The title of this post says "At present this is a blog without purpose."
A fair assessment, as this is supposed to be a blog about life in Japan, and I haven't been living there for quite some time now. All my pictures from Japan have been uploaded and available for perusal for quite some time now, so having no new material makes it hard to post. Of course the subheading of the blog says differently, but honestly school and life in general precludes me from finding the time to devote to this thing.
School is going well, and very little will hold me back from graduating. I can't speak to my grades this semester, but 3 As, 3 Bs seem to be in the cards. My Japanese courseload will be totally finished, and I can enjoy my first and last semester at UH with a single Japanese course in the spring. Speaking of spring, I will only be taking 4 classes, and they will all be either Tues/Thurs classes or online, which leaves me plenty of time to be working part time, but also job hunting as well. Oh, and looking back on my previous post, I did decide to keep political science as a second major. Thinking on it there was no reason not to and it provides an extra selling point I can use
On that front, I've started keeping an eye on Craigslist, and eyeing potential openings with non-profit organizations. Staying in Hawaii to work after graduation is looking quite unlikely at the moment unless I can get a hefty salary or wage, so I'm looking into the Chicago area, but also Seattle as well. Working in Japan is still an option, as I will be sending off my JET application early next week, but I still have to be selected for an interview, interview, and then be accepted. That process takes a while. Jobs outside of English teaching are hard to come by for foreigners in Japan, and there seem to be two ways to go about obtaining them. First, getting your start as an English teacher and building up a network of people who know people who can hook you up with people who are connected to a company that may be able to interview you. Knowing people helps a lot for sure. The other way of course is to work your way in from the outside by working for a foreign firm with ties to or who does business directly in Japan. Honestly, if JET is a no go, then I will be leaning toward the latter. I'm open to suggestions and all job offers though!
The life part of well, life, is going okay. I've actually been able to go to the beach quite a bit this semester, which for the first time really makes me feel like I'm living IN Hawaii. I don't go to the beach for the sun though, I go to swim in the water and bodysurf some waves when the conditions are not life-threatening. As of yet I have not gotten pictures uploaded from these various trips, but I do have some videos I put up on Youtube. I'm not featured in any of these (as I am the cameraman) but I hope to eventually get a friend to film me while I get my ass kicked out there.
Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu. This place is known for monstrous waves as winter swells roll in from the north, and there is a surf competition held here annual but only if the waves are above 25 feet. In this video the waves aren't anywhere near that extreme, but I wouldn't advise weak and/or inexperienced swimmers braving these conditions either.
Sandy Beach on the east side of Oahu. On clear days you can very easily see the island of Molokai to the east. This place is notorious for its literally killer currents and shore break. If you're not careful you can get caught up in the shore break and get mercilessly pounded by waves breaking right on top of you repeatedly. I normally swim out far enough to avoid the break, or if I have to face it I just swim underneath and hope to not get taken by it. Of course these intense conditions make Sandys a haven for bodysurfers, and many of the world's best come here.
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