This morning was a real challenge getting up. Not only was it really cold, but I had to get up and leave Kuniko behind wrapped up in the electric blanket. We did have a little time in the morning before I left to look at all the souvenirs that she brought back, and she really got some good stuff.
She brought me back an original piece of artwork signed by the artist, a DVD of “River Queen” that was made in New Zealand, a bottle of wine, and lots of other goodies. She also brought lots of stuff for her family and co-workers – her suitcase was full of souvenirs.
I had to go to work, so I headed off to the station, and then met up with Robert and Corey at Rokkomichi station. We caught a bus there and headed to the college. The bus was really full, and I asked Robert if there was some kind of event going on. He said that he didn’t know, but once we arrived at the college we figured it out.
At the school they were receiving the new students for the new school year. The new students have a couple of weeks to file their paperwork with the college, and the college is full of new freshmen and their parents. But it wasn’t just them, the school was packed with older students who try hard to recruit the new students in clubs. Also there were lots of salespeople trying to sell things to the new students. Some students move out of their homes when they go to college, so it’s a great opportunity to try to sell them everything – beds, computers, phone lines, credit cards, refrigerators, you name it.
The way it was set up was that the new students came to the main entrance with their parents and their paperwork. There was only one exit, so the older students from each club lined the exit. Students leaving had to walk through a huge crowd of club papparazi trying to hand them fliers. It was really interesting to watch – I’ve never seen anything like it.
Today’s work was much like the last two days. We mixed up speeches with interviews and also with a panel discussion. We worked straight through until lunch, and then went to the cafeteria and had to fight for a seat. We were sitting next to a group of students, and Corey politely said hello to them in English. That sent them chattering in Japanese – saying how it was scary to talk to foreigners, and they didn’t know what they would do if a foreigner started to talk to them. Corey and I could understand them easily, so we relayed the information to Robert and thought a little more about why Japanese students have such a hard time with English.
Next we went to a hallway to check a bulletin board. Corey’s wife happens to be a graduate student at the college, so we were doing a little footwork for her. After that was finished we headed out the back door, and then realized that we would have to walk through the line of club members recruiting. They laughed and tried to get us to join the clubs anyway, but we just smiled and walked through.
On the way back we stopped in and talked with a professor from Australia that is teaching there. For me, he was interesting to talk to because someday I’d like a job like his. It’s my target right now – get an advanced degree and then start teaching on my own in a university setting. Whether I can do that someday or not – I’m not sure. He was encouraging, but he also said that with the ever-present threat of outsourcing he was starting to wonder how long things will be good for foreign professors at Japanese universities. Some food for thought.
The afternoon flew by, and we finished early so the professor told us that we could go home. He was a really nice guy – he wished us all well personally, and then sent us off. We were happy to leave an hour early – we hurried down to the bus stop and then we said our own goodbyes at the station.
Robert works for the same staffing company that I do, but they still haven’t come up with any new jobs for their employees for the new year. He’s starting to get a little nervous. He needs a job for about six months in Japan before he heads back to Scotland to live permanently. He has been traveling and living all over the world for the past five years, and I think he’s ready to settle down. He’s got a Japanese girlfriend that wants to go back with him, so I do hope that he is able to get back and succeed. He was a really nice guy to work with.
Corey was really happy to finish his career teaching in Japan today, and he’s looking forward to heading back to Victoria, Canada to go to graduate school. Corey really didn’t like teaching, and was really frustrated with the Japanese education system. He wasn’t really utilized very well as an assistant teacher, and that also really frustrated him.
His plan is to leave Japan with his wife in a few weeks, and travel back the long way. He’s going to try to travel from Japan to Canada without using a plane. They’ll be travelling across Siberia on the transcontinental railroad, with plenty of stops along the way. They’ve got some family in China to visit, and then eventually they’ll make their way across Europe, take a boat across the ocean to Canada, and then take trains across Canada back to Victoria. He’s going to blog his adventure – I’m hoping he’s able to keep it up to date while he’s traveling.
After saying goodbye to those guys I stopped in Sannomiya to get some more tortillas, and then I came on back home. Kuniko is meeting some friends for a dinner date that she made before her trip, so I’m not expecting her until late.
Tonight I’m just relaxing. I had some tacos for dinner (big surprise) and now I’m going to do a little bit of studying until Kuniko gets back. Tomorrow I’m back to being unemployed, but I’m so tired right now that it just feels like it’s Friday night.
