This is my second time living in Japan, so it has been wonderful revisiting some places and discovering new ones.  I also love being immersed in everyday routines that make me feel like I’m really living here, not just visiting.

Working for Amity has been an extremely valuable experience for me.  I have learned not only how to navigate around a professional environment, but also how to build relationships with a wide range of people – staff members, students, and parents.  I love teaching the students every week, because often it is possible to see them improving from lesson to lesson.  I feel especially rewarded when I hear them use English that we learned weeks or even months ago.  Amity provides a unique opportunity to work with an incredible range of students, from toddlers just learning their first English and Japanese words, energetic elementary school kids, chatty high-school students, and all the way up to nearly fluent parents.  Every level has been engaging and rewarding in its own way.

Living in Japan is a great reminder of how lifestyles are both universal and culturally unique.  Every day, I see people carrying out familiar activities – grocery shopping, chatting on street corners, driving or catching a train to work.  But small things, like fancy bento boxed lunches at 7-11, a kimono-clad woman walking past, or a glimpse of the local temple from a train window, let me know that I’m definitely in Japan.  It’s been wonderful being able to visit various places, try new foods, and take part in holiday festivities.  Some things – such as visiting Tokyo’s bustling Shinjuku district – I’ve read about in countless guidebooks.  Others – like knowing where the best spot to view cherry blossoms is – are tips offered by the Japanese people I’ve met here, and the ones I enjoy best!