For reasons that I am not allowed to mention here we had to rush to work early in the morning in Kuniko’s car. Kuniko dropped me off in Sannomiya and then hurried off to her school, and so I made it to work with plenty of extra time. The car ride was actually kind of nice, because the weather today was very rainy.
As usual when I arrive at school earlier than usual everyone makes a big deal. I settled into my desk and made some hot coffee to warm me up from the cold, rainy weather outside. Today the students were having their first day of exams, so there were no classes for me – just studying.
I had lots of memorizing to do, since my little accident yesterday. With all my free time I was able to get through 700 words, and now I’m back up to date. What a relief.
Harada sensei, the slightly off English teacher, had been complaining about being stuck in the Japanese system of employment yesterday. She is a part time teacher, and her contract says that she has to work a specific set of hours. Despite this, her boss and her coworkers always tell her that they expect her around all the time, and she is kind of trapped into doing it by peer pressure. That’s part of being in the Japanese workplace, and luckily something I don’t have to experience because of my ethnicity.
She was at my desk complaining and complaining about having to work on Friday, when normally she is supposed to get that day off. I told her that she just needs to stand up for herself and say no, but she insisted that if she did she’d never get another job in Nishinomiya city. People would see her as being an outsider – not somebody that is part of the group, and the word would spread. She was really adamant that she was trapped in a bad situation.
I finally pulled out the big guns and invoked Rosa Parks. Harada sensei and all the other third year teachers had a lesson on Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks earlier in the year, and I told Harada sensei that maybe she’ll have to be the Japanese Rosa Parks and just say “No way” when they ask her to work above and beyond her contract. She seemed really inspired, and I was suprised to see that she was not at work today. Either she got sick, or she was pulling a Rosa Parks and sitting down at home instead of at work.
After exams ended at noon, I helped coach some students who are taking an interview test on Sunday. This is the second part of their certification under the STEP program. I’ve done interviewing for the STEP program in the past, so I was in a good position to help them out. One of the students grew up in Singapore, so her English was really good. She’s pretty shy in class, but once she was alone she did great. I expect that she’ll pass with no problem.
I went back to my desk and ate lunch, and then continued studying, translating Japanese newspaper articles into English. I overheard the school principal saying my name to someone else over and over again at the other side of the room, and soon Takagi sensei came over and told me that the principal said I could leave early because of the exam schedule. That was how I ended up heading home around two o’clock in the afternoon on a Friday. What a very nice surprise.
Since I got home early I went to work cleaning the house a bit for our guests on Saturday night. Kuniko also got home a little early, so we did a little shopping in Futami for a chair, a small food processor, and some supplies for the lasagna dinner tomorrow night.
It’s almost bed time, and Kuniko is up late making lasagna. She’s got just a little bit of work tomorrow, and then we’ll be able to enjoy the afternoon together before our guests show up. It’ll be nice to relax a little bit.
