All Good Things

Well, nine days. That's it. Nine days and I'll have completed a school year in Japan! Hard to believe, isn't it? A year ago I was racing around DelMarVa getting together a visa, an international driving permit, stuff to bring into my classes to teach Japanese middle schoolers what it means to be from Maryland...and of course freaking out from a complex combination of anxiety and excitement.

And now, a year later, here I am. Limor and I had an onsen day (possibly on the busiest day Hanamaki Spa has ever seen) and we reflected a little on how far we've come. We both speak a fair bit more Japanese than when we arrived and we're both pleased as peaches about being accepted for another contract. And yet, we're both a little sad. Why? Changing contract means a changing of the guard.

Last week I found out a few of my schools are changing. Why? Oh, don't ask me that. Between my company's policies, Japan's teacher budget and the Japanese saving-face strategies, I have no real idea why. All I know is that I won't be going to my two Kitakami schools anymore. Now, the head English teacher at one told me it was something to do with the budget. Another teacher said they'd be getting another ALT. So I don't know the full story, but in Japan, teachers move around like the snowflakes up at Geto. They get little say in how long they stay at one school: some stick around for years, others only a year at a time.

Personally, I don't think it's a real ideal method. I think the idea is that even if the teachers develop a strong relationship with their students, the kids are moving on to the next grade, so they won't exactly miss their first year science teacher, right? But what if that teacher taught a club? The kids stay in their elected club for the remainder of their school career so they'd be crushed to lose a beloved teacher then. And what about the teacher? School teams are tight-knit communities: they go on trips together, have parties, they know just about everything about each other.

Being a nomad is hard. You have to do your best at your job and be wary of getting too attached. If you're asked to move, you have to be willing to up and go. You just do what you can to enjoy what you have while you have it...

...and that is really the basis of Taoist thinking, isn't it?