Laura-the-Explora

July 2011 - Battle Royale - Attack of the Hiru

2011-07-24T21:32:00.002+09:00

Their bodies flailed violently. Left, right, back, forth! They knew we were close by. They could smell our sweat and almost taste our blood. Angel’s steps had awoken them, and like tremors hidden deep within the mud, the Japanese hiru were now awake – awake and hungry. Little did we know, Mt. Ryozen – our hiking destination for the day – is infamous for hiru (mountain leeches) and we were on our way to one battle we would never forget.

At the trailhead I counted our group, “One, two, three, four, five, six, and yup, there she is, seven.” Just as we started heading out on the trail to the 1000m peak of Mt Ryozen, two older glasses-clad Japanese men came running down the hill whimpering, “hiru, hiru, hiru…” I looked at Angel and he looked at me, “Ignore them.” I did, since they were wearing casual weekend clothes – not hiking gear – and thus obviously not hikers to take seriously.

The next couple we happened upon were wearing ball caps and cowboy hats (at the same time) and dressed from head to toe in protective plastic clothing, like the clothes scientists wear in movies when they are about to enter a quarantined room in which a human has been infected with an alien. They whispered the same words, “hiru, takusan hiru.” “We’re not turning back on hearsay,” justified Angel. “Let’s get on with it already.”

Just then we heard the rocks crumble and saw stones tumbling our way. Was this the set of the next Indiana Jones movie The Mountain of Death? A third group of hikers followed the tumbling rocks and were on their way down. The two Japanese women leading the pack were pale in the face holding scarves tightly around their necks. “What happened?” I asked. The young one in the pink tights simply opened her towel revealing 3 starbursts dripping with blood on her neck right below her hairline, as though a 3-toothed vampire had taken her minutes before. “Don’t worry,” her male friend said to Tak, “hiru prefer women.”

Well, we hadn’t seen any of the beasts and we knew we were faster than most (that and we had already paid $50 round trip in train fares to get to the bloody hill) so we decided to take our chances. We followed the bone-dry creek up to the mountain. The rocky landscape soon changed and we found ourselves in a lush green paradise. This, and the fact the area is known for its abundance of deer and other wildlife, is what initially attracted us to this part of the woods.

Angel led the pack; I rounded up the back. Had I only known their attraction to movement I may not have been so patient that day. One step at a time we announced our arrival. We were now in their territory, and they were ready for us. We looked with suspicion at the water, but that’s not where this species of hiru live. They like the mud: one step too slow or a pause to take a sip of water and they were crawling up our boots, under our pants and burrowing into our socks where they were impossible to spot. They were in the bushes, barely hanging on to the leaves with their sticky bottoms. When they felt us pass by they jumped aboard for a ride. And finally, the scariest part of all, they were in the trees, and would fall onto our heads, down our necks and slip into our shirts. Never before had I wished for a cowboy hat like I did that day. It felt like we were in some warped video game, 7 Mario brothers fighting our way through vicious leeches coming at us from all angles to get to the princess at the top of the mountain.

When the hiru landed on us (and this happened quite often, since I counted 14 bloody bite marks on my legs), they found a safe place to hang out for a while as they secreted their anaesthesia, freezing our tender flesh so we wouldn’t feel their razor-sharp jaws as they dug in for the feed. The patient hiru would wait until their magical saliva had taken effect, and then they would feast, slurping away until they were too full to continue, at which point they would simply fall off back into the forest, satisfied for perhaps a month or two, until the next warm-blooded creature came their way. Sometimes their greed would overtake their patience and we would feel a sharp pinch as they pierced our flesh. With their jowls in place, it was almost impossible to pull the bloodsuckers off. Salt, bug spray, an open flame – they all make the hiru regurgitate their stomach contents back into your open wound. The only way to safely remove them was to slip a fingernail under their mouths and slowly pry them off. Easier said than done.

Panic stricken, some hikers screamed (and I don’t mean the girls). Others constantly swung their sweat towels like katanas fighting invisible forest ninjas. We didn’t give up though, and after more than an hour in the dense forest we rose to an elevation too dry for our enemies. We had made it through, and only when we sat down at the peak overlooking Lake Biwa did we notice the deep read bloodstains in our clothes. We were dirty. We were sweaty. We were bloody. Nobody could talk. I think we were in shock. This was one hike our group of genki hikers would never, ever forget.

Luckily our experiences climbing up Mt. Ryouzen didn’t damper our hiking enthusiasm, and we continue to hike each sunny Sunday through various valleys, along rocky ridges and up precious peaks. We have, however, done our part for the Japanese economy and invested in better hiking gear, including gaitors and quick-dry long sleeve shirts and pants to protect our flesh from the elements of nature. Our group, mostly ladies from all over (Japan, Italia, Russia, Brazil, US, Canada) and a few Japanese blokes, has conquered many a mountain this term and I plan on doing many more… when I return in October.

Yes, last Sunday’s ascent up Mt. Atago and descent into the Hozukyo Gorge was my last hike in Japan for a little while. As the semester at OGU draws to a close, as presentations are presented, as final exams are sweated over and graded, as end-of-term parties keep us up past our bedtimes, and as the summer heat – announced by the early morning cicada concerts – settles in Japan, it is time for this blond to pack her bags and head to her home away from home: Kansai International Airport (just kidding). I’ll be in back Canada (and a few other places) this summer vacation, ready to return to the Japanese mountains for more adventures with 'the girls' this autumn.

March 2011 - Lessons from South America

2011-04-23T22:16:00.012+09:00

“Anticipación!”

Read the rapids, look out for rocks, watch the waves, paddle hard.

“Anticipación Laura, anticipación!”

Spot the turns, expect the bumps, and most of all watch for the surf that.... SPLASH!

Before I knew it I was upside down in glacial river whirlpool with a ducky (an inflatable kayak) right above my head. I pushed and pushed trying to flip my boat, but it wouldn’t budge. The precious air was escaping from my lungs and I couldn’t get away. I pushed with all my might, but my efforts were futile.

White water smashed into my face and stung my eyes. Instinct told me to plunge back down into the water and try to swim under the boat. Up looked like down and down looked like up. Suddenly, I bobbed up again meters away from the boat, and was able to gasp the marvelous, clean, fresh air. It only took a few seconds (though seemed like years) under water and the lesson Jorge had been trying to teach me – anticipación – finally sank in. Yes, anticipation: the importance of reading the signs around you to be prepared for anything you may encounter in your journey.

I survived my first class III rapids glowing from the adrenalin rush of kayaking down the stunning Rio Trancura in Southern Chile with Jorge and Diego, two young river kayak fanatics, as my guides. As I paddled to survive, they paddled to play. Their kayaks were like natural extensions of their bodies that helped them fly in and out of waves like dolphins. These guys, who were definitely more comfortable in the water than on land, taught me a lesson that I will never forget: anticipación is key for survival in Sudamérica. And that was only my first day in Southern Chile.

What I had expected to be just a quick night or two in Pucón soon turned into a week, and would have been much MUCH more had I arrived sooner. (Anticipation?) You see, Chile is a playground for outdoor enthusiasts: trekking, canyoning, paragliding, hydrospeed, kayaking, ducky, bungee, horseback riding... the list goes on and on. And, I couldn’t wait to play a little more.

With my shoulders stiff from the previous day’s paddle, I soon found myself on the back of Hidalgo, a gorgeous dark brown Chilean horse who was to become my new best friend for the next four days.

I had planned a simple half-day horseback ride through the countryside. However, within no time I was dressed in leather half chaps and a sombrero, following Luis, a macho Chilean huaso (cowboy), through lush forests, up steep mountains, around live volcanoes, over lava covered valleys, across snowy peaks, and finally camping around the gorgeous Laguna Azul. That half-day tourist ride quickly turned into a four-day all-terrain adventure trek. Anticipation?

As we trekked through the Chilean cordillera into Argentina I used my newly acquired sixth sense to help me survive the harsh topography on my stallion.

Hidalgo, a new horse at Antilco Ranch that had yet to be truly broken in, was a stubborn young guy. He was a lovely horse to look at, with strongly defined muscles and powerful legs. He also had quirks of his own, lots of them. He didn’t exactly care what his rider commanded him to do and enjoyed a good roll around in the sand or snow with or (if you were able to jump off quickly enough) without his rider. He would like to trot (or even break into a gallop) down little valleys to pick up speed on the way back up the other side. In short, he wasn’t anyone’s favorite horse.

However, one word kept flashing in my mind: yes, you know it now, anticipation. Read the landscape and anticipate Hidalgo’s moves. Lots of lush green grass? Hold the reins a little tighter as he’s going down for a bite. Small valley ahead? Make sure to hold your hat. Crossing a little creek? Get ready for a big jump. See a snowy patch? Don’t let his face drop or you’ll soon be covered in snow too.

For four days I learned his quirks, and for four days he learned mine. Our last morning together, as I groomed and saddled Hidalgo up for the ride back to the ranch, I swear he gave me a kiss on the cheek. Before we headed out on the ride, the ranch owner, Matthias, had warned the girls not to fall in love (with our handsome huaso guide Luis). I shrugged off his warning. Yet, little did I know that I too would fall in love and there was nothing I could do about it.

Within that short week in Southern Chile my heart too was taken captive; Hidalgo, the breathing taking landscape and incredible Chilean hospitality made such an incredible impression on me that I know I’ll be back there soon. If only I had anticipated that!

During my seven weeks in South America I had the opportunity to experience Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile.Traveling on my own allowed me to experience South America at South American speed and with an open South American mind.

Carnaval in Gualeguaychu? Why not? A few days at Iguazú Falls? Porque no? Couchsurfing in Paraguay? Bring it on! South America has so much to offer: incredible landscapes, generous and welcoming people, countless delicious local dishes, wines of all kinds, colorful cities and a nightlife like no other.

Oh, Sudamérica, yo si te amo. Nos vemos pronto!

Dec 2010 - ‘Twas the night before the night before Christmas

2010-12-22T12:12:00.012+09:00

‘Twas the night before the night before Christmas and all through the school,

Not a student was stirring, not even by the pool.

I looked out my classroom window and savored the view,

Reflected on events past and all the things new.

2010 started with a trip back home, time with my family,

Drinking eggnog and wine under the ‘09 Christmas tree.

Grad school had finished, exams were good and done,

I received my degree and it was time for some fun.

Off I went on to a far away place, Tsamina mina zangalewa,

Yes, that’s right, this time for Africa!

Overland we traveled, the truck bouncing side to side,

Many animals we encountered, on safaris far and wide.

Excitement was in the air, and my heart gave a loud thump,

As I went over Bloukrans Bridge, the world’s highest bungee jump.

Asia was next, in true spicy Asian style,

Singapore, Vietnam, and Laos, how I loved you for a little while.

From April to July, the assignments came in,

But when all the marking was done, I took off for an Empire Ottoman.

Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia, Monte Negro, Albania and back,

We loved your beer and baklava, even though I’m still trying to pay you back.

Visitors from abroad came to visit too:

Peter, Boet, Kari, Ryan, Gina, Carmen, & Janice, how we enjoyed our time with you!

Museums, hikes, bbqs and more, yes, the Japanese autumn was fun,

I simply can’t get over the fact that now 2010 is almost done.

Still, Wednesday nights you can find me doing Zumba at the studio,

Preparing my choreography for the next Kansai TV show.

With my new Under Armor trainers I am on the right track,

So I hope there will be a nice reward for all the Body Pump, Combat and Attack!

Back on the homestead, no one seems to rest.

Mom and Dad celebrated their 40^th, and Mike’n Becky will be the next.

Julie and Craig are expecting lucky number three,

And successfully had their house renovated by Love it or List it on cable TV.

Another year ahead promises more adventures for sure,

Most significantly a new job starting in April that will hopefully lead to tenure.

Before the new job begins, Christmas will be celebrated the Spanish way,

Relaxing in Malaga and spending some time with my amigos for the day.

Wishing you and your family a joyous Christmas

and

All the best for fabulous 2011!

October 2010 - Getting my 'de's in order

2010-11-03T19:46:00.009+09:00

It has been a very long while since I’ve written an update and I have a confession to make: although I still love you all, I have been indulging in a well-earned respite from my pc and all things technical.

The past few months have felt like being strapped in a jet coaster: a lot of fun and a fast ride, with little chance to slow down and take some time out. I’ve had the good luck to spend the summer travelling (8 different countries – details may follow in another post, or at this pace, they may not), and return to a house full of visitors (6 since September) keen on discovering life in the land of the rising sun.

Within days of returning from my summer travels mid-September, I re-opened my B&B for some of my favourite people in the world. First, Kari and Ryan managed to escape from the daily Milton grind and find my apartment on their own in the concrete jungle of Osaka.

They were soon joined by MariCarmen and Gina (from Mexico) and we even brought in a genki German (Markus) for good measure! Before we knew it our house was full of music, dancing, singing, and all around good times. I don’t think the shower has ever had so many international bottles of Pantene shampoo at one time and I’m sure the neighbours must have been amazed at the amount of foreigners rotating through our front door.

Together we hiked the countryside, visited temples, swam in the Ayu river, chilled out in Shirahama hot springs, chowed down on lots of local specialties, sang karaoke ‘gaijin’ style (that is, with lots of table dancing) and even dressed Ryan up as the horseman. More importantly, we talked, we laughed and we spent almost 2 weeks forgetting about the daily stress of work and real life pressures.

A week later the lovely Janice (also from Canada) came for a visit to fulfil dream number 3, and went home 10 days later with a lovely little dragon souvenir on her left cheek (go Janice!)

With Janice we visited Kyoto and the famous Golden Pavilion called Kinkakuji. I couldn’t get over the swarms of tourists buzzing around Kyoto. It was as though the pavilion was smothered in honey and the tourist bees were stocking up on honey photos before winter hibernation. I guess I no longer consider myself a tourist here and tend to stay away from such places, as beautiful as they may be.

Now that my B&B has closed for the season, I’m focusing on getting back to a simpler lifestyle, or as my wise friend Kirsty said 'de-cluttering', 'de-complicating' and 'de-stressing' my life. I’ve been spending more time enjoying the little things: cooking, hiking around the gorgeous hills that surround my campus between classes, devouring fiction novels, studying personal training and dancing, of course. I feel stronger and healthier, ready to take on new challenges.

Speaking of challenges, I have to admit my little sister is all about’em. For those of you that know my family, my little sister Julie is ready to pop out her 3^rd (beautiful) child. With only 2 bedrooms for the kids, they decided to renovate and were accepted on the reality TV show ‘Love it or List it’. Her family is now all camped out with Oma and Opa while their house is being demolished and rebuilt in a total of 3 weeks. The program has just begun but they have realized that there isn’t anything real about reality shows. I could just picture the fury on my sister’s face coming home to a messed up house (she’s a little OCD like the rest of us Markslags) that is supposed to be the ‘before renovation’ shot. The show should come out next season and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Growing up in a competitive family, I could not sit on the sidelines and watch my baby sis be the only one on TV, so I too made my first TV appearance: a 3-minute Zumba mini-drama/infomercial type thing on Kansai TV. The show aired last week and there was a great close up of my shoes while watching the heroine, a tired young actress who joined Zumba to re-energize, rub her calves while saying that although it didn’t look that difficult, Zumba was a really good work-out. And that was only after filming 15 minutes of her dancing! The rest of us had already been going for an hour. Although I doubt I’m destined for show business I must admit it was a cool experience to see the amount of people and equipment required to make such a short show.

On that note, I’ll end my update here. I hope to have some travel anecdotes for you soon, but the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is calling me back to the sofa for a little R&R before my Zumba class tonight.

May 2010 - Let's Shingle

2010-06-06T13:56:00.013+09:00

Yottsuuuu (4 more), mittsuuuu (3 more), lastooo two more (2 more), lastooo one more (last one)....

Mr. Muscles looks me right in the eye. He winks and his mouth opens into a colossal smile. At that precise moment the light pings off his incisor (‘pingggg’). At the top of his lungs he belts out: Leeeeeet’s SHINGLE! Ohhh, it’s great being back at the gym. I’ve missed the Engrish gym lingo. I’ve missed the muscles, the training, the discipline, and, did I mention the muscles...

Now that I’m back on a regular schedule after two years of living life at an accelerated speed as I maneuvered my way through grad school, taught more than my share of university classes each week and traveled around the world, I’m able to start doing the ‘normal’ things I’ve taken for granted and greatly missed, like sleeping, like working out, like reading fiction novels just ‘cause I feel like it, like cooking both lunch and dinner (ok, so that’s a new one for me). Over the past few months I’ve also taken some time off from deadlines, my pc (and yes, that means I’m a little behind on my emails – sorry!), and anything (everything?) stressful, and it’s been working wonders: I can say it feels really good to be back to me old self!

A few weeks ago I joined Konami Sports club (http://www.konamisportsclub.jp/), a fitness center just 4 minutes from my house. They have all the Body classes I know and love: Body Pump, Body Combat, Body Attack, Body Feeling (i.e., Body Flow: yoga/pilates/taichi) and... Zumba!

The Konami enthusiasts have their own gym culture, which is quite different from the Gold’s Gym lifters and the Cospa uppercrust. The Konami people, both instructors and participants, are really quite comical. It may just be my neighborhood, but the folks here are so relaxed, easy going, and really, really funny. They like to joke around, laugh and cheer each other on. Take Mr. Muscle’s Wednesday Body Combat class (9:20-10:20pm). There’s a group of about 15 people dressed in baggy Japanese construction worker pants, shirts with cut-off shirts and black bandanas on their heads. They cheer each other on with each punch and kick, and in a 60-minute class there’s a lot of punching and kicking going on.

Even I can now punch a little harder and kick a little higher, not because I’ve got some resemblance of triceps forming (even when in a resting position), but because I can see and don’t have to worry about my glasses flying off my face and across the room (which has happened on more than one occasion), which brings me to April’s update...

April 2010 - An eye for an eye

2010-05-03T09:49:00.014+09:00

Pachi pachi... it’s 5:32am. The sun is shining in the window. It’s Sunday, 5:32am and it’s the only day of the week that I don’t need to be awake this early.

Pachi pachi. Don’t want to be awake this early. But....

Pachi pachi... it’s 5:32 am! Elation comes over me. I cheer a loud WOOT WOOT!

I see the clock with my own eyes for the first time ever early this Sunday morning.

Pachi pachi... I open my eyes a little wider and look around. The native watercolor above the clock jumps out and dances in front of me. The pile of t-shirts in my closet is far too high and about to topple over. Beyond the bedroom door I can see the Christmas wreath still hanging a little crooked on the wall beside my desk. Pachi pachi... it’s 5:32am and I can see every thing in all it’s imperfectness... and I love it, all because of those little lasers applied to my eyes the day before.

Tired of trying to put in contacts every time I wanted to play a sport or work up a sweat, a few years ago I decided to investigate Lasik eye surgery. After half a dozen appointments and over 100 pachi pachis (blinks) on demand, I decided to go ahead and take the plunge at a clinic here in Osaka.

A week before the surgery, the doctors gave me a set of eye drops: one dropper to clean my eyes, the other a dropper of steroids to make my eyes nice and strong. And I can tell you, with each day that I took those drops my eyes felt stronger and stronger, like they were growing bigger and wider.

On the big day, the technicians dressed me in a hospital gown, one of those light blue gowns with the open back. Lucky for them I could keep my pants on. I had seen the videos, been told by at least a dozen people how easy the surgery was, and thus, honestly speaking, was not quite prepared for the shock I got when it all began.

I entered the surgery room where five technicians were crowded around a chair not dissimilar from the one in my dentist’s office. However, this chair looked more like the one where people on death row were sent to receive their final punishment. The only things missing were the restraints; restraints that I wanted to see; restraints that would keep my head in place and not allow it to move while the laser burned through my cornea. Where were the restraints?

When I laid down on the chair, the technician simply told me not to blink 'pachi pachi shinai’. She then pressed a round plastic token the size of a loonie down on my steroid induced eyes. After three days on ‘roids I felt like Kermit the frog and here she was pressing my bulging eyes back into my head. I could see through the plastic lens and soon there were many lights... green, red, white. They were all so pretty. The doctor then instructed me to look at the green light, and only the green light, for 20 seconds while the laser cut through my cornea.

I tried with all my might not to blink and to look at that green light, but images of sneezing, or worse, a tremor not so uncommon in this earthquake-laden country filled my mind.

