"C" is for Commuting

Yes, "C" is for Commuting, which is a big part of my work day. As you all know, I must ride my bike everyday--an activity which initially convinced me I would die an early death. My bike and I have had rocky relationship. I started off scared of it, then I got used to it, then I hated it in the winter, then I liked it again in the spring, now I'm annoyed with it because the chain and gears are all rusted and the sound of it grinding hurts my ears and freaks me out. There are so many great things about riding a bike. For example, it's eco friendly. It's fast. It's easy and it never runs out of gas!

There are bad points, too. My bike basket is only so big, so I can't do too much grocery shopping at one time. Also, the streets here are very narrow and often do not have sidewalks. The absolute worst part, though, is biking in any weather but sunshine. I hate biking in snow, rain, typhoon winds, or even when it is just way too hot outside. Too often have I been caught in the rain. Here is a picture of exactly that: Jamie and I were biking home when all of a sudden the heavens opened up on us. We took cover under and awning and waited it out. Jamie kindly snapped a shot of me looking like a hot mess. Please notice the rain droplets on my glasses:

Another part of commuting is riding the train. Most of my schools are out in the countryside and I must take a train to reach most of them. I enjoy riding the trains most of the time. My longest train ride is a whopping 45 minutes, and as it's early in the morning, I often find myself nodding off. Some of my funniest moments as a foreigner in Japan come from riding the train. Sometimes, when I board a train full of students (not even my students, but high schoolers!), they take one look at me and whip out their English homework. Not even joking. They never ask me for help or anything, but they often glance over to see if I notice them studying English. Or they will suddenly start using random English words to see if they can get my attention. Sorry, kids, your shouting of the words "I have a pencil" is not going to entice any conversation out of me. :)