The other day I got a message from an old job contact – a staffing company that is looking to fill a full-time teaching position at Kobe University. They asked if I was interested in the job, but I had to decline. I enjoy teaching at Kobe University, but my contract with my current company has me off the market until at least March of next year.
Funny how when you are looking for something it never seems to be available, but when you stop looking it comes and knocks on your door. Oh well… I have pretty much abandoned the idea of teaching again at the university level, anyway. Although the students are usually pretty motivated (especially at Kobe University) the university system is not a viable place to build a stable career in Japan. And stability would be nice…
Since we came back from Europe more than a week ago the weather here in Japan continues to be hot. They set a record in Osaka for the most consecutive days over 35 degrees (that’s about 95 degrees Fahrenheit). Actually, the record is continuing – it still hasn’t dropped under yet. It cools down to about 30 (86 F) in the evenings, which is still too hot (and wet) to sleep in. Ick.
Every day when I go to work I enter the office building from the first floor main entrance, and by 8 a.m. when I arrive they already have the main reception lobby cooled down with some powerful air conditioners. Then I walk up the steps to the second floor (actually the third floor – the first floor is double sized) and the second floor is not yet air conditioned. As you walk up the stairs you leave the layer of cool air and starting from your head you push into a hot, wet layer of air sitting around on the second floor. It is really an unusual feeling – walking up into the heat and wet – and it is surprising how well defined the boundary is. Luckily, I have my own air conditioner in my classroom, so I chill it down right away and can stay in there most of the day.
OK, time to go walk through the heat. How the hell anybody lived in this country before they invented air conditioners I’ll never understand.
