It was pouring rain all night last night. I woke up once and groggily asked Kuniko what that noise was – it was the constant sound of rain dumping outside. We checked the television and there was a flood warning for my area. That meant that the students were not coming to school today, and that also meant that I had taught my last class at Takasago Minami High School. Today was supposed to be my last two classes, but I guess yesterday was my last day teaching.
Kuniko was off again to work early today in her car, but she dropped me off at the station to spare me from getting too wet on the walk over there. I arrived at school early, and was able to get some vocabulary done as the teachers trickled in.
Everybody was happy about the warning because it means an easy day at work. Usually everyone sits around and then sooner or later the vice principal announces that everyone probably has something better to do, and then everybody leaves. I had previously arranged to leave early to sign my new contract in Osaka – now it looks like I wasted half a day off of nenkyu (time off) – but at this point it probably doesn’t matter. I’ve got short-timer syndrome, and I think I could probably take more time off later if I needed it. As it stands now I’m taking a long weekend to do stuff related to the big move.
At around 10:30 I hit the road for Osaka, trying hard to stay dry along the way. I knew the route from last time, and it was really no problem to get there. I spent a little time shopping for some souvenirs for Yuri who is leaving Japan next month, and because the guy couldn’t make change I had to buy a frozen orange slurpee thing at the food court. I felt clever for buying something small to break the big 10,000 yen bill, until I realized after drinking it that I probably stained my tongue orange before meeting with my new employers.
After scraping my tongue repeatedly with my teeth I went into the office, and the employees there were sitting around the table finishing up lunch. They were all really friendly this time around and I got a good vibe from them. They all speak really good English, so that is a big plus. A few minutes after I arrived, two other new hires showed up, and we introduced ourselves and read over the contract together before signing it.
The other two guys were interesting. Both were Canadian. One was named Corey, and he was about my age and married to a Chinese woman with Japanese nationality. He is finishing up his second year on JET, and he’s looking for a temporary job to keep him out of trouble until his wife finished grad school in Kobe. He’s been in Japan a long time, and he had a kind of calm air about him – he projected patience and understanding. Interesting dude.
The other guy, Louis, was fresh off the boat – his second week in Japan, and he was eager to glean information from us. He was in the wide-eyed “Wow, I’m in Japan!” stage, and it was fun to see someone enjoying themselves so much. He’ll be a good teacher – all the eagerness will pay off in class.
We wrapped up the paperwork as fast as possible, and then we all got out of there. Corey was off to a farewell party at his old school, and Louis was off to Takatsuki where he lives. I took at look at a shop on my way out and then ended up bumping into Corey on the train back. He got along pretty well – we’re both quiet and calm, and we’ve both got a lot of experience in Japan, so it was nice to share part of the train ride back.
Since I was in Osaka I took the subway across town to see if I could get my Nintendo DS fixed. There was a Nintendo store listed on their website, so I tracked it down with the help of some helpful people on the street, and eventually nearly walked by a big stone non-descript office building. The only way I could tell that it was Nintendo was by reading the kanji on a small plate next to the door. There was no Nintendo logo and no signs elsewhere – it was like they were trying to keep a low profile.
I guess I was expecting something else – something flashy and full of life-sized Mario dolls or something. I walked inside and there was a single reception desk and a huge lobby filled with empty couches and some abstract artwork. The receptionist confirmed that this was indeed the right place, and so I told her about the problem. She listened to my weird Japanese and then offered to fix it for free. Unfortunately it will take anywhere from 10-14 days, so Kuniko and I will be in withdrawls until it comes back.
I left the Nintendo DS with them, and then hit the road back to Osaka, and caught a train from there back home. I made a stop in Akashi to buy some sushi for dinner, since we’re running out of dishes and foodstuffs at home in preparation for the move. I also spent time on the phone getting the utilities switched over. Telephone operators at the utility companies were merciless as far as speaking speed – they talked fast and didn’t slow down their explanations for me. It was a challenge, but I think I got it all figured out. We’ll see what reality is like on moving day.
Also, with the end of the JET program coming up it is my last chance to see some close friends. Thursday night Kuniko and I are going to meet Nel and his wife Kiyomi, and Antoine and maybe his girlfriend Miwako in Harborland. Nel got a job in Tokyo, they found an apartment, and rumor has it they might be pregnant, too. Friday night we are meeting up with Tamura sensei and her boyfriend to say goodbye to Yuri, who is finishing up three years in Japan on the program and heading home to California.
Next week we’re going to try to meet up with Carrie and Struan at two different times, so we’ll be spending a lot of time saying goodbye.
