Weight Training

I went to Okayama Prefecture to meet my friend and to workout with him.
After picking him up at a station, we went to a public gym in Kasaoka City inside Okayama.
Since some event for kids and parents was held in the same facility, there were a lot of families.
The gym was not that crowded, though.
After changing clothes, we did weight training for two hours.
He knows many kinds of exercises using dumbbells, so I followed his instructions.
After the workout, we went to a restaurant and café to refill our energy.
I have sore in my shoulders and chests.
I can’t wait to do training with him next time.

Exams to Become a Teacher

I am going to take an exam next July to become a teacher at a public junior high school.
You can work at school as a fixed-term contract teacher without taking the exam.
But once you pass it, you won’t be fired unless something bad happens and you can get a better salary and benefits.
My current job is for one-year and I cannot get a bonus.
Although the workload of the permanent teachers is much more than I have now, you don’t need to worry about income and losing a job.
The exams will be held in each prefecture and as long as the exam days are not overlapping, you can take any of the exams for free.
I will use this ten-day vacation to prepare for the exams. 
After the exams, I am planning to go somewhere for a vacation.

Ferris Wheel

I rode on a Ferris wheel yesterday.
It was on the rooftop at a book store in Takamatsu City.
I went there to buy some books, but the shop clerk gave me a free ticket for the attraction which would be supposed to stop its operation within a few weeks.
The ride looked very old and not that big compared with ones in large amusement parks.
However, since it was installed on the rooftop, the view from the top was very good to see around the city.
I don’t know why there is a Ferris wheel at a book store, but I enjoyed great views and ride.

Field Trip

We had a field trip yesterday and visited a nursing home and a park.
It took only twenty minutes to get on foot.
At the nursing home, we had a look around its facilities and communicated with the residents.
According to the staff, there are eighty residents and the average age is about ninety years old.
The students tried to talk with them but sometimes it was difficult because some of them were having difficulties of hearing.
I learned that you should do the things what you want before you get old.
After leaving the place, we went to a park to have lunch and to play around.
By the way, today is the beginning of ten-day off.
I want to do what I couldn’t do during regular weeks.

Routine

I always wonder why time passes so fast after work.
While working, I feel the time passes slowly.
I am changing my routines after work to find a better way that suits me.
One day I went to the gym at 4 a.m. before work, but I realized that it's difficult to continue the early workout because I cannot sleep well.
It's more reasonable to go to the gym after work, eat dinner at home, have a short nap in the evening, and then study at a café till midnight.
There is Starbucks near my apartment which is open till midnight.
I need to prepare for an exam to become a homeroom teacher eventually.
The exam is going to be held in July, so I will continue this routine to have time to study as often as possible.

Earthquakes in the Philippines

I read a news article about the earthquakes in the Philippines.
A person or anyone would feel scary if strong earthquake tremors occur many times within a couple of days.
There were already casualties due to the earthquake.
Japan has been known to have frequent strong earthquakes so we have been trained to prepare for them by evacuation drills and by each preparing an earthquake kit bag containing, food, water, first aid kit, flashlight and whistle.
But then, even if we have prepared ourselves through drills and the kit, we still feel anxiety everyday.
It is fortunate that there was no tunami alert or no tsunami has happened.
In 2018, typhoons and earthquakes in Japan caused a stoppage on airport operation in Kansai, planes, trains and ship travels.
I pray that such disasters won't happen again and I learned the value of being prepared all the time.

English Lessons

I saw an English class held by two Japanese teachers.
One is a homeroom teacher and the other one is an English teacher.
The female English teacher runs her own English school outside school and she comes to teach English only two days a week.
Her role is conducting lessons so she can leave school after finishing the lessons.
That is my dream job because I can focus on English and can use the rest of time to study English for myself.
I asked her how to get the job.
According to her, the job is not available in public.
She has a connection with a person who oversees human resources of elementary schools of this prefecture.
She will kindly ask the person if there is a job vacancy for myself.
I am looking forward to meeting her and asking about the result.

Exams to Be A Teacher

I went to see my best friend in Toyama Prefecture over the weekend.

He already got married and has a boy.

I am still single and I don’t have a girlfriend and a well-paid job.

By the way, I work as an assistant teacher now and the salary and benefit are worse than the main teachers.

They are much busier but they don’t need to worry about income.

To be a main teacher, you need to pass an exam.

I hadn’t felt to be a main teacher because of the workload, but my friend recommend me to study for the exam and to be a main teacher to get a peace of mind regardless the workload.

The exam will be held by each prefecture in July.

As long as the exam dates are not overlapped, you can take exams in any prefectures.

I will study for the exam to get a stable job.

Preparation for Exams

I can’t wait for the ten-day vacation.

It will start this Saturday.

Though I don’t have any plans for traveling, I will be able to use enough time to prepare for exams to become a teacher which is going to be held this summer.

After talking with my friend yesterday, first of all, I need to get a peace of mind regardless the amount of workload of future jobs.

Once I get a better-paid job, I may have confidence for myself and make good relationships with people.

These two months are time to prepare for exams.

I will start it after job this evening.

