There is a Nikko album...
It's nigh on a month since my last post. This is due in part to me getting busier and busier recently- now I have some private students to teach English to, jiu jitsu continues to go well, and of course in my spare time I try to study! In this post I want to tell you about my new job and changes in school - but first, our trip to Nikko...
On Saturday Kyoko, David and I hired a car and drove down to Nikko, which is a temple retreat north of Tokyo. It is cited as one of Japan's major tourist attractions and a well preserved piece of Japanese history. In short, it is a sacred site which streches back to the 8th Century when a buddhist priest, Shodo, developed a training school there. Later on, some of the first Shoguns of Japan were interred there. Because the site is a memorial to the Shogun's, it is really a majestic place, showing off power and wealth.
The most impressive temple was the Rinno-ji, which has three huge gold buddhas inside. Whilst we were in there we were allowed to watch a mass and also listen to some of the monks chant mantras. Nikko was really busy on Saturday, but we still managed to see all the decent things, including the home of the holy "horse", which was a gift from native New Zealanders, - the horse aparently gives blessings now and again- alas, it must of been having it's dinner when we turned up, because it was missing.....
After touring the temple complex it was back in the car and the long drive up the mountain to see the waterfall, which was great. On the way down however, our car was attacked by monkeys! Well, kind of, we did lure them in with some food.... however, I didn't know just how brave they were..... I opened the boot of the car to grab my bag, when out of nowhere, a monkey jumped into the boot, snatched a bag with some cable in, and made off with it! This got me worried, as before we knew it, there were monkeys swinging off the mirrors- after 30 minutes of spraying water at them and honking the horn, we managed to slip free.... hey- don't feed the monkeys!
And so to a job that I have been offered, and that I have accepted. This is only one of the jobs I am after, but I am pleased that I managed to get it. It is in a high school teaching English, and the place is called Kunitachi. It is about 50 minutes from my home, so I am hoping that I can do some study on the train before I get there! I will work there in the mornings, Monday and Wednesday. After that, I will travel to school..... I have been asked to attend a second interview also at a company called GABA, which teaches business English- I will work there hopefully on the weekends and some evenings- it really is imperitive that I start earning soon, because I am down to my last $1000, which will go in no time in Japan....!
And finally, to school. The beginners class is almost over, and next month I will move into the intensive class to continue my lessons. My Japanese is coming on ok, but recently, I feel as if for every new thing I learn, I forget something that I have already learned...! Because of interviews and what not I havent been studying as hard as I would have liked, but when things settle down, I'll get back into it again..........
