Wind in the Trees, originally uploaded by danaspencer.

My time in Japan is quickly coming to an end. I can’t say I am sad to leave this work behind because if there is one thing that I have learned in the last two years (and there are many more than one) it is that I don’t like teaching. Surprisingly, though, I have discovered that I do enjoy the company of children… at least, most of them.

With all the chaos surrounding my departure I am definitely finding that I don’t have time to really appreciate the country where I have lived for the last two years. All the job-related stress this year has left me with a bitter taste in my mouth regarding Japan and Japanese people.

I only see the daily hassles of passive indirectness in Japanese culture at places like the post office when I try to accomplish simple tasks like paying my bills. I endure the nit-picky mothers who complain to my boss, instead of to my face, that I have ended the 55 minute class with their 4 year old 2 minutes ealry. Never mind the fact that for the past 3 months classes have routinely gone past the 55 minute mark with no complaints from my side, or demand of an extra 50 yen.

I pound the steering wheel and curse when the person in front of me decides to make a left turn at a very short green light as if no one was behind them itching to get around that corner. I answer with disdain to those middle schoolers trolling outside 7-11 at midnight on a weekday who always, without fail, yell “harro!” at me after I have safely passed them by.

I don’t want these things to be my memories of Japan. I used to ENJOY it here! I used to look at the girls and think “pretty” instead of “yuck.” I used to think their outrageously loud laughter was genuine, now its the contrary.

These are the main reasons that I have decided to spend about two weeks traveling around Japan with Michel after we have finished working. I need to remind myself how nice these people and this place can be. Sure, we will spend some of the money we worked hard to save, but I think its worth it. I don’t want to walk away from two years of living in a foreign culture with nothing but the cynical conclusions of my less-than-fair observations of the past year.

Happy traveling, only 4 more weeks of work!