Japan Meets Andrew Marston

School is so fun! I have such a cool job. Here’s what a typical day looks like:
Wake up and eat instant ramen for breakfast (I’m working on it mom). I proceed to board a train and then walk about fifteen minutes from the station to my school. I participate in a brief teachers’ meeting every morning in which I simply stand and bow with the rest of the staff then listen as the vice principal elaborates in fluent Japanese on the notes concerning that day. Then I assist in teaching 2 to 4 period of English and the rest of the time I spend having fun creating activities that will be fun to do with the classes. Usually I have more free time than I know what to do with so I study Japanese and walk the halls socializing with the students in their limited English.
Classic convo with a student:
Marston-sensei: Hello
Student: Herro!!!!
Marston-sensei: How are you?
Student: I am fine thank you how are you.
Marston-sensei: Tired. What is your next class?
Student: Okay!! *thumbs up*
Marston-sensei: *double thumbs up*

Evenings consist of studying Japanese in public areas such as food courts and I’m working on finding the local library. I like my apartment, but I know I will get lonely if I don’t get out.

Wakamatsu is very close to a bay, the name of which I am still unclear. It a very friendly area and I enjoy seeing my students on the train or in the supermarket. For those following from my home state Maine, Wakamatsu is like the South Portland of the Greater Portland Area. Middle class, blue collar mostly, with a pride in what they have and a beatiful location.

My Japanese is coming slowly. I study often and retain much, but with several thousand years of heritage, there are many nuances that I am likely never to grasp.

That’s all for now. I am working on some videos from my time in Tokyo earlier this summer as well as a video of my apartment. I’m aiming for this weekend and next week to have those finished. If you can’t wait and want to see videos now, check out my YouTube Channel. Also you can follow my day to day doings on my Twitter Feed.

Okay, so the last week life hit me with more transitions than ever before.

Here some examples:

moving within a foreign country

living completely on my own

living in a foreign country where I communicate less intelligently than anyone old enough to walk

starting a new job

shopping for my own groceries (mad props mom… I never realized how good you did until now)

Thankfully I am now able to connect to the world wide web and am grateful my isolation is somewhat over. I’m not sure I had enough movies on my laptop to last another week without the net.

Here’s the state of the Empire:

I now live in beautiful Kitakyushu

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I am a full time Assistant Language Teacher at two public Japanese high schools

everyday over 100 Japanese say the phrase “Marston Sensei”

I am working very hard to learn the language and stay positive and appreciate the comments that you keep posting.

Story Time: Today was my first day at Wakamatsu High School. I only had to observe my trainer today so the pressure was somewhat off. My only role was to make a good impression to the kids and staff. I wore a nice suit with a sweet purple pin-striped shirt and matching tie. I looked real sharp. When introduced to the staff I was asked to say a few words about myself… in Japanese. Picture a large room full of 40 to 50 professional, seasoned educators. Now picture a 22 year old, over dressed to impress and perhaps the only one with blond hair and blue eyes within several kilometers reciting the following: “Ummm… Herro. I am Andrew Marston. I am from America. Ummmmm. I am from Boston… yes. Ummm…. Ummm… I like running… *running motion with arms and maybe some legs* … and hiking *again with full body motions*… and Japan of hissorty. (meaning “history of Japan”) This is the only interaction I have had with a majority of the teaching staff at Wakamatsu High School. It may be a long year.

I appologize for the recent dearth of new content on this blog. BIG NEWS: I recieved four different job offers from my three interviews. I am relocating to Kitakyushu, Japan which lives up to it’s name (kita=north Kyushu=southern most of Japan’s four main islands).
This means many things.
1) I have been swamped coordinating my cross continental move and sadly neglected this blog.
2) On Wednesday I ride the Shinkansen(bullet train) to The island of KyuShu and begin my life as an Alien Resident of Japan.
3) Several hundred Japanese high schoolers will have said the phrase “Marston Sensei” at least once by the end of next week. It will probably sound something like “Maa-sue-ton Sensei”
I still intend to post pics and video of my camping trip and Kichijioji outing with the Littles. At the moment I have to focus on this transition. I composed this post on my ipod in bed when i really should be asleep so please excuse any misspellings.

Stay tuned.

This the video from when I went to Yokohama last Saturday for my job interview with Geos for Children. I haven’t heard back about the position, but I am really hoping it comes through.

For more of my videos from Japan and elsewhere visit my Youtube page

Also, I just added the “Follow me on Twitter” button to the top of this page in hopes that I can connect you all more.

