Category Archives: Stories

Moments in Thailand

Thailand was amazing.

From Christmas Day 2015 until January 4th, 2016, my brother Chris, my cousin Eli, myself, and for the latter half Yuu Koyama, trekked a journey through this southeast Asian coastal nation. No, it was more than a trek. It was an epic. And that’s a more accurate use of ‘epic’ than most of you have ever read.

Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai, Thailand

We could achieve world peace if only, somehow, we could muster the resources (and the consent of the Thai people) to send anyone with a violent state of mind on a tour through Thailand. The country has a way of just making you feel good, whether it’s human pleasures or, more importantly, the relaxation and tranquility the people there have a way of transmitting to their visitors.

From how wonderful the people are, how charming life is in Chiang Mai, to how pleasant Thai people are even in the heart of massive, hedonist Bangkok, and how tranquil life is on a beach in Phuket, here are some moments I remember best from my journey through Thailand.

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That Weekend in Nagano, As Evidenced by iPhone Notes

Though it has spent a year tumbling around in my head, everything in this post is entirely true.

Hakuba, Nagano.

Hakuba, Nagano.

I’ve got to write a blog post about this weekend I thought, watching Yuu Koyama steal fried chicken off his father’s plate.

It was breakfast on Sunday morning.  Yuu Koyama was disrupting the cold, silent and nearly empty hall with casual English cursing that his father only vaguely recognized.  He was taunting his father by eating his food and moving his plates away from him.  It was December 21st, 2014.

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What You Just Said…

August 2014

Great Wall, China

Great Wall, China

The week preceding this story was one of the few vacations Japan seems to tolerate. During that time I took a much-needed eight-day trip to China. It was one of the most exhilarating, dynamic trips of my life, with two of my best friends. We explored many famous sites, ate a lot of different foods, hung out in all kinds of cool, weird, or historic districts, and I felt like I conquered China itself. But on the last day, after a heavy meal at a famous duck restaurant, China fought back. I returned to Japan at the end of the week, with my digestive system in tatters.

I knew asking for a day off was akin to asking my boss to let me punch her in the face. And I knew the company rejected criticism on all fronts.

So I stumbled through the week, gray in the face, taking bathroom breaks between each lesson. But no matter how much water I drank, I steadily approached full dehydration going into Saturday.

The Japanese are a very serious people.

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Lessons from Traveling Alone

Recently I traveled alone to the island nation of Taiwan.

Me pointing at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

Me pointing at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

In beginning my solo adventure I remembered posts from my former Japan sidekick Rob Milchling’s blog, where he often spoke about traveling, often alone. He has taken many solitary trips around the East Asian region and beyond. I never actually read most of his posts about traveling, perhaps out of jealousy that he was blogposting faster and more efficiently than me, but I assumed these entries’ existence meant I had many lessons to learn on my own upcoming trip.  I was right.

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Transitioning to Japanese Kindergarten

I teach in many schools.

Specifically, Japanese private kindergartens.  Young kids rarely learn anything their usual Japanese Sensei doesn’t already know.  However, Japanese school officials acknowledge that many adults are far too timid with gaijin (foreigners).  They believe exposing young children to foreigners will help them embrace English learning throughout their lives.

Since I am legally forbidden from sharing pictures of my students, here is a picture of another Japanese Kindergarten class from the Wall Street Journal.

Since I am legally forbidden from sharing pictures of my students, here is a picture of another Japanese Kindergarten class from the Wall Street Journal.

The schools I teach in are spread throughout the metropolitan area of Osaka, Japan’s second largest city. In Japan, Kindergarten includes a compulsory form of what the western world understands as optional “Pre-K,” and has three levels: the three to four-year-old “Nensho,” the four to five-year-old “Nenchu,” and the five to six-year-old “Nencho.”

Starting this job was frightening for me, although frightening was an improvement. Thanks to some chats I had with encouraging people at the right time, I felt reassured that I was capable of fulfilling my requirements. No longer quite petrified, I was still confused by the young children and nervous about making mistakes. I didn’t understand them.

It was the unknown and I was scared. Having conquered the last transition, I was ready to try.

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