While the laser burned through the epithelium of my eyeball I had visions of my face being lasered off, of it cutting across my mouth like the Joker in Batman. I could say those were the longest 20 seconds of my life, but knowing what happened to my left eye I started to break out into a sweat when the plastic loonie flattened my right eye. Then everything went dark.

With both corneas cut the technician led this poor blind soul to the waiting hallway, where I sat for 10 minutes waiting for my eyes to be lasered into the desired position and the epithelium to be reattached. It was an eternity. I finally felt a hand on my shoulder and was then led into a second room. Again, bright lights, the tang of burning skin (my skin), lots of mumbled Japanese, and then “Makusuragu-sama, (Ms. Markslag) we are finished.” I looked around. It was true. Upon realizing I could see a wave of relief came over me. I skipped to the waiting room and exclaimed quite loudly ‘kowai desu’ (that was scary!) ‘honto ni kawai’ (very, very scary). The poor guy next in line must have wet himself, but I smiled at him, gave him the thumbs up, and said that everything was ok. So, accompanied by Aki, I took the train home, crawled into bed, slept like a baby, and woke up the next morning with a whole new look on life!

It has been just over a month now and I can say that my surgery was a success. It feels so natural to wake up and begin my day without feeling around for my glasses. I’ve left the megane (glasses) club and have no regrets!

January 2010 - No more HIJO yo!

2010-01-31T20:10:00.009+09:00

Woooop! Woooop! Woooop! Woooop!

The alarm pierced my ears. It happened AGAIN. I couldn’t believe

it. Neither could my poor friends who had to sit through the ongoing blaring noise. They had learned ‘hijo’ kanji (chinese character) a long time ago. I, obviously, hadn’t.

It started out innocently - a dinner for three. pasta. salad. a little wine. Audrey was cooking and I was helping her by staying far away on the other side of the room supervising with a glass of red wine. Hamish rang the bell below, letting us know that he had arrived and wanted to be buzzed in. Making myself really useful I answered his plea and went to hit the big, bright, orange ‘open’ button on the phone.

It all happened in slow motion. It seemed forever for my long index finger approaching the button to actually make contact. From across the room I could hear a long, deep ‘nooooooooooooo.......’. But it was futile. I don’t know whether I ignored the ‘no’ or couldn’t stop my finger once set in motion. And so it happened. I hit the hijo button.

The alarm stated ringing: the red lights started flashing. Hamish tried to stop the alarm, while I looked for duct tape to cover the speaker. Audrey just kept cooking. There was no building management company or landlord to call. No emergency service in sight. So we called the police to explain we (this was no longer simply my problem) had accidentally hit the hijo button and couldn’t find the off switch.

Within 30 minutes we had police in cars, police on bikes, fire fighters in shiny red trucks and all the neighbours in the neighbourhood at our doorstep. Yup, 30 minutes off woooooop! woooooop! wooooop! before they arrived. If it had actually been an emergency, the bad guy would have already killed us, eaten our dinner AND dessert before escaping the wrath of the bicycle police.

When they arrived the alarm did not shut off. They couldn’t find the off button either. So they simply pulled the button off the wall. End of problem. Many, many, many sumimasens and bows later the youngest of the fire fighters left with little more than a name and phone number of the apartment inhabitant (which we’re not sure was for professional purposes, considering the smile he shot Audrey as we closed the door).

Ahhhh! The hijo button. Every bathroom, office, train car (and the list goes on) has a hijo button. Japan, the safest country in the world, thanks to the good old hijo button. I’ve now hit that button 3 times. One, two, three times - all with equally embarrassing results. It’s like pulling a fire alarm... something you should not do, especially when locked in a bathroom stall. Well, three’s a charm, right? I can honestly say that I now have the hijo kanji ingrained into my mind, and will hopefully never to hit that button again, unless absolutely necessary of course.

And, unfortunately, that’s about all the excitement I’ve had over the past month. The good (actually great, fantastic, amazing, wonderfully delightful) news is I just handed in my final paper at Temple University, passed all my exams and am officially FINISHED grad school. Ohhhh.... now’s a good time to hit that hijo button and make my escape.

So, I’m off on safari. Not hunting animals, but more the kind of safari that the resembles what the Swahili people originally used the word for. Safar is Swahili for journey, to be away, unobtainable, out of touch. How good does that sound? To some, not so good. But to me, amazing! I’m ready to take a real break and

remain as unobtainable as possible for the next 2 months (Feb 1 – April 3). Woot woot! (That’s Kiwi for yeah baby!)

If you’re wondering where I’m disappearing to, I will share my simple agenda. I leave tomorrow for Jo’burg. I’ll then head northeast to Kruger National park, continue east to Mozambique, then south through Swaziland, and follow the South African coast to all the way to Cape Town.

This trip is going to entail a lot of hiking, camping and reconnecting with nature and wildlife (and not the kind of wildlife found in Shinsaibashi).

I’m going to make my way back slowly, passing through Singapore, Vietnam and Laos, arriving just in time to enjoy some time with Kirsty, Anthony and Mandy (who are all are staying at my bed & breakfast for a while – woot woot!).

While I’m away Yoko You, will be teaching my Zumba classes at Salsa House. She’s got some sexy salsa moves! Zumba’s really starting to pick up in Japan, and in just one year we’ve gone from 6 instructors to over 1600 certified instructors. If you have a chance, check out page 24 in this month’s edition of Kansai Scene. There’s a one-pager about Zumba in Japan

(http://www.kansaiscene.com/2010_02/html/sports.shtml).

December 2009 - Sayonara 2009!

2009-12-26T17:51:00.008+09:00

It’s a chilly Saturday afternoon, the sun is starting to set (at 4pm – yikes!) and I’ve just counted on my fingers the number of months that have passed since I last updated this blog... 3 ½ months (my pinky is pretty small, relatively speaking). Wow, it’s been a while, and I apologize. With a few days to go until Christmas, it just started to feel like winter here in Japan. We’ve had many warm autumn days, and the leaves didn’t even start to change colour until late November/early December. I can’t say that I’m playing Christmas tunes yet, but the mulled wine on my stove top is penetrating my senses and reminding me that it’s time for the holidays: time to go home to Brampton for some Markslag TLC, time to break out the old ice skates and glide around Gage Park with Haley and Evan, time to pull on the snow pants and take out the crazy carpets and hit the Heart Lake slopes, time to see old friends and catch up, time to let my guard down and relax a little.

2009 has been an amazing year. When I think about all that has taken place it makes me wonder just how it all went by so quickly. It seems like just a month ago Mandy and I were shouting Happy New Year 2009! on a beach in Cambodia. But now that I think about it, I’ve had a fair share of visitors, studied more than I’ve ever studied before, taught a whole bunch of new classes at the uni, danced a whole lot of ZUMBA and shared many special moments.

And on that note, I would like to wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas & lots of love, health, success and happiness in 2010!

♪ 幸福な新年 ♪ Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año! ♪ Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo! ♪ Joyeux Noel et Bonne Année! ♪ Vrolijke Kerstmis en Gelukkige Nieuwjaar! ♪

September 2009 - The Amazing Ruta Maya

2009-09-15T13:19:00.018+09:00

On the bus back to Osaka from Kansai Airport something struck me as odd. I looked around and instantly it hit me: the bus was silent. Now, it wasn’t the silence of the people that surprised me, as Latinos are also surprisingly quiet on buses. It was the music – salsa, reggaeton, norteño – that was missing. Over the past 6 weeks I must have taken 50 buses (big, small & chicken), all of them blasting the same pirated cd music mix.

Yes, the past 6 weeks has been a whirlwind of everything latino, in which I was lucky enough to meet many old friends and discover the magic of america latina. The adventure both started and ended in Mexico City with an old Spanish friend some of you may remember (^-*). With a very loose schedule and the advice of other travellers, we trekked through 5 countries and wandered through in 20+ villages, towns and cities, big & small, near & far, modern & ancient.

We travelled a big loop:

Mexico-> Guatemala (south)-> El Salvador-> Honduras-> Guatemala (north)-> Belize-> Mexico

Traveling between countries and cities was part of the fun. We started our trip taking tourist buses – air-conditioned minivans filled with 8-12 tourists that run from one destination to another non-stop. Yawn! We soon discovered that taking the local chicken buses (up to 8 in a day) was much more fun. We would wait on the side of the road, flag down one of the old techno-coloured American school buses, climb in the back, listen to the loud latino beats with the wind in our faces from all the open windows and enjoy the countryside and conversations with the locals. We met many drivers who gave the US (where they worked 12-15 hour days) a chance, but decided to return to Central America where they could drive a bus and enjoy a carefree life. Inspiring! (But don’t worry mom, I’m not thinking about buying a bus... at least not yet!)

We took advantage of each and every day, enjoying the endless outdoor activities available in the region: we hiked up a live volcano with a river of flowing lava at the top, mountain biked through maize and coffee plantations, rode horses through Zapatista mountain areas to indigenous villages, visited ancient cities and climbed indigenous ruins, kayaked through mangrove forests, sailed the Caribbean Sea, and snorkelled with manatees, sharks, manta rays and sea turtles. Our outdoor fun was followed by serious hammock testing, as we tried out dozens of hammocks looking for the best place for a late afternoon siesta.

Despite the proximity, each country had its own flavour, its own history, its own people, and its own specialty.

Guatemala is the land of the avocado. It’s said that Guatemalans have ‘la panza verde’ (a green belly) from all the guacamole they eat. In the south, in Panajachel (‘Pana’) and Antigua, indigenous women proudly wear their village dress and speak in their native tongues. The buildings are bright and colourful: red, blue, green, orange, and yellow shops and homes are eye candy for any photographer. The multitude of mountains and volcanoes offer endless outdoor fun. Just make sure you hire a machete-bearing guide for guidance and protection (even if he’s half your size, it’ll make you feel better about unexpected mountain encounters). The north of ‘Guate’ has quite different topography: jungle villages that reside along the riverbanks of Rio Dulce bring in seafaring tourists and offer fantastic kayaking through the mangrove forests.

El Salvador is simply beautiful. The people are relaxed, the beaches along the Pacific are black and Juayua found along the Ruta de las Flores is the most artistic and colourful town I’ve ever stayed in. The houses, doorways, telephone poles, and mailboxes are each painted in a unique way demonstrating the love of art and self-expression. Life is slow paced and simple: if the bus doesn’t come, just sit back and wait for the next one - it’ll be by in an hour or two. Eat a pupusa or two and your stomach will be full for hours. This is one country I wish we had more time to
discover.

Honduras is a hot topic in the news these days for the coup that ousted elected President Manuel Zelaya and the protests that have since followed. For this reason we decided to spend just a few days in Copan Ruinas, along the Guatemalan border. This quaint town was a gateway to the Mayan ruins most known for their detailed sculptures. I remember it though for its colorful streets and its kind people that were willing to sit and chat for hours. When things settle down, Honduras is a place that I will return to!

Belize was an impromptu decision, and a well made one at that. The salsa music in the buses is replaced by reggae, and Garifuna people (descendants from Africa) are just as relaxed as thelatinos. There’s a good reason Madonna wrote la Isla Bonita for San Pedro – the cayes (islands) of the coast of Belize are beautiful! With the world’s largest living barrier reef a sailboat ride away, Belize offers some of the world’s most diverse and rewarding scuba and snorkeling around. Within minutes of plunging into the water I found myself face to face with a large manatee. I’m not sure who was more curious about the other. Manta rays, giant sea turtles and nurse sharks soon followed. A few hours sailing along the coast, followed by a huge lobster bbq, and a night of stargazing from the hammock of our bright purple cabana made Caye Caulker the best beach getaway I’ve every experienced.

Mexico is a huge country that offers an amazing variety of landscapes and lifestyles. Most people know Mexico for its saturated beaches in Cancun and Acapulco. But there’s much more to it than sand and tequila. Mexico is a country with large mountains, deep canyons, lush countryside, indigenous (Aztec, Maya, and more) culture, lucha libre (professional mexican wrestling), beautiful zocalos (town parks), many, many colourful towns... and zumba (yes, zumba is available everywhere!). It’s a country in which people open their hearts to you and help you whenever they can, especially the lovely Renteria family (gracias chicos!!!).

Unfortunately Mexico is also associated with corruption, crime and drugs. A part-time taxi driver explained to me that his full-time job was a bodyguard for a very well-off businessman who required 24-hour protection. As a well-known businessman he faced the risk of being taken hostage, most often a crime committed by people close to him (that know him and his schedule intimately). However, these crimes and problems generally are not a concern for visitors, especially if they follow common sense and don’t walk around alone at night, something I wouldn’t even do in Brampton these days.

In fact, we didn’t see any firsthand evidence of violence in any country that we visited. No matter where we went or how we got there, we were always treated with respect. I felt safe, even when travelling alone. Border patrol and security officers everywhere were pleasant and helpful. Bus drivers, restaurant owners, souvenir stall owners all helped guide me in the right direction.

This short time in Mexico and Central America has left me with a very warm, fuzzy feeling. It has also inspired me to discover more of america latina, very, very soon!

If you’ve ever thought about going to Central America my advice would be: GO! Have fun! And use your commonsense to keep safe, as you would anywhere in the world. You’ll be very happy you went!

July 2009 - Summer Zumba fun at acordar studio

2009-07-30T16:20:00.006+09:00

This summer, I started teaching Zumba Fitness classes at acordar studio in Kobe.

The summer Zumba party was a hit!

Students danced to salsa, cumbia, hip-hop...

... merengue, reggaeton, quebradita...

... belly dance...

... flamenco, cha-cha...

... calypso, soca and more!

If you love to dance, you'll love Zumba!

Zumba classes will resume at acordar studio in Kobe Saturdays 10-11am starting September 12, 2009. Visit http://zumbajapan.blogspot.com for details.

June 2009 - Tsuyu Season

2009-06-29T20:27:00.007+09:00

It came. It rained. It’s gone... almost. That tricky time of year in Japan, officially know as tsuyu season (rainy season), seems to have come and gone in the blink of an eye. And though the calendar tells me it’s been two months since I last contacted the outside world, it hardly feels that way.

The past two months have been a whirlwind of teaching by day, studying by night, and a lot of dancing in between (on trains, buses and at station platforms – and I’m NOT kidding).

After a month of training, in June I tested the zumba waters with a big zumba dance class and BBQ along the river. It was great fun and shortly after I taught my first zumba class at the studio (http://ameblo.jp/saude-acordar/entry-10259385395.html#main). Since then I’ve been helping happy Japanese ladies bounce to Beyonce, move to merengue, and shake it to Shakira Shakira twice a week. Who would have known that teaching a fitness class could be so much fun (other than the other 30,000 certified zumba instructors around the world)?

With my studies 75% done (woot woot – as the Kiwis would cheer), my teaching semester just winding down (last class is July 29), and my summer zumba party coming to a break, I’m officially turning my brain off starting July 30. Ok, maybe just on slo-mo.

What’s in store this summer? Well, I’m in the mood for a little sabor latino, so August 1st I’m heading somewhere new with an old friend. Together we’ll discover the barrier reef of Belize, hike a volcano or two in Guatemala, salsa in El Salvador and drink a little tequila in Mexico.

Or we might just chill out on a beach... but I doubt that. Watching too much Anthony Bourdain has got me in the mood to find some authentic locales and appetizing dishes, away from the hordes of sock-and-sandal laden tourists.

So this update will be short, as I’m off to pack.

Camera. Check. Flip-flops. Check. Sunscreen. Check. Hiking boots. Swiss Army Knife. Check. Lonely Planet. Check. What more could I need?

I’ll be back in Japan mid September, diving right back into it all! So until then, I hope you’re enjoying your summer, staying healthy and having fun.

May 2009 - ED in Osaka

2009-05-28T20:18:00.004+09:00

Email to the teacher:

Good afternoon. This is (student’s name). I'm very sorry I didn't tell you that I couldn't go to class. I went to a hospital because I had repeated attacks of explosive diarrhea since yesterday. So...would you tell me what today's class did and what should I do by next class?

Well, what can I say to that? My student’s writing has really improved since she starting taking my writing class earlier this year! I’m a very proud of both the clarity and the colour of her message. Good job (insert student’s name)!

Today I had another conversation with a student that went something like this:

Student: I have stomach ache.

Teacher: Oh, that’s too bad!

Student: My diarrhoea is REALLY bad. Can I go to the toilet?

Now, I’m not sure if it’s a language thing or if Japanese are always so open about some things that we consider taboo and yet so secretive of other things… like hobbies, or boy/girlfriends or families... that we consider general knowledge. Definitely keeps life interesting!

Ahh school... well, the spring semester is almost at the halfway point and I’ve memorized about half of my students’ names (308 students is a lot to remember, especially as the years go by). By this rate I should have everyone committed to memory in time for the final exams and then I’ll forget everything over summer vacation and start from scratch in September. No kidding!

On another note, swine flu (buta influenza, or bubu flu) hit Osaka for a week. One, then 30, then 251 people in the area were positively identified with the H1N1 virus within days. The entire population instantly donned white masks in all public places. Osaka turned into a sea of 'surgeons'. Trains were relatively empty so I could even sit during rush hour – though that could have been because I went mask-less. (A mask-less foreigner is a very scary thing you know. From now on I'm going to rub some cayenne pepper around my nose before I get on the train. Then NO ONE will want to be near me on the train!)

School was cancelled so all my students reconvened at the local malls and teachers reconvened for dinner parties and afternoon bbqs. It was an unforeseen holiday in which no one had plans or homework prepared and people seemed to really enjoy simply not being busy. The week, of course, will have to be made up and so we will lose a week of summer vacation. Regardless, I thought that it was really nice to have a few extra days to ‘do Laura things’.

Zumba is probably the biggest, most exciting news for me this (and next) month! I start teaching Tuesdays on June 30th at a posh Studio in Kobe called acordar studio. Then, this fall I’ll hit the masses by starting Zumba Fitness Night (Wednesdays) at a favourite nightclub! I just started this blog: zumbajapan.blogspot.com. Check it out! Then come and checkout one of my classes!

The second biggest, most exciting news is that I think the pigeons are gone. Maybe. Hopefully. When I came back to Japan in February after a week away, mommy pigeon and daddy pigeon decided to build a nest under my air conditioner. They must have been really busy that week, cause there was an egg in there and they were talking to it incessantly. It came down to cute baby bird vs. the filth and disease carried by pigeons nesting beside my laundry line. Luckily the choice wasn’t left up to me and before I knew it the egg-laden nest was placed in the park downstairs.

Well, the pigeons didn’t follow the signs, and thus couldn’t find their baby. Everyday for the past three months those pigeons returned to the balcony at 4:30am for their reign of terror: wooowoooo poop poop here... woooowoooo… poop poop there. (Hey, at least I’m not as graphic as some other people I know!)

I would scare them away and before long they’d be back. They’d come right up to the window and give me the evil pigeon eye me while I researched and wrote my papers. And so the game of cat (Laura) and mouse (unhappy pigeons) began. These were some stubborn birds that didn’t scare easily. They wouldn’t leave when I went outside and hardly budged when I gently pushed them off the balcony with my toes. They’d then fly up and around and right back to my balcony.

Finally they must have realized that their baby was not coming back. So they decided to make another one… over and over and over again on the ledge directly in front of my balcony. And they’d look at me while doing it. Creepy! Well, I think I won, as they haven’t been back in over a week. I beat you pigeons! Don’t come back! Yatta!

To end this note, and just in case you have pigeons, I have recently been informed of a better anti-pigeon technique: break the egg in the nest. The parents will think it’s a dangerous place and never return! I'll try that one next spring!

April 2009 - Zumba in New Zealand

2009-04-26T12:06:00.015+09:00

“If we have to do Chubby Checker’s twist again I’m going to scream.

I’ll throw in the towel, leave my gym of four years, and find somewhere else to dance – somewhere without the pretend pole dancing, the cheesy line dancing, and most of all - without doing the TWIST. For some cruel reason, the dance sensei took away Gloria Estefan. Daddy Yankee soon followed and before long all the latino music and dance moves had been methodically removed from the dance routine, replaced by… Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers (eek)!

Murder - this is absolute murder for a fitness dance lover who plans her days off around the dance class times… and for what? To do the twist again?”

I put these negative thoughts out of my head. Sure, it’s March and I’m on the university spring vacation, teaching a few private lessons a week. But from sunrise till sunset my mind is focused on my courses – deadlines for proposals, papers, projects, and presentations rapidly approaching. My only relief is the sweat that drips from my brow when I dance to the music I love and let it take me away from the daily pressures besieging me.

