Northern Treks (Day 3)
Well I begin this post back in Tokyo, with a full day of lazy recuperating behind me. It was actually unbelievably warm in Tokyo yesterday– a high of 75 degrees, and stunningly sunny the whole day long. Unfortunately for me I hadn’t slept much at all the previous night, so rather than walking around Kichijoji and drinking in the gorgeous sunshine, I threw open all the … Continue reading Northern Treks (Day 3)
Northern Treks: Iwate (Day 2)
I tend to like starting these posts with a description of my current surroundings for whatever reason, so let me begin from there once again. I’m now in the far less atmospheric (and far less warm) kitchen of my host’s house, since I assumed that my kind host would not exactly approve of me bringing a cup of tea and chocolate cake up to my … Continue reading Northern Treks: Iwate (Day 2)
Northern Treks: Iwate (Day 1)
Well I start this post in much different surroundings from my last one. I’m sitting on the tatami floor of a beautiful Japanese-style room (right next to the flame-burning space heater, as there is no central heating). The room is divided into 2 identical 6-tatami mat rooms (~10 sq ft each) by a beautiful fabric sliding door, painted with a simple Japanese landscape (currently open so that … Continue reading Northern Treks: Iwate (Day 1)
Shoes and Ritual
I think I may have found my new favorite place for writing/blogging/general working: this cute little bakery/cafe a half a mile or so down the road from my gym. Well except for the fact that the kindly barista brought me herbal tea instead of the coffee I ordered (in and of itself not a great offense or really an offense at all). But then, upon … Continue reading Shoes and Ritual
Who is laughing at mankind?
According to my suspiciously easy teaching contract, I’m supposed to teach at my school only 16 days a month. The theory behind this is that the same teaching contract applies to all teachers in my program placed in Tokyo Prefecture. Up until a few years ago, most of those teachers were not placed in the greater metropolitan Tokyo area, but were rather in the outskirts … Continue reading Who is laughing at mankind?
The Shadow Puppets
I’m staring at my little collection of New Years cards from the kiddies, written to me during their Christmas Day Winter Seminar (inhumane), and I just noticed that every one features the phrase “A Happy New Year!” rather than “Happy New Year!” Obviously drilled into them as part of the lesson, but kind of an odd error. Maybe the teacher learned this from the “We … Continue reading The Shadow Puppets
Ordinary Chronicles
Well it’s been a hugely long hiatus this time since my previous post… Maybe something encroaching on 5 months. I guess I have a combination of excuses to defend myself this time, but primarily the fact that my 7 year old laptop finally broke on me back in August, putting me out of commission on blogging for a few months until I acquired this shiny … Continue reading Ordinary Chronicles
The White Wonderland of Wakkanai
As we enter into the final days of July, we’re finally hitting those excruciatingly hot Tokyo summer days that I remember from three years ago when I studied Japanese for a summer at ICU. The thick, choking humidity immediately engulfs you when you step outside like the steam of a sauna. I think yesterday it just barely pushed over 100º F (37.8º C) for a … Continue reading The White Wonderland of Wakkanai
Ruby Tuesdays
This is probably a theme that I’ll often return to, hopefully not to an excess. Ah how do I begin on this particular story? It’s certainly not helping my distracted focus that a pair of foreigners are sitting at the table next to me, engrossed in an interview-style conversation, the subject of which I would name “language and sexuality,” though I can’t be sure seeing … Continue reading Ruby Tuesdays
Lavender Monasteries
Well it’s been a bit of a hiatus since my last blog post, but for good reason. For the past few weeks I left the wonders of Tokyo to gallivant around Europe with my sister for a bit. My cousin had a beautiful wedding in the south of France, and we met in Europe for that occasion. So I’m going to diverge a bit from … Continue reading Lavender Monasteries
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