Delivery Service

I think Japanese shipping services are what you can boast about to foreign countries. We can designate the time of delivery and if I am not at home when a delivery person comes, they will bring the package later. And, I can just call them when I can receive the package again. Before, I had ordered a supplement and because I was not home that time, they left a notification at my mailbox to tell that I was not there when they came here. So when I reached home, I made a call to inform them that they can already deliver the package, and after a few minutes, they came. I was surprised by the speed of the delivery and thanked them for the quick service. At that moment, I realized that living in Japan is comfortable.

New Skills

My favorite Japanese YouTuber told us what to do when you are still young. He earns more than fifty thousand dollars per month through his blog, so his opinion is convincible for me. Programming, learning Chinese language, and doing weight training are the things to do for making money, according to him. I’ve been training my muscles for some years, but I don’t do the other two. So, two days ago, I applied for an online programming school and a Chinese language service via Skype just like hanaso. By continuing these practices, I hope to get a new job and to make more money than I do now.

Family Reunion

I went to Ehime Prefecture to celebrate my father’s 60th birthday this year. My younger brother and I headed to Ehime on the same car from Kagawa Prefecture in the morning. After getting to the house, we, four family members, went to a restaurant to take a lunch. The dish made of fish were very good and we talked while eating them. My father and my brother are both doctors and making a lot of money, but I only earn enough money to survive every day and keep little savings every month. This reunion made me think that I need to study more in order to make more money to have peace in mind.

Trip to Tokyo

I went to Tokyo as a day trip yesterday. I got on the train at 6:00 a.m. and went back home at 1 a.m. of the next day. It was grueling to be kept sitting for four hours for one-way. I met my Nepali friend in Shinagawa. There were his brother and his friend as well. The group was made up with three Nepali and one Japanese, me. We visited Odaiba and Yokohama with the guidance of my friend who lived in Yokohama for a certain period. I enjoyed visiting those places because everything was new to me. I hope to meet with him again in the near future.

Tokushima

I went to Tokushima to take an exam yesterday. After taking the group oral exam, I went to the gym and went to my friend's house. He and I belonged to the same tennis team in university. He works as a teacher and has already got married and got two daughters, although I'm still single. We talked about our recent conditions enjoying barbeque at the yard of his house. His confession of his family life made me think that getting a partner cannot always bring you a happy life. If I pass the first step of the exam, I will be going to Tokushima again to take an exam as its final step of the process. I hope to pass it and to meet him again in the near future.

Being at School

From Monday to Wednesday, I didn’t go to school to work because I had to take exams. Yesterday, I went to school and prepared for the next semester. While being at school, I felt down and down, and finally, I truly hated to be a teacher. In the morning before work, I was mentally healthy, but at the end of the day, I was really tired and had a little headache. I convinced myself that I am not a type of person who can work at school. Today, I will not go to school to take another exam. This is the only relief for me from being depressed.

Survivors and Trump

President Trump met a Novel Peace Prize winner, Nadia Murad, who escaped from an ISIS territory where thousands of Yazidi women are raped. She met the president at the Oval Office of the White House with other refugees of Rohingya who fled from Myanmar and now lives in Bangladesh. However, Trump didn’t know why Murad got the prize so he asked “They gave it to you for what reason?” She explained the reason why she got it, but I think, she was sad, because her address for peace wasn’t conveyed to the president of the biggest country in the world. It’s clear that Trump always does his job with the slogan “America First.”

Hometown

I came back to my hometown in the evening of the 21st to take an exam on the 23rd and the 24th.
After taking the exam yesterday, I roamed around the city by bicycle. This city is famous because it's got a hot spring that is one of the oldest hot springs in Japan. However, the hot spring is under renovation and you cannot use all the facilities such as the relaxation space and private baths, although a major public bath on the first floor is still available. Every time I come back to this city, I find new restaurants and I see many construction sites to build new roads and houses. It’s refreshing for me to see my hometown being renovated.

