People often ask me what it's like being
the only foreign prof at a J university. Normally, it is like anywhere else.
It's when the chips are down you see the
differences.
Recently my uni went back to face to face
but I refused due to my wife's health issues and my son's developmental issues.
Basically, I haven't the energy to be a double careworker at home and ride the
plague trains.
The response has been split along giri
(obligation to work) and ninjou (intense humanity and empathy) lines.
When I made the announcement, my usually
sunny supervisor called me irresponsible and terrible, and threateningly hinted
at problems because the other profs didn't know what was happening. The dean
noted I had gotten fat and told me to work more, then relented and told me to
take care.
In response, I sent a mass email to
everyone explaining exactly the pressures I was under, and got some sympathetic
emails telling me they understood and to take care of myself.
Just now, an older prof I ran into shook my
hand, hugged me, and wept openly.
So, these are the extremes you get here.
