If you want to be emailed these types of writings as I write them, email me at rob@robnugen.com

HI HI HI from Japan!

I have been in Japan for 9 months and depending on how I look at it,
it seems both like forever and an instant.  I know I've been here for
a while though because recently I was able to help two Americans who
had just arrived in Tokyo and had basically no knowledge of the
language and wanted to buy cell phones.  I was able to hook them up
with free maps of the trains and show them where they could find a
variety of phone shops.

Recently I have been enjoying Japan more than I had been some months
ago.  Therefore it is likely that I will stay longer than my original
contract which is up in March.  Since I'm choosing to stay in Japan,
and choosing to like my job more, at work I have been working quite
deliberately to remember the names of my students.  This is
challenging due to the sheer number of students, the short period of
time we have to talk to them each day, and there's no way to really
predict when I will see them.

The benefit of learning their names: I will begin to remember their
specific English-speaking personalities and therefore be better able
to help each individual.  Also, it just seems like the right thing to
do, to care about my students.  Put forth some real effort kinda
thing.

I've been hanging out with students outside of work, which directly
violates Nova's rules, but has helped me learn Japanese and have more
fun and want to stay longer.

Also in the fun department, I've been hanging out with Morag from work
recently.  She and I seem to have similar outlooks on life and the
meaning of life and stuff like that.  We study Japanese together at
Starbucks on occassion.  So far, two Fridays in a row and a Thursday
in between.

janette and I have been making plans for her upcoming visit in January
which should be a lot of fun though I'll be working basically my
normal schedule at work.  I'll try to get some shift swaps done so we
can have more days off together.  We'll go to Fuji-Q Highland, the
biggest amusement park near Tokyo (and maybe all Japan) with a super
scary haunted house.

- - - -

In Japan, I have learned a lot about myself.  I have faced some of my
greatest fears (and shied away from others).  In this sprawling
collection of cities known together as Tokyo, I walk within huge
crowds and find myself utterly alone.  I have learned that I can make
sense of a completely foreign language.  I have learned that despite
the many cultural differences, people still like to be remembered by
name.

Over the months that I've been here I have watched myself create the
same type of busy busy life here in Japan that I had in the US.
Always moving, always wanting to be with people, always wanting
attention.  This proves to me that the patterns in my life are
manifested by or otherwise tied to me.

This weekend (my weekend is Tuesday and Wednesday), I have seen both
sides of this always-want-to-be-busy pattern.  Today I goofed around
on my computer and slept all day until people started coming home in
the evening.  Then when everyone was available, all the requests for
hanging out began to come back.  In the middle of watching a movie
with my roommates, my invitation to dinner with another friend was
accepted.  During that dinner, I got another email to watch a movie
tomorrow.  Juggling too many girl-friends it seems.  The good news is
they all know I have a real girlfriend, janette back home.

(I'm making progress.  During college all my girlfriends did not know
about each other (until they did, and that was a disaster).)

But what am I really *doing* in Japan?   That question keeps coming
back to my mind.

I'm having fun.  I'm learning the language.  I'm learning about
myself.  I think I'll hang out here for a while.