2002-04-08 - 7:13 p.m.
April is the beginning of the business year here, and is marked by countless shifts in personnel and power, from the government on down to the local supermarket. Last Thursday I was called in with the other JETs to the Board of Education to "meet some new people at the office." To all of our surprise, we were introduced to our new boss -- our old boss moving up (literally and figuratively) to the 6th floor. And on Friday I started at my new school, where there were 7 new teachers (out of about 20) and a new vice principal as well. Every few years school staff play musical chairs -- out of fairness to the schools and their own careers.
My new school is still on the train line, but only about half as far out into the country. Still, it's a quiet little mountain town where I have to be concious to say "ohayo gozaimasu" to every person I pass on the way to school in the morning, because they are undoubtedly the parents and grandparents of my students. The town has a main street with, among other things, a 7-11, a shoe store, and a hardware store -- none of which my last school's town had (including the main street). The atmosphere of the school is friendly, and the kids seem genki (lively) but not obnoxious. The teachers are throwing a welcome party for me on Friday night, which is very nice of them.
On Saturday I went to one of Tokyo's hidden treasures. Shinjuku Gyoen is a large park -- really a collection of gardens -- tucked away in the heart of one of Tokyo's busiest neighborhoods (we're talking Times Square busy). Once you pay the 200 yen entry fee and start out on one of the paths into the woods, it's like you're not even in Tokyo anymore. My favorite garden was the traditional Japanese one, with a huge pond and some mean-looking carp. There were hundreds of cherry blossom trees, and everyone was doing some serious blossom appreciation. I've never quite seen anything like it. Besides sitting beneath the trees and generally soaking up the atmosphere, it seemed like every other person had a camera with a tripod and a foot-long lens to memorialize the blooming. I can only imagine the resulting photo albums: "Cherry blossoms, Shinjuku Gyoen, 1999." Next page: "Cherry blossoms, Shinjuku Gyoen, 2000." Next page: "Cherry blossoms, Shinjuku Gyoen, 2001"... Or more likely -- "Mikiko, age 8, with cherry blossoms in Shinjuku Gyoen..." "Mikiko, age 9, with cherry blossoms, in Shinjuku Gyoen..." As for me: I forgot my camera.
