around

I had a breakthrough in August: I spent almost my entire paycheck in Tokyo, literally down to my last 20,000 yen ($200) to get me through the final week and a half until I was paid again. I had savings that I could have dipped into and then replenished the next month, but that was besides the point. I'm a compulsive saver. Spending big amounts of money on things that aren't necessities or long-term investments freaks me out. I always expect to end up thinking later, "If only I hadn't spent that money frivolously!" In August, I vacationed in Tokyo. Twice. Once with my friend Amanda, and once after the English Camp I worked in Nagano. The first time, I had reservations at a hotel. The second time, I crashed on a friend's couch the first night and migrated between beds in Sakura Hostel in Asakusa the next few nights. On the vacation with Amanda, there was something of an agenda. On the second run through Tokyo, I had no plans whatsoever. I worry a lot about ...

I haven't yet talked much about teaching English on this blog. Which is shocking, considering that's what I'm being paid to do here, and what a lot of my time consists of doing. I teach 5th and 6th graders in three different schools: Mitanda (Monday), Sano (Tues/Wed) and Koya (Thurs/Fri). Mitanda is small, only one class per grade. Sano is large, with about 4 or 5 classes per grade, so I teach 5 classes per day. Koya is in-between, with about 4 classes per grade, so my days there have at least two free periods, which is nice. Sano and Koya have me only working with the 5th and 6th graders, but Mitanda (since they're small) has me on a rotating schedule with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders as well, which is awesome, because little Japanese ichinensei (1st graders) are friggin adorable . I like teaching kids. I like the enthusiasm I get from them (usually), I like their willingness to go along with my weird personality, and planning lessons for the simplistic langu...