Wednesday, November 12, 2008 (part 2)--You're Hired!

Good news! I got the job teaching at the factory in Honatsugi. I start on November 25, and the class runs through mid-May. Somewhat troubling is the fact that I am going to have to take a bus from the train station to the factory. Except for the school bus and a Greyhound, I've never taken a public bus in my life. It'd be intimidating enough the first time in English, but I have to do it in Japanese. Unlike the trains, there are no English signs on buses, and if there are no passengers waiting, the driver doesn’t pull up to every stop. You have to push a button to signal that you need to get off at the next stop. Not only do I not know where my stop is, I don’t know what to look for right before it comes up so I can push the button…guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. In the meantime, I’ll wait for the textbooks that are supposed to arrive in the mail this week and start planning an introductory lesson for my five students.