working for the weekend

I've spent a lot of time on trains this week. I've been traveling to and from Ina, training with what we'll call School 1. School 1 is the first place that has offered me a job, but it's a shitty time frame and I'd have to get a Japanese driver's license, which I'm finding out more and more is no piece of cake. And I'd have to drive in crazy Nagano winter weather, which is lots of snow and ice. Which is really scary to this southern Georgia girl.

But I had another interview this week with what we'll call School 2. School 2 is in Matsumoto, which is a pretty long train ride (about an hour and a half away), but the job is pretty sweet sounding. I would be teaching preschoolers (cute!), and by "teaching" I mean "immersing them in English." Jim, the guy who owns the school, has the brilliant idea of teaching kids English at that age by putting them into an English-only environment. So I don't have to know any Japanese whatsoever. My job would be coming up with fun activities to keep the kids entertained and doing some not-so-glamorous things involving kids going potty, but hey, every job has its downsides, right? I don't mind kids, especially at these ages: the kids would be from 1 to 4 years old. Kawaii!! So I'm going up to School 2 next week and the week after for a trial period and then Jim will let me know if I'm hired. If I am hired, I'll start work on getting a visa. Zack and I have decided that we would move to Matsumoto, too, which is a pretty big and awesome city. I'm so excited! I hope that this job works out. Did I mention the hours are awesome too? Like during the day so I don't have to walk through Miyada alone at night?

Meanwhile, School 1 is starting to put the pressure on me to get my visa and sign the contract. I have to stall for at least two more weeks to see if this other job works out.

I also had another semi-job offer from Zack's company. They said they could hook me up with a part-time paid internship type thing so that I could learn about teaching English. It's also in Matsumoto, so it would also mean city life for me and Zack. So now I have lots of options and I am very happy!