Workout at The Gym

I went to a gym for workout after work with my colleague. He and I go to the gym once every two weeks and we stay there for one and a half hours. Unlike gyms run by public companies, the fee is very cheap because the gym is run by the city office. In the gym, there were a lot of buff guys who devote their lives to grow muscles. I think it is scary for girls to be in the gym alone because many muscular guys lift weights like a beast. I’m looking forward to going to the gym again with my colleague next month.

Wasabi

Wasabi is a popular condiment for sushi and sashimi. Although I don’t eat it because of the sharp zing, the taste is popular even among foreigners. When I was a university student, I often dined out at a conveyer-belt sushi restaurant with my friends from other countries. They added wasabi in each sushi to enjoy the combination of rice seasoned with vinegar and sashimi sliced raw fish. It takes one and a half years to grow wasabi. Also, the farmers need to pay attention to insect pests and heavy rain to protect wasabi. I thought again that our diet is on these diligent farmers.

Change of Narita Airport

The main entrance to Japan is through the airport. Narita Airport, which has the most international flights of both arrivals and departures, is extending its operating hours from 11 p.m. to midnight to accommodate more foreign tourists because of the Olympic Games in 2020. However, the newspaper article said, the connection to the heart of Tokyo by bus or train is still inconvenient. I also think that it’s confusing to find a suitable bus or train station after finishing the immigration process. Visiting airports is a special experience in a foreign tourist's life because one gets to see the orderliness and the state of the art technology of the airport. I hope that Narita Airport will be a more user friendly place to leave good impressions on the local and foreign visitors.

Playing Tennis Over The Weekend

I played tennis a lot over the weekend. Last Saturday, I joined a tennis practice camp at a resort hotel in Shodoshima Island. Yesterday, I joined a tennis team competition. Our team was about to win, but because of my mistakes, our doubles pair and our team lost. I need to practice more to get a good result. Although I like to play tennis, I couldn’t fully enjoy it because I need to study programming and to get a job next year to earn more salary. My first priority is not playing tennis but studying programming these days. I need to submit my assignment by December 3rd. After that, I will look for a job starting next April. I hope to enjoy playing tennis after becoming a programmer next year.

Tennis Practice Camp

I joined a tennis practice camp yesterday held at a resort hotel in Shodoshima Island. There were eight participants and we played tennis for more than four hours under a clear sky. It was very comfortable to play tennis near the sea in the beautiful hotel. In the hotel, there are hot springs, a golf course and pools. I thought I would like to come here again with my friends. Also, I want to take my future girl friend to the place, although I’m not sure when I can make it come true. The camp made my feeling bigger that I want to be rich enough to stay at the hotel with my future girlfriend without worrying about the budget.

Plans for this Weekend

I’m going to join a tennis practice camp today held at Shodoshima Island. First, I need to go to a port to take a ferry to the island. After that, the participants will get on a bus to get to the tennis court. Honestly, I don’t want to spend much money only for playing tennis. I can play tennis in this city. However, I want to enjoy this once in a lifetime experience. Tomorrow, I’m going to join a tennis tournament. I’ll practice hard today to win the matches tomorrow. I will work on my programming study more seriously after these tennis events. 

Pardons for Elderlies

One of the cultures I don’t like in Japan is that people think older people are superior to younger people. Even in companies and schools, this hidden culture still remains. I’m not saying older people are not worth paying respect. Older people who made mistakes aren’t blamed that much, but when young people do something wrong, people blame on them harshly. We should be treated equally without being bound by their age and background. In that point, people in Western countries communicate more casually with people regardless of their ages. That is one of the reasons why I want to live abroad.

Career Change

I’ve been working for an elementary school as an assistant teacher since this April. Last school year, I worked for a junior high school. Comparing the two schools, I like working at the elementary school better than at the junior high school. This is simply because I like kids better than teenagers. However, I am planning to change my job from teaching to programming to get a better salary. Although I like talking with kids, I am not assured about living my life without worrying about money. I will return to being a teacher after becoming a skillful programmer, and after I am able to get enough monthly salary.

