Life of an addicted rider

It’s past 1am and I can’t sleep. Maybe it’s because I slept in past noon. That’s fine, Tourist Trophy awaits me after this post… maybe. It’s been just over 6 months since I came to Japan. I’ve grown accustomed to every aspect of life here. Transport, food, and even the pollution. However, the one inevitable thing must happen, I need money. No, food. Wait… Tim Hortons. Okay, so I’m sidetracked here. If you are Canadian, I mean truely Canadian, you can never imagine how much you’d miss a good Tim Horton’s donut. Damn Homer Simpson! I don’t drink coffee, so the donuts are what I crave. Oh well. If you do read this, and you wish to send a care package, send a Tim Hortons franchise for me.
Okay, back on track. I am finally employed. I work for the 4th largest English school in Tokyo. Why am I proud to say the 4th largest? Because the company doesn’t suck. That’s why. If you ever think of teaching in Japan, get a working holiday and go to my company, Gaba. Geos does a lot of child training. Aeon, Nova, and Berlitz will probably treat you like crap. The pay is pretty much the same across the board. Currently, I’m paid 1400 Yen a lesson. 40 minute lessons plus 5 min of prep time. So about 1700 Yen an hour (if I am booked for a lesson). That’s still more than I make at the bank. You aren’t paid if you have a break or no one is coming. That’s fine. You don’t get paid for taking a lunch, but I do miss paid breaks. Gaba is also a one-on-one teaching ground. You don’t have to teach 5-10 people at the same time. You get a cubicle and that’s it. The only problem is, you have a lot more work with just one person. No rest. Trade offs. The other thing is, they are the most expensive school in Japan. At 5000 Yen a lesson, it’s EXPENSIVE!!! Then again, the clientel is mostly business men and women and fairly rich young people. Almost no one under 18. Largely 24-40 year old women. Although there is a fair number of 30-45 year old men too. So what’s the problem? The people are nice, the clients are nice, so what’s the problem? Gaba is still a large corporation at heart. About to have it’s IPO, profits still take priority. I’m not an employee. I’m a contracted instructor. Go figure. It’s fine as I don’t really care. I just want my money! So, I’ve worked 4 days (11 hour days at that) and I’ve made over 50000 Yen. That’s about $500 CDN. Not bad. Too bad my pay cheque isn’t until next month. Paid once a month. That’s right. Once a month. Not twice a month or bi-weekly. Once a month. Plus, it’s a month late. Damn Japanese labour laws. Oh well. Next time you think about extended travel to Japan, think Gaba. At least you can decide when you want to work. Want the 15th off? Just tell them a month in advance and it’s fine. Want an extra shift? Just ask and it’ll probably be okay.

FYI: Next update? Who knows. Maybe never. I doubt I’ll visit often.