Well hi! This post is coming to you live from steamy, humid, scorching Japan. Seriously, this country should be illegal in the summer. And I'm trying to be real respectful of local customs, but it's getting a bit much to not be allowed to wear tank tops or anything above the bottom of my knees when AC seems to be 'optional' (ie. NONE) in so many places, including schools. I have retreated to the air-conditioned cave that is my house, and while I wish I didn't have to come out until October.... there's work to do! The kids are back in school and I'm finally at work and teaching. (Should probably be "teaching" because I don't really know what I'm doing yet.) So far it's going really well and the kids are super enthusiastic. I am a veritable celebrity in the elementary schools - when I walk down the hallway I have a gaggle of tiny groupies begging "high five please Rika-sensei" and screaming "HERRRROOOOOOOOOO" every single time they see me. I love it. The junior high kids pretty much couldn't give two fucks, but there's a few kids who are super into English who are eager to chat with me outside of class. In class, it's like trying to get blood from a stone to get the kids to talk. Hopefully they'll warm up a bit but from the sounds of the senior ALTs, I shouldn't hold my breath.
I need a few more weeks to settle into the rhythm of all my schools that I visit, but for now here's a roundup of the last whirlwind month. I can't believe I've only been here since August 1st - we've done SO much stuff and it feels like a lot longer!
Let's get on to the roundup...
1. My most popular photo on Instagram:
This one of me and my car, Pandora (cause she's box...get it?) was pretty popular. These tiny cars are hilarious. Also, this photo is a great example of the attire I'm expected to wear in +37C/98F weather with 100% humidity. I. Have. Been. Dying.
With all my new and exciting Japan photos, my Instagram was full of 'likes' this month! Thanks for the love everyone and for sharing in my excitement about this weird and wonderful place.
Note: my personal policy is that Instagram is a give and take platform. My profile is private and if you don't have any photos on yours, I won't accept your request, sorry! There's just too many scam/spam profiles out there, so I don't accept anyone who doesn't look like a legit user.
2. In case you missed it:
I did squeak out a few while I was settling in! I'm going to give myself a little pat on the back as I feel like this was quite the accomplishment between setting up my life here, finishing my TESOL program, preparing my first self-introduction lesson for schools, and oh, not having any fucking internet at home for the two weeks. There were a couple full of musings, and a fun one about festivals.
Not bad!
I also had another post published in my collaboration with AirTransat. It's about The Best Diving and Snorkeling Spots Around the World. Made me miss being in the water!
Well Zao Fox Village in Miyagi here in Japan is a thing. I can't tell if a village of foxes is the most adorable thing ever or the most terrifying. Either way, I'm going.
That's it - month 49 is in the books!
You can see all the previous roundups here. Cheers!
Guys, make sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter ... there's lots of extras posted there that don't make it onto the blog. I also have Google+ if anyone even uses that? And I'm on Bloglovin', so you can follow me there too! Plus it makes me try to post more than once a month. So there's that.