First Post

Wow, has it only been three weeks? My perception of time has been pushed back and forth thanks to a number of things, first and foremost not having regular internet access, but also keeping irregular hours during two weeks of training and one week of work, being essentially on the run everyday, and of course registering for this, that, and a few other things.
I am now in Ueda, Nagano, and will be teaching regularly from here on out. This first week in Ueda was comprised of moving in, registering with the city, starting a bank account, getting a cell phone, observing classes, meeting students, teaching classes, and getting all the advice I could from the emergency teacher I replaced. I am still waiting on the internet access at home.
The two weeks of training were in Saitama, just outside of Tokyo. We spent most of the time practicing the structures of the different lessons, teaching tactics, and learning a few other things that will be useful for us. The other teachers I was training with were all very easy to get along with. Since most are still in the Tokyo area, we exchanged contact info for what will probably be some kind of gathering in the future. The training center could have been a little more convenient with a few things, but we all made do pretty well. During my very valuable free days in Saitama, I ventured from city to city visiting some friends in the area. Some even came all the way to my part of Saitama, which I was grateful for.
Ueda is about an hour and sixty dollars one way on the bullet train from Tokyo, so going there to visit won't be impossible. Before training I already had quite a few friends in the area, so now I have a few more. It's been a tough three weeks in all kinds of ways, so I think it's really appropriate to start this blog off with on the left foot with a joke. My friend from Australia told it to me, after he saw my Jason Clackley shirt.

A frog walks into a bank and walks straight to the teller who is wearing a name tag that reads "Patricia Wack". The frog says to her, "Hello Miss Wack, my name is Kermit Jagger, my father is Mick Jagger, and I'd like to take out a loan out for $100,000. As collateral, I will give you this tiny porcelain elephant." The frog hands Miss Wack the tiny porcelain elephant, who, baffled, takes the elephant to the back of the bank to show her manager. She walks into his office and says, "Sir, a frog just came in claiming his name is Kermit Jagger, that his father's Mick Jagger, and he wants a loan for $100,000. As collateral he gave me this tiny porcelain elephant!" She puts the elephant on her manager's desk and adds, "What is this!? I mean, what... the hell.... is THIS?!?" Her manager stands up, looks her in the eye, and yells, "IT'S A KNICK-KNACK PATTY WACK, GIVE THE FROG A LOAN, HIS OLD MAN IS A ROLLING STONE!"

My friend said he heard this joke from a color commentator during a cricket match.