For the last week we have been on vacation from the dojo due to the Japanese holiday of Obon, which has to do with honoring the spirits of dead ancestors. On Wednesday I decided I'd better go to the immigration office to extend my Tourist Visa which was scheduled to expire the following day. I didn't anticipate any difficulty with this, as I was armed with an official-looking document that the dojo produced on my behalf, and Bryn had extended his Visa with no problem about a month earlier. To my shock and horror, they refused to extend my Visa, and suddenly I found myself only one day away from being on the wrong side of the law! Completely unprepared for this and with very little cash readily available, the only course Bryn and I could devise was for me to borrow all the money he had so that I could take a 14 hour bus ride down to the southern tip of Japan, where I would catch a hydrofoil over to Korea and back again. Luckily, my mom was able to wire me enough money so that I could afford a plane ticket, and the next thing I knew, I was wandering the grim lanes of suburban Incheon, looking for a place to eat:
I was repeatedly reminded of my friend Christian's telling rap video chronicling the recreational options available near the English language theme park where he worked for two years when he was in country:
Believe me, kickin' it in Incheon was a considerably more limited prospect.
At any rate, I have safely made my way back to Japan and have some new employment prospects that will hopefully ease the financial blow. I have to say that fellow Senshusei James came through in a big way for me, arranging a meeting with a woman who runs an independent business with clients interested in practicing English conversation. We have already reached an agreement where I will be teaching 2 90-minute sessions per week, with 5 students per class, and the possibility of adding more classes if the arrangement flourishes.
Here's a picture of me with the sister of one of my private clients. As you can see, the tone of my lessons is rather casual in some cases:
Well, tomorrow it's back to the dojo and back to the real work!
No comments:
Post a Comment