Long Drive

I went to Tokushima Prefecture yesterday to take an exam to become a teacher at a public junior high school for the next school year. The heart of Tokushima was very busy, so I arrived at the venue just right before the exam started. There were two kinds of exams held -about the laws of education and the English language. After the exams, I went back home then departed for Ehime Prefecture to prepare for another exam the next day. I drove my car for a total of five hours yesterday. I hope I will get good results for both exams in Tokushima and Ehime.

Exam in Tokushima

I am going to Tokushima Prefecture to take an exam to be hired as a regular English teacher at a public junior high school next school year. It takes about one and a half hours by car from my apartment. In Japan, each prefecture has their own exams, so you need to take another exam when you work in another prefecture as a public school teacher. Today, I am going to take two kinds of exams: general knowledge on education and an English exam. The result will be sent to me in a few weeks by mail. I hope I will get the passing score and proceed to the next final step.

Stay in Nagoya

Yesterday, I took an exam at a high school in Nagoya to be hired as an English teacher for the next school year. The result will be notified to me in a few weeks, and then if I pass it, I will proceed to the final interview.
After taking the exam yesterday, I roamed around at the heart of the urban city. Rental bicycles were available, so I used it as a transportation. Every time I visit a new place, I rent a bike and move around without any plans. If there is somewhere interesting, I park my bike at the site and walk inside the place. Hooters caught my attention yesterday. I had wanted to visit the restaurant but I didn't expect that it comes up suddenly. Of course I entered and ordered a dish, tacos.
I don't really want to come to Nagoya because there aren't anything special to do. I found that domestic travel isn't that attractive for me. This travel to Nagoya made my wish of going abroad bigger.

Nagoya

I arrived at Nagoya late at night for the first time in my life. I was surprised when I saw a lot of people, especially young business people. In the city where I live now, there are only few people at stations at night and elderly people are the main passenger. I like this lively atmosphere in Nagoya, but I still don't figure out what amenities are there. That is because I headed to the hotel straight which I had booked with my hope of immediate check-in and taking rest from work and long trip. I am excited to roam around this urban city tonight.

Trip to Nagoya

I am going to Nagoya tonight by bullet train.

Tomorrow, I need to take an exam to be hired as a public school teacher.

It’s my first time to go there, so I am looking forward to seeing the big city after the exam.

Famous sightseeing spots such as Nagoya Castle, shrines, museums don’t catch my attention.

Unlike those standard places to visit, I prefer to go to places for locals such as small restaurants and markets.

Also, I want to go to a gym in Nagoya to see the facilities and people inside.

I hope the weather will be good this weekend.

Exams in Different Areas

This weekend, I am going to Nagoya to take an exam to be hired as a regular teacher starting from April, 2020.
Next week, I am going to take other exams in Ehime and Tokushima to be a teacher as well.
In Japan, each prefecture or government designated city holds different exam, so you can take any exams as long as those exams are not held on the same dates.
After being hired as a teacher, if you want to work at a public school in another prefecture, you have to take an exam again in the prefecture where you hope to work.
In my case, I don’t have any preference for my work place, so I hope to pass at least one of the exams to secure my future.

Expenses

I am spending so much money this month, but I am not wasting them.
Last weekend, I went to Osaka to take an exam.
This weekend, I am going to Nagoya to take another exam.
Next week, I will go to Tokyo to meet my Nepali friend who is going back to his country in October.
I take the bullet train to get to these places.
Taking a bus is the cheapest option, but it is exhausting to be seated for long hours.
The airport here is far from my apartment, so traveling by bullet train is the best alternative for me.
I will enjoy visiting these places without buying unnecessary things.