The lights dim in Studio A. 24 Japanese housewives, 16 Japanese grandmothers, 12 Japanese grandfathers and 1 tall blond foreigner take their places on the dance floor. “Baby look at me… and tell me what you see… Fame! I wanna live foreva” warms up our cold muscles; Britney brings up our heart rates with ‘you wanna piece of me’. And then it happens. Just when I’m getting ready to get low for some Daddy Yankee booty shaking reggaeton I hear the instructor screech “TU-WIS-TO!” and on comes Jive Bunny.

I want to get out of Studio A – fast! But, I have to save face. This is Japan after all. I can’t leave. I can’t cry. I can’t even show mild discomfort. I know that I’m going to have to tough it out until the class ends. The seconds become minutes, the minutes turn into hours, or so it seems, and when we finally finish lifting our legs like dogs on the neighbors’ bushes and slowing gyrating our hips in the way generations past deemed obscene I vow never, ever to do the twist again. I grab my towel and my water bottle. I take one last look around. Goodbye Studio A. I’ll miss you… or maybe not.

That night I started thinking, “So smarty-pants, now that you’ve quit the gym, what are you going to do to stay (get back into) shape?” Within a week I had the answer – ZUMBA! “Zumba, yeah, I’ve heard of that,” many say. But you don’t really know what it is until you do it. Zumba is an aerobic dance class that fuses Latin rhythms (salsa, merengue, cumbia, reggaeton, etc) and other international dance music (soca, calypso, hip hop, etc) with fitness moves to make for a very fun and dynamic fitness class http://www.zumba.com/us/about.

But… there’s a problem: Zumba isn’t offered anywhere in Osaka. Well, if I can’t find it then I’m going to have to bring it here myself. So, with a ticket to New Zealand in one hand, my guidebook in the other and a backpack full of dance clothes, I take off to Auckland (Hamilton, actually, which is about 100 km south of Auckland) to participate in Oceania’s first zumba instructor workshop ever, April 4-5!

In just two short days, Maria, our vivacious instructor trains our small group of 12 in the basics of zumba: how to listen to the music and break it down into different parts; the different steps to incorporate in a dance routine and adding variety; and more importantly she shares her enthusiasm for zumba, which quickly spreads over us, like an contagion – the good kind (there is a good kind, isn’t there?)

So, prepared with the tools (music, clothes and more music) and the desire to dance, I am ready to take Osaka for a zumba ride. Practice, practice, practice is required, and I’m afraid that my neighbors below must hate me by now. But (cross your fingers) soon I’ll be teaching in studios.

Of course, with business (dance) always comes a little pleasure, and I was welcomed with very big arms (and hearts) into Pete’s house. Pete, Leon and Ayu, friends from Auckland (who I met in Japan) gave me the royal tour of Auckland and its surrounding areas: Piha beach, Anawhata lookout on the west; Coromandel Peninsula on the east; Auckland, the city of sails and its many dormant volcanoes right in the middle.

The pictures on the left show a small portion of New Zealand’s beauty. But, what really makes NZ such wonderful place is the people – they’re warm, funny, outdoorsy, practical, down to earth folk. And they drink a lot of really strong coffee, which along with the dancing has kept me buzzing for weeks.

I’ll leave you with some advice from my good friend Kari that has served me well: Dance like nobody’s watching!

February 2009 - Flat Stanley visits Japan

2009-02-28T06:59:00.016+09:00

Stanley Lambchop is given a big bulletin board by his Dad for putting pictures and posters on. He hangs it on the wall over Stanley's bed, but during the night the board falls from the wall, flattening poor Stanley in his sleep. He survives and makes the best of his flattened state. He can enter locked rooms by sliding under doors and plays with his younger brother by being used as a kite. Stanley even helps catch some art museum thieves by posing as a painting on the wall. But one special advantage is that Flat Stanley can now visit his friends by being mailed in an envelope.

Last Saturday, a warm and sunny spring day, Auntie Laura opened her mailbox. To her surprise Stanley jumped out of his envelope and stretched out his folded body. He had just arrived in Japan after a long trip from Mrs. Amos’ grade 3 class in Canada. Auntie Laura straightened out his blue and green tie, so perfectly coloured by Haley-chan.

“What are we going do tomorrow?” asked Stanley.
“Well, just you wait,” replied Auntie Laura. “I have a fun day planned, but first you need a good night sleep.”

The next morning they woke up very early and walked to the train station near Auntie Laura’s house. Stanley had never been on a train in Japan and was amazed at how clean and fast it was. He even got to sit near the front of the train and watch the conductor drive the train.

Stanley and Auntie Laura met a happy boy named Hamish on the train. “We’re going to Kyoto today. Would you like to come with us?” they asked. “Sure!” replied Hamish the happy boy.

They soon arrived at Arashiyama Station. Arashiyama is one of the most famous places in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. Together the three friends set out to discover Arashiyama.

“I’m hungry,” cried Stanley.

“Ok,” replied Hamish. “There’s a Mini Stop convenience store right over there, let’s get some breakfast and something for our hike up Atago Mountain.”

“A mountain, we’re going to climb a mountain, I’d better have a good breakfast so that I’ll have the energy to make it all the way up!” shouted Stanley.

Auntie Laura and Hamish walked crossed the Kamogawa River Bridge. Stanley, the lucky little boy, got a ride in a traditional carriage pulled by a young man.

On the other side of the river they checked the bus schedule. They hopped on bus 72 – destination Kiyotaki – and 20 minutes later arrived at a small village. “Welcome to Kiyotaki!” exclaimed the bus driver.

The three friends checked the map. It was a long way to the top of the mountain, but they were determined to make it all the way to the top. They climbed stairs, stopped to see the jizou (mini Buddha statues), pray at the small jinja (shrine) and admire the sake (Japanese rice wine) barrels. “Wow, this is hard work!” said Stanley. “It’s worth it,” replied Hamish. “The view from the top of the mountain is amazing.”

So up and up they went, climbing one step at a time. They passed many people on the way up: families, grandparents, school children and even pilgrims.

“We’re almost there!” exclaimed Auntie Laura. “I can see the bright orange tori gate. That’s the entrance to Atago-jinja, the shrine at the top of Atago Mountain.”

“Wow!” shouted Stanley. “This place really is beautiful! I’m so glad we made it all the way to the top. But now I’m hungry. Is it lunch time yet?”

“Definitely!” said Hamish. “Would you like to try some of my rice ball and hot tea?” “Yum!” said Stanley, “Japanese rice is so tasty. Is that why you eat rice every day?” Auntie Laura and Hamish smiled.

The wind started to pick up and the three friends started to get cold. “It’s time to keep going Stanley,” Auntie Laura and Hamish said together. So down the mountain they went. They passed some tanuki on the way. “What are tanuki?” asked Stanley. “They’re like raccoon dogs, and are known to be very mischievous. But we like them in Japan and think of them as our protectors, so we have many statues of tanuki around our shrines and sometimes even around our homes,” explained Hamish.

An hour later the three friends reached the bottom of the mountain. They walked back into town and once again Stanley was… hungry. So Auntie Laura and Hamish took Stanley to a traditional okonomiyaki restaurant.

“That looks like a big omelette!” exclaimed Stanley. “Exactly!” said Oji-san, the restaurant owner. “Our okonomiyaki is like a big, fried omelette.

Inside are cabbage, pork, squid and octopus. Once the okonomiyaki is fried, we top it with a sweet sauce, mayonnaise, fish flakes and nori. Nori is seaweed and very tasty!” Stanley looked surprised, “Well, I’m not sure about okonomiyaki. I’ve never had it before, but I’ll give it a try.”

With the help of his ohashi (chopsticks) Stanley took one bite of the big omelette in front of him. “Amazing!” he bellowed. “I told you so,” laughed Hamish.

After their bellies were full, the three friends walked through the narrow streets back towards the train station. They tried some mochi, sweet Japanese rice cakes for dessert, stopped to look at kokeshi, wooden Japanese dolls and became friends with some pretty Japanese girls in kimonos, traditional Japanese clothes.

Near the station, the three friends decided to visit the monkey temple. Unfortunately, the monkeys were getting ready for dinner, so they weren’t accepting any more visitors. However, Stanley was lucky enough to make a wish on a wish card. What do you think he wished for?

As the sun set on the Kamogawa River, the three friends walked back to Arashiyama train station. They had a great day together discovering a special part of Kyoto. As soon as the train started moving they fell asleep and dreamt of all the new adventures to come.

January 2009 - Cambodian Queens

2009-01-27T10:06:00.010+09:00

Fabien’s eyes bulged.

On cue I ducked just in time for the branches to sweep over my head. Others weren’t so lucky and ended up with fierce lashings across their arms, backs and faces.

It was the end of December, and Cambodia was just emerging from the rainy season. The only way to travel through the flooded forests from Siem Reap to Battambang was by the boat. So early in the morning we boarded a boat that would traverse Tonle Sap (a larger fresh water lake right located in the belly button of Cambodia), through the flooded forests and along the winding river to the small town of Battambang. The boat wasn’t built for a nine-hour pleasure ride and the small wooden seats quickly became intolerable.

The logical thing to do (at least in my mind) was the follow the Cambodian men and some of the other foreigners and climb onto the roof of the boat. There Mandy and I nestled in between the backpacks, boxes and other traveler suppliers. The sun bore down on our defenseless bodies, and we felt like tiny strips of bacon sizzling on the tin roof. But the warm breeze in our hair and the incredible sights from our vantage point soon outweighed the harsh rays.

Much of the journey was through forests that had become flooded during the earlier rains. Entire families lived their lives aboard small wooden crafts, some just a meter or two long and only a meter wide. Boats of women and men, full of pots and pans and other cooking goods, with a child or three hanging in the hammocks, floated up to one another selling their wares. Soon we passed larger floating buildings… a floating church, and then a floating gymnasium, complete with basketball nets and court lines clearly marked. These people had completely accustomed themselves to life on the water. As we passed by, children ran out to see us shouting ‘he-llo… he-llo’, giggling hysterically upon our replies.

Giggles, smiles and laughter – from children, women, and men. Antonio, an Italiano living his second life in Cambodia, pointed out, “Cambodians truly enjoy life and each moment that is presented to them. They are free and they feel free. I see their happiness, and I can feel their warmth and their love.” That is what makes Cambodians so unique in South East Asia.

Recovering from the incredibly ruthless past of the Khmer Rouge regime lead by Pol Pot, Cambodia is a country that is looking ahead. This is incredible for a country that suffered mass execution, starvation, and overwork less than 3 decades ago, killing over 1 million out of 8 million people, simply because they were intellectuals, or past government employees, or foreigners, or opposed the violent regime… or… wore glasses. And now, it appears (on CNN at least) that the old regime is finally being tried and the Cambodians at last can live in peace. Well, at least somewhat.

But the history of the country is not what drew me to it - Angkor Wat did. Many have said, “You’ve got to visit Angkor Wat before it becomes a Machu Picchu.” And they were right. Built 900 years ago, Angkor Wat was the home and worship site for thousands of Khmers (Cambodians).

One of the first Western visitors to the temple was Antonio da Magdalena, a Portuguese monk (1586) who said that it "is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of". In other words, just go and do! That is, see it for yourself!

During our two weeks in Cambodia we experienced the dusty city life in Phnom Penh and were lucky to meet Nhean in Battambang, who graciously took us to the countryside to experience the rural life. Like a large part of the Cambodian population and most foreigners, we spent New Years Eve on the beach in Sihanoukville with Luke and Jesse (friends from Japan who we randomly bumped into) dodging fireworks, drinking Angkor beer and eating spicy seafood curry.

Ahhh… just another winter vacation in South East Asia.

December 2008 - Zzzzz

2008-12-22T09:07:00.007+09:00

Zzzzz… sleep… something I have so undervalued and which definitely requires more attention. I learned this lesson two weeks ago, on a chilly December Monday morning, my birthday morning to be a little more precise. With two stops to go, my 1 hour 45 minute morning commute was nearly complete. I put down my book, softly closed my eyes and began to feel my body comfortably nuzzle its way into the fold of the bright blue bus seat.

I felt the bus gently stop, and opened my eyes prepared to start another week at the uni. As my eyes scanned the unfamiliar territory around me, I must have unconsciously let out a little squeak… eek! Where am I? The bus driver jumped too, not realizing that I hadn’t gotten off at my normal stop and that he wasn’t alone at the top of the mountain, the last stop on the bus route. I wavered to the front of the bus. “Ano… sumimasen… Hotani wa doko desuka?” (Where would Hotani campus be hiding?) “The BOTTOM of the mountain,” he replied.

Lucky for me, his years of experience resulted in some quick damage control. After a quick radio conversation with the bus driver ahead, he escorted me to the only other bus at the top of the mountain and asked the driver to bring me back to school. And so he did. And so I apologized and thanked the driver. What a great way to start a chilly Monday morning.

I used to be so amazed at train and bus sleepers - those people that hit the sit and pass out until their stop is called, dashing out the exit just as the doors close on their coat tails. Have I become one of ‘them’? Well, perhaps it was a special day for me and I was just dreaming about the past weekend’s celebrations…

You see, December 6 was celebration # 4 – that’s the number of birthdays I have celebrated in Japan, each of them in a unique way. This year, I decided to celebrate with Aki, a fellow Sagittarian. Aki turned into Aki, Josh and Junko. The foursome turned into a sixsome, and the sixsome into a twelvesome.So the 12 of us gathered at Sam’s for the biggest birthday party I have ever held – or attended – with over 100 people, 40 salsa dancers, 25 donuts, and 1 homemade piñata. It was a night that went down in Osaka history.

The only other excitement from the past 6 weeks has been a road trip through Tango Hanto. We hopped in a car and simply started driving. The destination was Tango Peninsula and the means a silver Mazda. After viewing Amanohashidate (one of Japan’s top 3 views) through our legs, we headed into some small fishing villages to find a place for the night. There was one little room left in a traditional minshuku (b&b) along the coast. As we bathed, 3 little old ladies set up a dinner for a king (and a queen) in our room. We finished off the fresh fish, savored the nabe and downed the Asahi beer. Afterwards, I headed to the main bathroom to freshen up. As I passed the aquarium I realized that these beautiful fish were not for display. The 5 swimmers had dropped down to 3 in a matter of an hour... our dinner hour.Oh well, what’s done is done!

The next day we followed the coast all the way to Kinosaki, a quaint hotspring town in a chilly valley, to meet a group of 18 friends. We bathed, and bathed, and bathed in the naturally hot water, walked the streets in our yukatas (house coats) and survived on crab and beer. This was a truly Japanese holiday.

It’s amazing how ‘normal’ my life has become here in Osaka.With a few escape exceptions, I have preferred to stay in on weekends with a bottle of wine and cook up a new recipe. Nabe is in season and hours have been spent with friends slowly cooking the stew and tasting it at each stage along the way.

‘Normal’ life over the past two months has been filled with classes, books, reports and more classes. I’m almost halfway through my M. Ed and have learnt so much about second language acquisition. It’s amazing how much there is to learning another language, and thus, a new culture and a whole new way of thinking. I literally spend hours a day reading about language acquisition… and the more I read, the more I realize I have to learn. Guess that’s what school’s all about though isn’t it.

Well, I’m happy to say that I’ve got only one more teaching day this year and will soon be heading out to spend Christmas in Cambodia. As usual, my bags are not yet packed, but I’m not worried, as I’ve got many more important things to do… likewriting you. Why Cambodia this year? Well, many have raved about the beauty of Angkor Wat and I figure that I should see this magnificent site before it becomes yet another SE Asian tourist tragedy. Mandy and I leave for Phnom Penh Tuesday and I hope to share our stories and photos in January.

So that’s where I’ll leave you for now. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas holiday. I hope that you are able to spend this time with your loved ones.

May 2009 bring you all your dreams and fill your days with happiness.

November 2008 - Japan is Going Bananas

2008-11-02T23:07:00.016+09:00

Whack!!! Darn it, more blood… It’s November 2nd and I have been bitten by yet another ninja mosquito living under my desk. It must be the year of the mosquito as I fill my daily bite quota getting at least one ankle or shin bite each day. These little black ninjas are fast. They catch me while I speed home on my bike from the train station, cutting through my tights like a chopstick through sushi, leaving me with a faint trace of their evening feast. Let’s hope today is the last…

But to rewind a little bit, I believe it’s been a few months since I last wrote.

After a wonderful, gluttonous summer vacation back "home" (Brampton) I was ready to return to Asia and the lean Asian cuisine. On my way “home” (Osaka) I found myself in Shanghai for a week stop. I reserved a nice private room in a downtown Shanghai hostel. Each morning I got up early – 5am – and had breakfast in a local ramen (noodle) shop with all of the street cleaners. I then wandered around the deserted Shanghai streets watching the city wake up.

The retired folk, like in most countries, were the first up. They would be in the parks practicing fulong gong, dancing to jive music, stretching, and playing badminton. They rose with the sun and loosened their tight joints each morning, not even noticing the tall, rosy-faced blond wander by each morning.

I filled my days chatting with locals, saw acrobats perform the most amazing feats and contortions, tried the local delicatessens, visited ancient temples and canals in Suzhou, meandered through the holy gardens around Hangzhou and was happily scammed by a bunch of “students” at a local tea ceremony (full details on my September blog).

I was amazed at how modern, yet how humble, Shanghai was. The Paralympics were in full swing each day, and I fell asleep to the government propaganda on the “culture channel” each night. By day five though, I was ready to return to my second home.

Back in Japan, I was happy to settle back into my own space, sleep in my own bed, unpack and not have worry about repacking early the next morning. I had just moved into a new (and very bare) apartment before flying back to Canada and needed to get some furniture – I was finished with doing everything on the floor. A desk, a chair, a kitchen bar table (complete with 4 bar stools), a rug and lots of details later Aki and I managed to make our new place pretty cosy. Our first home-warming party catered to 35 people and as the last of the pizza and paella were eaten, Daniel (our dancing king) converted our living room into a salsa dance floor.

The end of September came around pretty quick as I prepared for the second semester to begin. Well, six weeks in, classes are running smoothly and my students have adapted. That bonus point system my dad implemented when we were kids works like a charm to get the shy and recluse kids to participate. (Thanks Dad!) I’ve also resumed classes at Temple and find myself up to my elbows in Sociocultural Theory, the Output Hypothesis, Motivation and Extensive Reading reports. I love learning, but actually writing all of these research papers is much more challenging. I have found 101 ways to procrastinate - this blog entry is number 7 on the list.

I’ve been out on a couple hikes, and organized a few parties. At our annual Halloween party at Kuku, Mandy, an Indian Princess, was without a prince. So, I stepped up and spent the evening as her Maharaja. Other costumers were great: giant sushi, ghost banks (ooooo – scary), gladiators, ladybugs, and the list goes on.

After dinner we went to a local nightclub where I think it’s fair to say ALL the staff know me. I walked in, but when I looked back all of my other friends in obvious costumes were told to remove their disguises. Sam’n Dave was NOT celebrating Halloween that night. So… that means they didn’t even realize I was in costume. They really thought I was an Indian king… (well, maybe not a king).

In the midst of the economical crisis, there have been quite a few distractions here in Japan.

In the news last week was Tama, a cat that is the new official Station Master at a nearby train station. The train line was losing money and was feared to close. Along came Tama, who adopted the train station as her new home. The store owner put a little train Station Master hat on her and – voila – she became the 10 million dollar cat. People travel as far as 6 hours to take a picture of Japan’s furriest Station Master.

Check out the full story here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/japananimalcatoffbeat

Also in the news, a bald butt-naked Spaniard swimming around the Tokyo Imperial Palace was arrested (it only took 20 police officers). The man, armed with nothing but a rock, shocked Japan and made international news.

See the full story, and photos, and video at:

http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=6523

Finally, the Japanese have gone absolutely bananas. Since a 200-pound former opera singer claimed losing 15 pounds from the Morning Banana Diet in 6 weeks on Sept 19, bananas have been literally flying off the shelves. I spent the entire month of October, and all I ever got was, “Yes, we have no bananas…”

Check out how Japan Goes Bananas yourself at:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1850454,00.html

Honestly, I’m surrounded by banana advertising on tv programs, store signs, magazines and even plush banana dolls. Bananas (especially the cute ones) will save the Japanese economy. I’m sure of it.

Time to get back to work… or start on # 8 on the procrastination list.

