It's still too hot...

We are supposedly coming to the end of summer here in Tokyo - actually according to the traditional Japanese calendar it's already been autumn for a few weeks - and it's still climbing up to 35˚C or so most days. And it's not the pleasant 35˚C heat you get in Spain and from which you can take refuge in the shade, but the pervasive humid kind from which even a breeze provides precious little relief. Most of my experiences of Japanese summers have been much the same, though they are saying that this has been one of the hottest summers on record. I'll be glad to see the back of this summer and a return to more bearable temperatures.

I've been working with the Irish Chamber now for about three months and it's been very enjoyable so far. I've been involved in organising three events so far - one for Minister Ryan, a leaving do for the Ambassador and we had a talk from Patrick Honohan, the Central Bank governor a couple of weeks ago. All of them have gone very smoothly so far. The next big event will be our golf tournament in October, but since I don't play golf myself I'm not feeling overly confident about it. Anyway, the job is part-time so I've still had plenty of time on my hands and not enough cash in my pockets! But I've been getting a nice bit of translation work recently so things are looking up there. And as much as I wanted to avoid teaching, I got offered a handy job in a local little college and could hardly refuse it. I'll be teaching English to classes of mainly Chinese students. I taught Japanese to a few Chinese students in DCU, and they certainly seemed like enthusiastic students so hopefully these ones will have an equal desire to learn.

We didn't get a chance to get away this summer - apart from a weekend in Nikko in July - but we have already booked our flights back home for Christmas. I cannot wait!