Seashore

Yesterday, I took a group oral exam to be hired as a regular junior high school teacher for the next school year.
The result will be sent to me in a few weeks, and if I pass that exam, I will proceed to the final exam.
After taking the exam yesterday, I went to see the sea and walked along the seashore.
There were a lot of crabs between rocks and the scenery of the sea was very soothing.
In the evening, I went to a hot spring which has many types of baths such as a bubble bath, a bath with medical herbs, and outside baths.
I don’t want to go for work today, but I cannot avoid going there because I need to make money.

Exam in Osaka

I did a round trip to Osaka to take an exam yesterday.
If I pass the exam including the second step which will be held next month, I will be hired as a regular teacher at a junior high school in Tokyo.
The result of the yesterday’s exam will be announced in a few weeks.
An oral exam is the next and final step, it will be held in Tokyo at the end of August.
Besides the exam in Tokyo, I also applied in six municipalities.
In Japan, each prefecture holds their own exam, and you can apply for them as long as the exams are not held on the same days.
I hope to get a good result and proceed to the next step.

Haircut

I had a haircut yesterday.
I fully count on the owner, so I go to his barber shop taking forty minutes by car.
I have had my haircut from many other barbers, but the owner of this barber shop is the best because of his techniques.
He cuts my hair just as I tell him committing to the details.
Even if I move somewhere for work in the future, I want to go to his shop to have him cut my hair.
I want to be a person like him who is counted on in some field.
Also, running my own business is one of my dreams like he does because he looks very energetic and fulfilled.

Exams for Teacher

I am going to take exams from today until Monday.
People will enjoy their three consecutive holidays but I don’t feel like enjoying because of the exams.
If I pass the exams, I will be hired as a regular teacher at a public junior high school.
Each prefecture holds its own exam, so I am going to take exams for Kagawa and Tokyo this weekend.
To be honest, I don’t really have a strong desire to become a regular teacher, but I will take the exams because the fees are free.
Anyway, I will do my best to pass and to secure my future as a public servant.

Living Abroad

I respect non-Japanese people who live in Japan because living in Japan is not always easy because of language barrier and shyness of Japanese.
We Japanese usually don’t say out our true feelings so you need to guess their intentions without words.
My dream is to live in a foreign country for a couple of years and I want to know what being a foreigner is like.
I have seen many foreigners who are struggling with their lives in Japan.
As I see those people, I am disappointed because I am avoiding to put myself in a challenging environment.
I will be going to a foreign country within a few years.

Southern Border

Donald Trump pledged to build a wall at the border of Mexico in his election campaign in 2016, but because of opposition from Democrats and the neighboring country, the wall has not been completely built yet.
I read a news article about the border and it said that donations from private individuals and groups keep on pouring in to help achieve their goal.
I was surprised that Trump have a lot of supporters devoting their commitments to serve the President's plans. 
Many of them are worried about the influx of immigrants coming from the border.
I should read articles about this not only from our news articles but also from other foreign medias.

Savings After Retirement

Ministry of Finance in Japan revealed that you need to have at least 20 million yen (183 thousand dollars) after retirement to live.
Current working generations will not be getting as much pension as we have paid until retirement because of the increase of elderlies and decrease of revenue for pension.
I am worried about my future because I don’t think I can save that amount of money by continuing to work at school.
I am sure that I cannot have a partner and children with my current salary, so I don’t have any plans to continue this job for the next school year.
In order to survive this aging society, I will acquire a new skill such as programming.

Host Club

I recently watch YouTube videos of a famous host in Kabuki-cho, Tokyo.
A host is a person who entertain female customers with their conversation while drinking alcohol.
Although the legend host quit his job in 2018, he used to be the No.1 host in Japan.
He earned three million yen per day by taking orders of expensive alcohols.
The customers can enjoy talking with hosts without ordering expensive bottles, but by ordering, they can have great conversations.
In the videos, he explains about the details of his techniques that can be used with customers.
I found him very intelligent and experienced because he can talk any topics with humor.
I ordered his biography on Amazon, so I will read and learn his mind for his job.