October 2008 - Blades of glory

2008-10-05T23:01:00.001+09:00

I was soooo happy. Been thinking about it for a while, saved the cash and went for it. Bought myself a brand new pair of beautiful rollerblades after zipping around Sport Depot for an hour. I dropped the box at home and dashed out to my yoga class on my new wheels. The smooth streets felt like pure bliss under my wheels; the railroad tracks like booby traps waiting to pull me in. I zoomed around my old neighbourhood on the freshly paved roads, past the kids who all turned to look and murmured “sugoi” to each other. I was the envy of the block… The wind blowing through my hair, I thought that no one could take the ear-to-ear smile off my face.

Woo woo, woo woo, I could hear from behind me. Then, a strong voice pronounced, “Sumimasen”. It was a police officer, and not a happy one at that. “Rollerblading,” he flatly stated, “is illegal in Japan. Please take off your rollerblades right now and change into your shoes.” I was flabbergasted. “Nande?” I asked. “Dangerous,” he replied. After a few minutes discussing the issue I gave up, sat down, opened my bag, and started to take out my shoes.

Just at that moment, no word of a lie, a kid went by on a uni-cycle. Yes, a single wheel with a seat on the top… and the officer didn’t even bat an eye. Nothing! It’s safe for 8 year olds to ride uni-cycles in the street, but not safe for a 25+ year old to rollerblade. Grrrr… no wonder those blades were on 50% sale and the shop clerk was so surprised that I wanted them!

September 2008 - Scammed in Shanghai

2008-09-21T00:18:00.011+09:00

(As published in Kansai Scene Oct 2008)

I’ve traveled the world… Asia, Europe, America, Africa, South America and, until very recently, was very proud of the fact that I hadn’t fallen for any scams. Time consuming and sometimes costly schemes are abundant: fake guides conveniently get lost in winding medinas, bogus gems are plentiful in jewelery stores and tuk tuk drivers aggressively hassle travelers forcing them to make unplanned “shopping” stops not on the itinerary. Police impostors, pickpockets, moneychangers, ticket agents and “good Samaritans” can cause a lot of headaches and ruin a vacation. Many experienced travelers have caught on to the tourist traps and costly schemes. Unfortunately, despite my extensive travel around the world, I didn’t even see this one coming.

A stop over in Shanghai gave me the opportunity to see as much of the city and its surroundings as possible in a few days. An avid traveler, I no longer go to a city to see the buildings, I go there to experience the culture: the people, the customs, the food, the lifestyle. I enjoy chatting with people, learning about their lives and sharing my experiences with them.

On my first day, jet lagged, yet energetic, I meandered through the downtown Shanghai streets, taking in the atmosphere around me. I was dressed comfortably, walked around unhurriedly, with my bearings firmly in place I knew where I was and didn’t even need to look at the map of the People’s Square Park in my shoulder bag.

“Hello, how are you?” I heard from behind. Normally I wouldn’t even think about acknowledging another annoying watch seller, but this was a friendly and inviting voice that caused me to turn around. Behind me were four young Chinese people; two young women (Zhangmei and Sophia) and two young men (Andy and Dong Ran), who reminded me very much of my own students. We pleasantly chatted for 15 minutes. I found out that they were university students visiting a friend in Shanghai while on their last week of summer vacation. They asked lots of educated questions about Canada and explained that they were on their way to a Chinese tea ceremony. If I had time, I was invited to join them.

Well, the opportunity to have a traditional tea ceremony with some locals sounded absolutely splendid to me, so we walked through the park while they checked their map for the way to the tea ceremony location. We made some turns, backtracked a little, and even stopped to ask for directions. We walked through a decaying mall, and up the stairs to the second storey teashop. Promptly greeted by uniformly dressed young women we were lead into a small and pleasant tearoom.

Jars of jasmine, green, lychee, and mixed fruit tea lined the shelves. In front of us were a delicate serving tray, a lucky toad statue and five tea-tasting cups. I was shown the menu, in English and Chinese, with about 20 different types of tea and I was told that there was a 30 RMB service charge. Since I was there with such pleasant and talkative students I didn’t look at the menu very carefully and agreed to let the students choose the sampling flavors.

Our tea specialist carefully displayed 6 different jars of tea in front of us. In Chinese she explained each tea while she prepared small pots to sample. She taught us how to drink the tea in three sips. She demonstrated how men and women should hold the teacups. Then she showed us how to take advantage of the full flavour by inhaling air and holding it in your lungs after drinking the tea. The students, all very fluent in English, eagerly translated for me and I was fascinated by all the thought that goes into each cup of tea.

After an hour, we had sampled six flavours and were presented with the opportunity to buy some tea as a souvenir (at highly inflated prices). “Girls first,” exclaimed Dong Ran. Both Sophia and Zhangmei chose flavors to bring home to their families. When the tea specialist looked at me I simply explained that there wasn’t possibly a way for me to carry any more souvenirs home as my backpack was already bursting at the seams. The boys decided not to buy anything either.

When the tea specialist returned with the bill the boys looked it over and they discussed it together in Chinese. It was then suggested that since the girls didn’t have enough money that the boys and I share the bill 3-way. 1250 RMB divided by three equals 420 RMB each. I was astonished with the price and the fact that they would suggest I pay for the girls. I looked at the menu again and saw that each tea sample, the equivalent to drinking a thimble of infused water, was 38 RMB per person. So, taking the souvenirs off the total price I agreed to pay my fifth of the bill, exactly 258 RMB.

I took out 260 RMB after Dong Ran put 300 RMB on the table. Another discussion in Chinese resulted in Andy scooping up the money and leaving the room. Five minutes later he returned, claiming that the since the girls did not have enough money he decided to put the tea charge on his credit card, and that’s why he had left the room. He then signed the receipt and passed it along for me to sign beside the total I had paid.

We thanked the tea specialist and left the shop. Outside the students stopped chatting and told me that they had to go meet their friend and quickly departed, leaving me alone in the street. It was then that it all came together. I had been scammed.

Caught up in the “cultural” moment I didn’t take the time to realize what was happening. I paid 260 RMB, the equivalent of 4,000 yen, for a few sips of tea. This highly inflated price was outrageous: 260 RMB will by you 65 bowls of fresh gioza, 87 subway rides, or 7 one-hour full body oil massages. No students in China, unless very well-off, could possibly afford to exchange 87 subway rides for a few sips of tea.

Although I must admit I did enjoy the tea ceremony, I felt ripped off and cheated. The shop had grossly over charged me and I’m convinced the “students” received a handsome payout for luring me there. Moreover, I felt lied to. Were these really students? Was there any truth in their stories? The whole afternoon was a stage and I was played for the fool. What a disappointing experience on my very first day in China.

I realize that I had made two key mistakes. Firstly, I should have clearly understood the currency conversion. Secondly, I should have carefully checked the menu and the pricing before commencing the ceremony. It was presented to me and I allowed distractions to keep me from fully understanding the service I was receiving for the price I was paying. Living in Japan has made me a very trusting person. However, traveling abroad has reminded me that us travellers really need to understand the situation around us and to never drop our guard when we find ourselves in a new environment. Of course I will keep traveling and meeting people around the world. I’ll just ensure that I pay attention to details to avoid falling for any scams… and there are lots of them out there.

For more on common scams in Asia check out:
http://www.scamspotters.com/asia.html

August 2008 - A bear of a summer

2008-08-29T08:30:00.011+09:00

Exotic.

Not a word that was high on the list of adjectives of places that I wanted to visit this summer vacation. Over the past 12 months I’ve traveled to many exotic places, eaten exotic food, spoken with exotic people and worn exotic clothes. Nope, this vacation was going to be different. This year I decided to discover the Great North: Canadian’s west coast (British Columbia) and Alaska. So, the day after classes ended in late July, I woke up at 4am, few hours before my flight was scheduled to leave, hurriedly packed my bags and settled nicely into my window seat on the ChinaEastern (entertainmentless) flight to Vancouver (Canada) via Shanghai (China).

Weeks before the 2008 Olympics, the Chinese in Shanghai didn’t seem to very excited about becoming part of the world stage. At least, that is how it appeared in the Shanghai airport. In my 3-hour stopover I was intrigued with the Olympic characters painted around the airport. Something just didn’t seem right; something was missing. Chinese souvenirs were abundant but Olympic gearwas hard to find.

The shop staff were decked out in their traditional Chinese wear, but did not don any Olympic clothing or pins. They were quiet, and actually, the whole airport seemed to be asleep, hardly the way China has ever been described, especially at one o’clock in the afternoon shortly before the arrival of thousands of international athletes.

Well, a long 11-hour flight later, from one Olympic city to another I was still surrounded by the Olympic theme and eager to get out into the wilderness. Within a few hours, my German friend Markus and I met up at our rental car office and headed out along the Sea to Sky highway in a shiny black Ford Focus, ready to begin our Rocky Mountain road trip. Squamish seemed like a good place to begin and we finally arrived in the dark after 24 hours of sleepless travel,exhausted and every so ready to close our eyes. However, without a reservation, finding vacancy seemed to be a little more difficult than we anticipated. After contemplating sleeping in a parking lot, a local told us about a small campsite nearby. We found it, literally threw down our tent, and closed our eyes for a good long sleep…

The hot summer sun finally dragged me out of my cocoon and after a few hours of driving up highway 99, past Whistler and Pemberton, listening to the beats of Sirius satellite, we stopped atJoffre Lakes. Packs on backs, we left our car for the night and hiked past the Lower and Middle Lakes, 6km up to the pristine Upper Lake. Our eyes googled at the surrounding beauty of the glacier lake that would host us for the night. The large ice glacier hung above us like a cloud in the sky; it’s melting ice trickling into the turquoise water that shimmered in the sun. Yup, this would definitely do for the night.

Over the next few days, we drove past Kamloops, campedamongst the elite in Chase, crossed the Rogers Pass, drove through Banff National Park, and finally arrived in Calgary to reunite with high school and Japan friends. Calgary was booming and I was shocked to see how trendy these “cowboys” were. Where did all the cowboy hats and boots go?

Back on the road to Banff National Park and up along the infamous Icefields Parkway we went. Our first overnight stop was in Lake Louise. Hiking along the shoreline of the renowned Lake Louise,we followed the trail up to Lake Agnes, then up and around the Beehive. The view from the top of the Beehive was infinite and the Chateau looked like a Barbie Playhouse from high above. Around the back of the mountain, we hiked to the Six Glaciers then finally, as the sun set and our fingers and toes began to freeze, we warmed up in the Chateau with hot apple cider.

The drive along the Icefields Parkway, a UNESCO World Heritage designated site, was magnificent. Clean, clear roads, surrounded by mountains, rivers and turquoise blue lakes. Our final destination, Jasper, was where I dropped Markus off for his Trans-Canada train ride to Toronto and where I realized that I was on my own for a few days with 1000 kms ahead of me to make it back to Vancouver. So, back in the Ford Focus I jumped, pumped up the radio, and sang my way back to Kamloops, where I camped all alone for the night.

The rain stayed away as I hiked through Manning Park (all the while wondering when I was going to meet up with a bear as Bryce had on one of his solitary hikes) and discovered the site of Rambo’s First Blood movie in Hope, BC. As I arrived in Chilliwack, the rain started to come down hard and I just couldn’t stomach another wet night in a tent. So off to a historic B&B I went to camp in style.

3000 kilometres and many hikes later I finished my road trip back in Vancouver. Overwhelmed by the striking scenery, the cleanliness of all the national parks and the kindness of the people,I must say that British Colombia and the Icefields Parkway in Alberta together form the most refreshingly beautiful place I have ever visited.

Back in Vancouver the pride parade was the focus of the weekend and when my mom joined me the next day we enjoyed watching the underwear dancers and the bright colours proudly displayed.

On a bright and sunny August 3rd, our cruise ship set out for a week tour of the Inside Passage of Alaska. I could feel the swish ofeach wave in our stateroom and tried to spend as much time outside on deck as possible. No problem on a cruise, right? Wrong! On a cruise to Alaska, even in summer, it’s cold. Beautiful, but cold! Wrapped in fleece, winter jackets and blankets we managed to spend some lovely afternoons reading, and inevitably eating from the incredible 24 hour buffet, on the outdoor decks watching the seals, sealions, otters, and dall porpoises swim by. Our ports of call each offered something truly Alaskan: Ketchikan is the salmon capitol of the world and home of Dolly’s, a local brothel shut down a mere 20 years ago: The Hubbard Glacier is the biggest glacier in

Alaska: Juneau’s humpback whale watching was outstanding: Sitka’s salmon run mesmerized us for hours.

However, it was in Juneau that we had the experience of a lifetime. Hiking along the Mendenhall Glacier Trail, a side trip that we decided to do to get away from all the people, we hiked an easy 5 km around the glacier. With time on our side, we decided to follow the Trail of Time, which crossed a creek and headed back to the main road. We could see the salmon jumping as they dashed up thecreek in the race to make it to the top, lay and milk their eggs, before turning bright red and heading to salmon heaven (ie, kicking the bucket). “Mom, stand there by the creek so I can get a good picture of you with the salmon,” I said to my mom. As my mom turned the corner I heard in a desperate cry, “Laura… there’s… a bear.” Just then, a big brown bear, with a wiggling pink salmon in his mouth, turned around and looked right at the two blonds 20 metres in front of him. He dropped the salmon and charged towards us, splashing through the water.
“Mom, get behind me,” I said. We backed away slowly, back behind the rock and out of sight. I could hear the bear

splashing his way towards us. As I turned around to look for my mom I saw her bolting up the trail faster than Usain. I realized that I was alone and quickly caught up to my mom. In her salmon pink jacket, with her hoody up and her blue eyes bulging, that bear must have thought he had died and gone to bear heaven upon seeing my mom, aka the largest, juiciest salmon in Juneau. Well, we escaped unharmed and, unfortunately, unphotographed. Every Alaskanhas a bear story and now so do we. Even now, 3 weeks later, with every dark shadow my mom sees she thinks of that bear.

So now I am back home in Ontario, and writing from the deck at the cottage. The sun has been up for a few hours and it feels great to be on cottage time. I’ve had a great few weeks at home and have slept 8-10 hours every night! My days have gone by too quickly chilling with my ever-growing niece and nephew, kayaking up north, uncovering mysteries at the ROM, making myself sickon the Marineland rides. Many rounds of golf have been played with my dad and dancing “zumba” has been a staple activity with my mom. I’ve caught up with friends and shopped a little more for the next year.

Soon it’ll be time to pack up and head west again. I’ll stop in Shanghai for 5 days before returning to Japan, ready to start the new semester and return to “life as usual”.

July 2008 - Grades are in, school is out!

2008-07-22T17:24:00.000+09:00

Konnichiwa!

The sun is shining, the temperature is rising, grades are in and school is out! As of 4:10pm today I am officially on summer vacation!!!

With summer vacation comes the next adventure… this time a little northern exposure. I’ve decided to discover the wild North American west. Markus and I will tour BC, meet up with some cheeky friends in Calgary and camp out in the Rockies. After he takes the train east across Canada, I’ll head west, back to Vancouver to meet my mom. Together we’re going to head north… far north… up to Alaska to cool down, watch some whales, glimpse the grizzlies and cruise along the coast.

August 11 is when, if you sit quietly and watch, you might just see this blond back in her natural habitat. I’ll be home for 4 weeks so please drop me an email or give me a call if you’re free.

Time to go home and pack my camping gear, hiking attire, formal wear, and regular chill out clothes into a 20 kilo pack. Wish me luck!

I hope that you are all doing well and look forward to hearing your news!

Canadians – see you soon!
Japanese – see you in September!
Others – see you on FB!

Laura xx

June 2008 - Mi Casa es Tu Casa

2008-06-27T15:49:00.002+09:00

Three years have past since I left Canada and came to Japan... three years that I have been eating rice for lunch everyday, three Golden Weeks come and gone, three rainy seasons survived... three years that I have lived in my cosy Mansion Alpha apartment!

Well, the time has come to make a change and I've decided to move to a larger (and more economical) apartment just down the road from my Juso neighbourhood to Mikuni (yes, and still in Japan).

I signed the lease, moved a bunch of things in yesterday and met the manager of the building, who, with a big smile on his face, told me that I have to pay 5,000 yen for garbage removal activation. What? It’s already activated. I’ve already been to the garbage shoot. You open the door, put the garbage in, close the door and sayonara.

Then I asked about where to park my bike. He smiled again, said that there are some free spaces and that the residential committee would decide where I could park my bike. Huh? What the?
“Can’t you just assign me a parking space?” I asked.
“No, the committee must decide where you can park your bike.”
“Can I request a spot at the back of the building near my apartment?”
“No, the committee will decide.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier if you just gave me an empty spot instead of wasting all of the committee member’s time deciding something so simple as a bicycle parking space?”
“No, I am only the manager. The members must make a unanimous decision.”

In this highly developed nation the word efficiency just doesn’t seem to be part of the national vocabulary.

Luckily, Kitty is now "genki". Unfortunately, he INSISTS (very loudly) on spending his days out on the prowl, roaming the neighborhood, chasing (and catching) anything that moves. He won't be happy stuck inside all day and with my new digs on the 5th floor in a humongous building he simply won't be able to leave for a walk in the park when he feels like it. The kind lady on the second floor has promised to feed him and keep an eye out. So with a heavy heart I'm afraid that my furry feline friend will need to find a new bed to cat nap on.

So now it's back to the moving! Will write more soon! xx

May 2008 - Hello Kitty!

2008-05-31T14:44:00.006+09:00

It was tough for me to open the door. He couldn’t do it by himself and I knew that when I opened it he would leave. But I knew he’d come back. They always do. I just wasn’t sure when. He needed his space, needed to check out his territory. It was time. For the first time in my life I understood how a mother feels the first day of school when her child leaves home, when she is forced to let go and trust that her little one will be fine on his own.

Kitty came into my life a year and a half ago when her owner suddenly died and she lost her home and her caregiver. Since then, various neighbours have helped out. No one in “Mansion Alpha” likes to see an animal go hungry, especially one that cries outside your doorstep for hours. Within days Kitty became the unofficial community cat. She would visit house to house, trick-or-treating for the best dinner, looking for a little love wherever she could find it.

Soon more cats started to appear as both owners and felines realized how good the life was around Mansion Alpha. Territories became invaded and battles started to brew. Finally the two biggest cats on the block met face to face. The short neck and sharp teeth were no comparison for Kitty and only a bucket of cold water could separate the two.

Within days the marks of war became apparent as Kitty’s face swelled up so much she couldn’t see. It was then that I finally decided to bring her in. A midnight dash to Don Quixote allowed me to equip my flat with kitty litter, a pooper-scooper, and plenty of soft canned food. Old towels and sheets came out to cover the furniture. Kitty settled in, found her spot on the sofa, and exhausted didn’t move again for the next 24 hours.

A visit to the vet was in order. So after work the next day, I wrapped the frail feline in a towel and started out towards the closest vet clinic. Silly girl. I forgot that some how all animals know when they are being taken to the vet, and will fight to the death to avoid the trip. Just as I got down the street, her eyes opened, then bulged. Meows turned into howls, claws came out my protective towel was ripped into shreds. I had to put her down. She couldn’t run; she didn’t have the energy. So in the shreds I picked her up again and the struggle continued. This time she fought even more and I ended up holding her under her front armpits, swinging her legs to avoid the razor-sharp claws, and running back to my apartment. A cat carrying case was the only way I was going to be able to transport this tiger.

So covered in blood, pus, urine and an insane amount of hair back to Don Quixote I went. When I arrived at the cash register with the cat bag in hand the clerk looked me up and down and nodded approvingly. Apparently others have foolishly tried to go to the vet without “the bag”.

After another struggle to get her in the bag I finally arrived at the vet.

“Please help this cat. She’s really hurt!” I exclaimed.

“What’s her name?” he replied.
“I don’t know. She’s not my cat! But, I call her Kitty.”
“Mmm hmm”.

“How old is she?”
“I don’t know. She’s not my cat! But I would guess around 3.”
“Mmm hmm”.

He then lifted her tail. “Hmm… It’s a boy, by the way!”

Huh? How could I have missed that? Well, I guess I didn’t look THERE all that closely.
And I did see “her” taking care of a kitten a year ago.
And she is really cute.
And that would explain her ability to pee straight into the air from the window in the cat bag.
All I could hear was the Boy George sound track for “the Crying Game” in the back of my mind.

