Officially Kids Trained

Hello Everyone,
I’m still plugging away over here in Japan. It seems each day I become a little accustomed to Japan, although I am not sure I will ever fully understand it, right now I am watching a TV show about a chimpanzee and a bulldog. The chimp acts like the bulldogs owner and actually leads him around by leash (strange), but the cherry on top of the strangeness is that the show periodically cuts away to show the audience members crying. Maybe I am missing something due to the language barrier (I sure hope so). Anyway as promised here is a little update as to what I have been up to lately.

As I mentioned in my last post I am now officially “kids trained” this means I now have the skill set (supposedly) to teach groups of kids. First I will give you a gist of what NOVA kids is. At NOVA there are three levels of kids, and all is based on their age, most times it has nothing to do with abilities. There are Kinders (very young – pre 1st grade) Juniors (1st – 3rd) and Seniors (3rd+). Thus far I have only taught Juniors and Seniors. Kids can take lessons in two different ways – in a group (8 kids or smaller) and in a Man to Man (MxM) where it is the teacher and only one kid (I’ve got a story about this for later). The lesson plan runs for one month, the kids come in once a week, so there are four lessons in one unit (one unit = one month) Until today I had not done a group lesson, because it is so close to the end of the month and they wanted me to start with a fresh month, so I had been with the kids the whole time, but today we were short some teachers so I had to step in and do my first group kids lesson. MxM kid’s lessons are much the same as group lessons, but it is one and one, and cost the parents of the child a good chunk of money. So now that you have an idea of the options that kids have I can begin to tell you about some of my classes and other things.

As I mentioned earlier I had training on September 24. I didn’t care for kids training too much. I had to be in Kiryu by 10am, so I had to be at Isesaki station to catch a train by 9am. Then I had training from 10am-6pm. All training consisted of was a guy telling me (and 3 others) what we are supposed to do. No hands on training or anything, so needless to say after about 4 hours of being told what I am supposed to do my brain just sort of shut down, and I could see that all the other guys were struggling to pay attention as well. Needless to say kids training did not do me a whole lot of good, not to say it was not helpful, but it would have been nice to get some hands on training.

Tuesday I headed back to work with kids training under my belt. I worked a normal day on Tuesday, they didn’t want to give me any kid’s classes because it was so close to the end of the month, they just figured I would start at the beginning of Oct. which was fine with me, so Tuesday was quite uneventful.

I expected Wednesday to be the same way. Wednesday is my short day, I don’t go into work until 2:15pm and I am out of there by 6:30pm. When I got to work Wednesday my schedule looked pretty easy, but then out boss realized there were some problems with it, no one is supposed to teach the same student twice in one day, and that is exactly what the schedule had one it. The only change that worked was for me to pick up a MxM kids class, I thought this is the perfect way to get used to the kids type lessons, in a one on one environment with few distractions. My first few lessons went by just fine, then it was time for my first kids lesson, I was a bit nervous. I got all of my stuff ready (flash cards and other “props” to help the kids learn) and headed for the “cubicle” where I was to teach the young boy. When I rounded the corner I saw that he wasn’t there. I felt a moment of disappointment, immediately followed by relief. I hung around for a few minutes and then started to head back to the employee room. On my way back the doors from outside opened and in walked a mother and her child, this must have been the child I was to teach, so headed back to my cubicle.

The child entered the cubicle and I introduced myself and asked him to get out his workbook so I could take a quick look at his homework, this all went fine. Then I busted out the flashcards and started to go through them with him, he made it through about 3 of the 8 when he started to get really quiet, then silent. After a few seconds of silence he put his head down on the table and closed his eyes. I start thinking what I am supposed to do. I keep going on with the lesson, and he is just repeating every word I say without even lifting his head from the desk. His English is very limited and my Japanese even more so, I kept asking him to wakeup (in English) and he would simply repeat it back to me. After about 5 min of this he finally stopped responding altogether. He was completely asleep. I tired gently shaking, but he wouldn’t even move, he was gone, so I sat there in silence for the last 25 minutes of the lesson, strongly fighting the urge to pick him up and shake him. Finally the bells rang and I was free, so I got up and tired to wake the boy, but he wouldn’t budge, and his mother was nowhere to be found. I went and got a coworker and asked him what to do, he tired to wake him as well to no avail. I had another lesson with adults in that same room in about 9min, so our only solution was to drag his chair into a room that would be empty. Finally we found one of his friends and asked him to wake the boy, is friend came and punched him pretty hard and the kid finally woke up. He proceeded to stagger out of the NOVA building (looking like a drunk a little man) I had to do all I could to contain my laughter. So my first lesson with kids was quite interesting. Ever since I started at NOVA I was told that kids were the best part, at this point I was not so sure.
My fears of the kids would be eased soon. Today I had my first group kid’s class, even though it was the end of the month a few instructors were gone today so I had to teach their classes. The classes are pretty fun we get to play games and sing songs. I am still quite new at it, so I am sure that I am not doing it completely right, and am not sure exactly what I am supposed to be teaching these kids each week, or the exact steps that I am supposed to follow, so class is quite interesting. I post more about what the classes actually entail in a later post.