Snow Scenery

My friend and I visited famous sightseeing sopts in Kurobe Tateyama Alpine.
We got up at 4 a.m. and caught the first train to reach the destination.
The snow wall was 16 meters tall and at above 2,000 meters Sea Level.
We walked around more than three hours.
As time went by, more and more tourists flocked the spots.
I heard many languages but most of the foreigners were Chinese.
I felt again that being able to speak Chinese would be a big advantage in communication.
I am heading back to my home by train.
It would take about six hours.
I really experienced many fun things with my friend.
These two days baceme a good change to restart my study.

Snow Mountain

I am ready for the travel to Toyama Prefecture.

My best friend lives there and kindly invited me to go see snow mountains.

We are going to visit Tateyama to see a famous snow wall.

The mountainous areas are very cold and have a lot of snow even in spring.

It is very a famous sightseeing spot, so many people will come to see the place.

I will go to Toyama today by train and will play tennis in the evening.

Tomorrow, we will hike the mountain using several public transportation.

I am looking forward to meeting my friend and having fun activities.

Workload

I used to work as an assistant teacher at a junior high the previous school year.

This year, I work as an assistant teacher at an elementary school.

Honestly, my current job is more easygoing than the previous one.

The biggest difference of my job is if I am in charge of a certain classroom or not.

At the junior high school, I supported a homeroom teacher as a sub-teacher in his homeroom.

However, I don’t need to do that this year, so I can focus on preparing the classes without doing tasks to run a homeroom.

I will study harder after work by saving energy during work.

Skills

When you think about to win, you need to have a specific skill which others don’t.

You can say the same thing in business.

People pay money because of its advanced skills and techniques.

You don’t use money for ordinary services.

What I can do now is just to speak English.

Being able to speak foreign languages is useful to communicate with other nationalities, but you need to have one more outstanding skill to be a valued person.

Currently, I don’t have an aim in my life.

I just go to school and do my jobs.

I need to see and read many more things to have my new goal.

Workout In Early Morning

I became a member of Anytime Fitness, a gym which opens 24/7.
Last week, the gym opened near my apartment where it takes ten minutes by car.
Doing workout before working is one of my wishes, so I can make it come true thanks to the gym.
This morning, I got up at 3 a.m. and went to the gym at half past four.
There were some gym enthusiasts already regardless in the early morning.
Five minutes ago, I came back home and I am going to eat another breakfast.
I am sleepy already after the workout.
I will change my lifestyle little by little to maximize my limited free time besides work.

Quote of Mr. Trump

We have ten-day off in two weeks.
Donald Trump said “If you want to get a vacation, you are not in the right business.”
I can’t wait for my vacation, so based on his idea, the place where I'm working at right now may not be the right one for me.
When I look back at my previous works, they were very short.
I left a company after working for two years and also left a junior high school after one year.
I will never continue with my current job next school year.
As long as I am employed by someone, I cannot be satisfied with my life.
I will use my time outside the working hours to prepare for the launching of my own business next year.

Roles of School

I started to work for an elementary school since this month.
An annual Parent Teacher Association conference was held last Saturday.
Most of the parents came to school and the principal explained the guidelines of this school year.
I was looking on the parents’ faces and was thinking about what the parents expect for school.
What should I do to fulfill their requirements in English lessons?
Well, my conclusion is to tell the students how fun to use English is and to teach technical skills about English. 
For example, pronunciation and grammar.
I will study about English more and amuse the students with English.

Conversation

I want to be fluent in talking because I have difficulties expressing myself when I'm part of a group.
Yesterday, our tennis team members dined out together at a Taiwanese restaurant.
Nine members including myself came to the dinner.
I was the youngest among them and the other members are in their 40s, 50s and 70s.
Some of them talked about their younger days so I couldn’t follow their conversation at all.
They are much older than I am, so I couldn’t speak naturally so I just talked to my friends who are around my age.
But in order to enjoy talking with many people, I need to have more experience to talking with people who are not my age.

Open Day

Our school is going to have an Open Day today.
Since I am an assistant teacher, I don’t conduct any lessons in front of the parents.
It is Saturday today, so many parents will be coming to see a lesson and to hear a lecture about the Parent Teacher Association.
Saturdays usually don’t have lessons, so the next Monday will be a day-off instead of today.
This is my second week after starting to work for this school.
I still don’t get used to the new school and don’t memorize most of the student names.
But, I am looking forward to seeing how the students' behavior will change in front of their parents.

Principal

I started to work for an elementary school since this month.
I think the principal is a skillful person because he gets things done very efficiently.
Also he leaves school right after the regular business hours.
In Japan, it’s common to work overtime and the bosses stay until late night.
However, the principal leaves school at around 4:30 p.m..
Some teachers might think that it’s rude to leave school early unless many other teachers are still doing something.
But, I think we should finish our tasks within business hours, so his behavior motivates me to do things faster.
I want to gain more experiences to get used to the school activities and get things done efficiently.

Reality

Ten days have passed since I started to work for the current school.

I don’t really like the job, because there are many tasks to do besides teaching English.

When I took an interview, the interviewer said “your main job will be teaching English.”

