This will be the last weekend where I don't have much planned for the next month. Next weekend, I will be going down to Kumagaya, where I first taught English as a Second Language. Coming back with me will be a friend and fellow colleague who worked with me in Kumagaya, and we will do some hiking around Niigata. The following weekend, a Japanese friend of mine from Takasaki now Isesaki, Gunma will visit me and we will explore the local festivals in the area. The weekend after that I will be heading to Takasaki, where I used to live with Jenevieve for 2 years. I hope to stop by all our old haunts.
Last night I played some volleyball with many students while many of my colleagues watched. I was fortunate to be on the winning team twice. It was great to be playing volleyball again, since I haven't played for such a long time. The last time was the summer before Autumn was born in La Crosse, but we were playing 4 against 4 with a beach ball. I think the last time I played a real game of volleyball was when we were intramural champions at Beloit College way back in 1997.
This morning, I took a quick and breezy downhill bike ride downtown. There wasn't much to do. I didn't need to take the train of go grocery shopping. I just had breakfast, so there was no need to eat. Because I felt the temperature rising, I decided to bike back home. It took twice as long as it was uphill and didn't have as nice as a breeze. Perhaps I'll take the free shuttle downtown next time. My mountain bike is meant for rural sightseeing I guess.
Once I got into the daily routine of teaching classes and planning lessons, I began to enjoy life here much more. I feel like I have returned to my element, and that's what I thought when I returned to being a student. There isn't much I can get out of being a student in my discipline any more, but I'm not saying there's nothing to learn any more. I can learn just as much teaching in environments like the one I am in now. It's definitely not a repeat of my previous teaching experience in Japan.
Perhaps I'm feeling a bit escapist, but it's nice to get away from the turmoil of American politics and the American economy. There's nothing but bad news, but I guess I could say the same for Japanese politics and its economy. I don't feel like an escapist from my family because I miss them very much, but I get to see them nearly every day. Coming here makes me rethink where to settle down. It's probably going to be in the United States, but when I have enjoyable times like this week, I feel like I wouldn't mind living and working in a relatively stable country like Japan. Watching the news, it seems like most of the securities of living in the United States are on the chopping block.
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