First day of work

First day of work today.

In summary:

The university's in a beautiful spot. Right next to a forest - a rarity in Japanese cities, actual nature! - and the university itself is quite bright and modern. It's much smaller than the other universities around, but I like it.

My students are all super lovely. Though I must admit, I had trouble remembering their names and telling them apart. To people who say 'Japanese people all look alike', I've always protested 'no, they don't!' I suppose it is easier when you have a variety of ages, genders, jobs and styles. However, having 35 Japanese girls of the same age, most with very similar hairstyles... it might take me a few days to distinguish them properly. But then, I've always been bad with faces...

The working day is long, and I felt like I worked hard. It was also strange teaching, essentially, the same lesson 7 times in a row. But for a short period, I think it's okay.

I also complained about the commute before. Now that I've done it, it's really not so bad. Two of the three train lines are not very busy, and I could get seats on both of them, both going and returning (this would *never* be possible working in Kawasaki at peak hour) Part of what makes it take so long is the walking to and from stations, but then all the teachers have that same situation. Yesterday I bought a pedometer at a 100yen shop. Today I wore it all day; I did nothing special, just walked to and from work, around the classroom, etc. I walked about 15,000 steps, or about 11km. I shall be very surprised if I gain weight working in this job.

Anyway, apart from the day feeling so long - I teach 8 lessons every day - I am pretty happy with everything right now. ^_^