From 3rd Grade to Japan?

I've been thinking for a while now that I wouldn't mind becoming a teacher. Notably a teacher of 3rd grade as I'm very good with younger children. I can talk to them, encourage them, play with them, and teach them without looking down at them or letting them run all over me. I also think they feel comfortable in my presence (which was again confirmed the other day when two young boys walked up to me and just started chatting away despite my black nails and black eyes). So why not? There aren't enough teachers that can stand children as it is. And me? I'm nothing more than a big kid at heart.

Now, before I ever got fully settled with this decision, I looked at my writing and the huge stack of books on my desk and thought: but I really want to be a writer! What am I thinking? I LOVE writing. I want to be published. I want to be a professional, sitting in my little corner looking out at the world. I want to go down to the local coffee shop or the park and just sit back, day dream, and write! Teaching would just get in the way. So I pushed the teaching idea aside and focused on my writing. Yes, I know. Little good that is doing me as I have yet to FINISH a single damn thing...

Which brought me to my current path. Research can be such a wonderful thing sometimes; a pain in the ass at others. I believe I spent 4 hours looking up upper-secondary schools in Japan for my current novel. Conclusion: Uuugg... For those in a similar boat (really, though, who but me is this nuts?) here's some links: Secondary Education In Japan (wiki), Another Wiki (with a really long name!) , and The JET Program.

Now, that last one brought the 'Why not be a teacher' in me out again. The JET Program is a pragram (duh) for anyone who would like to teach English in Japan and make money doing it with no previous teaching or Japanese language knowledge. I've known of this program for a while now and have been considering it for just as long. It was probably the whole "How can I get to Japan with out it costing me so damn much?" mentality. That or the "Ug! I have to wait half a year for the next season to be fan subbed?!" Anyways, I found them again and started thinking. Why not? I'd love to visit Japan, I wouldn't mind teaching, and hey, I'm young. Four years getting a degree in English (or something) with being a TA interspersed then I'd be set.

Of course that just puts me back at my 'I want to be a writer!' but for now, this is more interesting. So I'll be thinking about it. It is 4 1/2 years away. At least! That means I'll be 30... Hum... that seams a little old to be an 'exchange teacher'... Well, I'll still think about it. You never know, I may be published by then and going to Japan for research.

Some more links for those interested: A current JET teacher, A former JET, Lucky Isle-a current JET, BigDaikon (a JET forum).

Boy, I really do ramble, don't I? And what the heck is up with all the italicizing?! As usual I don't apologize for any misspellings, grammatical errors, or views of opinion. I wrote it knowing it was going to be seen. I can live with the criticisms.