My Daily Routine

At 7 am my alarm goes off and I immediately smash it into submission and curse myself for going to bed too late. After I hit the snooze button a few more times I realise that I will probably miss the bus if I don't get out of bed and so I make a run for the shower. I enter the shower half asleep but emerge in a semi respectable trance that will see me though the day. I stick two pieces of toast in the griller and turn on the TV to watch Sports Center. I usually have peanut butter on my toast but if I run out I have to put Vegemite on it. The chance of me getting a seat is proportional to when I leave my apartment .... every minute counts. 

The bus ride to my school takes about 20 minutes. I arrive a school and enter the teachers room on the 1st floor saying "ohayo gozaimasu" (good morning) to anyone I see.  I sit down at my desk, usually at about 8:21 and turn on my laptop. I make a cup of coffee and watch the clock for the start of the teachers meeting at 8.25 sharp, when everyone stands and says "ohayo gozaimasu". Then various teachers read announcements ranging from how badly the sports teams got beaten at a recent tournament, to the latest student who got caught doing something wrong (smoking, riding a motorbike, setting fire to the fire station etc .. ). Then I usually surf the internet checking out the latest news and sports. Eventually I have to teach a lesson so I go up to the computer room and teach the students how to surf the internet and check out the latest news and sports. 

Usually I buy my lunch from the school shop, but sometimes I lash out and order lunch from a restaurant that supplies the teachers at school with lunches. The afternoon consists of surfing the net, maybe studying something or reading something interesting, or playing sports with students after school. In summer I go home at about 6pm but in winter I go home earlier, sometimes 4pm. It depends on if the students have tests etc. I often get a ride home with one of my teachers and then I play computer games for a short while before I go swimming. I usually swim 2000m but sometimes I do 1500 if I feel like I am lacking energy. When it is warm I have volleyball and basketball training and I also sometimes ride my bike or go for a run. I would like to go in a triathlon this year. In the evenings if I am not exercising I play internet games of watch NBA basketball on TV or X-Files in video. I always go to bed half an hour later than I would like. I often cook chicken stir fry because then there is not so much stuff to clean up. I go to bed and do it all again the next day ....

Strange and Unexplainable in Japan

There are many things that are different in Japan, ranging from the slightly strange to the absolutely absurd. Here is a list of things that I find a bit odd.... even after three years here.

1.    Hidden Unemployment - There is a whole work force in Japan that basically does nothing but gets paid anyway (and you could probably include me in this group too). This is because the government can either give the unemployed a job that is not really necessary, or increase social security payments. Examples of these jobs include the omnipresent flag wavers that assist you to drive though road works or enter/exit parking lots, people standing at shop entrances greeting customers or excessive sales assistants in a quiet shop. But the best example is the man that stands at the entrance to a bridge that is being built near my school. The bridge was basically completed when I got here two and a half years ago but they continue construction that is not really necessary, like removing a hill that wasn't in the way or building link roads to nowhere. Anyway, this guy waves a flag at any construction vehicles that cross the bridge, in sunny, cloudy and rainy weather. Why does he do this? I have no idea ! But like most of these workers, his sense of duty is astounding and he is committed to his job like his life depended on it.

2. Japan has no grass. The soccer field of the vast majority of schools here is dirt or even gravel. Japanese play rugby on gravel fields. Baseball is played on all dirt. Even the golf courses sometimes have little green grass. But it's not like it doesn't grow here. At my schools Sports Day the students were required to spend half an hour removing grass from the sports ground. Grass is evil !!

3.    Japanese are colour-blind. They refer to the green traffic light and pedestrian light as being "blue". I must admit that sometimes it has a blue tinge to it but it is definitely primarily green. The orange light is yellow. Grass is sometimes referred to as blue too.

4. The City Swimming Pool is not meant for swimming. There are usually only 3 lanes of the 50 meter pool available for swimming laps. The other side of the pool is for "walking". There are many other things about the pool that are strange and I have included and article about it here ......