Tristinn's Travelations: Next Stop

It was with much dismay that I realized that my last entry to this blog was February of last year (2014). Clearly I haven't been doing enough traveling. I'm glad I have an excuse to begin writing once again.

Asia. To be honest, this is a region of the world that has never really called to me very strongly. When I think of desirable traveling destinations, various countries in Europe and South America spring to my mind first. I didn't learn a lot about Asian culture or history in school and Asia's current politics and media don't show up a lot in my day-to-day life. This disconnect with Asia started shifting when I began to teach international students. The majority of my international students come from various Asian countries, particularly China, Vietnam, and Japan. My students are wonderful people and have begun exposing me to the wonderful culture, media and history of this part of the world.

So, when a colleague of mine asked me if I was interested in teaching in an intensive English program in Japan, I didn't even hesitate - I absolutely wanted to go. After going through the interview process, I was hired to teach at the International University of Japan (IUJ) in Urasa, Niigata, Japan for 5 weeks. I will be teaching presentation and group discussion skills to graduate level students from all over southeast Asia.

Arrival
When my colleague Kristina and I were booking flights, we noticed that flights with a layover were cheaper. This led us to fly to Japan via Hawaii and spend our layover relaxing on the beach and staying at an Airbnb. I'd never been to Hawaii and Kristina had never stayed at an Airbnb before. Both were very positive experiences. After stopping off in Honolulu for the 1-day layover, I arrived in Tokyo on July 7. I was instantly overwhelmed with the new sights, smells and tastes. Here are some of the notable moments from Honolulu and my first few days in Japan.

Celebrating my first time in Honolulu. Kristina and I stayed one block from Waikiki - not a bad location.

Hawaii looks just as pretty in real life as it does in the pictures.

This is how all my students do it. Peace!

My first experience at a Ryokan, a traditional Japanese hotel. You remove your shoes when you enter the room so you don't damage the tatami mats, sleep on futons on the ground, bathe in traditional communal baths, and eat a traditional Japanese breakfast.

The traditional Japanese bath. First, soap up and rinse off. Once you are clean, relax in the warm bathtub with all your friends.

My looking my best for our traditional Japanese breakfast delivery.

During my time in Tokyo, I visited a store called Itoya. It is a stationary/office store. On the store directory, it listed floor 11 as "the farm". Kristina and I thought this was worth checking out. Turns out, it was quite literally a farm.