so snowboarding was incredibly fun, and i now have a brand new hobby to waste lots of time on. i'm actually going again next saturday! hurray for that!
i also went to 2 shows this weekend, did way too much driving, and got hit on by my students (again). also realized that i should avoid the dollar-store-equivalent that's closest to the school i work at, because i walked in and saw six students in thirty seconds.
eeep.
this is just a short post to let everyone know i'm not dead. i'll write some real stuff soon, i promise.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
heads up for anyone trying to get a license in japan
ok, so just so everyone knows: i am trying to get my japanese driver's license.
this is possibly the most frustrating thing i have ever attempted.
would you like to know why? too bad, i'm telling you anyway. as you may be aware, i've been living in japan since late last march. my PA driver's license was due to expire in october. in PA, you can't renew your driver's license more than 5 months before it's due. no, i don't know why. it's an annoying, kinda silly rule. SOOOOO, since i was living in japan and wasn't about to go back to the states just to get a card made, i renewed my license online. hurray! ใงใใ。 however, when i began the excruciatingly long, unnecessarily complicated process for switching my international license for a japanese one, i found out something delightful-
japan doesn't believe me.
all the pieces of paper i have saying that my new expiration date is in 2014 do me no good, because i don't have a current piece of plastic. which, i might add, i can't get unless i go back to PA to get a photo taken. i'm waiting for a form to be sent to me so i can get a photoless license made, but knowing the sterling DMV turnaround time who knows when the hell that'll get here. after that, i've been assured, i can allow up to 21 days before they make it and send it to me. that's with 1 week mail time in between PA and japan.
then i can start all over again. first i have to send in all my paperwork (again) to be translated. then i wait. then i take my papers to gifu city (2.5 hours away), where they will only accept them between 3 and 4 pm, monday to friday. then i can make an appointment, if they can't think of anything else to complain about. then i can wait until they have time for me to take my test (written and driving), then drive back to gifu city to take it. this is usually scheduled at 8:30 in the morning. again, only monday-friday. if i don't pass, and most people don't on their first try, i have to wait until the NEXT MONTH before i can re-take it.
my international driver's license expires in late march. school starts up again in early april. i have to drive to work, which will be impossible since there is literally no way for me to get my license before then. perhaps i could cheat and drive without a license for a month, IF it was my car- but it's not. it belongs to my company. and they will take it back if i don't have a license. this means, due to the distance of the schools i will be teaching at next semester, that i will be getting up at approximately 4 or 5 am in order to be at work by 8:30.
hip hip hooray.
some days i feel as though i'm fueled by pure rage.
this is possibly the most frustrating thing i have ever attempted.
would you like to know why? too bad, i'm telling you anyway. as you may be aware, i've been living in japan since late last march. my PA driver's license was due to expire in october. in PA, you can't renew your driver's license more than 5 months before it's due. no, i don't know why. it's an annoying, kinda silly rule. SOOOOO, since i was living in japan and wasn't about to go back to the states just to get a card made, i renewed my license online. hurray! ใงใใ。 however, when i began the excruciatingly long, unnecessarily complicated process for switching my international license for a japanese one, i found out something delightful-
japan doesn't believe me.
all the pieces of paper i have saying that my new expiration date is in 2014 do me no good, because i don't have a current piece of plastic. which, i might add, i can't get unless i go back to PA to get a photo taken. i'm waiting for a form to be sent to me so i can get a photoless license made, but knowing the sterling DMV turnaround time who knows when the hell that'll get here. after that, i've been assured, i can allow up to 21 days before they make it and send it to me. that's with 1 week mail time in between PA and japan.
then i can start all over again. first i have to send in all my paperwork (again) to be translated. then i wait. then i take my papers to gifu city (2.5 hours away), where they will only accept them between 3 and 4 pm, monday to friday. then i can make an appointment, if they can't think of anything else to complain about. then i can wait until they have time for me to take my test (written and driving), then drive back to gifu city to take it. this is usually scheduled at 8:30 in the morning. again, only monday-friday. if i don't pass, and most people don't on their first try, i have to wait until the NEXT MONTH before i can re-take it.
my international driver's license expires in late march. school starts up again in early april. i have to drive to work, which will be impossible since there is literally no way for me to get my license before then. perhaps i could cheat and drive without a license for a month, IF it was my car- but it's not. it belongs to my company. and they will take it back if i don't have a license. this means, due to the distance of the schools i will be teaching at next semester, that i will be getting up at approximately 4 or 5 am in order to be at work by 8:30.
hip hip hooray.
some days i feel as though i'm fueled by pure rage.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
February Has Started and i kinda wish it would stop again
welcome to february! it's been almost a year since i moved to japan. i haven't regretted it at all. some days are easier than others, certainly, but yeah- no regrets. my japanese is still bad but it's a lot better than it used to be, my students are amazing, and the other teachers i work with are mostly awesome people.
i'm keeping my fingers crossed that i can work with some of the same schools next year. i know that i'll be in the same town, and the same school district- but the actual SCHOOLS are in doubt. some people are moving back to the US, and some people are moving elsewhere in japan, and so everything gets shuffled.
i really don't want to lose the kids i teach now.
i know that any school i pick up will be filled with students that are probably just as awesome and fun and fabulous as the ones i currently have- but losing these ones is still gonna suck.
on an unrelated note, i went over to my friend's house to help her with her kids yesterday, like i do every week, as it was starting to snow. she told me 'i was going to call you and tell you not to come, since it was getting slippery, but as soon as i mentioned it kaisei started crying and yelling for you. so... i didn't call.' it's nice to know that 4yr olds like me enough to throw fits over. my friend's twins are getting so big! they're six months old now, and definitely not identical. the younger one is HUGE. they're both adorable and sweet (and loud and heavy) and they're super freakin cute. i'll get a picture and post it at some point. also, ever since i taught them how to make apple crumble, it's been getting made with startling regularity. the recipe is apparently starting to make the rounds of the local moms. bwahahahahaha, new local specialty! i feel special.
anyway, i don't really have anything super extra important to say today except that it's cold, i drink too much tea, and i must have gone crazy at some point in the last few months because i'm going snowboarding in a week.
falling down mountains is supposed to be exhilarating. i will let you know how it goes.
-andrea
i'm keeping my fingers crossed that i can work with some of the same schools next year. i know that i'll be in the same town, and the same school district- but the actual SCHOOLS are in doubt. some people are moving back to the US, and some people are moving elsewhere in japan, and so everything gets shuffled.
i really don't want to lose the kids i teach now.
i know that any school i pick up will be filled with students that are probably just as awesome and fun and fabulous as the ones i currently have- but losing these ones is still gonna suck.
on an unrelated note, i went over to my friend's house to help her with her kids yesterday, like i do every week, as it was starting to snow. she told me 'i was going to call you and tell you not to come, since it was getting slippery, but as soon as i mentioned it kaisei started crying and yelling for you. so... i didn't call.' it's nice to know that 4yr olds like me enough to throw fits over. my friend's twins are getting so big! they're six months old now, and definitely not identical. the younger one is HUGE. they're both adorable and sweet (and loud and heavy) and they're super freakin cute. i'll get a picture and post it at some point. also, ever since i taught them how to make apple crumble, it's been getting made with startling regularity. the recipe is apparently starting to make the rounds of the local moms. bwahahahahaha, new local specialty! i feel special.
anyway, i don't really have anything super extra important to say today except that it's cold, i drink too much tea, and i must have gone crazy at some point in the last few months because i'm going snowboarding in a week.
falling down mountains is supposed to be exhilarating. i will let you know how it goes.
-andrea
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)