.
3) I had two great visits: one from my dear long-time friend Megan from my L.A., university, and S.F. days, and one from a friend-of-a-friend-who-became-my-friend, Brooke. It was good to get perspectives from other people whose opinions I respect, and I'm sure I talked their ears off, being around native English speakers for the first consistent time periods in a while! Plus, they are both living inspiring lives, which I needed to see. It also helped me see new parts of this city, as well as other nearby places, and it renewed my interest in being here and learning about this culture. I've even picked up my Japanese language books again.
4) My private students are increasing in number. They are telling friends, and I'm getting closer to my goal. Right now, I'm teaching 15 lessons a week, up from the 6 I had two months ago. I'm getting one to three new students a week. My goal is to teach 30 a week, which will earn me more than I was making at that company.
5) My students and Japanese people in general are so incredibly generous! In the past three weeks, I have been given 3 different bags of oranges, some plum wine, a bag of persimmons, a box of almond chocolates, some brandy cakes, a good luck charm to bring me money (modeled after a Japanese chess piece), a bag of loose leaf green tea, a cell phone charm, a Disney pen, and a padded winter Japanese house coat with traditional cloth on the outside (valued at about $70 or so). Talk about the 12 days of Christmas! And that's not to mention all the food and tea they have bought me during our lessons in cafes.
On top of that, I advertised on a bulletin board, which brought me Kotaro, a university photography student who is profiling teachers who got screwed by my company. He is paying me about $45 a session to photograph me and have me work on an exhibition with him. Tonight, he bought me dinner and drinks in addition to the fee, just so that I could write out messages for the exhibition. The messages were my simple answers to his questions like "What have you had to give up, working for that company?", "Why did you choose to stay here even when most other teachers went back to their home countries?", and "What would you say to the president of the company if you met him?" I got paid for doing that!
Point being, I have always had a hard time accepting help or "hand-outs" from others when I'm down. It has made me feel inadequate in my own ability to take care of myself. Well, the Universe isn't letting me do that this time. I'm living in a giving culture that gets upset and feels offended if you turn it down.
SO I guess things are looking up. Once I get my work visa renewed in January, I will be back on track. I will be able to pick my Japanese back up, pick up aikido (at last!), and return to soaking up a new culture during the last third of my stay here.
I don't think I will even be able to comprehend how this has affected me until it's all over. It's been some ride, I gotta say!
posted by Spencer Douglas at
11:28 PM
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