Kindnesses

I'm in the midst of deciding whether or not to recontract in this job. A major part of the job, of course, is living in this town. And despite the small size, I'm finding it to be a really nice place to live. Sure, I miss things like being able to get food from home, being able to rent movies without having to drive an hour into the city, going out for real coffee, speaking English... But these inconveniences are made up for by the incredible kindness of everyone in town.

Earlier this week my supervisor and one of the other guys in the office put my winter tires on for me (see previous post).

Last night I went out for some drinks and socializing at my favorite local bar. After a lengthy evening with plenty of drink, the owners not only would not take my money, but also called me a cab and drove me home. Okay, so the cab driver was the husband of the mama who runs the bar. But still, when was the last time you went to the bar and management not only paid for your drinks, but also picked up the tab for your cab home?

Today I was on my way out to the city to pay for my Christmas trip and stopped to pay my gas bill. I needed a new winter wiper blade for the car too. So I pay, and get my wiper blade (wa i pa in Japanese if you're interested) . The lady at the store puts all the bits together and installs the blade for me, free of charge. And then she wouldn't let me pay all the the money I owed either (not a lot of money, admittedly, but it's the principle of the thing).

I'm starting to wonder if there was a town meeting about getting the ALT to stay for more than a year... It's going to be a tough decision.