3 weeks down.

I have been living in japan for just under 3 weeks now. For those of you who don't know, I am an English teacher at Hiroshima Saniku Gakuin. Saniku is a small adventist boarding school set in the mountains of Hiroshima prefecture. The school is made up of a small elementary, a junior high (grades 7, 8 and 9), and a high school (grades 10, 11, and 12). I have been taking part as a Junior High teacher, helping to teach the 1st years english class and teaching my own conversation class with a few 2nd and 3rd year students. Along with teaching, I have also been involved with cleaning the chapel, agriculture (I will explain in a later post), and sports clubs (Tennis, mainly).

Choir set up outside

My experience here has been really good so far. The students are fun to be around, if they are not too shy to try to speak english, and the other teachers have helped me adjust and settle in. One of the best parts about Japan so far is the weather. It almost feels like I am still in the Northwest. Generally the mornings are cold and then the day brings clear weather with only a few clouds. We even had our first snow just a couple days ago!

With the cold weather comes the Christmas holiday. This evening we drove in to the Hiroshima airport where the Jr. High choir had their Christmas Concert. The choir sounded amazing and I am excited to hear more over the next few months.

Did I mention how nice the other teachers have been since I've been here? As I was writing this, one of the teachers came up to me and gave me a tray full of sushi and a bottle of tea. I am having a great time right now and am excited to be able to spend part of this year here at Saniku.