Three weeks after moving to Fukuchiyama and still not quite settled in, GEOS Corporation has filed for bankruptcy. 99 schools are closing down. The remaining 230 schools (Fukuchiyama is fortunately one of which) will continue operating under the ownership of a company called G.communication.
So as of yesterday I am unemployed. Tomorrow I will go to the school, sign an employment agreement with this new company, and continue to teach lessons according to my schedule. What remains is the question of when and if I will get paid for the time that I’ve put in here, as the remains of GEOS Corp. likely doesn’t have enough money to go around. I am also unsure of what will become of the company apartment I’m currently living in.
All I can do is go to work tomorrow and try to reassure the students that neither I nor the school are going anywhere. しかたがない, as they say in Japanese.
Anyway, here are some pictures that I took around Fukuchiyama Castle while the sakura were still blooming:
Tweets that mention Upheaval « Andrew Hawkins -- Topsy.com
April 22, 2010 at 4:13 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Hiroki Matsuuchi, Andrew Hawkins. Andrew Hawkins said: New blog post: Upheaval http://www.ahawkins.name/?p=36 [...]
Hiroki Matsuuchi
May 9, 2010 at 11:43 am
A bit of propaganda from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok3ykR2GHCc&feature=player_embedded
Andrew
May 9, 2010 at 2:35 pm
It makes some extremely cogent points, though. Japan, and the rest of the world, would be better off by consuming primarily locally-grown food.