Stoat - Where?

Done And Dusted

And just like that, my two year teaching ‘career’ has come to an end. It’s hard to put my feelings into words as they alternate rapidly between the joy of revelling in new-found free time and a kind of emptiness, which I didn’t really expect. I guess suddenly stopping anything after a long time is bound to leave a hole, but I still didn’t anticipate it fully. To mitigate the effects, and mindful that I’m leaving soon, I’m doing my best to see as many people and places as possible before I go. In terms of places, I’ll probably be staying local as there are lots of places in the area that I still haven’t seen. I would’ve liked to go up to Tokyo, but I have to think about saving money for Singapore and Australia, so I might just use it as an excuse to come back in the future. Other cities like Osaka and Kobe, which I’ve been to, but not explored, will also have to take a back seat, though there’s a chance I might make it down to Universal Studios in Osaka in a couple of weeks.

Teaching has been a really interesting experience and one that I’d highly recommend to anyone thinking of coming out here. When I started, I could barely talk I was so nervous, but it’s amazing what pressure and time can do to you. The thought of standing in front of 15 people no longer worries me, though it will be interesting to see if it’s any different when they can all genuinely speak my language. In any case, it has worked wonders on self-confidence and the ability to explain things as well as teaching me lots of things, both culturally and in terms of language. I would say I’m a lot more patient now and even more tolerant, if that were possible. I’ve certainly dispelled any preconceptions I might have had (though it is true, everbody here can do karate).

Australia is sure to be very different in all aspects of life, but before I get to that, I’m going to make sure I get sorted with Japan first.