Well now all of you are up to speed on what kids’ training actually is (or at least the amount that I know). Hopefully my next post will contain some more crazy stories about these kids. The weather is starting to turn nice, today it was in the 60’s and not so humid (you all know how I hate humidity). I will try to post again soon. As of right now I have tentative plan to take a train to some mountains next Thursday or Friday, not exactly sure where to go, but I can ask my students, so hopefully I will have pictures to post next time.

Miss everyone back home, and am really wishing I could be watching some American Football right now.
Adam

Hello Again

Hello Everyone,
I know it has been awhile since I have last written, but a lot had been going on over here. If you have been regularly checking my blog you will see that my last post contained some unfortunate news, but I will talk about that more later in my post. First, some good news, or possibly, more interesting news; what I have been up to lately.

As of Saturday (Sept 22) I have put in one full week of work at my home branch at Supermall Isesaki. It has been nice to be working on my own and not have someone peering over my shoulder the entire lesson. This has allowed me to build a better rapport with the students that I am teaching because I am more comfortable and not thinking about what my supervisor is writing about me. The whole process of OJT (on the job training) is a bit unnerving to say the least. Since I have a bit of experience under my belt now let me tell you what it’s like for me at Supermall Isesaki.

My work schedule is as follows: Saturday and Sunday I work from 10:50am – 6:20pm, strange hours, but they fit the forty minute class schedule. On Mondays and Tuesdays I work from 1:20pm – 9:00pm, and on Wednesdays I work from 2:15pm – 6:20pm. On Thursday and Friday I have my two days off of work for the week. In the course of the week I teach 37 lessons, each lasting 40 minutes, so Saturday – Tuesday I teach 8 lessons a day for a total of 32. On Wednesday I teach 5 lessons, which brings me to my total of 37 lessons per week. I’m sure the schedule sounds a little crazy to all of you, but I am slowly getting used, although I do not care for the fact that it is always dark by the time I get home.

A normal day at work consists of 8 lessons, as mentioned above. A lesson lasts 40 minutes, and can have anywhere from 1 to 4 students. I usually begin by making some small talk, asking about their morning/afternoon/weekend to get them in the English mood. Each student has a work book, for a given lesson each student will have the same workbook, and I will have a teachers copy of the workbook, the only difference is that it gives me a few more ideas of what I can do in the course of a lesson. After the warm-up, I will ask them to open their books to a certain lesson (I have chosen the lesson before I entered the room based on a file we keep that documents what lesson each student has done and when they did the lesson). Once they have opened their book the lesson starts, we look at pictures and I ask them simple questions, then I begin to teach them new vocabulary that is listed on the page. After that I model some phrases and do a listening exercise, so they can hear native English. Then we do an activity where they have the change to practice the new vocab they have learned. Finally I have them close their books and do an application where they must use what we have learned without referring to their book (sink or swim time) By the time that is done the bell usually sounds and it’s time to be finished. I ensure they don’t have any other questions, thank them for their time, and hurry back to the employee room. Between classes we usually have 10 or 15 minutes (depending on the time of day, in the evening we have 15), during this time I have to write comments about the last class, decide how the students did, find the files for the next class, choose a lesson for the students, and take a look at the lesson so I have something ready. Needless to say, many times we run out of time and simply go into the lessons and wing it, but it’s not too difficult. So in a normal day I repeat this process 8 times, it can get a bit stressful at time, but we all cope.

