I'm back on track with my roundup schedule now that my site has been moved! It seems like everything is working okay, but as always, if you find something wonky please let me know. So far the response to the redesign seems positive - let me know what you think in the comments below! What I've Been Doing Since the Last Roundup Finishing up the school year! The school year in Japan runs from April to March, not September to June like Western schools. We had graduation for my elementary schools and ...
Hadaka Matsuri: The Naked Man Festival in Okayama
When one of my fellow ALTs in a nearby prefecture invited me to watch the Hadaka Matsuri in Okayama prefecture in February, I said, "what's that?"Maybe you can imagine how quickly I said YES when he said it was a festival where 9,000 men wear fundoshi (basically a loincloth) and run around in a temple chasing sticks.Yo, sign me up!What It Is Hadaka Matsuri (translated into "Naked Man Festival") is a festival over 500 years old held at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama City. It's billed as "one ...
What I Wish I Had Known Before Coming to Japan
I tried to include this in my First Six Months in Japan recap post, but my "What I Wish I Had Known Before Coming to Japan" section was longer than the post itself. It clearly needed its own post, so here you go! Or, if you're an ALT: here you are! (Inside ALT joke - students learn "here you are" instead of "here you go", and after months of saying it constantly, it starts to replace "here you go" in your natural speech!)This list of things I wish I had known before coming to Japan is ...
1368 Steps: Visiting Kotohira-gu
In the spirit of exploring the island I live on, Shikoku, I jumped at an invitation from a fellow ALT to spend a Saturday at a famous shrine, Kotohira-gu. (She conveniently left out that I would need to climb 1,368 steps up the side of a mountain to get to it...!)Kotohira-gu Shrine (commonly known as Konpira-san) is a huge Shinto shrine located 35km outside of Takamatsu, in Kagawa prefecture on Shikoku Island. It's about a 1.5 hour drive from the town we live in (Naruto), and the tolls are ...
The First Six Months as a JET ALT in Japan
It's been both the fastest and the slowest six months of my life. I can't believe I've been teaching as a JET Programme ALT in Japan for just over six months now.Some days I really feel like I've been in the classroom every day for three hundred years (usually, that feeling is on a Friday). Some days I feel like it's still my first day and I don't know what the fuck I'm doing.But mostly.... mostly it's been fine.I thought it might be a good idea to collect my thoughts and advice from the ...
Months 54-55 Roundup – January and February 2017
It's been a hot minute since I've done a roundup post (the last one was my mega-end-of-2016-roundup), so this time is a 2-for-1 deal! Here's the lowdown on my January and February 2017: What I've been doing since the last roundup Well, besides getting the overhaul of this site going and slogging through all that is a website/branding relaunch... I did all of this:five days in Seoul, South Korea for New Years another weekend trip to Osaka (I went last December too!) went on a day ...
Bigger and Better Than Ever
WELCOME TO THE BRAND-SPANKIN-NEW CUBICLE THROWDOWN! It's bigger and better than ever - and I can't think of a more apt way to celebrate my 300th post than with a completely new site! Lots of things have changed in my life, so I wanted my site to be updated too. While Roatan and diving will always have the #1 place in my heart, I wanted my site to be a little less scuba-centric and better reflect what my life is like now.A Brand New Cubicle Throwdown While I've had a couple redesigns in the ...
Under Construction
Cubicle Throwdown is turning 5 years old very soon (wait, what?! FIVE YEARS?!), and my little blog that has turned into a big part of my life is getting a much-needed makeover! Just as I've changed from a dive instructor in the Caribbean to an English teacher in Japan, my site needs some changes too. My new site will be much easier for me to post - something that is the reason behind my lack of posting lately. My current set-up is too cumbersome and makes me just not want to write anything. So ...
Month 53 Roundup – December 2016
Wow, what a year!2016 has been all over the map (literally and figuratively) for me.Here's a quick recap:January - lived in Roatan, went to Canada halfway through for family reasons February - in Canada, interviewed for the JET Programme March - in Canada, and then back to Roatan April - found out I got a spot on the JET Programme, left Roatan for good May through July - in Canada, with a few trips to around Canada and one to Portland in there August - moved to Japan! September through ...
Visiting Ritsurin Garden
You know that picture in your head you have of Japan? Maybe you imagine lush green Japanese gardens, with impeccably manicured trees, zen gardens, traditional teahouses, tranquil ponds and moss everywhere... at least that's what I pictured before I came here. I recently visited Ritsurin Garden in Takamatsu, and my imaginary picture came to life!At the entrance, there are special attendants who have "I Speak English!" buttons, but all you really need to do is hold up the number of fingers for ...