After a couple months of having to spend all my extra money on furniture and my car, I was finally able to do a little traveling around Japan and start to explore all the amazing places this country has to offer. This is the first in my series exploring Japan's islands.First stop: Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture!(Fun fact - Miyajima just means 'shrine island' and the island is referred to as that because of the famous giant orange torii gate located there. It's a UNESCO World ...
Life
Dreaming of Indonesia
One of the next big trips I'll be taking in 2017 is to Indonesia! I've been waiting and waiting to visit this country, and now that I'm finally living in a close area of the world, I'm going to go.Indonesia is such a varied country, so it's tricky to choose where to go - I want to see all of it! Scuba diving in Nusa Lembongan and Labuan Bajo, enjoying chill beach life in the Gili islands, embracing my yogi side in Ubud... Indonesia has so much to offer for all kinds of travelers.By ...
You Shook Me All Night Long
One thing I kind of forgot about when I got all excited about moving to Japan was earthquakes.Japan has A LOT of earthquakes. Actually, 6% of all the earthquakes in the whole damn world happen here. We get about 1500 a year.Our disaster preparation seminar at orientation was comprised of 30 minutes of showing footage from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster, a short remembrance of a JET Programme participant who died in the disaster, and a card to put in our wallets with emergency info ...
Months 50 + 51 Roundup
WTF, right? I'm in this crazy new country and not posting anything!? So many of you have been eager to hear all about my new life in Japan and new job teaching English. Sorry dudes.Honestly - I kind of feel like I don't have anything exciting enough to say. So I haven't really said anything.Japan is a cool country, but I don't live in a place like you're probably picturing. I live in a city of 60,000 people, which is straight up middle-of-nowhere by Japanese standards. There's a train to a ...
Stop Calling it a Jamaican Accent (Dear Islanders: I’m Sorry)
My diver is yelling at me."Rika! Rika! He has such a strong Jamaican accent, I can't understand what he's saying! Rika, what did he say to me?"I instantly cringe and throw profuse apologies with my eyes at my boat captain, who lets out a weary sigh, rolls his eyes, giggles, and continues helping my diver with his gear. This is his daily life on an island full of people who just don't understand.it was not any of these divers :)I heard things like this every day on ...
The JET Programme: From Arrival to Tokyo Orientation
Ok, this is the last one in this trilogy series - see The JET Programme: From Application to Acceptance and The JET Programme: From Pre-departure to Departure for parts one and two. Please keep in mind while reading that I'm a Canadian from the Vancouver consulate - until you leave your home country, things vary by consulate. Once you get to Tokyo though, everyone's in the same boat until departure day to your prefecture.This one is all about the most exciting part - getting here!We left ...
Month 49 Roundup
Well hi! This post is coming to you live from steamy, humid, scorching Japan. Seriously, this country should be illegal in the summer. And I'm trying to be real respectful of local customs, but it's getting a bit much to not be allowed to wear tank tops or anything above the bottom of my knees when AC seems to be 'optional' (ie. NONE) in so many places, including schools. I have retreated to the air-conditioned cave that is my house, and while I wish I didn't have to come out until October.... ...
Where Does Wanderlust Start?
When I was seven, I was enamored with a book series in my school library. There was a whole shelf of tiny yellow-bound books that detailed an adventure, and every book was a different destination. They were old - maybe from the 60s or 70s? - but I loved them. I was just a little kid living in Nova Scotia, and I had already moved three times from the west coast of Canada to the prairies and then out to the east coast. When you're a military brat, you get used to having a new home in a new city ...
Homesick for Somewhere That’s Not ‘Home’
I am a crier. People who know me, know this. I cry in children's movies (Finding Nemo is a nightmare for me), I cry when I see cute old couples on the train, I cry when adorable fluffy puppies clamber up my legs, I cry at all the images on the news of war-torn countries and shell-shocked kids. I am a crier. Do not play that goddamn Sarah McLaughlin SPCA commercial around me.I also recently found out that I cry when I'm homesick. I have never been homesick before, so this one is new to me. When ...
You Might as Well Dance
One thing I want aspiring or incoming JET participants to know is this: you need to show up in this country with your A-game, because more often than not, you are expected to head straight into an onslaught of activities upon arriving...jet lag, lack of sleep, churned-up digestive system, and culture shock be damned. I was lucky that I didn't feel much of these (maybe lack of sleep), though my comrades certainly did. The biggest struggle for me was that I am used to SO much time alone, and SO ...