As promised I will now address the frustrating things that are going on with NOVA lately. If you have been reading my blog you have probably seen the news article I posted. Apparently NOVA is going through some financial trouble, and have been for some time. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has heavily sanctioned NOVA for false advertising campaigns, basically they were lying to their customers. As a result of this NOVA is not allowed to sign any long-term contracts until December, this means a severe lack of funds. This lack of funds has lead to may pressing issues, the main issue being the fact that many teachers have not been paid. Scheduled payday was Sept. 15 and many people have yet to be paid. This has not directly affected me as my first payday is scheduled to be Oct. 15, but I am a little worried that I may not be paid on time. Another issue that may be even scarier is the fact that many NOVA teachers are being evicted from their housing. NOVA has contracts with the landlords of the housing that we live in, so NOVA directly pays our landlords with money deducted from our paychecks. What this means is that NOVA has not been paying the rent, and has possibly been using the money deducted for rent to pay people, or possibly simply pocketing it as profit. It is quite a frustrating situation to be in. My plan is to see what happens on Oct. 15 and make my decision as to whether I will stay with the company or not. Personally I feel that I will have a hard time working for a company that has such shady ethics, but I am not making any decisions yet. I am truly enjoying Japan and this is simply a frustrating situation. Obviously speculation and rumor is rampant around the NOVA sector these days, but much of what you hear and read must be taken with a grain of salt, thus I am trying my best not to make up my mind as to what I will do before Oct. 15. That said you are all up to date on the current affairs of NOVA. If you would like to read more I will post some news sites that have been reporting on issues NOVA is having, some are based on Japan while others are in Australia and New Zealand.

Well that is about it for my blog this time around, it’s about time for me to go to bed, although I don’t work until 1:20pm tomorrow, I was up early this morning to catch a train to Kiryu, once again, but this time for kids training (I’ll explain in my next post) Even though the above news sounds pretty bad, I have not allowed to affect me, I am still have a good time in Japan, and am still glad I came, even if it doesn’t work out it has been an enriching experience. Miss everyone back home

Adam
As promised here are some links:
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/09/18/1189881510131.html http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/foreign-teachers-face-axe-in-japan/2007/09/21/1189881777745.html http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/hard-lessons-from-teaching-english-in-japan/2006/03/14/1142098460885.html?page=fullpage http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/teachers-unpaid-as-company-falters/2007/09/18/1189881511712.html
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070921/japan_nova_070921/20070922?hub=TopStories
http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=2727 http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070922TDY02008.htm http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070921TDY02003.htm
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070921a1.html

Bad News about NOVA

Hello everyone,
I've been hearing some bad stuff about NOVA, people are not getting paid and I'm hearing some pretty bad stuff, like NOVA may be going under. Just thought I would let all of you know what is going on over here. If any of you hear anything please let me know. I am trying to decide if it is worth staying here and working for a company that may not pay me.

Teachers unpaid as company falters

Justin Norrie in TokyoSeptember 19, 2007
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HUNDREDS of foreign teachers of English in Japan were anxiously awaiting overdue wages from the Nova language school yesterday, amid speculation that the corporate giant was close to collapse.
The country's foreign workers' union said it could "only hedge a guess that up to 3000" English teachers, many of them young Australians, went without pay last Friday and were left waiting nervously over Japan's long weekend for the money.
"But at the very least there are hundreds of them. My phone hasn't stopped," said Louis Carlet, from the National Union of General Workers.
Some teachers said they were owed thousands of dollars, while others posted messages to say they were quitting in disgust. "I've never felt so defeated in my whole life," said a 24-year-old American teacher, Jerry Johnston, who was considering leaving Japan after just two months but could not afford the air ticket.
It is the second time in two months that Nova has paid staff late. A recent slide in the company's stock price followed news of a delay in payments to some of its 2000 Japanese staff last month.
The company employs about 7000 foreigners - more than any other Japanese company. Australians make up the backbone of its 5000-strong teaching staff. The company has more than 400,000 students, accounting for the biggest share of Japan's multibillion-dollar private English teaching industry.
But it has been plunged into financial crisis this year, partly due to overexpansion, but also because the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry banned the company, based in Osaka, from signing new students on long-term contracts for six months.
The order was given after a court ruled that Nova lied about its services and cancellation policy when soliciting students.
The chief executive officer of Nova, Nozomu Sahashi, issued a statement to staff at some branches last Friday to say it had "not been possible to complete all the necessary operations to deposit instructor salaries".
The statement assured that salaries would be deposited by today. But Mr Carlet told the Herald: "I'm getting reports that they have been cut off by their stationery suppliers, and delivery services, because they're not able to pay them. They could be on the verge of going under at any moment. It's very serious."
Nova posted a 2.5 billion yen ($25 million) loss in operating profits for Japan's last financial year, which ended in March. An article in the business magazine Toyo Keizai last month said the company was behind in payments to business partners and banks.
Although some teachers said their wages had arrived yesterday, others were still waiting late in the afternoon.
The manager of Nova's Tokyo branch, Robert Vaughan, could not comment on the matter, and a number provided for media queries at the Osaka headquarters went unanswered yesterday.
A 28-year-old Australian, who works as a teacher at a Nova school outside Tokyo, said: "My pay didn't come in on time and it was the same for a lot of people here."
The teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "No one seems to know what's happening - we're being kept in the dark."

