Getting Settled into Yakage

It's about time I finally got this blog up and going. Now that I have Internet, there is no excuse. Welcome, everyone, to my blog. I've been in Yakage for about 3 weeks now. You're all more than welcome to come visit me. As one of the four Americans here among a population of 15,000 you become an instant celebrity. You could all experience this as well.

For those of you that don't know, I am teaching English at four different Japanese elementary schools. Every day I go to a different school and teach every class (the schools are so small there's only one class per grade). Despite being so small, Yakage is incredibly spread out, which means I have on average a 20 minute bike ride to any particular school. Some people might think, "I'd hate to do that every day." However, it's awesome. 

Every morning, I get to wake up and enjoy beautiful scenery like this.

Furthermore, teaching has been awesome. 5th and 6th graders think they are too cool for English, but 1-4 are so energetic when I walk into the classroom. One of the class rules is "Speak Loudly" and boy do they love to belt it out. I wonder where all that enthusiasm goes in a few years?