How you doin'?

Well, I haven't updated lately! I've done nothing significant I suppose. So I thought that I would update you on my life in general!

First of all, as of today I have 55 days left in Japan. It is going soooo quickly! The past month I have been totally immersed in studying. I had four assignments which are now thankfully over. Last week was an absolute killer because I had some problems with the last two assignments. I couldn't sleep and was having about 4 hours sleep each night. By Friday, I was a zombie. I was very grateful when that week was over.

This week has been great though. I gave myself time off from studying and didn't have to teach on Thursday and Friday. I really enjoy the actual classes, it's just the time between that gets to me sometimes. Each week I correct a little more than 200 essays, and I have been encouraging the students to write more and more. In turn, this means that I have to read (and try to understand) more and more! But this week I had had enough. I decided that I would let the 2nd year students watch "Finding Nemo". I never realised how great that movie is. I have watched the first 45 minutes of it 3 times and am not sick of it.

Sometimes classes are a struggle. At times I think the students understand me more than how much some of the teachers understand me. It can get challenging... On the flip side, there are some awesome teachers. They are easy to improvise with and make the class enjoyable for both myself and the students. Sadly, one of my favourite teachers is leaving for England next Thursday! I will never see him again! There's another teacher taking his place, and I have only spoken to her once. She seems OK though, her English is good as she lived in America for a year.

As of July 24, my teaching career is finishing. I don't think I would want to teach as a career as I need more stimulation and the mundane nature in which each day is the same can be really challenging. I've been applying for a few graduate jobs back in Oz and have progressed through a few of them to the interview stage. That's where it gets sticky. One employer has told me that I will have to reapply in November so they could assess me in person. However, my number one choice is proving to be very flexible. They are going to conduct a phone interview in the near future (next week I hope), for a job that will begin a few days after I arrive back in Melbourne. That would be pretty awesome. There are a few other options open to me, most of which are located in Canberra (whoo) for one or two year contracts. I tend to think that if I could (barely) survive Japan, Canberra would be a breeze!

OK, I will leave it there. I don't want to go and bombard you with words and no pictures (sorry!). I'm heading off to dinner at a place that apparently has nice pizza (hmm, I wonder if all the pizza has mayonnaise on it...)