Hello!

イーオン日立校ブログをご覧下さりありがとうございます★

今週はJesse先生のブログ！3/11をもって日立校を退職するJesse先生、その後の人生設計について書いています◎

Hi everybody! By now, you've probably heard the news, that Sarah sensei and I are finishing our time at AEON. My last day will be on March 11! I'm sure some of you are wondering what I'm going to do next, so today I'll talk about my plans.

First of all, I'm actually staying in Hitachi. I really like Hitachi, and I consider it home, so staying here was an important part of my plans. Last time I talked about my new apartment, which is on Heiwa street. That was an important step in finishing at AEON, since my old apartment will be given to the next foreign teacher. I looked at apartments in Ogitsu, Juo, and Hitachi-Taga, but I really wanted to be near Hitachi station and all my favorite shops and restaurants. So, mission accomplished!

(退職後も日立に住み続けたいと考えて、日立駅の近くに引っ越しました。)

Now that I have my apartment, I'm ready for the next step. After I finish at AEON, I will have a few weeks for vacation, and then I'm going to start taking Japanese lessons! I plan to join a Japanese language school, and study Japanese full time. I will be taking lessons 5 days a week, for 4 hours a day, plus homework. Those lessons will continue for two years! The teachers at the school think that it's possible I can pass the level N2 Japanese test at the end of my two years. That's a pretty high level test, and it would mean my Japanese is good enough to work in most Japanese offices, and even government jobs.

(退職後2,3週間の休暇を経て、日本語学校に通います。日本で働くのに十分なレベルの日本語検定も受験する予定です。)

I've lived in Japan now for more than 4 years, and I really haven't learned much Japanese. I can say a few funny things, and I can do simple izakaya communication, but my real level is still a total beginner. I've tried studying on my own a few times, but I'm just not very good at it. It's difficult for me to continue studying by myself. Some people are able to learn that way, and I'm jealous of them, but it's just not working for me. I need lessons. I need a class, a teacher, and homework. So, I'm finally going to do that!

(独学で日本語を勉強したこともありましたが、学校へ通う方が自分には合っていると思いました。)

What will I do after I finish my lessons? I'm not sure yet! There are actually a lot of options for me, and I have several good ideas, but I haven't chosen one yet. Some of it depends on my success in the Japanese lessons. If my Japanese improves a lot, I will have more options. If my Japanese still isn't very good when I finish the course, I won't have as many choices. So, first, I need to focus on doing a good job in my school!

(日本語学校を出た後のことについてはまだ分かりませんが、日本語を上達させない事には将来を選びようがないので、今は日本語学校で頑張ることが最優先だと考えています。)

One idea I had, was opening a small restaurant in Hitachi. I love cooking, so it has always been something I was interested in. I need to learn a lot of Japanese, so that I can speak to customers, but also to other businesses as an owner, such as the food vendors or gas company. It would be fun to design a restaurant with my style and menu. On the other hand, restaurant work is hard, and I've done it for a long time. I'm not sure I really want to go back into the restaurant industry. For one thing, I'm really excited to finally be free in the evenings. At AEON, we work until around 9pm. When I was a bartender and waiter, I worked until 2am. I have been working at night my whole life. I'm really excited to have a more normal schedule, and be able to have dinner with friends. Opening a restaurant would force me to work at night again. But, it's still one idea on my list.

(将来の一つの選択肢として、小さいレストランを開きたいと考えています。でも、今まで夜の時間に働くことしかしてこなかったので、いわゆる普通の勤務時間で、夜は友達と食事したりという生活も良いなと思っています。レストランをやるとすれば、それはまた夜型の生活に戻ってしまうということです。レストランは選択肢の一つとして今は考えています。)

If I open a restaurant in Hitachi, who will come eat there???

(もし日立にレストランを開いたら、誰が食べに来てくれますか？)