Some Pictures from Tokyo

Some randoms dressed as Power Rangers Zach and I met on the streets of Tokyo

Looking at Mori Tower at night (its right to the right of the light pole with the blue lights on top)

Tokyo subway after work

The Imperial Grounds

A great sign we saw in an electronics store in Tokyo

An amazing shirt we found in a random store

An idea of how high up we were in Mori Tower

Tokyo Tower from Mori Tower

Me, Zach, Andy, and Yogi with Tokyo Tower behind us

Tokyo Trip Part 2

As promised here are the details on the rest of my trip to Tokyo, with some pictures as well.
So after my fun ordeal of trying to find Zach I was able to get some sleep. Zach had another friend staying with him, his name was Andy and he works for MLB and he was doing some scouting in China, but he was just visiting Tokyo, needless to say Zach’s place was a little cramped, but I didn’t care, I was someplace safe and I had a bed for the night.

The next day we were up by about 10am. Zach, Andy, myself, and Yogi (some of you may remember him, he was the Japanese baseball player who stayed with the Reif’s and played for the Riverbats) It was pretty cool to see him again. The first thing we did is go to a huge shopping mall, many of the malls in Tokyo are absolutely gigantic and have everything you could possibly imagine in them, they also have really random liquor stores in many of the malls.
After we walked around the mall we went to get some lunch at Yoshinoya, it is awesome Japanese “fast food” type place, although the food is much healthier than American fast food. I was able to get a great meal for less than $5. Then we walked a little further and hoped on the subway, which in Tokyo is an amazing, intricate system.

Next we did one of the more amazing things on the whole visit, we went to Roppongi Hills. Roppongi hills has an amazing building, the Mori building has 54 floors and is about 780ft tall. For $18 we were able to go up to the top floor and have a panoramic view of Tokyo, go to an aquarium, and see an art gallery. We spent a lot of time in Roppongi and at Mori Tower, which was awesome (if you type Mori Tower into google you will see what I am talking about)
After Roppongi we walked around Tokyo some more, we went to a part of the city where people dress very eccentrically, which in Tokyo is very out of the ordinary, things are very black and white, and quite plain, but this area has a ton of people who dress up really crazy. The area has many cool shops, and it is great to people watch. Then we headed back to Zach’s place to take a little rest.

After that Zach took me a place called the Ninja, which words cannot explain, it is a place that you must see to understand what it is like, waiters are dressed like ninjas, and each room where you eat is like a secret corridor, pretty awesome.

After seeing the Ninja we got on the subway and made our way towards Tokyo Bay, by now it was dark, and the lights of the city were coming on. At Tokyo Bay for 2,500 yen ($25) we could get on a huge booze cruise ship. It was all you can drink on a ship that goes around Tokyo Bay, and gives a great view of the city. This was on Thursday night, so as we pushed away from shore I looked at Zach and said here to all you can drink 6,000 miles from Sals. The ship was awesome, so many people came up to us and tired to practice their English. One guy asked me where I was from, I said Minnesota and he immediately yelled Minnesota Twins, it was great, Zach and I were like celebrities, everyone wanted pictures with “the Americans”. Anyone who comes to visit has to go on the booze cruise, the atmosphere and the view are like nothing else. After that Zach and I began to make our way home, but we decided to stop at a small bar on the way home. Then the night got interesting, we met a guy who had a wife in Minnesota, and Zach began to take Tequila shots, I was able to pretend I was taking them, barring myself the embarrassment of throwing up right away. By the time we left Zach was pretty drunk, and it was time to find our way home, which happened seamlessly, and without incident.