Oral Exam in Okayama

I took a job interview yesterday in Okayama Prefecture.
It took about one hour to get to the venue, a secondary school.
It started from 9:50 a.m. and ended at 10:10 a.m.
There were three Japanese interviewers each asking me several questions.
One of them gave questions in English so I answered in English as well.
All of the questions were not that complicated so I hoped to proceed to the second and final step of the exam.
If I make it to this first round, another interview will be set for me in the middle of August.
I will prepare for other exams in different municipalities that are going to be held for the rest of the weekends this month.

Oral Exam

I am going to take an exam to become a regular teacher at a public junior high school in Okayama Prefecture.

If you pass the first and second steps, you will be hired as a teacher staring April in 2020.

To be honest, I don’t really like to be a regular teacher because there are many tasks besides English education such as managing a homeroom, joining a club activity, making contact with parents and more.

You cannot take time to study English and prepare for the lessons.

I am not really excited to take the exam today, so I’ll think about what I am going to eat for today’s lunch to stay positive.

Whales

The Japanese government parted ways with the International Whaling Commission recently and whales are now traded at fish markets in Japan.
We usually didn’t see whale meat at grocery stores, but it is said that the meat would be more commonplace for our diet.
To be honest, I am skeptical about this move, because of criticism from other countries.
When I did a home
stay in Australia, I remember the host father said “Japanese fishers catch whales in our sea.”
They catch whales for research namely, but the mammals are cut and sold at markets.
On the other hand, the Japanese government imposed a trade embargo on Korea as a response for poor progress on the issue of “comfort women.”
I will see how other countries will react to the strong stance on these sensitive issues.

Room in Mind

Recently, I think that I need to love myself first before having a girlfriend, because you cannot make people happy unless you are happy.
In order to love myself, I need to make more money because I don’t have any room in mind to think about others with my limited salary.
I feel that the salary of teachers is not that high, but they feel much pressure from the parents, Board of Education, and the principal.
It is not allowed for teachers in public schools to have a side job without permission from the principal.
I will prepare for the next school year to do a new job such as programming.

Calling

I don’t think I am suitable to work at school.
I have started to work in a school since April, 2018.
One year and three months have passed since then.
Last school year, I worked for a junior high school and, this year, I am working in an elementary school.
I prefer to work at the elementary school because I like small kids and the teachers at the elementary school are friendly.
However, working at school is not my calling because I don’t really like to go to the same place every day and to do anything in the group.
I wish I could get a suitable job for me next school year.

Stress Check

I addressed on answering questions called “stress test.”

The teachers need to fill up the questionnaire to measure their stress level for daily works.

It was my first time to see the sheet at the current elementary school.

There were many items to be answered and all of them were scaling which requires us to choose a number for each question.

I don’t have strong passions besides my English lessons, so the result might be bad.

A person whom I look up to said that you cannot continue it if you do it under stress.

I always feel stress, so I can’t continue it that long.

Own House

Now I live in an apartment.
Some of my friends, who are as old as me, have already bought their own lands and houses.
They have a few million yen debt and they are paying for them monthly over twenty years.
I prefer to live in an apartment, so I can’t believe they spend tons of money for their residence.
Since I am still single and don’t have a girlfriend, I don’t need to be worried about housing.
But once I get into a relationship, I might need to think about our place to live.
I will ask my future partner, before getting married, if she will be fine to live in an apartment.

Rainy Season

Rainy Season has come in our area.
It poured and blew heavily in the morning yesterday.
You won't like this humid and hot weather, but I like Rainy Season because of the sound of rain and the dark colored sky.
Unlike the sunny days, these rainy days soothes me and brings me a peace of mind.
If some warning is issued because of heavy rain, classes at school are suspended because it’s dangerous for the students to come to school.
Although the teachers need to go to school under any weather, we can get paid even if we don’t have lessons.
According to a weather forecast, it’s going to be rainy or cloudy this whole week.
I will enjoy these rainy days by hearing the sound and feeling the humid air.