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Golden week officially ended yesterday. I thought I was supposed to start a new bi-weekly course at some place starting today, but I hadn’t received any of the course materials or student lists, etc. Called the office this morning (they were closed until today too, of course), and the course will start later this month. That means today is a sweet bonus day of GW. Working tomorrow though.

I caught a cold, for the first time in over a year if I remember right. Over the weekend I was laughing as I heard of various friends getting sick, thinking that this was a great time to not constantly be around the public, especially Japanese students and co-workers who would seemingly rather wear a surgical mask and infect the rest of the population than actually stay at home for a day and recover. But yeah, I got what was coming to me I guess.

I went to sleep really early (for me) last night, and slept on and off for most of this morning and afternoon. I really don’t feel that bad, just a stuffy nose and slight sore throat here and there. I think I’ll be better by the weekend. I’ve got some Dayquil/Nyquil still from the US, and have also been taking some of the Japanese energy/health drinks. I’ve taken so many little vials of Japanese potion medicine that I’m starting to feel like a Final Fantasy character. I thought the kakkontou worked at first, but I was a little too late I think. Kakkontou is supposed to only be good if you take it as soon as you feel any cold symptoms.

I’m going to do a bit more work for tomorrow, then sleep. I have a job interview and some corporate classes, then will probably spend the rest of the evening sleeping.

I think I should try to blog a lot so I can move the Choco-Chicken entries down and out of everyone’s memory.

Last week I worked another job through Corporate, at another Tax College. This time it was at Nishi-Funabashi, a lot closer to my place than the Wako one last time. My students this time around were of “intermediate” level as opposed to the “advanced” ones at Wako, and there was definitely a noticeable difference in teaching this group. It was still a pretty good time, and luckily the students were all easy going and cool.

Let me explain a little bit more about the National Tax College, at least the way I understand it. So here in Japan, the workers and people who work at city halls, prefectural offices, etc. go to a special training college for one year. I’m pretty sure it’s all they need as far as post-high school education goes, mainly because I had at least one student who was even younger than me, meaning if she had any other college or university experience, it would have had to be only a year or two. I think one of them told me all they needed was the one year too. But yeah, they do this, then periodically they return to a Tax College campus for further training and workshops, including the English ones that I’ve taught, which are to prepare them for dealing with clueless foreigners who come in wondering how to file their taxes.

Teaching these things is always an interesting experience, much different than, for example, teaching at an AEON branch school. The class is 10 students, in a large classroom where everyone has their own desk or table arranged in a horseshoe pattern. I have a desk/podium up in front of the blackboard. Yes, a real use-chalk-that-gets-all-over-you blackboard. They also give me a wet towel to wipe my chalky hands on, and a nice carafe and glass of water in case your throat gets dry while lecturing. Much more of a “teacher” feeling in some ways. It was nice.

At Nishi-Funabashi they also gave me a security badge labeling me as “講師,” (koushi) or “lecturer/professor” which was a nice addition And to go along with the Japanese 先輩/後輩 (senpai/kouhai) senior/junior system, all of the college students who are at the Tax College studying have to greet every current tax officer: in the hallways, on campus, in the cafeteria, etc. These officers back for training are, after all, the senpai of these students. I would either get the standard kouhai to senpai hallway greeting, thanks to my Asian camouflage, or I would get an even better and more humble greeting since they thought I was actually an educator. Either way it was a good ego boost to walk down a long hallway and have dozens of tax officers in training saying konnichiwa to me.

For about a week and a half I was working up in Wako city, which was actually pretty fun. The most painful part of the assignment was the commute, which involved riding trains and subways for about an hour and a half one way. First I rode from Chiba to Tokyo, then from Tokyo to Ikebukuro, then from there up to Wakoshi station. The first leg of the trip was usually pretty full in the morning, and I never got to sit down. Standing for about 40 minutes surrounded and crowded by mostly middle-aged to old men is no picnic, especially when you get a good whiff of “old man smell” that makes you want to vomit bloody diarrhea. And if you ever experience some guy pressing his sweaty back direct against yours, you too will feel the burning rage comparable only to Nick Roberts witnessing someone hawk a loogie onto the sidewalk.