The look of shock on my face must have surprised the vet. “He’s, how do you say (action of snip snip) so it’s hard to tell, don’t worry about it!”

Well, a few weeks have passed and Kitty (that’s still his name) is happily settled in apartment, almost recovered from the wounds. He curls up with me at night and gently reminds me that my alarm is ringing in the morning with a soft pat to the chin. I then know it’s time to feed and clean him and head out to school.

Oh school. Yup, school (my job) has been keeping me incredibly busy. I’ve been applying many concepts and teaching ideas from my own education studies to my classes to ensure that my students are getting the most out of each lesson. It’s exhausting! Either I am trying to do too much (so unlike me eh?) or my age is starting to catch up with me… (When I recently asked my students what age they considered “old” some replied 75, some 65 and others 50. However, a good handful of students declared that 30 is the age when someone is considered “old”. Ouch!)

After work, when I’m not nursing Kitty or sweating at the gym, I still try to discover new hiking trails: Daimonji (Kyoto), Higashi Otafukuyama (Hyogo), and Katsuragi-san (Nara). Katsuragi-san, an easy 1-hour hike, was honestly the slowest hike I’ve ever done. I actually got bored climbing up the mountain; there were just so many retirees blocking the path that I actually had to wait in line (like at Disneyland) to climb the mountain. The entire trail up was a traffic jam. Finally, 2 1⁄2 hours later, I made it to the top to be pleasantly surprised by the sea of burning red azaleas that flowed through the valley. It made the slow climb worthwhile. (The soft ice cream at the top also helped!)

Although it seems that my social life has slowed down since the school year began in April, I have had a few memorable events; the Pirates of Mikuni picnic and river boat race organized by Mandy; giant slides at Shinakaoka Koen that left me bumped and bruised; the Takatsuki Jazz Festival during Golden Week where we enjoyed hours of live music, Asahi beer and tasty traditional Osakan dishes (okonomiyaki, yakisoba, takoyaki); sayonaras of good friends (Scott, Moko, Nicola… and more to come); a Wild Wild West theme night at our local izakaya, where our water pistols turned into an attack (friendly, of course) on the inebriated out on a Saturday night (see the photos below).

Anyways, it’s time for me to return to my marking, end this update and save your eyes from reading too much in one day. I’ll write more again soon.

April 2008 - Tako, ebi and other sea critters

2008-04-22T20:23:00.005+09:00

I don’t know what drew me to it, but I just had to look, just had to know. Every day I just walk by, in a hurry, rushing from one thing to the next, not noticing, not caring. But this afternoon was different. I had to know.

So I slowly sauntered up to the cold icebox and looked in. It was 5:30pm and the little legs weren’t moving, not as they had during my morning visits during that marvellous month of March, when everything was done on my time; when I had time to wander, time to discover my neighbourhood all over again, time for myself before “life” (early mornings, sardine-packed trains, class bells…) kicked back in.

Yes, today was different and nothing could pull me away. I peered into that chilly freezer and scanned the dozens of trays neatly placed on ice. A wave of relief came over me when I could finally confirm that the little legs on the helpless tiger prawns were no longer kicking, no longer trying to free their entangled claws and break through the plastic wrap (with the large 298-yen sticker) that imprisoned them.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see something else moving, almost indistinguishable. Stacked painstakingly one on top of another were more styrofoam plates, each encasing 2 small tako (octopuses). My eyes scanned the creatures for any sign of life. It was late in the afternoon and these animals must have been on ice since early this morning. From one of the plates I noticed a twitching, the slight slithering of long and narrow tentacles. With the safety of the saran wrap wall between us I pressed my finger down on the tip of his long stretched arm.

He started to move a little quicker as the heat from my finger must have roused him from his permanent sleep. An eye opened, then the other. I didn’t budge. I couldn’t. I needed to know if he could feel me, to know what would happen if I stayed right there. I watched his body inch towards mine, desperate for warmth and safety. I was very aware of the little old obachans who stopped to look at me, that strange gaijin playing with the seafood, but I didn’t care.

It occurred to me that this warmth, this touch, would probably only extend his suffering. It was as though we both knew it was impossible to change the situation, and yet he continued to cling to me and I continued to allow him to hold on, not having the heart to pull away. Then, just as suddenly I as I had reached out to him, I pulled my finger away. I didn’t look back down to see his reaction, to see if he was still moving, to see if he even noticed I had left. It’s been an hour since I left that little supermarket in the dingy Tsukamoto arcade and I can still feel the tingle where his tentacles had almost grasped onto me.

Just another day in Japan…

It’s now 7pm and the sun has just set over the river (no longer called Yodo-gawa, but Laura-gawa, by those who know how much I adore it). I’ve got just enough time to finish up my fourth research paper of the semester before I make a fool of myself in Zero’s street dance class.

Dancing, ahhh, how I love dancing. I must have spent at least an hour a day the entire month of March dancing something somewhere; hip hop, belly dance, jazz, flamenco, salsa, tango, bachata, jive, and even Hawaiian dance. I tried each and every dance class offered at my gym. The greatest shock came to a poor group of 36 little old ladies when I walked into their 11:30am Hawaiian dance class. I tiptoed into the studio, behind the 150 cm (4 ½ feet) tall women. They were ALL wearing colourful Hawaiian skirts, bright leas hung around their necks and flowers decorated their hair. I wore tight black spandex and a white sport tank.

I positioned myself at the back of the class, behind a line of enthusiastic grannies. In rows we danced… right 1, 2, 3, 4 , left 1, 2, 3, 4. I learned lots of new moves: wave, rain, heart, guitar, umbrella… When the song ended the ladies in the front row walked to the back in unison and I found myself I step closer to the front of the room. By the time the 4th song came on I was front and centre. I don’t mind dancing in front of everyone, but I felt really out of place WITHOUT a big Hawaiian skirt and would have killed for a set of coconuts. But I felt even worse for the ladies behind me. An easy 12 inches taller and substantially wider, I’m sure that their polite smiles hid their truth thoughts, “this gaijin makes a better door than a window.”

The past month has been very domestic. It was the first time in my life that I spent vacation time “at home” - a whole 5 weeks at home! I didn’t leave Osaka. I rarely went further than 5 kms from my apartment, and only if I could get there by bicycle. I studied, danced, read, went to the gym every morning with all the housewives, slept 8 hours a day, got my Japanese drivers license, prepared for the new teaching year, bought fresh groceries daily and even started cooking. Maybe that sounds silly or selfish, perhaps even a waste of time off. But after so many flights, new countries, new people and constant packing in the past few months, I was ready to stay put. So that’s what I did and it felt good.

While I was in Juso (my neighbourhood) the past month, life has continued around me. Sakura (cherry blossoms) and the accompanying o-hanami (drunken picnics) came and went in a blink of an eye, friends turned a year older, other good friends have moved on to new adventures. (Markus I’m going to miss you SO much!) “Golden Week” is really strange this year so I’ve got next Tuesday off, then the following Monday and Tuesday, instead of the traditional “week”. Shortly after GW, I start summer courses at Temple Sunday afternoons. So, for the next 3 months I’m staying put... well at least until I return home in August for summer vacation!

The new teaching year started Friday April 11. Why on earth the school year would begin on a Friday is beyond my comprehension. That’s just they day the university chose and thus the day reality returned. This semester I’m teaching 5 different reading and writing classes and two research methods (research essay) classes. It seemed a little overwhelming at first, but my months of study at Temple have provided me with new tools and ideas and I’m truly excited to go to work each day. Can you believe I actually wake up before my 6am alarm clock? My kids (they were born in 1999, so yes, they’re kids) are fantastic. Shy, outgoing, motivated, uninterested, you get all kinds. But I’ve got a good bunch (181 of ‘em to be precise) that I’m looking forward to helping. If only I could remember their names…

I’m sure this update is long enough as is so I’ll stop writing now and attach some photos from the past few weeks.

I miss you guys and want you to know that I think about you, even if I’m not in touch that often. Please keep your emails, photos, and postcards coming. Each and every one of them make me smile.

Sending a big warm sunny hug from Osaka,
Love Laura

March 2008 - Taipei 101

2008-03-16T23:21:00.013+09:00

Ni hao! That’s “hello” in Mandarin.
Shayshay… “thanks”!

With those two key phrases I easily managed to survive my recent 5-day trip to Taipei. Taipei, the capital of Taiwan (an island south west of Japan, near China) is known for the infamous MADE IN… you got it, TAIWAN.

Well, this city was a dirty, industrious place 20 years ago. But, the citizens came together, demanded change, and got what they wanted: Taipei is now an ultra modern, yet still very traditional city and the heart of Taiwan.

Known for it’s scrumptious Chinese food, succulent fresh fruit, incredible shopping and of course, the world’s tallest building (Taipei 101) this city and its people surprised me in many ways:

Funny: the Taiwanese were funny and friendly. One (MALE) engineering student beside me on the train happily engaged me in conversation for almost 2 hours. When he found out that I was Canadian, the conversation went something like this,

“Do you watch Prison Break?”
“Yeah, but not recently”
“Schofield; he’s a pretty boy, but Burrows, now that Burrows, he’s a REAL American man. I love him”.

Hmmm…. (I thought to my self) But isn’t Dominic Purcell British-Australian? Anyway…

Kindness: Yup, pure kindness all around me. I must have looked like one hungry kid, cause everywhere I went people offered me sweets… in ENGLISH! I couldn’t believe it – almost everyone in Taipei speaks some English and they weren’t shy to try it out on me. At the Longshan temple a homeless man opened up his new pack of Wrigley gum and gave me not one buy two sticks… and smiled when I happily accepted his offer.

Stinky: home of the world’s tallest building, Taiwan is also home of the world’s stinkiest tofu, actually called STINKY TOFU. The smell was so bad that I spent hours walking along invisible open sewers and invisible garbage dumps (invisible, cause I couldn’t see them, only smell their stench) looking for the infamous tofu only to find out that there were no open sewers or garbage dumps around. The smell was from the tofu itself. Yes, this tofu actually stunk up the market to the point that I couldn’t bring myself to try it (and I’ll try anything once)!

Spotless: the metro, and extensive web of underground trains that cover the city, are immaculate. Not a piece of garbage, not a random paper, not a loose hair to be found. Now this could because of the massive $$$ fine warnings that surround the platforms, ticket booths, escalators, trains, bathrooms... Nope, not even allowed to chew gum while on the train. I learned this when I offered the kid beside me a candy and his mom’s chin dropped in horror. She picked him up and they left the area in a hurry. Then I looked up and noticed the signs, in Mandarin Chinese AND English, warning of the consequences for consuming anything on the train. Call it militarianism, or something like that but I can’t think of the word right now, but those are the cleanest trains and platforms I have EVER seen!

Funky: the buildings, at least in the newer areas are funky. Their designs and colours made it very difficult for me to keep my camera in my bag! The shops inside are funky. The clothes are funky. What a fun place to shop!

Fresh air: When I needed a break from the city I headed out to the Tsaoling Trail on the East Coast, where an “easy” 16km hike turned into an easy 3km hike and a painful 13km stairmaster challenge. Then, on another day I headed to Yangmingshan National Park, for another hike through the buffalo grass. After so much walking my legs were shaking for days so I decided a massage was in order.

I went to Danshui, a cute port town and weekend hot spot for city folk. I stopped for a head and neck massage in a centre where the visually challenged give massages. After 20 minutes I concluded that I had the best neck and head massage ever. So, I decided to follow up with a foot massage. I must have been squirming cause the blind man massaging my feet asked if the “hurt was ok”… I finally got out a “softer… softer please…” and then the massage was much more manageable. But, those relaxed muscles in my neck knotted right back up. Perhaps it was all part of the strategy to get me to pay for another neck massage…

Well, I left Taiwan quite satisfied with my discoveries. It was surprisingly modern and peaceful, and full of expats from all corners of the globe studying Chinese (because they can study Mandarin Chinese and don’t have to actually LIVE in China). Next time I’m in Taiwan I’d like to head south, to hike some of the southern ridges and cycle through the countryside… another time, another trip.

So back in Osaka I am. I’m going to stay put for a while (well, at LEAST another 4 months). My studies at TUJ are keeping me out of trouble and I’ve used more highlighters and read more books and articles in the past 2 months than during my entire undergrad. I still take a few study breaks to dance, bowl, dance, eat, dance, or run along my Yodogawa in the warm spring sun.

Soon the cherry blossoms will be here, along with the passed out salarymen underneath them. This’ll be my 3rd cherry blossom in Japan. However, like all Japanese that enjoy the blossoms year after year, I too will be out with my camera trying to capture the perfect blossom.

February 2008 - I made a fluff

2008-02-10T22:37:00.000+09:00

Hello to you all! Yes, it's another update! That makes two in a very short time in 2008. It's not that I'm egocentric or that I don't have anything else to do. There was just way too much to share in a single update (Jungle love & all that's new and exciting in 2008) and the jet lag has had me up since 4am this Sunday morning. Jetag... yes! That means I'm baaaack! Back in B-town, in the warmth of my parents' home, drinking hot tea with my mom, watching "Home Alone" with Evan and wondering where the first 6 weeks of 2008 have gone.

January flew by faster than any other month I can remember. Actually, I don't really remember January as it was such a fuzzy flurry...

... back from the jungle at midnight on the first Sunday in January...

... up the next Monday morning at 6am...

... dozing on the salaryman packed train on my way to teach class at Kansai University...

... final reviews, final exams, final grades, final photos, final papers, final presentations, final excuses... Luckily, the school year ended (Jan 21) smoothly, unlike one of my Japanese friends who declared after her final presentation, "finally, to my regret, I made a fluff!"

... a lovely visit with plenty of wine and good food from my fav Auzzies (Kirsty and Anthony)...

... adjusting to the cold and SNOW in Osaka...

... and rocking with Bon Jovi at Osaka Dome (yes, this hip hop/dance hall/reggae junkie went to see Bon Jovi - almost front row centre - and LOVED it)! I swear to god that BJ made love to me with his eyes. I was shocked when I realized that I knew almost all of his songs. This was the best concert I'd ever been to... or maybe I've been in Japan too long!

The New Year always brings in new things, and this year is no exception. The first week of January I made the chalkboard transition... from teacher to student again. I started a Master in Education at the Osaka campus of Temple University (an American University). It's a 2-year program that (with a little fast-tracking) I hope to finish by next spring. I love the classes and the challenges they present. They've helped me to realize that I truly am a nerd at heart (^o^)!

Since I'm officially on spring vacation until the new school year begins in April I've got ample time to sit back in one of the many Osaka Starbucks, read my books, tap away on my Mac and work on my projects. I've just got to be careful that the "frosh fifteen" doesn't hit me again! I've also discovered the Starbuck "regulars"; lots of loners that sit at tables, read their books or magazines and sip their cafe lattes. I know who to expect in the morning, the afternoon, the evening and I now don't dare wear the same sweater twice in a row. Heaven forbid the staff or the regulars think I didn't make it home the night before!

I started to study Nihongo (Japanese) "again". Rocky and I went to the first few classes... 3 1/2 hours of listening to the teacher talk in Japanese and giving the odd answer to her questions. I spoke to the school director about the classes and tried another teacher. But it was the same.... all teacher talk and very little learner participation. It was pure torture and before the week ended we had already quit the school, along with the 4 other North Americans that were there the first day. I thought that I had wasted my time in that tiny Namba classroom, but now in reflection I realize that I had actually learned an awful lot. I now know why so many Japanese can not speak English after years of "studying" it. They're simply never given the chance to speak in school. So, I've decided to study on my own and use my resources, the millions of Japanese people around me, to practice speaking. Makes sense, doesn't it!

My new pride and joy is my new "jiji-chari" (jiji= old man, in a tender loving way, chari= chariot, or bike). I ride my bike ALL over Osaka, ALL the time. Sunshine or rain I'm out on my bike. Last week my "mama-chari" died; the wheel blew, the basket broke, the rust got the best of the gears. I brought her into the shop to see what the staff could do. But, it was hopeless. She was a goner.

So, I looked around the shop and found a sexy, brand new bike. It was my size (gaijin size), with big tires and a soft cushy seat. The only problem was that the basket was too small. I asked the young guy working in the shop for a bigger basket, which he apparently didn't think was very cool. He reluctantly took out a slightly larger basket. I shook my head. This just wouldn't do... books, laptop, purse... it's all gotta fit in. I asked for the BIGGEST basket in the shop. The staff took out an extra large rectangular silver basket. Perfect! He shook his head in disbelief as he attached it to my new bike. Now it's like I'm riding a snow plow with this big silver basket. I can knock all of those annoying little old ladies that take up all of the space on the side walk out of the way. (^o^) The rims shine, the brakes don't squeak, the bell works and it's a smooth ride. It's my new BMW!

Now, I'm just going to have to keep the boys away from my bike. Really, no kidding. For some reason, whenever I go out (and I always go by bike) and there's a boy around, the boy (more than often shorter than me) insists on pushing my (big tall) bike for me. They just have no idea how to handle my size chari. They grab the handle bars, wobble around, bump into things, run over signs, hit lights and stumble along in the most akward way. It's a disgrace and I've been letting them get away it. Well, no more boys. You're going to have to keep your hands off of my "jiji-chari" from now on!

For now though, I've taken a yasumi from it all and here I am, after an 18-hour flight, back in Brampton for a quick week-long visit. It isn't very cold and there's a lot of snow; more snow than I have seen in the past 4 years because I've naturally always ventured to the warm and tropical instead of the chilly and snowy. But my mom's chilli was calling so I braved the cold and now find myself knee-deep in snow, hot chocolate, kids story books and family time! And I'm loving it!

I still have one foot in Japan while here but am not so sorry to be missing one of the biggest events in Japan: Valentine's Day. This week in Japan, the Japanese girls are going wild buying and baking chocolate cakes for their men. It's believed that the men will come home on the 14th 'cause they know their girlfriends, wives, and lovers will have a special treat for them. These girls don't expect anything in return (yet, that is. Payback is March 14 aka White Day). So, in honour of this upcoming Hallmark Holiday, I'll share a verse of my second favourite poem with you.

Pablo Neruda
Sonnet XVII (100 Love Sonnets, 1960)

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,

I love you simply, without problems or pride:

I love you in this way because I don't know any other way of loving

but this, in which there is no I or you,

so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,

so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.

Bet you didn't know that I was so romantic. Well, If that poem was to lovey dovey for you, then I hope that you'll appreciate my favourite poem, a famous Basho haiku:

samidare ni

tsuru no ashi

mijikaku nareri

it translates to the very deep:

in the seasonal rain

a crane's legs

have become short

Happy Valentine's to you all!
And love from B-town,

Laura xo

January 2008 - Jungle Love

2008-01-31T15:06:00.001+09:00

Taaarrrzzzzzaaannnnn!

The infamous jungleman does live. And now I know where.

But, before I tell you about an incredible rain forest jungle adventure, let me back up a little, and let you know how we planned a beach vacation but ended up in the jungle.

On a cold Saturday morning just before Christmas, my American friend and Japan “partner in crime” Audrey and I caught an insanely early train and bus to the Kansai airport (Osaka, Japan) and mounted a Cathay Pacific flight to “KL”. It was the first time for either of us to visit Malaysia, and we really had no idea what to expect.

The Kuala Lumpur (KL) airport was our first insight to what lay ahead in Malaysia, and it was impressive. Clean, green, organized, friendly people – a complete 180 of the arrival experience I recently had in Delhi (India). The impeccable new express train took us to downtown KL and the monorail to our hostel. We dropped our bags and set out to find a good Malay dinner. We got more than we bargained for that first night – nasi, ayam goring (chicken fried rice), tomyam soup, fresh watermelon juice… we simply couldn’t finish our dishes, as apparently our eyes were bigger than our stomachs.

We walked around that first evening in KL amazed by the amount of the people walking around the almost immaculate “Golden Triangle” downtown area, enjoying ice cream and Starbucks, relaxing to live music, smoking sheeshas, bargaining reflexology and back massage prices. This was South East Asia, as I’ve never seen it before – modern, clean, peaceful and still so very affordable.

We decided to spend the next day in KL and fly out to Pulau Langkawi, an island in northern Malaysia right along the Thai border, to enjoy the Christmas festivities with Carlos and Yuki. Our Gecko Guesthouse was simple, yet cozy. The beach drew me in the first day and I must have lain out on the beach chair immobile for hours. It felt so good to have the hot sand between my toes and the warm water splash up against my face. Carlos started to dig a hole, but that seemed pointless. Why dig a hole when a tunnel was a much better idea? The local kids agreed and soon he had a whole team of eager helpers digging away!