Commercial of New Houses

I watched a TV commercial of a construction company yesterday. Some new houses were featured and the owners also appeared in the advertisement. I guess there were three families and each one has young parents and children. It is common for this kind of family to buy a new house taking out a long-term loan. Although I don’t want to spend money on a house, people tend to buy their own house in their around '30s. What impressed me in the commercial was that the families didn’t look happy despite their new life at their new home. The fathers especially look very serious with a pressure of paying mortgage taking a couple of decades. I learned that following others doesn't always bring happiness to one’s life.

Department Store

Although you can purchase daily necessities online, department stores in urban cities such as Tokyo and Yokohama are expanding their sales floors for female cosmetics. The advantage for customers to visit the floors is that you can get advice about makeup from beauty advisors. Also, customers can choose a product among a wide variety of items from many brands. I personally don’t go to department stores because everything is expensive, but I hope earn enough money to buy clothes at a department store. I hope I can do this when I reach 34.

Seminar for Tour Guides

I joined a seminar for a tour guide yesterday. I passed the exam to become a certified tour guide for foreigners. There were more than twenty participants in the seminar and I was the youngest among them. The seminar was held by Kagawa Prefectural Office aiming for a skill up of the guides. We heard a lecture, practiced English expressions to manage tourists from other counties and talked with several company employees who try to hire certified tour guides for their business. I also submitted my resume to some companies. It is not a permanent job but an irregular guiding job so I am not strongly hoping for replies from the companies. However, it was a good experience that I talked to the other tour guides and several company representatives.

Sightseeing with My Friends

I hanged out with my two American friends in Kagawa Prefecture yesterday. I picked them up at a bus stop in the morning and went to a famous shrine first. It took more than an hour to get to the top but it was a good experience to visit the place. Next, we went to a hot spring to relax and ate late lunch at around 3 p.m. After that, we headed to a guest house where they were supposed to stay and ate dinner at a famous grilled chicken restaurant. We are going to meet today as well and go to another city. I hope to make more good memories with them.

Long Days Off

Our school has four consecutive days off this weekend. Today, I am going to meet my two American friends and visit famous sites in this prefecture. Tomorrow, I am going to attend a seminar for interpreters who live in this prefecture. Fortunately, I passed the exam to become an interpreter last year, so the prefectural office kindly sent me the invitation. By the way, I asked my student at school about his plan over this weekend. He will join a Fortnite tournament today and tomorrow and practice Fortnite on Monday and Tuesday. Although it is the best season to get out recently, he is supposed to stay at home all day long. I understand playing games is fun, but he should do exercise to be physically healthy. I guess he is not the only person who will spend most of their time playing games.

Sightseeing

Our school has four consecutive days off this weekend. Next Monday is a compensatory holiday for the school event held on Saturday two weeks ago, and next Tuesday is a national holiday for the enthronement ceremony. Tomorrow, I am going to meet my two American friends. They will come to this prefecture by bus in the morning and we will visit several famous spots such as shrines, hot springs and a Japanese garden. Although there are many historical sites nearby, I rarely visit them thinking that I can visit them anytime. I hope to find the same attractiveness I had seen on these places when I get to visit these again with my friends.

Hardships

There are six months left in this school year. I’ll study programming and train my body more to get a better life starting next April. Although I work at a school now, I want to change my job from teaching to programming. Also, if possible, I want to work as a freelancer, not as an employee of a company. This is because I can proceed to do my tasks at my own pace, and I can earn more money based on my skills and workload. As for training my body, I will have to make time to exercise. If I have a fitter body, I think it will be easier for me to get a girlfriend. I’ll use the rest of those six months to make a good start next fiscal year.

Mentor

I’ve been studying programming in an online school since August this year. I talk with my mentor online twice a week. He gives me useful advice and motivates me to study more. My mentor is now working as a freelance programmer and earns about ten million yen per year by himself. I want to be like him who can earn a lot of money. I talked with him yesterday and he explained several important points in the curriculum. According to him, if I acquire the skills to use the functions, it can be an advantage for job hunting in the future. I’m going to talk with him again this Friday. I’ll study more by then and try to step farther as a programmer.