The next day, Zach and I woke up both feeling a little hung-over, we ate some breakfast, and headed out for the day. The second day we went all over the city, to some areas that were extremely expensive, and to an area where they sell tons of electronics. Then we went to the Imperial Palace, and looked at where the Emperor lives, which was awesome. Finally I was able to see where Zach works, and meet some of his coworkers.

After we got back home, we made some supper (fried rice/w chicken) which was quite good. Then we went back to Ginza (the really expensive district) to see it all lit up at night, walking on the street it was almost as if it were daytime. It was really cool to see that area at night. Then it was time for me to head to Tokyo Metro Station and make my way back to Isesaki.

I had my first day of work today (September 15) in Supermall Isesaki. It was nice to be able to develop my own style of teaching, and not have someone looking over my shoulder the entire time, it made me much more relaxed and me lessons seemed to go much better. I am sure as time goes one and I get to know the people I am teaching it will continue to get easier. I will keep everyone updated on how work is going, and if I seem to make any progress in these peoples English.
Take care,
Adam

Tokyo Trip Part 1

Hello everyone , I am currently on a Shinkansen (bullet train) on my way home from Tokyo. Shinkansens are pretty cool, it takes me about 50mi to go quite far because they are able to travel so rapidly. A ticket from Takasaki (about a 20 minute train ride from Isesaki is around 4,200 yen (or $40 dollars) so well worth the money. It is nice to know that a familiar face in Zach is only about an hour and a half away.

My time in Tokyo with Zach was absolutely amazing. I left Kiyru (near Isesaki and where I did my OJT for NOVA) at about 9:10pm on Wednesday night, and by 11:15 or so I was in Tokyo. Once I arrived in Tokyo my journey began to get much more interesting. I was in Tokyo, but I was completely lost, once I got off the Shinkansen I was supposed to call Zach and let him know where I was, but when I tried to call him the number I entered didn’t work, so I tried to call Sam, to see if I had the correct number, but she was in class and was not able to answer her phone. Little did we know at the time I only needed to add a zero to the front of the number and I would have been talking to him.

So I’m in a strange, huge city, I don’t speak the language and I can’t read anything. I was determined to find the subway myself, so I wander around Tokyo station (which is one of the biggest stations in Japan) without a clue of where I should be going) for about an hour in search of the subway. After having no luck, I finally ask where the subway is, and they tell me to go outside and down some stairs, so I do. Finally I have found the subway, but now I have no idea where the line I needed to get on is, I only see one line, so I ask and they tell me I needed to ride the red line to get to the orange line, I do. Finally I arrive at Aoyama-itchome (the stop that is closest o Zach’s) I think I am out of the woods and maybe Zach will be waiting for me here, so such luck, I figure I better try and give him a call. I reach for my notebook where I had written Zach’s number down, it’s gone, I must have left it at an information desk when I asked for help.
So now I am really screwed. I don’t know Z’s address or his phone number. A attempt to talk to a person who works at the subway station, which by now has begun to shut down, the cars are no longer running and there are people around. While this guy and I are struggling to communicate my savior shows up, unfortunately its not Zach, but a man who speaks English very well. He says you look like you need help, and I say you don’t even know. I explain my situation to him and he and I start trying to come up with solutions.
First we try and go to the police station to ask them, but since Zach only has a cell phone they have no way of knowing what his number is. I tell him that I have a laptop and this if I can get internet access I can lookup Zach’s number, so he walks me down to a very nice hotel to ask if I can get internet access. The man at the hotel directs us to a FedEx Kinko’s that is about a 10min walk away. So he brings me to Kinko’s and they say it cost 210 ($2) yen for 10min. I say I will happily pay that amount, so I sit at the computer and look up Zach’s phone number, once I’ve got it I’m ready to go, so I go to the counter to pay, and they say the man I met has paid for it, and I’m shocked, this would never happen in America. So I get the number, and show it to the man who is helping me, and he looks very puzzled, he says this is not a Japanese phone number, it’s the wrong format, but we try it anyway, to no avail. We try the number a host of different ways, then the guy recommends that we call an international operator, and she is able to give me the number in the right format. As I said earlier all I had to do was add a zero to the front and could have averted this whole mess.