But in reality, it is only a few percent of my job, and the rest of the job are preparing for other subjects.

If possible, I want to quit the job as soon as possible, because I feel that I am getting stupid.

I want to do something which requires me to think and to use English.

Business Hour

I worked overtime until around 8:00 p.m. yesterday.
It’s impossible to complete all the tasks within the regular business hour.
This week is my second week to work at the school, so I still don’t get used to the environment.
As I figure out my job, I can finish my tasks more quickly.
4:30 p.m. is the end of the regular business hour.
After work, I want to read books more and to make my own blog about book reviews.
In order to achieve my ideal lifestyle, I will get my tasks done as soon as possible.
I will leave school right after the business hour today.

New Students

Yesterday was the first day for me to meet the students of the elementary school.
There are about 660 students in total.
I am going to handle fifth and sixth graders.
They put on their own name tags on their jackets, but it will take time to memorize all of their names because of the large number.
Classes start today and I will join the classes as an assistant teacher of Mathematics and English.
I am very nervous because I still don’t figure out how to talk with the kids.
I hope to get used to the new environment as soon as possible.

New School Year

I started to work for an elementary school this month.
Today is the beginning of the school year 2019-2020.
In Japan, schools usually start in April and end in March.
This is my first time to work at an elementary school, so I feel anxious if I can communicate with the kids naturally.
Opening Ceremony is going to be held this morning.
There are about 660 students in our school in total from 1st to 6th graders.
I will be working as an assistant teacher not a main teacher, but according to the principal, I may mainly handle English lessons for 6th graders.
I will prepare enough to conduct lessons which are meaningful for students.

Haircut

I had a haircut yesterday at a barber shop in Takamatsu City.
It has been seven years since I went there last.
The owner is very good at cutting hair so I hoped to have my hair cut there every time.
However, because of my job and place of residence, going to the shop was impossible.
I started to work for a school in Takamatsu this month.
That’s why I could go to the shop again.
I am really satisfied after having my hair cut with the owner.
It is difficult to make a reservation at the shop because of its popularity.
I will call in advance to get a seat for my next haircut.

Working in An Elementary School

I started to work for an elementary school since Monday.
The junior high school I used to work for and this elementary school are not so far so I didn’t need to move.
Like the previous school, I will be working as an assistant teacher.
The main teachers will conduct the lessons and I will support some students who cannot follow the lessons.
I am in charge of mathematics and English for fifth and sixth graders.
The students will come to school starting April 8th, Monday.
I feel anxious because I am not sure if I can talk to the kids naturally.
This school year will be a good opportunity to have new experiences in my life.

New Gym

A gym called “Anytime Fitness” which is open 24/7 and is near my apartment will be available on April 11th.
I already enrolled for the gym membership because you can get a discount if you did it earlier than the opening day.
Doing exercise before leaving for work was my desire so I was happy when I knew that the gym would be open at that time.
Currently, I go to another gym after work.
But by doing it before my job, I can use my after-work hours for reading books.
Also, it is good for my health to wake up earlier and workout every morning.
I am looking forward to using the gym on the 11th.

YouTuber From the Philippines

My Pilipino friend introduced me a famous YouTuber, Robato Viewz.
According to my friend, he is famous in the country and he is gay.
I checked some of his videos about making comments on a celebrity woman and sharing about his experiences in Japan.
I don’t really like his videos because they are not very fun for me.
Additionally, his videos are very long.
The length discourages me to watch from the beginning to the end.
But this is the fact that there are more than 30,000 thousand subscribers on his channel.
After watching his videos, I was intrigued to make my own videos.
I will try to make my original video this weekend.

Day Two at School

Yesterday was Day Two since I started to work for a new elementary school.
To be honest, I was not required to think something at all.
All I had to do were to organize documents, write down numbers on papers, and clean up a classroom.
In the future, I want to have a job which requires me to think a lot and a job that can control the work time as I hope.
Working from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. is very long for me.
I don’t have any specific skills which enables me to start my own business, so I have to work under such a regulation.
After brushing my skills for this school year, I want to start up some business to make use of my limited time.

Working at A New School

Yesterday was the first day for me to work in an elementary school in Takamatsu City.
For one year I worked in junior high school but decided to change to an elementary school.
The male and female ratios are almost the same, but in elementary schools, there are more female teachers.
The students will be coming to school starting next Monday.
So this week is allocated for preparation of lessons.
It won't be so busy for the rest of the week including today. 
I will study English and learn about the school by reading its guidelines.
I hope to adjust to the new environment as soon as possible.

New School

Today, I will start my new job as an assistant teacher at an elementary school in Takamatsu City.
I am not nervous at all because the students will come to school starting from next Monday, April 8th.
I used to work for a junior high school for a year.
A year ago, when I started to work for my previous school, I was very nervous because everything was new to me.
I gained a lot of experiences during my one year stay at Ayauta Junior High School and it adjsuted me to the school life.
Today, some teacher is supposed to meet me and give the details of my job.
After work, I will meet up with a real estate officer to look for a room near the school.
I hope to make a good start for the school year 2019-2020.