If you would have told me four years ago as I got on a plane to Roatan that this roundup would be coming to you from Japan, I probably would have laughed in your face, got a little wistful, and gone back to filling out my dive log.I never thought I would be on Roatan for four years, and I certainly never thought I'd be in Japan now. But I'm so, so happy for both of those things. I'm here in Naruto and slowly trying to settle into my apartment, my job, and my new time zone. I'm a little sick ...
Life
Konnichiwa Bitches: Hello from Japan
Just a post to say... I MADE IT. Hello from Shinjuku, Tokyo! I'm eating everything. I'll have more to tell you all soon.It's muggy and humid and roasting hot. It makes me miss Roatan. I don't want to put my suit on, but work is work. What a funny feeling it is to wake up in a new world to your new life. Bring it, Japan.Guys, make sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter ... there's lots of extras posted there that don't make it onto the blog. I also have Google+ if ...
A Weekend in Portland
I had one little thing on my to-do list during these few months I've been in Canada, and that was visit my friend Sarah in Portland before I left for Japan. We had been talking about this for ages - I first met Sarah in Roatan (she arrived shortly after me) and we were soon neighbors and friends. When she moved back to Portland last year, she left the island and I promised the next time I was in Canada that I would come see her. So I did! I only had a short weekend, so we decided to make the ...
The JET Programme: From Pre-departure to Departure
Most of you know by now that I'm headed to Japan to teach English as a participant on the JET Programme. I wrote previously about how this was a long time coming (I first heard about it in 2006!) and a basic breakdown of the timeline. This post will be more detailed, and will probably only be interesting to those of you who found my blog while searching for info about JET, sorry! Please keep in mind while reading that I am a Canadian (Vancouver consulate) JET, and things differ by consulate and ...
The JET Programme: From Application to Acceptance
Most of you know by now that I'm headed to Japan to teach English as a participant on the JET Programme. I wrote previously about how this was a long time coming (I first heard about it in 2006!) and a basic breakdown of the timeline. This post will be more detailed, and will probably only be interesting to those of you who found my blog while searching for info about JET, sorry! Please keep in mind while reading that I am a Canadian (Vancouver consulate) JET, and things differ by ...
{GIVEAWAY} – Personal Planner: Power to the Pen and Paper People
(Pretty proud of that most excellent title alliteration, BTW.)It's that time of year again guys. You know what's up. Personal Planner [ Facebook / Twitter / Insta ] time!! I've partnered with this amazing company in 2013, 2014, 2015 and again this year to bring you something near and dear to my OCD heart - my favorite dayplanner. I'm an old school pen + paper girl. I tried using my iPhone synced to my Google calendar for a year but the syncing kept messing up and I missed things I ...
Mega-Roundup: Months 42-47
Remember when I used to do a roundup every month? Yeah, that was cute.So 2016 has kind of been all over the place for me. Wait, kind of been? No, fuck that. It's been crazy as shit. From January until July I have taken: four flights to and from Roatan, ten flights to and from Vancouver, the train to and from Portland, and five road trips to Saskatoon. This might sound fun to my travel buddies, but I have accepted the fact that I am not the best traveler - I am much happier as an expat. I like ...
PSA: Kayaking in Roatan
Every once in a while, I decide to use this platform for a public service announcement. Whether it's about how much to tip your divemaster or all the things your dive instructor won't tell you, sometimes I leverage the fact that I rank highly in Google searches about Roatan to get the word out about something that I consider important and I'm okay with that.This time, it's going to be in the name of safety.If you are planning to kayak during your visit to Roatan, please read this entire ...
So I’m Moving to Japan… WTF
Yeah, so I know I kinda just slid that in there among all my "I'm leaving Roatan for good blah blah blah" stuff lately... "oh and PS I'm moving to Japan".WTF?(I know, right.)It's actually been a really, really, long time coming. To be accurate, about 10 years in the making! Here's the story.From the time I was a little kid, I have always been fascinated with Japan. Not Asia...not other countries in the area. Just Japan. I wasn't into anime or J-pop, but I was in love with the food, the ...
Giving Back: How You Can Help Roatan
One thing I loved about a lot of the tourists I met over the years on Roatan is that many of them had a strong desire to help the island. When you get there and personally witness snippets of the grinding poverty that some people live in, and realize the government is not going to help them, for most people it ignites a fire to do something to give back.On Roatan there are many worthy charities, some of which I've highlighted before. I highly recommend that all tourists research various ways ...