Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Crazy schedule...

The crazy schedule continues.

The good thing is I’m slowly starting to have some sort of decent daily schedule. It’s a little insane, but I’m getting used to it... I think.

Since I’m a noob, I decided I should my myself available for the peak hours of the learning studio. That would mean 7AM until maybe 9AM in the morning, followed by 4PM until 10PM.

Aiming to be at the centre by 630, I get up at 525 so that I can catch the 559 train. I would reach the centre around 630 if I catch the 610 connecting train from Machiya to Otemachi.

During the first week, I had to think of what I would do between 930AM and 3PM. Going back home was an option, but that also meant I would be doubling my budget for daily transportation. If this were Singapore, that would be okay. However, the train fares here in Tokyo are sooooo expensive. Haha! In Singapore, my MRT budget for 2 weeks I think is about S$50-60 (including weekends). Here in Tokyo, I can spend S$15 easily in a day for train fares.

So, I decided going back home after my morning lessons is not the best idea.

My savior is the library of Chiyoda ward. Located at the Chiyoda Ward Office, the library is just perfect. So far, I’ve been heading to the library almost every day. There’s a small selection of Japanese language/grammar books so I do get to spend some time studying. My only problem is I get sleepy sometimes. Haha!

There’s a park right across the ward office. One of these days, I’ll find time to explore that park.

So, yeah, I spend about three hours at the library and then I spend another hour for lunch/chillax before heading back to the centre. The other day, I thought I was only going to have 3 lessons in the evening. To my surprise, it became 6 lessons. I’m not complaining because that means more teaching experience and of course, additional income. It does get tiring though. I salute all teachers in every corner of the world.

If I don’t have a 915PM lesson, I can reach home by 10 and be zzz-ing by 1030. If I’m lucky and I have a 915 lesson, I get to leave the centre at 1015 and reach home by 1045. I sleep at 1130 so that I can get about 6 hours of sleep.

Saturdays are a bit more relaxing because my first lesson is usually at 9AM. That would give me enough time to still go for a quick jog at my neighbourhood park.

Sundays, on the other hand, would be the most relaxed day. I decided to teach as well on Sundays at least for the first few months just so I can see if I will hit my target salary. I’ll be teaching in another centre since my home centre is closed on Sundays.

The adjustment is taking a lot longer compared to the adjustment I did in Singapore. There are still so many things to figure out and take care of. First of these is finding the time to work out or at least have some form of exercise! Haha!

Tokyo, what an experience you’re turning out to be!

6 comments:

  1. I think the cultural nuances are the most difficult to pick up

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  2. Life is so stressful in Tokyo. Better soak inside the hot onsen daily to lull you to sleep. Maybe you could get the special monthly train passes there.

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    1. I've yet to go to an onsen. So far, what lulls me to sleep is an app that functions like a sound machine

      If you do find out about the monthly train pass, do let me me know. Right now, I use the Pasmo. I get a minuscule discount. Haha c

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    2. I am afraid I cannot advise you since I am not in Tokyo but I remember about all their monthly pass options which are different from Osaka areas. Tokyo's mega subway lines are more scary compared to New York City.

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    3. Heya! :) No worries. A co-instructor told me about it. Apparently, it's called a teiki (commuter's pass). I did computations and I would actually be able to save a little over Y1,000 every month. I can't believe I didn't know about this! Haha!

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  3. You are so right! I've been here two weeks and already, I've been reading about how certain things shouldn't be done because of this or that.

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