This week has been a procession of chores, tasks and errands that have to be taken care of, and I’ve had very little time to do any actual studying for grad school. Yesterday I got all dressed up and went all the way to Osaka during the rush hour to interview at a staffing company that Nozaki sensei recommended called OTC. They provide English experts to companies that want to train their employees, both full time and part time.
The trip was fun, the interview went really well, but I couldn’t help feeling like they were going to make a lot of money off of me. They outlined a typical contract, and I could plainly see that every advantage was theirs. There’s a ton of paperwork and training that I am responsible for, and the pay wasn’t that great. Right off the bat they mentioned that they might have a job available for two weeks in south Osaka (a two hour train commute for me) but I’m leaning towards saying no thanks. I’d have to stand during each two hour trip because it is during the rush hour, and that makes it pretty tough to study. They were optimistic that jobs would pop up closer to Kobe and Akashi.
I had a full load of classes when I got back to Kakogawa, including an evening class with junior high school students that went really well. I think that junior high school is my favorite age level to teach – the kids are just right for serious language learning. At that age they think they can pick up English in a couple of years, and so they are trying hard and extremely optimistic. Later when they get bogged down in boring grammar-translation English classes in high school they will start to lose all hope, but for now they are fun to teach.
Today I went into Akashi and went to the correct tax building this time. It was a breeze. I walked into the lobby, they pointed me to a room filled with laptop computers and college girls. The girls were there volunteering to help with the taxes, and they sat me down in front of computer, helped me sort out which papers I needed, and then walked me through the process on the computer. They chatted with me in both Japanese and English, and after 10 minutes I was done and on to the next station. They all waved goodbye when I left for the next station. The other customers in the office weren’t getting the full treatment and gave me some looks, but hey – sometimes it’s good to be the foreigner.
I presented the completed paperwork to an unsmiling older lady who didn’t even look at the papers before stamping it and sending me on my way. It turns out this year I actually get some money back, so that is a first for me. It was a very positive tax filing experience. Can’t wait for next year, in fact.