We spent a few days discovering the island: its magic waterfalls, its abundance of flora and fauna, chilling out on the beach and chatting with the locals. Our “plan” was to “make a travel plan” when we arrived in Malaysia and assessed the local situation. That “plan” was delayed when we discovered the reggae bar on the beach and the smooth pina coladas they served.

Carlos, the best travel planner I know, had the idea of going to Sumatra, Indonesia. He had read about one of the only two orangutan reserves in the world where these peaceful beasts still live in the wild. So, before we knew it, our twosome had turned into a foursome, we had packed everything up and were on a six-hour ferry ride across the Straits of Malacca to Sumatra. It was a rough journey and I wasn’t the only one with a green face when we arrived at the Indonesia customs. After receiving our visas we walked into the frenzy of Indonesian taxi drivers. Within minutes, Carlos had recruited two strapping German men (Max and Lucas) and hired a minibus to Bukit Lawang. Now we were a sixsome.

Only 86 km from Medan, the main city by port, this should have been a quick drive. However, Sumatra had been hit hard by the 2004 tsunami and the potholes in the road were so big it was like driving on the moon. After 5 hours battling the “highway”, in the pouring rain, we arrived at Bukit Lawang, a small village on the border of Gunung Leuser National Park and the main access point for the rain forest.

Mr. Alek, a village local, had been advised of our arrival and gladly helped us find our first night accommodation at the Ecolodge. For a mere $12/night Audrey and I had our own room in the rain forest. Half of the room was windows that looked into the jungle and we felt like royalty sleeping on our beds protected by the long draping mosquito nets. As we fell asleep that night we could hear the jungle life around us and just wonder what was creeping around in the darkness.

An early morning with banana pancakes and fresh passion fruit juice prepped us for the jungle trek ahead. Our guide, a friend of Mr. Alek, lead us up into the rainforest hills. “Uuuuu…. Uuuuuu….,” he called out to the orangutans. After about an hour walking he found a group of them up in the trees. He whipped out some bananas and they came down to greet us (actually, “him” as in the guy with the food, but wishful thinking would be “us”). As we took a few steps closer we heard a sharp, “stay back – she bites”. So back we stayed and clicked away on our cameras from a safe distance. I was happy to be so close to such interesting creatures. At that time though I didn’t realize how close we would actually get.

Then along came a momma orangutan with the cutest baby I’ve ever seen. The baby was hanging all over her, grabbing everything in sight, pulling on her hair, swinging on the branches, laughing at the funny hairless creatures below and I could tell by the momma’s expression that she was tired of the all the monkeying around.

I must admit, the only thing that I knew about orangutans before this trip is that they liked bananas and that are awfully cute in National Geographic magazines. According to Mr. Alek, the reserve has about 5000 orangutans, most of which were born there in the wild. It is also the home to many apes that have been rescued and rehabilitated, about 15 of which are “friendly”, meaning they come close when the guides call because they know they’re in for a banana feast. Orangutans are known for their intelligence, long arms and reddish-brown hair. They are native to Indonesia and Malaysia, and are currently found only in rain forests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Their name derives from the Malay and Indonesian phrase orang hutan, meaning "person of the forest”. Well, they really are like people.

“Jackie”, the momma, took a liking to our group (6 + 2 guides = now we were an eightsome) and decided to follow us on our trek. Well orangutans have very strong grips because they glide through the trees and aren’t accustomed to too much walking. However, their legs aren’t made for walking. To follow us she needed to walk along the trail. “Give her a hand,” the guide recommended. Her arm extended and I gladly accepted her hand and before I knew it we were walking hand in hand through the jungle. It was jungle love at first sight!

When we reached our campsite for the night our guide busied himself with setting up the canopy and cooking dinner and we dove into the chilly river waters. Jackie wasn’t going anywhere while she knew that food was around and ended up spending two days with us. Her two-year baby was happy to play. He held his hands up and gave me the biggest smile (and they have big teeth) when I swung him in the air… but then would realize that this hairless beast (moi) was not his momma and would quickly return to her safety. Then his hands would come back up ready for another swing.

After a chilly night sleep under the canopy, we awoke to the 6am sunlight. It had rained that night, as it does every day in the rainforest. The rain forest is always wet and moist, and according to the Lonely Planet “the difference between rainy season and dry season is wishful thinking”.

We enjoyed a tasty breakfast of banana pancakes and tea sweetened with condensed milk… until Jackie came along and stole the can of condensed milk from under our noses. Once an orangutan has their grip on something nothing can make her let go. So, we watched as she drank the sweet milk, mocking us for our carelessness.

We packed up and headed back into the jungle, climbing through the bush and holding onto the vines to trek up the slippery ridge. My only worry in the rain forest was leeches. Yes, leeches! In the rain forest they live in trees and drop on their victims as they walk by. I was lucky not to have attracted any. However, when we finally reached another bed along the river where we would stop for lunch Audrey noticed a little black worm hanging out of her sock. Well, the little worm had gone through her protection and we found the other ¾ of it on the inside of her sock drinking away. At least she was luckier than the Spanish biologist we met later in our trip who had 15 bite marks on her torso from the little buggers. The leeches didn’t spoil our appetites and after another tasty lunch our guides packed us and our belongings onto 5 inner tubes roped together and we rode the rapids back to the village.

Our destination the next day, Lake Toba (the largest lake in South East Asia), was another 5-hour minibus ride away. We drove through the countryside, past the millions of palm trees and arrived at the Lake Toba port in the early afternoon. Lake Toba is an immense volcanic lake (bigger than Singapore) with an island in the centre. (Cool geeky information: formed by a gigantic volcanic eruption some 70,000 years ago, it is probably the largest resurgent caldera on Earth. Some studies say it might have been associated with causing previous ice age/climate change.)

We took the ferry to island in the middle - Pulau Samosir – and found a basic guesthouse in Tuk Tuk, the main village. During our 3 days we discovered the island by bike, enjoyed a fresh farm pig bbq for New Year’s dinner (and awoke to its squeals as the guest house owner slaughtered it on our doorstep the morning of the 31st), met many interesting people from all over the world (we actually become and eighteensome on New Year’s Eve) and ate like kings.

There was still much more to see and do but our 7-day visas meant that it was time to leave Indonesia and return to Malaysia. Next on the trip checklist was one of the wonders of Malaysia, the Cameron Highlands: the largest and most famous hill resort in the country. Developed by the British over 100 years ago, this highland paradise still retains much of the charm of an English village. Here we stayed in the coziest guesthouse of the trip and discovered the charms of the Boh tea plantation. It was amazing to roam through the tea tree hills and see the workers cutting the tealeaves by hand.

Our last 2 nights (January 4th & 5th) were spent in KL. Back in the big city, Audrey and I set out on a girly mission – to spend all of our remaining spending money (and then some) on shopping, tasty food and massages. I’m happy to report that the mission was definitely ACCOMPLISHED!

Malaysia and Indonesia are both AMAZING countries to visit with anything that anyone (or at least I) could want: great beaches, exciting rainforests, beautiful plants and flowers, interesting animals, cool mountains and marvelous (and affordable) shopping in the cities. Almost everywhere we went (except for Medan, Indonesia, but that was completely unavoidable) was clean, safe, and oh so very interesting.

Now I’m wondering where my next destination will be… anyone up for an adventure?

December 2007 - Happy Holidays!

2007-12-22T02:14:00.000+09:00

Konnichiwa!

Thank you for all your cards and holiday wishes. 2007 has been a great year in Japan and all over the world for me! It’s been a year full of changes, challenges and good memories. The changes began when I “was thinking” about leaving Japan earlier this year. Silly me, I should have recognized the signs around me and realized that Japan is like Hotel California; you can checkout any time you like, but you can never leave!

In March, a friend, and now co-worker, recommended me for a position at Kansai Gaidai University. The school looked great and before I knew it I was surrounded by 185 scared first year university students that couldn’t get over my height, my short blond hair or my blue eyes. Well, the foreign novelty soon faded and my students were more concerned with being cool, coming into my class late, reeking of smoke and chuckling away. Luckily I rule my classroom with an iron fist and straightened them out… haha… yeah right. A few after-class meetings with the kids did help though and they’re back on track. I’ve even managed to teach them Wham’s “Last Christmas”. Imagine a room of cool boys in baggy pants and over-made up girls in their minis standing there singing away to George Michael… Last Christmas I gave you my heart... A face on a lover with the fire in his heart... A man undercover but you tore him apart...

December has been a month of celebrations and I managed to celebrate my birthday over 15 days, perhaps a record. Many dinners, drinks and laughs were had again this year. The big night culminated on the 8th at my Sexy Santa party. We danced the night away and even ate melon for breakfast at the club with the manager. Talk about VIP service! Of course, in typical Japanese tradition, there have also been many bonenkai parties… similar to a Christmas party, but with the explicit reason of getting drunk to forget the past year!

In January we’ll celebrate New Year’s parties up till the middle of February, with the same agenda, but this time simply to welcome the New Year! I hope my liver can take it! (Don’t worry mom, this is not a repeat of MY university days!) In addition to many hiking weekends away this fall, I managed to fit in a little travel this year; north to Takayama and south to Okayama in Japan this spring, then back home to Brampton for a month in August, a week in South Korea and 3 ½ weeks in Rajasthan (India).

In a few hours I’m off to Malaysia with Audrey for 2 weeks. We’ll meet Carlos for Christmas and probably spend New Year’s in Singapore, eating pistachios at the Raffles Hotel and slinging back the “Singapore Slings”. Or, I’ll be running along the beach before diving into the ocean, freshly recovered from the full body massage… ah… better stop procrastinating and start packing! The New Year will bring in many exciting new things… but, I'll leave those details for another day! This brings me to the reason for this “short” update…

As the holiday season approaches

I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas

and

lots of love, health, success and happiness in the New Year!

幸福な新年

Feliz Navidad y Prospero Anyo!

Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo!

Joyeux Noel et Bonne Annee!

Vrolijke Kerstmis en Gelukkige Nieuwjaar!

May all your dreams in 2008 come true! Never stop smiling, never stop believing!

November 2007 - I love here!

2007-12-02T23:32:00.001+09:00

Laura: Why did you decide to study English?
Student: Because I wanted to learn about another species!

Laura: What are you doing this weekend?
Student: I’m going to play with my ears.
Laura: Perhaps you mean play it BY ear?

Student: I love here!
Laura: Yes, me too! It’s good to be back in Japan!

Hello my tomodachi!

I hope and trust that this email finds you all in good spirits, ready for the approaching holiday excitement!

It’s been a little while since last my update. Why you wonder? Well, I really hit the ground running this time when I returned to Osaka from India at the end of September. Within a day after 2 months traveling I found myself back in my classroom at Kansai Gaidai, ready for the second semester to begin. Busy as a bee I’ve been: working, writing, planning, planning, planning, dancing and hiking! I’ve put other “projects”, such as cleaning… cooking… sleeping… on hold.

Within a week of my return to Japan, three chicas guapas from Mexico came to stay with me and explore Kansai. Four women in my one bedroom studio was actually a lot of fun and I greatly missed them (and our late night chats & breakfast feasts) when the left. Then Miseon and Joonsoo (my favourite Koreans) came to experience the Osaka Halloween madness. My Swedish brotha from anotha motha, Oskar, was shipped to us from China by Carlos a few weeks ago. And, by this time next month, the sweetest Auzzie couple around, Kirsty and Anthony, will be here to bring in the new year! So always someone to show off Osaka to!

Late September to early December is the absolute best time of the year for hiking here in Japan, and I’ve done my fair share. I joined a fantastic club of outdoor enthusiasts (IOC) and have thus spent the past 7 of 9 weekends in the wilderness. There’s no place I’d rather be than in the beautiful fall sunshine. However, when the sun goes down, our bodies are thirsty from all the activity and the IOC members seem to know some of the best drinking holes around!

Zero is my newest friend. Yes, his name is Zero and he’s my stureeto dansu sensei (street dance teacher). I joined a hip-hop dance group a month ago and am hooked. I’m the only gaijin (foreigner), as usual, and have really clicked with this group. We dance for an hour every Tuesday, but then spend hours chatting after class. I even brought the class to Sam & Dave nightclub with me last weekend. The next day I received an email from Zero asking if we could “provoke it again in the club”. Sure Zero, anything for you!

The next big event coming up is my tanjobi! Yes, it’s December already so in a few days I’ll be adding another notch to my years of experience with lots of little parties. The celebrations actually began last night (the 1st) and will continue until the 16th. As usual, there’s a unique theme and this year we’re having a sexy santa party. I can't wait to see the look on the locals’ faces when they see 30 sexy santas walking through the streets next Saturday night!

Planning, yes, I’ve been doing a lot of that. In 3 weeks, my friend Audrey and I will be in Malaysia, and by Christmas Eve we’ll be on the island of Langkawi soaking up the sun, sand and Singapore slings. Hopefully we’ll meet up with Carlos, who has been traveling Asia (Korea to China to SE Asia) for the past 2 months, before we head into the Malaysian rain forest and down to Singapore.

More planning: I’ve also been seriously looking into some Masters Programs, as well as Japanese courses for this spring. So, in January I’ll probably be on the opposite side of the chalkboard. I just hope I don’t try to correct my teacher! That probably wouldn’t go over too well (*_*).

With everything going on, I’m actually very proud of my latest domestic accomplishment: I unpacked my remaining suitcase (from August) last week! Yup, those clothes all require a good washing and ironing now!

It’s 11pm and time for me to go to bed, so I'll end my update here.
Sayonara xx

October 2007 - It happens only in India...

2007-11-01T00:45:00.001+09:00

Jahan paon main payal
(Anklets on my ankles)
Hath main kangan
(Bangles on my wrists)
Ho, mathe pe bindia
(Bindi on my forehead)

It happens only in India…

The hit sound track from the Bollywood movie Chura Ke Dil Mera couldn’t be more true. After 3 1⁄2 weeks traveling around India I truly believe that many things do really happen only in India!

Namaste! It’s been a while since my last update. To tell you the truth, during my travels in India I decided to stay away from computers and everything modern as it seemed like such a waste of time when there was SO much to see and do! I’ve also wanted some time to reflect on my trip a little before writing about it. And, after one month back in “civilization” I’m STILL not sure how I feel about India! One thing is for sure – India is different!

My adventures began when my plane landed (late) at 1:30 am in Delhi on September 1st. The airport was hot, humid and packed with people. Airport staff was sitting around (on suitcases and carts), watching the passengers struggle with their luggage. The baggage claim area was chaotic. Nothing seemed organized and no one offered help without wanting something ($$$) in exchange. Welcome to India!

Now, I’ve traveled to many places in many countries, but in my opinion Delhi (at least the areas I visited) is the dirtiest, poorest place I've ever explored. I found the heat (40+ degrees), the smells, the begging, and the filth completely overwhelming and for the first time on any trip I had ever taken I had my doubts about coming to India for almost a month!

Luckily, that all changed very quickly. I met up with a great group of people, a.k.a. the “Barbie Army” (as named by a young Hindi boy when he saw the dozen beautiful young women with backpacks on walk by… “wow, a Barbie army”!), with whom I traveled around Rajasthan. We happily left chaos of Delhi after visiting the chowks (markets), the immense (and surprisingly tranquil) Red Fort, admiring Jama Masjid (Great Mosque), exploring the history of the Sikh religion at the Gurdwara SisGanj and mowing down on amazing curries, fresh naan, veggie samosas and sweet laasis.

An incredibly picturesque 21-hour train ride west took us past tiny villages and open land as far as the eye could see into the Thar Desert. We disembarked 20 km short of the Pakistan border at the Golden City of Jaisalmer, strategically positioned along a traditional trade route traversed by the camel caravans of Indian and Asian merchants. Built of sandstone, the city shines like gold when the sun shines. We stayed in the centre of the old city, a massive fort containing the palace, several ornate Jain temples and intricate hawelis that kept us busy exploring for days. Our hotel was actually the residence of the Maharaja (king) that has parts open to visitors.

No trip to the desert would be complete without a camel safari, so off we went, 2 people per camel, into the sunset, just like Lawrence of Arabia. I had never realized how big camels are until I got on one. You actually sit much, much higher than on a horse, and the ride is surprisingly comfortable. As we trekked out in the desert the thing that amused me the most was the dung beetles in the sand below; funny black bugs that look like they have a suit of armor on that swarm to camel dung (the fresher, the better) and fight over it. The victor has the privilege of rolling it away, just like a big snowball for a snowman (but brown – I’m sure you just had a great visual!)

Once the sun had set in the desert, we trekked out towards our tents. I was taken aback when I saw the beautiful tents, complete with private bathrooms, set up for our group. We had beds, tables, lamps and even running water. I felt like an Arabian princess… until I looked up and saw a massive spider on the wall above my bed. Suddenly sleeping outside under the stars seemed much more appealing. Unfortunately, the desert wind was strong and by 3am I was forced to head back into the tent, where luckily the spider and the yellow scorpion, that Johanna my tent mate (from Denmark) had almost stepped on and bravely removed, were no longer a menace.

A 7-hour bumpy overloaded bus ride a few days later took us to Jodhpur, the blue city, where many of the houses are painted blue. The buses drive fast, honk their horns loud and often blare the latest Bollywood tunes! Just outside of the centre of Jodhpur we stayed in small but absolutely beautiful hotel and somehow my partner Johanna and I got the honeymoon suite - best hotel room I've EVER stayed in! From Jodhpur we visited Bishnoi tribal villages to experience village life firsthand, and even got to observe a traditional opium ceremony. The smiles of the Bishnoi tribesmen were priceless by the time the ceremony ended!

We departed the oasis of hotel and another bumpy bus ride brought us to Udaipur, known for it's gorgeous palaces and lakes. The sunset over the Pichola Lake palaces was phenomenal. I really enjoyed this city. I found the people friendly and welcoming. Haley and I joined a group of dancing women in Jagdish Temple, one of the main temples, and spent an hour talking and dancing with the old and young ladies, playing the bongos and dancing to the beats. I also enjoyed a couple of hours drinking tea and chatting in a silver shop with a young Hindi man. He entertained Sami, Claire and I… and we all ended up walking out with toe rings on (not to mention the anklets, the earrings and necklaces we also ended up picking out! You can hear me jingle a mile away!).

After the random bus strike ended (of course it started when we were already sitting in the bus, thus stranding us for hours in a hot immobile vehicle), we went to Pushkar (aka "Tirth Raj," the Raj (king) of pilgrim centres). No pilgrimage of Hindu places is considered complete until the pilgrim bathes in sacred waters of Pushkar Lake; the city is so sacred that no meat, alcohol or eggs are allowed within the city.

I was blessed by a 'holy man' who proceeded to demand $300 after 'blessing' me. But I laughed (softly, didn’t want to offend of course) and walked away saying that my karma was all I needed and that he should consider his karma. His friends also blessed Lizzie and Lisa! I walked around for half the day with the large red dot and rice on my forehead (one for each family member that he blessed) until it got to itchy and I had to wash it off (bad karma?).

Next on the agenda was Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, aka the Pink City. The entire city was painted pink almost 300 years ago to welcome the royal family - and pink it has remained. Jaipur is one of the most important heritage cities in India, and home to India’s second most visited site, the Hawa Mahal, or Palace of the Winds. Unfortunately, the Hawa Mahal was completely under construction and covered up – go figure! I found this city extremely busy and unbelievably dirty! With poverty comparable to Delhi I some things that we saw were difficult to swallow (which I prefer not to elaborate on any more). However, one brilliant morning we took a tuk tuk to the Amber Fort and spent the day wandering through the 3 forts on top of the mountain. It was so peaceful and green away from the incredible noise of constant honking in the cities!

That evening we headed to Raj Mandir, a famous cinema built in 1904 where we saw 'Chakde India', one of the latest Bollywood movies with Shahruhk Khan (the number one movie star in India). It was so funny to be there because the audience really got into the movie and cheered on the hero and heroines. People cheered as though we were at a live sport event - too funny!

A 5am we headed out to the train station for the next leg of the trip to Agra. I couldn't believe the amount of people sleeping outside the train station. We literally had to step over rows of sleeping people on the dirty street to get to the entrance of the station.