(Upon rereading this post, I’ve bolded the important topics for those not wanting to wade through my complete discourse)

Since my excursion to Yokohama, I have been unable to leave camp as we are now in the throes of our international camps (basically for native English speakers). What does this mean? Lack of material to post. However, as I go about my day interacting with these “second culture” kids, more and more do I notice small discrepancies between them and their American equivalents. Little things such as attitude toward new foods, perspectives on doing chores, and preference of free time games are slightly different. More on this in another post however as I feel it could easily run dry the waters of this blog. (I’m not sure what that means, but I meant “it would be boring”).

I had the most amazing grilled rice ball with fish flakes of my life. So good, the whole world gets to read about it. I’ve posted a picture of half of it in my hands. I’m next to a man named Kotani Masa. He is the father of one of the staff here and comes about twice a week to volunteer at the camp. His English is very good and we’ve become fast friends as he likes teaching me Japanese. There are many stories already revolving around horrible sentences I’ve constructed in Japanese. But unlike most Japanese, he corrects me and I’ve learned an enormous amount from him in a short amount of time.

Job Search: Today I have officially applied to 15 jobs at www.gainjinpot.com a great online resource for foreigners trying to establish themselves in Nippon (that is, Japan). Also, I just wrote an essay and took an English proficiency test for a program called OWLS. If my GEOS job in Matsumoto doesn’t come through hopefully I’ll be able to assist in the public schools as an Assist Language Teacher (ALT).

On a personal sidenote: this week has been fairly intense on an emotional level. Words to the wise who are planning on leaving everything and everyone they ever knew: it’s rough, but if you want it bad enough, it’s worth it. I want it, so all this separation pain seems collateral damage for the payoff of residing in Japan. It would be nice if my family and friends from home and college could live here with me. Somehow, though, I suspect most of them wouldn’t like the constant intake of rice and fish flavored everything.

Today a lot happened.
So let’s back this tale up to last night at 7pm when I check my e-mail and incredulously discover a non-bulk (as in personal) e-mail from GEOS Language Corp. inviting me to a group interview on the 13th of June, today. After rushing to print my resume and other key items of the professional world, I depart at 9pm for Tachikawa where a I am gladly received by the Loewens (Brad’s parents… Brad from my videos… great). Also, I shaved before I left camp. This wouldn’t be worth mentioning were it not for the fact that I nearly at full-beard status and my only available razor was dull. This left me with me with Brad’s electric face hacker and about 45 minutes of torture.

In the morning I awoke to some most welcome french toast and well wishes from the Loewens. The trains to Yokohama were easy enough to negotiate and in under 90 minutes I found myself at Kamiooka Station with time to spare. I meet the representative from GEOS and the other two interviewees and we walk to our interview location.

I actually stood at this spot today.

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All in all I think I did fairly well considering the time crunch. Toward the end of the interview the interviewer told all three of us that we were “very employable.” This is encouraging for someone seeking employment. The position is in Matsumoto I believe and would be an amazing experience. For those interested in GEOS, I highly recommend them. As far as I can tell they are a very above board operation and really take care of their employees. They already have housing when you arrive, have an insurance package, pay some or all of your transportation to and from teaching and even take out taxes from your pay check as you go. These are benefits that could potentially make my life better.

I really hope to get the job. The other two guys I interviewed with seemed quite capable as well and so hopefully GEOS would offer me another position somewhere else if Matsumoto didn’t work out in my favor. Pictured are the two gentlemen I got to know during the interview. They are hilarious dudes that I had the pleasure of swapping stories with on our joint train ride back to Yokohama station where they departed for Chinatown and I back to Tachikawa. If my memory serves me correctly they are Tom from Indiana and Joe from England. Tom mentioned he had a blog about his Japan experiences which I will post a link to if I get one. Gambatte gentlemen, may the best candidate go to Matsumoto.

Final short story/confession: I literally ran out of money in Tachikawa. I started with 3000 yen and after snacks and trains had only 280 in coin. Presented with the unenviable dilemma of buying a dishonestly cheap ticket back to my home station or begging natives for change, I admit I opted for less morally sound choice and bought a 130yen ticket and a cheap carton of chocolate milk. This lesser fee ticket would usually cause a commotion upon arrival at the station; however, there is no fare adjustment machine or attendant at my station. So 130 yen will pass this time… unless the JR railway admin read my blog and find it worth their time to corner me for their 300 yen.

Took a lot of video, so expect a nice summary video soon. For other videos, my youtube page is here.