Happy Holidays

Well, it's a bit late, but Merry Christmas everyone.

It's been a while since I've updated this blog, no doubt owing to the normality creeping into my life in Japan. In the month and a half that I've remained absent from this blog, a few things have happened.

First, I have put in my papers to recontract for another year. It's hard to believe that 1/3 of my first year here is already finished. While I know a few people that are going back after this year, for me and many other JETs, 1 year is far too short. There's a general consensus that after your first year, you finally start getting the hang of the job.

What else? Winter. I'll say it now, winter sucks here. It's been unseasonably mild here this year, but that still doesn't mean it's not cold. Mostly, it's the lack of insulation in my apartment. While I've managed to take some steps, including foam-tape to stop drafts (or is that draughts...), bubble wrap on the windows (yes, this is an insulating material), it doesn't change the fact that underneath the bamboo tatami mats that cover the floor is bare concrete. This is a heat-sink par excellence, and regardless of what I do, my apartment is back to only a few degrees above outside ambient in about 20 minutes.

So my best friend right now is my kerosene fan heater. While my AC unit does have a heater function, it's just not enough to heat the room. The kerosene heater on the other hand warms the room nicely, and quickly. After all, it's using a fan to blow air over an open kerosene gas flame.

It's not without it's down side though. As this is a new model, there's virtually no kerosene odor--just at the start and end, where some kerosene residue is left over. However, it does leech oxygen out of the air, meaning that once an hour, I need to open a window or one of my sliding doors to recycle the air. Also, kerosene is relatively expensive. At about $14 for 18 litres, in the end it ends up being more expensive than if I was running my AC unit. While mileage varies, 1 18-litre gas container generally lasts me about a week.

School, of course is great as always. While it took a while, my students are really warming up to me. It's odd, cause I'm always waving at someone at school. While my students now that I speak Japanese, I only really use it with my 2nd and 3rd years, and then usually only outside of class.

While school was fairly busy, especially during the exam period, my last week there was deadly boring. Of course, the 18th marked the official end of the term, but the kids still have class, until the 28th. While it's only in the morning, it still means that winter holidays for them is only about 6 days long. How does this affect me? It doesn't. I don't have classes scheduled during this time, but I still have to go into work, unless I take vacation time (which I have). No lessons, nothing that needs planning. Filling a chair for 8 hours a day with out any work duties is BORING. While the 19th was a hectic and long day planning and executing the English club Christmas party, the rest of the time was filled with creative writing, reading, solitaire on my laptop, defragging my laptop, and drinking many cups of coffee. Personally, I can't wait to get back in January.

Well, that's about it for me for now. So to all my friends and family, Merry Christmas and I wish you all the best in the New Year.