Agra, home to the infamous Taj Mahal, was astonishingly interesting. Constructed between 1631 and 1654 by a workforce of 22 000, the Taj Mahal was built by the Muslim Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his favourite wife, Arjumand Bano Begum, who had already borne the emperor fourteen children when she died in childbirth. Actually an integrated complex of many structures, the Taj Mahal is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, itself a combination of Islamic, Hindu, Persian and Turkish elements. It truly is AMAZING!

On the banks of the river behind the Taj, while speaking with 3 girls from Hyogo (a prefecture in Japan) I met the cutest little Hindi boy who spoke English, French, Spanish and Japanese! We spoke for quite a while and had a good laugh. He promised to take some nice pictures of me, so I trusted him and gave him my camera – and I’m glad I did.

We continued west to Mirzapur, where once again we had large tents, though not as glamorous, waiting for us beside the infamous Ganga (Ganges River). “Ganga is the Life Line of Indian Culture” and people use its murky brown sewage water for swimming, bathing, washing clothes, cooling and bathing their animals, brushing their teeth, drinking water, transport… and disposing of dead bodies. It is one of the most holy, most celebrated, yet most polluted rivers in the world.

The next day we took a 4-hour boat ride up the Ganga to Varanasi, the quintessential Indian holy city where millions of Hindu travel to for pilgrimage, to worship, to mourn or to die. It is the oldest continually inhabited city in the world, dating back thousands of years. The culture of Varanasi is deeply associated with the Ganga and its religious importance; the city has been a cultural and religious centre in northern India for thousands of years, and thus a great place to end my tour of India.

Throughout my trip I met some wonderful people and some pretty nasty ones too. But, like my tuk tuk driver said:
“How many fingers you have?”
“Five”
“All five from same hand, but all are different” - then with a large grin on his face he tried to overcharge me for ride... huh... only in India!

India is definitely a place everyone should visit. It’s not a holiday, it’s an adventure, and it’ll truly help you realize how lucky you are to live where you do, have access to clean food, water, medicine, and determine your own future.

Namaste! xx

September 2007 - Going Seoul-O

2007-09-01T12:48:00.001+09:00

Anyeong Haseyo!

It's (another) rainy morning and I’ve just checked out of “Hostel Korea”. Waiting for my flight this afternoon to Delhi I thought I send out an email to share with you my “seoul-o adventures” in South Korea.

After another business class flight (my airmiles seem to be adding up or they’ve got me confused with someone else!) I arrived in sweltering Seoul on Sunday, took a bus from Incheon Int’l Airport and met Miseon, a Korean friend, in front of Dunkin Donuts. “Let’s take a cab to my place” she suggested. After hailing the cab she asked to driver to pop the trunk. “Click” - I heard it unlock and stood and waited for the driver to open the trunk for me. Miseon then looked at me and said, “Sorry Laura, this is Korea, the taxis are not like the ones in Japan”! As we jumped into the cab, the driver took off and speed through the streets. I then realized that she was right… actually, very little about Korea is like Japan.

After dropping my things at her place we walked down Namsan mountain and into the downtown hotspot Myeong-dong. All that water I had been drinking kicked in and I needed a restroom. Seoul is known for all of the clearly indicated toilet signs, and when I saw one I told Miseon I was going to use it. As I popped my head into the door I realized that the toilet was in the police station, a single room filled with +/- 30 officers. They welcomed me in and showed me to the restroom, a single toilet separated with a very flimsy sliding door. Well, when nature calls there’s nothing you can do, so I had no choice. I rinsed my hands in the sink (no soak to be found) and when I walked out everyone just stared at me smiling, and one officer even got up, shook my hand and then kissed it. Hello! I just came out of a dirty bathroom!!! Makes me wonder what Miseon told them while I was out of sight!

Gwangju, in the south, is known for its delicious food. This was my next stop! I met Joonsoo, another Korean friend, at the central bus stop. We jumped in a cab, which sped across the 5 lane road (that’s 5 lanes one direction and 5 lanes the other direction). No one actually ever stays in one lane and the lines are more like guidelines. Koreans drive fast. Actually, I’ve noticed they do most things very quickly: eating, walking, talking.

At Joonsoo’s house I was greeted by his mom and a lunch-time feast that spread across the entire kitchen table. Koreans love their food – and lots of it – which would explain why they are so big. (Yes, I’m not gazed at for my height here at all as many women tower over me in the subway!). We enjoyed bugolgi (meat wrapped in leaves), kimchi, tons of country veggies, fish… and for dessert we gathered on the living room floor, on a cooling bamboo mat and indulged in peaches, grapes and melon.

Excited about a trip around the province, we all piled into Joonsoo’s father’s Kia and headed south east. We visited an ancient burial site and Nagan Folk Village, where villagers live inside a castle wall the same way their ancestors did.

Have you eaten dog? Well, our dinner that night was a local specialty, “stuffed dug”, which is stuffed and cooked for 3 hours packed in a yellow soil. I’d never eaten “dug”, which I thought was “dog”, so I thought that it was worth trying. When the stuffed animal appeared on the table, the server came over with a pair of scissors and cut it open. Surprisingly it was delicious and even tasted kind of like chicken. After the meal I asked Joonsoo what kind of dog it was and if you could buy it in a pet store. He told me that he didn’t know you could have a “dug” as a pet… hmmm… something wasn’t right. So I acted out a dog and he laughed and acted out a duck! Turns out we’d eaten duck, NOT dog (in Korean d/g are very similar sounds). I was relieved, yet kind of disappointed!

That night we explored Gwangju by night and met up with some of his friends for beer and fruit – yes, Koreans love their fruit! As the temperature and humidity soared (35C plus) Joonsoo’s mom laid out a bamboo mat on top of my bed. It was comfy and cool to sleep on – quite an experience.

The next day we headed out to the south west and explored the Jindo Island straits, saw dinosaur fossils and footprints, cable-car-ed up My Duryun and had dinner a local farmer restaurant. I don’t think that they’d ever had a tall blond there before because the restaurant owner came right up to me and gave me a good look over! What a feast we had, using a combination of spoons, hands and occasionally chopsticks!

Wednesday I returned to Seoul in the pouring rain! I checked into my hostel and headed out into the city – ALONE. For the first time in over 8 years I realized that I was in a strange country alone. I was miserable… for about 15 minutes! I just continued with my plan and spent the next 3 days discovering the different neighborhoods, talking with people I met and realizing that I CAN do this alone AND have a good time, a really good time.

I went to the World Cup Stadium and saw a great soccer game. As I apparently came around the back I stumbled upon 5 buses full of riot police, which did make me a little nervous going into the game. The fans (only 1/4 of the stadium was full) were pretty rowdy! I didn’t go into the locked up section where the “extreme” fans were… good thing because they had flares and were definitely trying to intimidate the opposing goalie!

The next night I went to the Seoul LG vs Pusan Giants baseball game. These fans were even crazier and my seat was right behind the cheerleaders and beside the guys with the drums. The cheerleaders (1 middle-aged man, 4 young bouncing girls) lead the fans for 4 hours of songs, dances, and cheers. A young guy even proposed to his girlfriend. The game was exciting – it all came down to the bottom of the 9th when the Pusan pitcher decided to walk batter #8 to load the bases and try to strike out batter #9. Well, it backfired – #9 drilled the ball, the winning run came in, and the fans exploded! Talk about complete entertainment!

Korea has been good to me. I’ve received a lot of smiles, a lot of hellos, laughed a lot and rested too. If you’d like to see more pictures just click on the album on the right!

So, it’s now time to catch the bus to the airport, so I will sign off! Not sure how much computing I’ll be doing in India, but I’ll be sure to write when I’m back in Japan!

Hope all is well with you!
Love from Seoul,
Laura xo

August 2007 - Going to see Raj and the Taj

2007-08-20T13:22:00.002+09:00

Annyoung! (Korean Hello)

It’s already getting cooler and I can feel the Canadian summer winding down. The calendar says it’s August 20, which means I’ve been home (Brampton, Canada) for a month and that it’s time to head out again soon – real soon – i.e. tomorrow! Yikes!

After an amazing summer vacation visiting friends, BBQing, golfing with my dad, working out with my mom and most importantly catching up with so many amazing people back home (especially my sister, my brother, Haley-chan and Evan-chan), it’s time for me to make my way back to Asia.

I am happy to see that everyone at “home” is doing well, making things work and having lots of beautiful kids! I guess I’m like everyone else for 2 out of the 3. No babies (or plans of babies) here… and my travel itch has got me setting out for another adventure before returning to teach in Japan. This time I’ll be going to South Korea and India!
In a couple of days I’ll be in Seoul (South Korea) enjoying kimchi with Miseon and then I’ll head to Gwangju (Southern South Korea) to enjoy the countryside with Joonsoo! I’m very excited about seeing my two favourite Koreans and meeting their families.

A big fan of Bollywood movies and tasty curries’n naan, I’m really looking forward to flying to Delhi, India on September 1 to travel around Rajasthan and Agra, where I’ll get to see the Taj Mahal with my own eyes! I also hope to do a cameo in a Bollywood movie and meet Raj (he’s the main actor in all the big hits). I’ll be roaming India for 3 ½ weeks and returning to Japan the end of September with a day to spare before I begin teaching semester 2 at the uni… ahhh! Plenty of time!

I’m afraid I’ll have very little or no access to email for the next month. So, if I don’t answer your mail, please don’t take it personal! In the meanwhile, thanks for all of your emails and phone calls. It’s been great catching up and I hope that you all enjoy the rest of your summers! I’ll send y’all some snaps of my travels in October!

July 2007 - Home Sweet Home

2007-07-24T19:39:00.000+09:00

Bam bam… ba-ba-bam! The sound of the drums woke me up early Sunday morning. Yes, the matsuri (summer festival) processions have begun officially marking the beginning of summer in Japan. People clad in their yukatas (summer kimonos) and happi coats parade (or dance – depending on the amount of sake they’ve ingested) through the streets and unite at their local shrines. The sound of cicadas fills the air and the hum of the air conditioners reminds me of the heat that is to come now that the rainy season has ended.

Luckily for me, however, I will not have to worry about the scorching Osaka summer this year as I plan to enjoy the next month on the dock in Muskoka with my family and barbecuing with my friends. Yes – I am back home in Brampton. I just arrived last night after 22 hours of smooth travel and it feels so good to be home.

The past 3 months have really been a whirlwind of excitement, continuous go-go-go, and now I’ve got to learn how to unwind again.

The university has been the centre of my life since April. Days filled with student questions, laughter and frustrations. Mid-terms, assignments, quizzes and exams were all created, written, marked and final grades awarded just a few days ago.

Weekends have been filled with trips away or fun nights out… always resulting in stories to tell and blanks to be filled in. Although the rainy season has been incredibly long and strong, at least compared to last year’s few driblets, we’ve had lots of fun outdoors – picnics, camping on the beach, bbqs on the roof, surprise parties, sayonara parties…

I’m still surprised by some things I come along in my everyday adventures in Osaka, such as a man, too tired to continue to pedal, who parked his bike on the side of the road near the busiest station and decided to have a snooze on the sidewalk at 9:45pm on Thursday night (below).

Or, the man who lives in a box and shines the salarymen’s shoes in the heart of the busy financial district in Osaka.

Or, the new style yukatas that blend the traditional summer kimono with funky new styles that I came across on my bi-annual shopping trip.

Or, the individually wrapped cooked corn on the cob that you can pick up for a quick snack.

Or, the 50 different kit kat flavours (including maple syrup, brandy and orange, peach, kiwi, melon, cherry…) available at the konbinis (convenience stores).

I have simply decided to always carry a camera with me because every day still presents amazing images just waiting to be shot!

It has now been almost 2 years since I first stepped foot in Japan and I have developed a great love for this country, its people, its traditions, its values. Yes, some days can be frustrating and I do miss my family and friends, but I can tell you that Japan is definitely one of the best countries I’ve ever traveled to.

I am however going to enjoy this next month at home and look forward to seeing everybody. I’ll be here until August 20, so please call or email me. I’ll try my best to visit, but I’ve only got a mountain bike (and it doesn’t even have a big basket in the front like my beloved mamachari), so I’m afraid that I won’t make it very far (or outside of Brampton).

Hope to see you soon,
xo Laura

June 2007 - Asian Dust and other things Japanese

2007-06-03T22:19:00.000+09:00

I woke up, and as usual, the first thing I did was open my curtains to let the sunshine in. Although the past 2 days had been overcast, I was sure that April 2nd was going to be different; it was going to be sunny. My eyes still sleepy, I looked out from my balcony over the river and the cityscape. Something wasn’t right. The clouds were strange and the sky wasn’t exactly overcast… actually, it was YELLOW - a dusty yellow that seemed to hover between the buildings and over the river as far as the eye could see.

“Asian Dust”, as I later learned, had arrived. This sand storm from China brings sand across the ocean and fills the Korean and Japanese skies with sand and dust for days. Check it out for yourself: (http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=1486) or (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Dust). Luckily, by April 3rd the sand storms had vanished, allowing the sun to poke its head out once again, and Japan seemed to return to its “normal” self!

Fast-forward 2 months and it’s already June 3 – I can’t believe that 2 months have passed by since I saw the sand storm. Where o where has the time gone?

I started teaching at Kansai Gaidai University in April. For those that like numbers, here are some of the stats: 182 students, 7 different classes (that meet 3 hrs/wk), 18 – average age of my students, 1 classroom, 4th floor, 36 seats, 3 trains and 1 bus commute (one way) x 2 times per day x 5 days per week = busy, busy days and 5 hours sleep per night.

My classes, challenging yet very enjoyable, are full of hormone crazy 18 year olds that may or may not have ever spoken with a foreigner before. The first week was interesting, as students couldn’t get over my eyes or my height. The same 4 questions came out of every class the first day:

1 – Are you married? Do you have a boyfriend? (To which I just blushed… yes, I still do that)
2 – How old are you? (They guessed 22-23 years old – gotta love’ em)
3 – How tall are you? (Guesses ranged from 180 – 200 cm – they think I’m HUGE!)

As it turns out, I absolutely LOVE teaching at the uni. First year students here are testing, as they are probably equivalent to 16 year olds back home… “too cool for school” attitude, first time without uniforms, finally allowed to pierce their bodies and dye their hair (not permitted at most high schools in Japan) and thus, believe it or not, classroom behaviour is a huge issue. However, with the help of a participation/behaviour point system (very similar to the one my Dad used when we were kids, eager to receive our allowance Saturday mornings) we all seem to get along just dandy.

After class, my boys, some of them clouds of cologne around them, stick around and attempt to ask me for advice on love (once again, no reply, just a blush) and my girls comment on my suits, saying that I look “kawaii” (cute) dressed “like an adult” (to which I reply that I AM an adult).

Another thing that I’ve rediscovered is the joy of having weekends off. The past 18 months I worked each and every Saturday from early morning till after the sun went down. But now, when the bell dings at 3:40 on Friday afternoon I’m a free lady until 8:30 Monday morning. And it’s nice!

So, apart from the two weekend trips during Golden Week in April-May (to Shirashijima and Takayama http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2092496521), and the usual tea ceremonies and spring hanami parties (cherry blossoms), I’ve mostly been hanging around Osaka, discovering how Japanese people enjoy their weekends. This usually starts with long runs along my Yodo River past the picnickers, the musicians, the athletes and the occasional turtles (http://www.kansaiscene.com/2006_10/html/special.shtml).

After a shower I head to my fruit and fish stands and grab some other groceries for the week… and then the fun begins! With the help of Audrey and Vanessa, I’ve spent many Saturday nights on the town dancing till the sun comes up… something I haven’t done since I was a student.

Shangri la, a quaint place downtown Osaka, was my first experience at a “live house”, where we saw various bands, including “Kracker Japz” (Beastie Boys style music), play literally 2 meters in front of us. We’ve also hit all 3 Sam & Dave locations (not sure that ‘s something to be so proud of though!).

Soul’D Out, a very famous Japanese hip-hop group (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul%27d_Out), came to Osaka in April. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to go their concert so I joined my young Japanese friends and off we went. The concert hall, a very intimate setting, held about 500 people, and as I looked around, I was very aware that I was the ONLY non-Asian on site… which proved to be to my advantage as it was standing room only. Not even the big hair got in my way… I was above it all!

I continue to workout at Cospa, and recently people have become more curious about me. Perhaps because they’ve seen me there for almost 2 years now and realize that I’m not just a tourist, perhaps because I change my hairstyle almost monthly, perhaps because I have an incredible tan (on my arms and face only – from the Saturday jogs) and I really stand out against the white faces. Regardless, it seems that over the past 2 months more and more people randomly approach me to chat… which is really helping my Japanese, and my motivation to return to my studies.

However, I continue to stress out the staff with little things that I do that just aren’t “the norm”. For instance, in the restroom there are several buttons around the flush handle. Thinking that the green one was for flush I hit it. When nothing happened, I did what anyone would do… I hit it again… then one more time, until I realized that the flush handle was actually to the left. Just at that moment 3 staff came running into the toilets to see what the emergency was, as I had been pushing the emergency (I’ve fallen in and can’t get out) button! So, once again I blushed – oops! I just needed to flush!

Although my free time is pretty limited I have squeezed in a little more writing. One of my articles, about hiking in Mie Prefecture, was posted on the on-line version of the magazine and can be found at: http://www.kansaiscene.com/2007_06/html/getaway.shtml.

Hopefully I’ll get in another update before I come home for summer vacation – July 23 – mark it on your calendars folks! Otherwise, you’ll just have to check my blog for photo updates! I do have to apologize on not replying to many emails – I’m quite behind! Gomen ne!

I’ll leave you with a few words of wisdom from my friend Jaime:

Some people are like Slinkies…
Not really good for anything
But they still bring a smile to your face
When you push them down a flight of stairs.

Chu from Osaka,
Laura xoxo

April 2007 - April 1st - But I ain't no fool!

2007-04-01T02:12:00.000+09:00

Well, it’s April 1st, and April Fools Day for many of you. But, in this giant amusement park called Japan, it isn’t a time for jokes or pranks. No, it’s a time for renewal. Companies begin their new fiscal years. Contracts are signed. New grads start their first jobs. Schools begin their new school years.

It’s when E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G begins.

Since April 1 is also when new budgets are assigned all the levels of government are desperate to deplete any remaining funds in their budgets. This is very visible in Japan, as March is undoubtedly construction month. Cities, wards, districts repaint bridges, even out sidewalks, make holes in streets and patch them up, build more parking lots and even pull out old trees and replant new ones in March to ensure that their budgets are maxed out. Otherwise they would lose their budget.

So for me, April 1 also marks a new beginning. Last month I gave my leaving notice to ECC, where I’ve been working the past 20 months, quit my gym, told my landlord I was leaving, bought my plane ticket home and made various exciting plans for the future… and then BAM! Everything changed! Everything!

Within a couple of days last week I was recommended for and offered a one-year teaching position at Kansai Gaidai University (Kansai Foreign Language University), one of the top private universities in Japan http://www.kansaigaidai.ac.jp/contents/info/. Honto ni???

So, I met with the admin. I liked the new campus and facilities http://www.kansaigaidai.ac.jp/contents/info/facility/hotani.html, the contract and the opportunity to teach in a university setting. They liked my smile.

It’s an exciting step!!! The fact that many of my girlfriends here (also teachers) have all committed to another year also helps. I couldn’t stay out here on my own that long, but I’ve found a great group. My Japanese friends are excited too! It means they still have their izakaya partner and that my private students still have their tutor!

Last month was a month of sayonaras. Saying goodbye to my classes, especially my Senka kids (college students) was tough. We had a big graduation ceremony at the Ritz and I was asked to MC. I held out till the last 5 minutes, when I had to say goodbye. They should know better than put me in front of a mike and say goodbye to all our teary-eyed grads… or maybe that was the strategy all along (;_;). There have been so many lunches, dinners and drinking events with my students (see attached photos) that I’m ready for the “new year” to begin so life will go back to “normal”.

March also brought the big guys back to town. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get to the annual Sumo Tournament this year. However, I did see many sumo wrestlers in the subway and on the trains. It’s funny that this year I didn’t even blink when I saw them. They just seem so normal. As normal as women in kimonos and girls dressed in maid costumes. Hmmmm… Canada is going to seem so boring when I do return!

With classes winding down and less time lesson planning I was able to concentrate some more on writing for Kansai Scene. Here’s a link to the online version of the latest “Getaway” article to Japan’s “Hollywood”. Can You see Carlos and Mandy? http://www.kansaiscene.com/current/html/getaway.shtml.