Finally I am able to get a hold of Zach, it is now about 1:45am, mind you this guy as been helping me out for nearly and hour and a half now. So I call Zach, and he is not completely sure where I am, so he asks me to stay on the phone with him and give him landmarks around me. The whole time I am talking to Zach this guys is giving 100 yen ($1) coins to keep the phone conversation going , each time I try and use my own money he will not let me, this is the nicest guy I have ever met. He was with me nearly two hours while I tried to find Zach, and when I finally found him, I tried to pay him back, he refused and he was on his way, without him I may still have been wandering the streets of Tokyo.

Well it is nearly time for me to get of the Shinkansen at Takasaki, then its about another 30-40min to Isesaki, and then about a 30min walk from the train station to my house. I’ve got a lot more to say about Tokyo, and many awesome pictures to post. We were constantly going for two days straight, as Sam knows because it was impossible to set up a time for us to talk to each other. After I get my first goodnights sleep in two days I will be ready to write more tomorrow and post my pictures.
Sayonara,
Adam

My House in Japan

My sweet ride and My house in Isesaki

The Common Room and The Kitchen

My Bedroom and The HUGE Shower

First Post

Hello Everyone
Thanks for checking out my blog. I have been in Japan about a week now, and am slowly starting to get the hang of how things work around here. I seem to be getting lost much less frequently, and am even starting to pick up a very minimal amount of Japanese (Yes, No, Thank You, Beer, Excuse Me). The first few days were pretty hard here, I was having a hard time adjusting, and the fact that I didn’t have much to do and that gave me a lot of time to think about home and how much I missed everyone and the familiarity of home. Sam and I have been talking each day via our webcams, being able to speak with her and see a friendly face has been a lifesaver during this first week.

My flat mates name is Jim, he is from Australia. He has been instrumental in helping me assimilate to the Japanese culture. He arrived in the middle of July, so it was nice that he had a handle on how to get around and what I needed to do to ensure that I didn’t get kicked out of Japan. He has been able to introduce me to some people who have already been here for a while, and I have been sapping every bit of information I can possibly get from them.
The last two days I have been doing On the Job Training (OJT) in a Kiryu, I have been riding the train each day, because I live in Isesaki, which is about 150 miles Northwest of Tokyo, and Kiryu is another 20 min train ride North from Isesaki. Kiryu is a beautiful city nestled right at the foot of the mountains, so the train ride each afternoon has been a treat. As far as Isesaki goes I would compare it to St. Cloud, although it is quite a bit bigger, but it seems to have two main roads much like St. Cloud, but four times the population. The weather has been quite miserable; it is the typhoon season, so it has been really rainy and extremely humid, The 7 days I have been here the temperature has been about 85 degrees, but the humidity makes it feel like 100 degrees each day, in fact a few of the days the humidity has been at 100%. Speaking of Typhoons the first day I was here we were in a typhoon, it rained for nearly a day straight (and hard) I would bet we got about 5inches of rain or more, plus it was extremely windy. When I was trying to sleep I swear the wind was moving the house. As far as I know it is supposed to start to cool down as September wears on, and it is said that autumn is the most beautiful season in Japan.

As far as OJT goes, I have been working with a woman who has taught at NOVA for seven years now. OJT has basically been a trial by fire. I sat in on one lesson and observed her, and then by the next class I was already teaching. Today I taught my first two full lessons (40 min each). The classes are very small, never more than 4 people, and quite often one on one, or only two people. From what I understand Kiryu is much less busy than Isesaki, so I plan on having full classes each day.

As far as my plans for the near future go, I finish my OJT tomorrow at 9pm and then I have plans to catch a train to Tokyo (I am not sure how it works, but I have hoping to ride a bullet train) to see Zach Reif. It will be really nice to see a friendly face, and I am sure Zach is excited to show me what he has learned about Tokyo. I know that his girlfriend Britt is coming up soon as well, but since I have to work Saturday morning, I am not sure that we will be able to see each other, but I don’t plan on this being my only trip to Tokyo, and I am sure they will come see me in Isesaki at some point.
Well that’s all for now, in the near future be ready for me to post some pictures of my house, as well as, stories from my trip to Tokyo.

Miss everyone back home – Adam