Luckily, the last two trains I rode in the morning were usually less crowded and I was able to sit and sleep for those rides. It’s strange when you start a train routine, even if only for a week or two, because you adapt and start to remember all kinds of weird things, like which car to get on so that you’ll be closest to the escalator when you arrive. You also start to see the same people, whom of course you would never speak to, but there is that silent and awkward bit of acknowledgment in the split-second of eye contact you make when you realize this is the old man who almost drooled on himself the previous day. Or the old guy who was reading hardcore pornography last week. There was also the high school girl who probably thought I was just being creepy, even though I was just trying to figure out how a completely Japanese-looking girl was reading a super thick English mystery novel. Even I don’t attempt books that thick.

And there is no bigger victory on a train commute than scoring a seat, especially a corner seat, on a crowded train. For the most part my return trip from Tokyo to Chiba was always packed, even more than in the mornings. Having a seat was not a realistic goal. Once though, a miracle happened. I was standing in front of a corner seat, swaying back and forth on the grips while staring at posters advertising about 50 different brands of canned coffee. Somewhere around Kinshicho, which is relatively early in the ride, the guy sitting in front of me starts to gather his things and stuff them into his man-bag. I recognized immediately that he was going to get off the train. The seat would be mine. As soon was we stop, however, the greasy salaryman next to me starts to move. OH HELL NO. I casually yet powerfully swing my briefcase, already retrieved from the overhead rack, into the seat space and perform a counter-clockwise spin placing myself gently and smoothly into the treasured corner spot. Middle aged salary man didn’t know what hit him. I slept the rest of the journey in luxurious comfort, not only because I was sitting down after a long day’s work, but because I had just shown the guy now standing in front of me who’s boss of them all since 1983. ME.

The course I’m teaching this week is as exhausting as expected. Everyday from 9 to 5 with 50 minutes for lunch and a few 5 or 10 minute breaks scattered throughout. There are 2 110-minute sessions in the morning and 3 70-minute sessions in the afternoon. The students are pretty much studying and practicing conversations for 6 or 7 solid hours a day, for about 2 weeks. Teaching it isn’t difficult at all, but just a little repetitive and definitely tiring since I’m standing up all day.

Luckily, my group of 10 students are all pretty funny, and we all get along. Most are under 30, and I think there is even 1 who is younger than me. Half of them work in farther-off parts of Japan like Osaka or Nagano, and are thus staying in a dorm on-site. Everyone else commutes from Tokyo or somewhere close by; I probably have the longest commute out of the group. After class today a bunch of them were talking about bringing DSs tomorrow to play Mario Kart, so I told them I’ll bring mine. Oh, and one student asked me at the end of the first day if I’ve ever been told I look like Jack Bauer from 24. I of course said no, but he is pretty adamant that I look like an old white guy. None of the other students see it either (thank goodness).

Riding the trains isn’t as bad as I feared. I think I’m just before rush hour, which is great. I rode the limited express the first day (an extra 500 yen from Chiba to Tokyo), which gives you a bus/airplane-like seat instead of the usual bench and stand setup. I might do it again tomorrow to get an extra hour of sleep during the commute. I still have to wake up at like 5:30, which means I’m going to bed ASAP.

I’ve been working. Not like I found that next career, but I’m working a little bit more than part time this month. Right after I got back from the US I started a bi-weekly teaching thing back down in Ichihara, as a corporate English teaching assignment. Corporate Division is also sending me to Wako city this week to teach a 6-day intensive course. 9 to 5; intensive indeed. It’s going to be tough for me to teach the same class of students for an entire day, but I figure it’s going to be even worse for the students. Can you imagine sitting in the same classroom for an entire day learning the same subject? That’s more torturous than I can imagine. I’ll try and make it fun so I don’t fall asleep while reading out of this textbook. Hopefully I’ll have some cool students or at least co-workers for this gig. I definitely can’t complain about the pay though – it’s great.

Oh, I’m also teaching private lessons on weekends. This is through another company, and they keep sending students my way! I almost want to tell them to ease up because I don’t feel like working tons of hours on Saturdays and Sundays. But yeah, I still have a lot of free time, but I think this month’s total income will be comparable to what I made before. Still need to find a “real” job though – not just because of money or anything but because I’m getting bored. You would think that having lots of time to play Mario Galaxy would never get old, but I realized that I need some kind of job. I’ll hopefully find something I like by year-end.

Since I have to be in Wako city (Saitama I think) at 8:10AM to meet the other teachers and stuff, I have to leave Chiba on the 6:25AM express train. That means I’ll need to wake up around 5 or 5:30. And it’s almost 2 now. Ouch. Riding the rush hour Tokyo-bound train is going to be a fuuun time.