With April come the cherry blossoms. The “sakura” are incredibly celebrated with ohanami parties, that is, families, friends or groups of salarymen drinking sake, bbqing and admiring the cherry blossoms together from early afternoon till midnight. It’s a time where you actually have to watch where you step so that you don’t step on a passed out person in a business suit in the park. Below is a shot of last year’s cherry blossoms!

April will also bring more Spanish visitors: Mario and Ranta arrive on Friday. Come on Canadians, the Spaniards are winning with visits by a landslide! They’ll be here for 3 weeks, staying at Carlos’ place. It’s always fun seeing visitor’s reactions to Japan and the Japanese!

Finally, I’ve doubled my distribution list and halved my beauty sleep since joining Facebook.com earlier this week. I can’t believe how many of my grade/high school friends are connected. It’s like a huge class reunion. Amazing how much everyone has changed - and how much they haven’t!

So that’s it for this update! I hope that you are all happy and healthy! Enjoy your spring (fall for you Auzzies and Kiwis) and keep in touch! I love hearing from you!

March 2007 - Dance Like Nobody's Watchin'

2007-03-07T15:28:00.001+09:00

An 80-year-old man was dancing. Dancing like nobody was watching. Dancing with the biggest smile I can remember seeing. Dancing like it was his last day and he was thoroughly going to enjoy the teenage rock band if it killed him. I started to film him… but then couldn’t help but put the camera down and join him.

He was so contagious!!!

We danced to the rock music, and before long we must have had 100 people or more gathered around us in a circle, just watching. It could have been that the music was that good, or perhaps it was the fluke warm wind turned the temperatures from 3 C to 23 C over night. Regardless, it was a great day to be in the park and it felt so good to let my guard down and just dance like nobody was watching at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon in the middle of the crowded down town Osaka Castle Park.

The sweetness in the air didn’t last long and unfortunately it went right back down to 3 C the next day. So I guess we won’t be doing any dancing in the streets for a while… unless… well, you never know.

The plum blossoms are budding. Spring is on its way. That means it will soon be debut time. That’s “koen debut” time and new moms are anxiously dreading their “koen debyuu”. What is koen debyuu? Well according to Itasan it’s:

“Mama's first visit to the park with her child. This seems to be a hard job for a young mama, because this is the first time for the mama to go there, where there might be mean mamas that have already established a strong foothold there. How to get along with those adults and how to have her own child get along well with other children, that is the question.”

Wow! I could never imagine so much pressure when going to the park! These mean mamas have got to meet my new dance partner!

So now it’s March. March! Yes, March already. I can’t believe it! January and February were insanely busy months as I worked 7 days a week… yikes, sounds like the project management world again. But this time it’s with a different goal in mind! Sorry, but you’ll have to wait for my next email for those details!

Regardless of the insanity, I have however found the time to enjoy a few more crazy places in Japan. Carlos and I met up with Miseon and Joonsoo, our Korean friends, in Tokyo! It was like going to a whole new country. Tokyo is so clean. Smoking is prohibited in the streets. People have a completely different sense of fashion. Tokyo just seems to be a lot more liberal than Osaka.

We got free hugs from university students. People were singing and dancing in the streets of Harajuku and Yoyogi Park. There were middle-aged men dancing to Grease Lightening, people playing the bongos, and my favourite – the Mountain Man. Click on the video links on the right to see for yourself!

The only thing I missed was the view of Mt. Fuji. Sure, it’s just a mountain and I’ve seen many. But since we traveled at night to enjoy our daylight hours to the maximum we didn’t see the beloved mountain… but there’s still time!

Then I had the opportunity to enjoy Kyoto Studio Park, aka Eigamura. It’s where many Edo Period TV dramas are filmed and many movies have been made. I could go on to the sets, handle the props and discover the actor within… hmmm… no, maybe I should just stick to my day job!

Actually, over the past few months I’ve really started to feel like I’m getting past the surface of Japanese society and am learning more and more cultural aspects that just aren’t in the guidebooks.

February has two special commercial holidays: Setsubun on February 3rd – where dads dress as devils and get pelted with beans (symbolizing the ridding of evil spirits from your house). Carlos was a good sport and Mandy and I pelted him as quickly as we could. However Carlos didn’t seem to mind as the beans were roasted and tasty. People also eat sushi rolls facing a lucky position. This year’s lucky position was north north west. Yes, this has definitely turned into a Hallmark holiday.

Valentine’s is the following week and even bigger than Valentine’s back home. Girls go wild buying baking supplies to make cakes for the men they adore. They wrap them up, cover them in pink and red heart stickers and buy chocolate by the pounds. And they do this all with the knowledge that men are not expected to give them anything if return that day. However, they do give men a grace period of one month and on White Day, March 14, men are supposed to return the favor with white chocolate or marshmallows. Luckily there’s also “tomo-choko”. Tomodachi = friend, Choco = chocolate. So, as a fav teacher I received lots of tomo-choko to be worked off again at the gym.

Finally, many Japanese people have explained to me the importance of “tokens of appreciation”. For instance, although it seems to be less usual now than in previous years, it isn’t uncommon to give doctors or teachers a “token of appreciation” in cash before requesting their assistance, whether it be for good treatment during and after an operation or a letter of recommendation to get into university. Actually, according to some of my students, the “thank you gift” used to be given at the reception area. However, that practice has since been banned. So now many doctors will accept the “gift” in a sealed envelope in a private room. Hello? In Canada that’s called a bribe. And what happens if you don’t give a “gift”? Well, I wasn’t about to find out so on my recent visit to the dentist I brought along a little Canadian souvenir, put it in a cute box, and gave it to the dental hygienist as soon as I walked in the door!

That’s all for now. Thanks for your emails, photos and postcards.
Sending lots of love from Osaka!
xo Laura

February 2007 - Am I turning Japanese?

2007-01-16T23:11:00.001+09:00

Shocked… I was completely and totally shocked when I arrived in the Netherlands this past Christmas vacation. The people were incredibly tall, the bus drivers were aggressive in their driving and demeanor, not all of the employees clerk greeted me (in unison) when I entered the shops, there was doggy doo on the sidewalks, commuters threw their used newspapers on the seats beside them & put their feet (with shoes on) on the seats in front of them…. and most shockingly of all people wore their shoes inside their homes – even the carpeted rooms – disgusting!

Of course there were some good shocks too in the Netherlands and Spain – like being able to read, or at least sound out any sign, any product, anything! I turned on the TV and could watch any program I wanted and understand! I could buy products made for Caucasian skin and buy shirts with sleeves that came all the way down to my wrists! I couldn’t believe all the kinds of cheese available, none of which tasted like plastic. Sweet wine was in abundance and red wine was served at room temperature (not chilled!). Lunches and dinners were late and people openly ate in the streets!

Then I stopped and realized that nothing had changed these past years… well nothing except for me. Could I be turning Japanese? True, this tiny country has 130 million people but there is such a feeling of organization and of non-aggression in the rush-hour streets and packed trains that I felt much more intimated in the Netherlands (with a mere 16 million people) than I have ever felt in Japan.

I missed the consideration that Japanese people have for each other and the way they rarely raise their voices in public.
I missed my onsen (hot bath).
I missed my bicycle.
I missed my daily miso soup and I missed Japanese rice!
And what about my tatami mats? How could I possibly sit on the floor in anyone’s home after they’ve tracked in all the vileness of the streets on the bottom of their shoes?

Wow, maybe I am turning Japanese?

Or maybe not!

There are still many quirky things about Japan that I just don’t get…

For instance, the skirts and shorts seem to have gotten shorter now that it’s colder and the UV rays aren’t as strong… but damn… it’s so cold, so what are these girls thinking?

This past October my gym closed and reopened a month later at another location. Cospa must have spent a pretty penny designing this massive new facility. They built a big, brand new building along the JR tracks. Some how they managed to double the lounge space and half the workout space. Huh? Yes, they crammed all of this fantastic new equipment in a tiny rectangular area, facing a very “interesting” white concrete wall and they covered the large ceiling to floor windows with blinds, so that even if it were sunny and beautiful out you would never it.

They even decreased the personal space in the change rooms (you know, that small spot in front of the locker where you may need to stretch an arm or leg to get back into your clothes). They built 12 showers with dividers all round (no more Band-Aids for me!) and a traditional sit down shower area. Perfect! No more line-ups to shower, right? Well, the women have decided that they like the privacy of showering alone and now bring their stools into the showers so they can comfortably sit and shower… back in line I go!

I’ve also had the “pleasure” of going to the doctor and the dentist recently. Each year, companies require their employees to go for company paid physicals. They have entire clinics set up for the event. As you enter, you give the nurse and completed info sheet, a scantron questionnaire with a hundred questions with your most intimate details and daily routines, including commute time to work and average hours of sleep you get a night. You then receive some blue pajamas to change into and some (tiny) slippers to put on and head into the examination area.

Firstly you’re given a cup and go into a stall to fill it while the nurse waits on the other side of the door. Talk about pressure. You then proceed from one table to another wear nurses and doctors check your sight, hearing, blood pressure, listen to your heart, x-ray your chest and so on. It really is incredible! What takes days and 4 different visits for me to complete at home is completed within an hour… and with a smile! If only I could read the results that were mailed to me at home!

The dentist was similar to any Canadian experience. The dentist I visited spoke some English and his first words to me were “You fix my English, I fix your teeth!” He must have been joking around because I still had a nice fat bill at the end of my visit!

It’s testing time for the kiddies, so I find myself testing about 200 kids each Sunday. I like gumballs, do you like gumballs? This butterfly is yellow, what colour is this one? How many yo-yos are there? Scratch the table, shake your bottom and stomp! The always screw up on the last one and end of shaking the table and scratching their bottoms with proud smiles! Two more Sundays to go!

February looks to be another busy month, with a quick trip to Tokyo smack dab in the middle! My college students are in their last month and I’ve got to prepare them for their March exams. And finally, Carlos will be celebrating his 30th!

Although I do love it in Japan, unfortunately my time here is limited, so if you’re thinking of visiting, better make it sooner rather than later!

January 2007 - Happy New Year!

2007-01-16T21:36:00.000+09:00

Wishing you lots of love, health, success and happiness

in the New Year!

Prospero Año!

Felice Anno Nuovo!

Bonne Annee!

Gelukkige Nieuwjaar!

幸福な新年

All the best in 2007, the year of the boar!

October 2006 - The Travel Edition

2006-10-14T15:15:00.000+09:00

Fresh - so fresh... The lobster, oysters and clams of Ise, in Mie Prefecture, are known for their tastiness and freshness. So, on a recent trip to Ise, Hitomi and I ordered a large plate of “the freshest” seafood. Twenty minutes later, a large plate with salted fish, oysters, clams, sea snails and two lobsters was presented in front of us. Nothing was cooked and we were instructed to put the seafood on our personal BBQ ourselves so that we could cook it all to perfection.

I had to get a shot of this beautiful plate, and then, when looking at the plate through my lens, I realized that those eyes were looking back at me. I thought that I was seeing things. Then legs started to move, antennae started to explore, tails started to flip side to side and the clams opened and closed, confused about their new environment.

This was a plate of live seafood and it was up to me to BBQ it all... alive! The horror in my eyes must have been evident as the server, a robust little old lady, came over and pick up the lobsters and put them right on the BBQ and instructed Hitomi to hold them down with the tongs so that they wouldn’t walk away! I realized the only way that we could stop these animals from suffering on our plates was to put them all on the BBQ - and soon! So under the hot grill they took their last few breaths and, after a few moments, I started to regain my appetite.
While the food was cooking, we were delivered our sashimi order - beautifully displayed pieces of raw fish thinly sliced over the body of the fish that was providing us with our meal. It was then that I noticed that the gills were still moving ever so slightly and as we picked out the first cut, the tail flinched. Oh boy! We were eating the flesh directly from the body of the fish...

Once the cooking was done, I must admit, Hitomi and I enjoyed the best seafood dinner both of us had ever had. I don’t think that seafood could get any fresher or tastier... that is, once you accept how everything is presented and prepared! Eating in Japan is not for the meek... but it is certainly an experience!

The next day, after the mandatory temple viewing, barbecued “Matsusaka beef” shish kebab and “aka fuku” (red bean paste desert) we left the costal town of Ise and headed to Mt Akame, famous for its 48 waterfalls and large salamanders. Unfortunately, even though we kept our eyes open we didn’t see any of the famous salamanders. The highlight of the day occurred just as the sun was going down and we were making our way back home when suddenly we encountered a mother monkey holding her baby. Surprised we both jump back and stood admiring each other for several seconds until the monkeys made their way back into the trees.

Over the past two months (since my last update), I have discovered a lot of Japan and greatly enjoyed time with visitors. Upon my return from a fantastic 2-week vacation back home in August, Dani and Sofia, the second group of Spanish visitors to venture out this way, were already waiting for me in my apartment. Together we hot springed, dined and enjoyed Osaka life.

Then my first Canadian visitors, Jen and Jon, came for a couple of weeks. Together we discovered the holy Koya-san (Mt Koya), where we dined strictly on tofu and veggies and visited the place where Buddhism really began in Japan. We stayed overnight in a temple and enjoyed the monks’ hospitality, slept on futons, participated in (a somewhat uncomfortable yet interesting) meditation and joined the monks` daily 6am chants. A typhoon hit that night and the entire temple shook. But we survived and were greeted by the sun in the morning!

A couple days later we found ourselves in one of Japan’s most legendary cities - Hiroshima. We learned about the A-bomb and its devastating effects. Surprisingly, the city is quite a vibrant place. Many new buildings have been built and the infamous A-bomb dome still stands as it once did over 60 years ago.

Luckily, the Hiroshima Carps, the local baseball team, were playing that night so we grabbed some tickets and enjoyed a very exciting baseball game. Jon and Jen were amazed when we came to “Lucky 7”. All the fans blow up large balloons, sing and dance, and then send the balloons into the sky. What a fantastic display of team appreciation!

The next morning we allowed ourselves to sleep in (until 8:00), packed our bags and took the ferry to the very holy Miyajima Island, officially the place know for “Japan`s 3rd most beautiful view” - the floating torii gate.

As the summer heat has subsided hiking has also been a big priority. Rie and Bee (the wonderful Japanese girls who recently learned how to canoe when visiting me at home this summer) took me out along the Hizen Trail, a trail that winds through the mountains along an abandoned railroad track. At the end of the hike we found a very old hot spring resort and couldn’t resist. So off came the sweaty clothes and we were able to scrub down and relax our muscles in the hot water. Unfortunately, our clothes were still grubby when we came out of the bath!

Another great trail that I just completed was the Yama-no-be-no-michi trail in Nara. This 13km hike through the countryside was magnificent! Isabella, another teacher, and I walked through the rice fields just as they were being harvested by the country folk. The flowers were in full bloom and the persimmon and lemon trees were bursting with ripe fruit. Picked fruit was sold along side the path on the honour system. Simply select your fruit and pay the requested price into a little donation box on the stand. Only in Japan!

Today, Carlos and I hiked through Kyoto’s Fushimi-Inari – a path that winds through the Kyoto Mountains and is lined with over 10,000 torii gates (the bright orange gates normally found at temple entrances). The bright vermilion orange amongst the green trees and blue skies was magnificent.

Travel is best in Japan in the autumn… so each moment I have free I’m of discovering something! In a couple of weeks the leaves will start to change colour and the mountains will be packed with retired people and families admiring the bright colours.

During the evenings I’ve decided to try some new things. So, as of 3 weeks ago, I started studying Italian (perfectly normal for a Canadian in Japan to do) and have been out salsa dancing… ok, not exactly dancing, but trying and learning!

I’ve also finally put the love of my river, the Yodogawa, down on paper and was published in this month’s Kansai Scene magazine (click on the link on the right).

Halloween is just around the corner and I’ve already dressed up for my visit to a Korean Elementary School. The kids loved the cat costume and my grade 2s were determined to get the ears off my head as quickly as they could. One kid even had the audacity to stand on a chair with wheels while his friend wheeled him up behind me when I was setting up some craft activities. Luckily I turned around just in time to catch the buggers!

This year, the infamous Osaka Halloween Loop Line Party (see the video on the right) has been highly publicized and targeted by the police. A tradition amongst many western foreigners here, the party takes place on the Saturday preceding Halloween each year on a Japanese train that circles Osaka. At each stop everyone empties from the cars and runs to another one. Harmless, yet quite disruptive to the social order, it has been highly discouraged by the police so I don’t think that I will be participating this time around.

That`s all for now...　stay tuned for more news soon!

August 2006 - Big, big bugs!

2006-08-04T11:18:00.003+09:00

Konnichiwa! It’s been a while since my last update, as many have reminded me. Gomenasai! I must say though that I’ve been extremely busy enjoying Japan… traveling, learning Japanese summer dances (odori) and working on new challenges.

I’ve come to discover that Japan is a land of festivals and summertime sure has its fair share. There seems to be festivals in each area of the city, all at different times. Each festival involves lots of dancing, men and women in beautiful yukatas (summer kimonos), gold fish catching, crazy fireworks (hanabi) and lots and lots and lots of hot food (okonomiya, takoyaki, yakisoba)!!!

I recently attended two festivals: Tenjin Matsuri and the Itami Summer Festival. Both were great fun and I got to wear my own new yukatas. When looking for a yukata, I couldn’t decide on just one… so I bought three. Two festivals down… one more to go… I guess it’s my own yukata hatrick!

Actually, to see so many men and women in beautiful yukatas is a really an amazing site. It’s as though they take on their summer and fun-loving personas… losing their shyness and inhibitions while dancing the night away in massive line dances around the main podium, raver style.

Another big summertime thing is “big bugs”. People here LOVE them. Kids walk around with nets trying to catch the biggest beetles and cicadas they can find (and some of them are big!). They keep these bugs in little bug cages, and feed them and love them like they do their cats or dogs… weird.

Also, as I’ve found out by living right beside the main river in Osaka, summertime means fireworks… and lots of ‘em. You can by them at the local konbinis (convenience stores), no age restrictions… and from between 9 and 12 they are shot into the sky. Apparently my house is beside the ideal firework launch station so I get to enjoy each and every bang. Max would have kittens if he were here!

Last month, a girlfriend and I took off for two days in her car. We headed south to Shirahama beach. It looked just like an Auzzie beach… and then I found out why. They imported all of the sand from Australia so that Shirahama would have the No. 1 beach in Japan (and remember, everything is ranked here, so being No. 1 is super important). Well, the beach was packed with people and their inner tubes. Someone forgot to tell me that I needed an inner tube to enjoy the beach so I felt a little out of place. But, after chatting it up with the lifeguards I realized that it would take a lot more than an inner tube to help me fit in.

We left the beach after a couple of hours reading under our mandatory umbrellas and headed for the Sakino-yu Onsen, a great place to soak in the sulphur waters and watch the sunset… naked of course. It felt so strange sitting around with a group of naked ladies watching the sunset over the ocean… but after a couple moments you forget that the only thing you’re wearing is a little modesty towel on your head and you do enjoy the ambiance.

On the way back I got to drive through the Wakayama Mountains and Koyasan, where it felt at least 15 degrees cooler. We visited some of the holiest places in Japan and will return with Jen and John when they arrive in September! It was my first time driving since I arrived last August and it felt so great to be behind the wheel again. I just had to be reminded sometimes which side of the road I needed to be on as Japan is like Britain… they all drive on the wrong side of the road (^_^).

My summer classes have ended, all with a big speech competition in mid July. It was draining training 40 students for this national competition. However, when I heard their speeches and saw them up on the stage speaking with confidence and grace it was so gratifying to know that I helped them make it up there.

Travel writing has become my new challenge and I’ve written a couple more Japan travel articles. You can read about Kurashiki and Shikoku by clicking on the links in the right side bar -> -> ->

Finally, I’ve been shopping like a mad woman and have just filled an entire suitcase with souvenirs! Yikes, now I’ve got to take it, along with another big back pack and a small one, across my neighborhood, down two train lines and into the airport! Well, I’ll just make sure I leave LOTS of time to make my way down!

On that note, I must now finish my packing as I am flying home tomorrow for a 2-week vacation to bask in the Muskokan sun, see how big Haley and Evan have grown, meet all of the babies my friends have made over the past year, and catch up with everyone in Toronto. As well, my parents haven’t built up the courage to come out to Japan, so, I’ve decided to bring Japan to them. My Japanese friends Rie and Bee will be visiting for a couple of days… they’re going to discover just how exciting Brampton really is!