March

1. It’s March 26th, one day away from the one year anniversary of my arrival in Japan. I’ve been thinking about that a lot over the last couple of weeks, thinking about all the things I’ve had to learn and adapt to. And all the things that I do now that I never thought I could do as well. I never thought I would like teaching, but I’m enjoying teaching immensely. I never thought I was any good with languages (well, I’m not, but that’s through lack of study rather than lack of talent), but I have picked up a bit of Japanese, and I’ve been remembering a lot of Cantonese as well. And who would’ve thought I’d even like the kids classes? I imagine a few of my friends have just fallen off their seats. Yep, I do fine with kids these days — a few even like me.

2. (One 3 year old likes me so much that her mum once asked me if I was her dad. Her mum! Mothers should not make those kinds of jokes. It’s just not cricket.)

3. (And speaking of cricket, we’ve been playing a few games of corridor cricket, one of the benefits of working with a Brit. If anyone wants to send me an inflatable cricket set, I’ll love you forever…)

4. Some things won’t change though; I completely forgot to renew my work visa, so I will have to do that today. That wouldn’t be such a big deal, if not for the fact that my visa runs out tomorrow.

5. I’ve been playing a lot of guitar right now, building my chops and my ears by listening and working out different songs. I haven’t enjoyed playing so much for ages now, and I’m looking for people to play with — I’ve already met a bunch of guitarists, bass players, trumpeters, saxophonists and harmonica players, which makes for one hell of a mix. And I’ll be adding guitar teaching to my rotisserie of talents, I’ll start teaching a class next week. Maybe I can turn that into another source of income… extra beer money!

6. Not much more to report for now. I’ve put up more photos on my portfolio site, look for the highlighted entries. I’m planning on spending my Golden Week holidays on a road/train trip to Tokyo with a friend — using the cheapest possible modes of transport and accomodation there and back. I’ll be writing about that, so stay tuned. The first of my Indonesia stories are ready, so I’ll be posting it as soon as I choose the accompanying photos. That rounds out this month, (I can sum up my entire month in less than 500 words. I lead an exciting life) more later.

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