One Year in Japan, Yen Depreciation, School Garbage

Hello!

Short update for this week.

It has now been over a year since I came to Japan. My flight departed the US on October 2nd, 2021 and I then spent two weeks in Japanese hotel quarantine with a bunch of other people from my program that came from through the Chicago consulate.

Japan has changed a bit since that time - hotel quarantine is no longer required in most situations. In fact, Japan will be opening back up to normal tourism this Tuesday, October 11th. Please come visit me in Japan!

The Japanese Yen has weakened considerably versus the US dollar over the last year. A year ago, one US dollar got you 112 Japanese Yen. Now, that same dollar will get you about 145 yen. Having 100 yen in Japan is kind of similar to what having $1 in the US is like in terms of what it buys you. There are "100 yen" stores in Japan that are similar to US dollar stores - they sell many basic items for 100 yen. You can also buy most drinks at convenience stores for between 100 and 200 yen.

The currency depreciation is good for tourists coming to Japan - everything in Japan is cheaper. As I am not currently converting yen to USD, it does not have an impact on me yet. But, if I were to leave Japan, I would need to convert my Japanese savings back to USD to make it usable back home. I am hoping for better rates in the future.

Language progress over the year has been a bit slower than I expected, but I am still learning. I have lately been trying to do more speaking lessons from home rather than going to in-person lessons. The in-person lessons can be a bit less efficient - it takes time to travel to the class, you arrive home late and sometimes you are working with several other students and a teacher. So, speaking time is not maximized and sometimes not adjusted to your level.

My seat at work also changed about a month ago. I am now sitting next to some teachers who are more often in the staff room and I am located closer to the front of the room, so that means I hear more conversations and teachers talking on the phone.

Also at school and related to garbage, I heard recently that some schools do not have garbages for their teachers to use for personal items (such as throwing out food wrappers or drink bottles they might bring in from home). In those schools, teachers are expected to take their garbage home with them.

It costs money for the school to provide garbage bags. Adding to that - the school has to buy different types of bags to manage various garbage types. A separate bag for burnable garbage and a different one for plastic bottles or cans.

My school has garbage for the teachers to use, so we have a bit of a "luxury" in that regard. Although, on Friday there was some discussion about the usage of the bags that I did not understand. I will have to ask next week what was being talked about in regards to garbage.

The weather has cooled off this week. It is almost like we went straight from summer to winter. Temperatures were in the 60s. I think low 70s is more normal for this time of year here.

That's all for now.

Until next time,

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