The Final Word

Not that I follow a set agenda or anything here, but some of you may have noticed that my posts have been a bit spotty(er) recently. This has been because I've been grappling with the decision of whether to remain in this job of mine another year, or to move onto the next thing...whatever that is.

So, now that my board of education knows, I can tell anyone else who wants to know that I've decided to only remain to the end of one year, at the end of July. This is probably the hardest decision I've had to make in a long time, and I won't go into the particulars here- suffice to say that it has been a very emotionally draining two weeks, and I haven't had the gumption to blog about anything else.

However, now I have made my decision and am more or less at peace with it (which is just as well, since it's irreversible anyhow...), and I'll be able to return to all my normal life activities with much vim and vigor- blogging included.

I would also like to add that living in Japan, even if only for a year, is probably the best decision I ever made for myself, and I'm still looking forward to my remaining 5.5 months(ish) of JET. Living in Japan has affected a change upon me that I feel on a visceral level, and it's not a kind of experience I have really had before- even in the transition into college. It's a different sensation from what one might feel, upon setting down a hard-bound ponderosity from a used-book shop, and turning to one's neighbor and declaring "That was jolly well illuminating."

Whatever comes of this in the future- I'd recommend the whole teaching abroad shtick, it's pretty amazing (I'm assuming results would be similar outside of Japan as well).

In the midst of everything, I have been keeping notes and taking pictures yet- this guy can keep you company until I have the time to put up some proper posts: