Greetings and salutations!

(Pictures have started going up, read on for more details)

And in the silence and entrapment of those moments, I long for absent fantasy, and I dream of dreaming once again.

I know it has been some time since my last update but much has happened since and now I can bring you up to speed! First, in reference to the last post regarding transit, most of my experiences in this capacity have been good ones, but I did manage to get monumentally lost on one occasion. One of my training schools in Kira Yoshida was over an hour away from Nagoya. I had to take the subway from Hongo to Nagoya Station, and then a Meitetsu train to Kira. Far and away the Meitetsu trains are the worst I have encountered so far. There is nearly no English signage so figuring out where to go usually involves matching up Kanji symbols and timing guesswork. The subway was fine, as was the first Meitetsu stop, but when I transferred I got on the wrong train and essentially ended up going the wrong way for close to an hour.

When I figured out I was on the wrong train, I got off and returned to my point of transfer. I quickly learned how to say kono densha wa Nagoya ni tamarimas ka? (does this train go to Nagoya?) and ended up reaching my class just as it was to start. We're expected to arrive 1 hour before class begins to complete our preparations, but I taught the class anyway and it actually went ok.

Which brings me to the point of classes and training. I have had the opportunity to observe and teach many classes in the two week training period. We are evaluated by the usual teacher while we conduct classes. I have taught a class for nearly every level Peppy consists of. Below if a brief explanation:

Packet Classes
Red, Pink, Green, Yellow: Ages range from 0-5

Peppy Headway Classes
Pre, C1-C4: Ages range from 6-12

Peppy English Pathway Classes
Jr1-3: Ages range from 13-15

Most of the 1 hour classes (usually between 5 and 7 students) have been positive experiences where the kids are great, the teachers are supportive, and the lesson is effective. There have certainly been negative experiences where the kids simply don't cooperate or the teacher is of little or no help, and the lesson falls apart. Fortunately you learn so much from these experiences, and that makes you a better teacher.

Anyway, training came to an end yesterday. After two weeks of intense, all day cirriculum lectures, transit challenges, and teaching anxiety, we are finally done! We had two exams, a First Aid exam and a teaching final exam. I got 93% on the former and 95% on the latter. Before I go further I should explain who the "we" is. I mentioned my training group before. After the intial split where a few of us were sent to Osakka, there were 10 of us (9 Canadians, 1 Aussie) and Eric and I were the only guys in the group. This reminds me of college where there were only 4 guys out of a class of 20. Anyway during the last two weeks we have grown quite close and I'm sure we'll remain in contact throughout the course of our separate but continuing journeys. So after our tests we all went out to the Elephant's Nest Pub (a notorious foreigners hangout) to celebrate and had a lot of fun. It will be hard to say goodbye.

This reminds me that we went out for Kareoke (sp?) last week which was lots of fun. You get private rooms and just go nuts...but other than this we haven't had time to really do anything. Robin (our excellent trainer) invited us all out to her place for dinner on Thurs which was very nice. I've also been to the zoo here and some arcades, but that's all the time I've had for fun lately.

So anyway, all this to say that we're now free! We've completed training and will soon be moving to our respective cities. I'll actually be team teaching here in Nagoya until the end of the month before moving to Numazu. Numazu has approx 250,000 people and is in Shizuoka prefecture, famous for Mt. Fuji, soccer, and earthquakes. I'm really looking forward to going but there is another possibility! In an exciting development, the Communications Assistant has opened up in Peppy's head office here in Nagoya and I did not hesitate to apply as the work would be right up my alley. I'm very excited about this possibilty and should know more in the coming week. I'm also very much looking forward to seeing Takako and Keishiro who both intend to visit me in Nagoya as I won't be able to make it out to Tokyo for some time yet.

I also wanted to add a bit about how life has been here. As you've likely gathered, training has kept us very busy. That aside, I am enjoying myself a great deal here in Japan. I am having wonderful experiences, as well as challenges, on a daily basis which is all part of why I came. I am looking forward to the future with great anticipation. Now...for what you've all been waiting for........PICTURES!!!!

Click on the TRAVEL PICTURES link on the left to access my HP Photo Album and then click on the Japan 2004 album. All I have up presently are pictures from my training apartment. Remember you can click the link on the lower right to see the ORIGINAL SIZE and you can leave comments if you wish. The apartment Eric and I are in at present is very nice and much larger than my single apartment in Numazu will be. Aside from the trains, our neighbourhood is a quiet one close to everything we need and I quite like it here. I have been trying to adjust to all the new food while attempting to maintain a balanced diet. Some days this works better than others but I am healthy so no worries.

So that's about all for now...so now you know the latest. I want to close by sending out a big congrats to the Calgary Flames! Well done you guys, you played it to the bone and deserve every ounce of praise Calgary has rallied to give you. Sorry about Stanley but there's always next year!

Until next time I remain....

With Hope,
Joseph