Peace of Mind

Yesterday, after studying programming in the morning and in the early afternoon, I went fishing in the pond near my apartment. I couldn’t catch anything, but it released my stress. After that, I played tennis with my university senior at a public court. We are going to join a tennis tournament at the end of this month. I hope we can get a good result in the tournament. 
By the way, this week has only four days for work. Additionally, our school has four consecutive days off this weekend, so this week is not so hard for me. I hope I won’t make any mistakes at work this week, too.

Typhoon Hagibis

The explosive Typhoon Hagibis caused severe damages around the Tokyo region. Fortunately, Shikoku Island, where I live in, had no serious damages. However, dikes breached at many spots in the region and people had to flee from their from houses. Mud slides, inundation above the floor level and blackout also happened. I watched a TV program airing the catastrophic situation of the region while eating dinner as usual. The footage reminded me that our lives can be changed suddenly in one day. Furthermore, it turned out that it can be dangerous to live near dikes with the possibility of breach. I’ll think about my living place referring to terrains around the apartment.

Gandhi

People in India are marking the 150th birthday of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. According to the newspaper article, however, he had different aspects in his character unlike the images that people have for him such as an advocator of equality. For example, when he was in South Africa, he said that the blacks are inferior to Indians. Also, he believed in having a “harmonious social order” that can be treated as an idea of protecting the caste system. Otherwise, people still think of Gandhi as the father of India. I learned that one’s history can be glorified to maintain a good image.

A Strong Typhoon

Our school is going to have Open Day today, wherein the parents will come to school to observe the lessons and to see their children. However, a strong typhoon is approaching the Japanese peninsula and we don’t know if the event is going to be held as planned. Our principal will decide at 7 a.m. this morning and a mail will be sent to tell today’s schedule of our school event. In case some alerts, such as strong wind and heavy rain, are issued at the time of seven, school classes will be all suspended and the pupils will have to stay at home to protect themselves. I guess teachers have to go to school in any weather, rain or shine. I’m curious how the principal will make a decision.

Suits for Women

It is common for women to wear a dress for a wedding ceremony. However, a new trend is rising that brides wear suits for wedding. I read about this topic in a newspaper article. I thought this trend is good because women have the right to wear whatever they want for the special occasion. We, Japanese, usually mind others' opinions and we tend to adjust based on what people 

expect from us. It is easier to get along with people by doing so, but it might not be the right choice for the individuals. By breaking up such stereotypes that women should wear a dress for wedding, new couples can have a wedding ceremony as they want. I’ll also be careful about not being brainwashed by stereotypes in our society.

Juggling Two Jobs

In Japan, regular teachers at school have many tasks besides teaching such as supervising a club activity, managing outside school activities, talking with the parents of the students who don’t come to school and so on. I like to talk with elementary school students, but I don’t think I want to become a regular teacher because of those heavy workload. There is a position which is in charge of lessons only. In the near future, I want to work as a teacher in that position. But the salary is low, so I’m studying programming to earn more money. My plan is to have two jobs as a programmer and a teacher within five years.

Changing of the Seasons

It’s getting colder these days. I spend the whole day in a short sleeve shirt and I am starting to feel the cool temperature in the early morning and at night. Among the four seasons, I like autumn the best because it’s very comfortable to be outside during the day time. Also, you can eat delicious fruits such as grapes, persimmons and pears in this season. 
By the way, a strong typhoon is approaching the Japanese area of responsibility and it will probably affect our livelihoods this weekend. This Saturday, Open Day will be held in our school, so the event might be cancelled because of the typhoon. I'm hoping that there will be no serious damages this time.

