The leaver’s party was really good. The music was pure top-40 cheese, but whiskey helped me cope. Dancing till 3 or 4 and then a cab share back to a Shizuokan’s place. Poor Aroop stayed on, passed out in some hidden corner, and was unknowingly abandoned. The barman woke him up at 5am, saying that he had to leave cos they were closing. He went to the station and caught a train back to his home, but not after falling asleep onboard and missing his stop a few times!
I had a power nap, as I had a special secret mission this weekend for the prefecture. I was an interviewer for potential Japanese English teachers. I interviewed 13 people, and each interview was about 12 minutes. A little bit of small talk, then asking them to give their sample lesson snip, and then asking them about their sample lesson.
Overall, the candidates were pretty good. Lots of (just finishing) uni and grad students. They were quite nervous, as this interview is a huge part in determining their career. One rare shot at their dream. I think Japan’s English teaching is changing for the better, too. These new candidates had very good ideas and good flow. A few lessons were incredibly communicative - not just translation and recitation. I’m very optimistic about this.
Their English was very strong as well - most were better at English than the teachers I teach with. If I were to guess, I’d say that this is the result of the increase of more study-abroad opportunities in universities. Most of my teachers at Suikou haven’t spent significant time abroad. The longest was prolly one week. Not really so good if you’re gonna teach that language.
Maybe in 20 years, my job won’t exist….