get into the groove

i started to get into the groove of the teacher's life in marugame. after 11 days all traces of jet lag seemed to have worn off. i had enough lesson plans in my file that i wasn't spending every waking hour planning. i was dealing with riding my bike to work. and then it started to rain.

i had seen loads of japanese people riding their bikes with umbrellas, and on my first day of work where it was raining i attempted to do the same. before i even turned off my road i had given up on the umbrella idea, i just wasn't coordinated enough for that yet. and by the time i passed the train station it really started to rain. so i pulled into the local mini-stop and bought a clear plastic poncho.

despite my new purchase, my legs were still soaked by the time i reached work, though i had luckily packed my work outfit in my bag instead of wearing it. these first days of miserable rain turned what could have been a mild dislike of riding a bike everywhere into a hatred which spawned fantasies of lighting the thing on fire and chucking it into a rice paddy.


at natasha's suggestion i took the train to takamatsu on my "weekend" (really just two days off in a row, which for me was tuesday and wednesday). there was one short page about takamatsu in my rough guide to japan guidebook (which i only bought, instead of my favorite let's go brand because it actually mentioned marugame) and it claimed the highlights of a visit to the city were the beautiful ritsurin park and the shopping. after a long (very long it seemed on that first day) walk to the park and a wander through the shopping arcades and department stores, the highlight of takamatsu, in my opinion, was starbucks.

though i'm not normally a starbuck's person (i normally patronize dunkin donuts) it felt so nice. sitting in a big, comfy starbucks chair. sipping a nice hot latte. it was heaven. it gave me a chance to sit back and reflect on my day. i did quite like the city. i was relieved to see some trendy citizens and quite a few gaijin. the shopping was good. but as i sat there, i decided i wanted to go somewhere bigger. i still wanted to transfer to a big city.