Result of Exams

Few months ago, I took set of exams in six prefectures. This is in preparation for my goal in becoming an English teacher in a public school next year. In Japan, it is really required to take the exam for each prefecture so you can work as a public school teacher. The exams I took were really difficult but I still did my best. Unfortunately, I failed with all the five prefectures. I'm currently waiting for the result of the last prefecture, Tokyo. I might have failed with these prefectures, but I'll continue to work hard for the other goals I have. At this point, I realize that there are really some things we can't achieve despite doing your best. However, I'll make sure to continue striving hard for my other career goal which is programming. I know that the failures I had will serve as my challenge to continue aiming high and hitting the mark.

Cool Guy

I like handsome male actors who are older than I am. Though I am not gay, I think I want to grow old just like them. They don’t look old. For example, Hidetoshi Nishijima, who is 48 years old now, looks in his 30’s and he is very cool. He is a late-bloomer as an actor, but now he appears in drams, magazines, and movies. Also, he trains his body and keeps in a good shape. Males in their 40’s and 50’s tend to be fat and their bellies are hanging out. I’ll never be such a fat man to keep physically healthy and to stay in a good shape. I’ll be strict to myself to get old and to become a good guy as they are.

Workout with My Friend

I went to Okayama Prefecture yesterday, which is 50km away from my apartment, to meet my friend. After picking him up at the station, we headed to the gym to workout. The three-hour training was really hard for me, but it was fun to workout with him like we used to when we were university students. After that, we went to an eat-all-you-can restaurant in a shopping mall and ate a lot. Next, we walked around the mall and went back to the station to drop him off. We can only meet a few times in a year, so I’ll make my body bigger by the next time we meet.

E-sports

There are several universities in the U.K, U.S., and other Asian countries  that launched e-sports bachelor’s and master’s degree programs according to a newspaper article. The students not only play games but also study, for example, sports management that can be useful for managing a team and organizing game events. 
Playing games used to be one of the pastimes as a kid, but now the top players in e-sports earn money as much as famous professional tennis or golf players do. 
But I think not all the students can make money by playing games after graduation because of its extreme competitiveness. I wonder how the graduate will fare after getting their degrees.

Moving to Tokyo

If you hope to work as a programmer in Japan, you should move to Tokyo. It is for the reason of the number of job openings in Tokyo is higher than the other cities. Although there are job openings in other big cities such as Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka, the demand of jobs in Tokyo is the best. I live in Kagawa Prefecture at the moment which is known as the smallest and rural prefecture in Japan. I’m planning to move to Tokyo in March 2020 to get a programming job. Ideally, I would work for a company for a couple of years first. Then, I would become a freelance programmer which would allow me to have a better salary without working five days a week. I'll spend more of my free time studying programming this school year to get my dream job by next year.

Future Plan

I talked with a Filipina colleague in our school yesterday. She comes to our school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I said to her that I want to go to the Philippines after saving money. And then she recommended me to visit the country during the Christmas season because the day is celebrated by them on a very large scale. Going to Mall of Asia and Megamall are also in my bucket list because of her recommendation. Currently I don’t have enough savings to buy flight tickets and reserve a hotel, but I’ll visit the country and experience culture shocks. I hope to do this next year.

New Curriculum

I’ve been studying programming in an online school for two months. From August to September this year, I have studied HTML and CSS. I will be studying WordPress in October and November. I dream of becoming a front-end engineer next year, because it is an in demand and a high paying job. I feel really frustrated while studying these things, because it often happens that the program doesn’t work as I intended. But I am enduring these hardships until the next six months in order to get my dream job. I hope to get a good job next year by studying a lot these two months.

Portfolio

I have been dreaming to become a web engineer by next year. This is because it's a high paying job in the country today. Because of this, I am now studying programming through online sessions for about two months now. The class sessions will last until December this year. To attain my goal in becoming a web engineer, I really need to master the codes by now. This is because it is one of the basic skills that IT engineers are looking for nowadays. Currently, I am doing my best to finish improving the website I just made three days ago. I try to add more effects to make it more appealing. Through hard work, patience and determination to successfully make excellent websites, I know that I can be able to reach my goal of becoming a web engineer and hopefully to get hired too by next year.