Kurisumasu in Japan

A happy new year to you all. A little late, but after years of fruitless "stop procrastinating" resolutions, I'm not going to apologize over it but embrace my slacker self. Here's a little entry on my trip to J-pan...

My generous hosts, a wonderful Japanese family, made sure that my stay was taken care of. Not only was the week's worth of homemade Japanese food a welcomed treat, but they accepted me as family. It had been a while since I witnessed a functional family in action and it was a refreshing change, sibling tiffs and all. We spent a lot of family time together, including bonding over Mario Bros. and ridiculous yet oddly amusing J-television. Christmas is no big deal in Japan, but New Year's is huge. Here's a small sample of the traditional food served on New Year's Day:

Being back in the land of contradictions was, appropriately, like living in extremes, much like when I was actually living there. It was a bit surreal going back. It felt like I had never been there and never left at the same time. There were many moments of "Oh yeah, I forgot about that, that's awesome! Why did I ever leave?" and "Oh yeah, I forgot about that, that's ludicrous! Good thing I didn't become a lifer." In between moments of revelation, my time was occupied with catching up with various friends still living the life in the Hello Kitty themed playground. There's nothing like the sight of middle-aged men in expensive suits brandishing a phone with sparkly cartoon charms attached to it. And who can beat the street entertainment here? Check this dude out on the Dotombori bridge:


Speaking of entertainment, here's a band I saw that were absolutely amazing. I think their name is +motion...

That's all that I can manage for now. I will keep you all posted on London happenings on a future date...

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Bring on the Christmas cheer!

I don't know about you, but I was SO ready for this winter break to begin. Sleep, good food, great friends and festive drinks are more than enough to put me in the Christmas spirit. My break started yesterday and I already feel much more relaxed, nay, overjoyed by the thought of not working until next year. And for those who keep asking, yes, I do still love it in London, and no, I shall not be returning soon. A better idea would be for you to come visit me...Ask Santa for a plane ticket!

Here's a bit on what I've been up to:

Borough Market

Meandering: I've been exploring more of the city, most notably the various markets before it gets too cold to venture outside. Borough Market is amazing, full of crazy food I've never heard of from all over the world. Delicious...

Protest the Hero concert: One word - AWESOME! Went with a fellow Canadian to enjoy some Whitby metal. I even got to meet the guitarist, Tim, pictured above, who was super nice. Got a little moshing out of my system and saw Propagandhi who were headlining. This was the second time I saw Propagandhi headline when I was really there to see another band, but they put on a great show too. Went to quite a few concerts this past month...I love London.

Other happenings: Met a really nice guy...Things are going well, though he'll be moving away for a bit soon, but not for too long. I'm also gearing up for another country, but just for a visit. The time has come for my fateful return to Japan! That's right, I will be in Osaka for about a week and plan to surround myself with j-weirdness all over again...Details to come!

Christmas is in full swing in London with lots of lights and decorations everywhere. So I leave you with my sincerest Christmas wishes, and this video of the creepiest Santa ever. Catch him at the Hyde Park Christmas Market where he'll be giving children nightmares for years to come.

Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fire

Hello all!

I know it's been a while, but I've been semi-busy, semi-lazy over here and I haven't gotten used to this whole blog thing. Here's what I've been up to since the last post:

Canadian Thanksgiving: Still keeping up with the Canuck holidays and what better way to celebrate than with fellow Canadians! Me and the other maple syrup-loving teachers gathered for a night of good food and good company. Here's a pic of our glorious meal, courtesy of Gwen's cooking finesse.

Work: I've actually been working sort of steadily since the mid-Autumn term break. However, it still isn't every day, hence this posting in the middle of the day. It's been a struggle adjusting from a relaxing student life to the real adult world, made more difficult by the fact that I don't have an actual full-time job and have more days off than I probably should. I need someone to give me a kick in the pants to really "grow up." On the plus side, the school I've been supplying at recently is the best that I've had so far, with kids being more comparable to those found in Canada as opposed to out-of-control hellions in the other London schools. Thank goodness, because I was on the verge of rethinking this whole teaching thing and having to come up with Plan C. On the other hand, Plan A (as in the acting thing) has yet to pan out so far...I've been looking at auditions and such and am finding it difficult to find ones that match my description as I am neither Caucasian, Black or Asian (which has a different meaning here than at home, Asian here being Indian, Pakistani, etc. as opposed to East Asian or "Oriental" as if I were a rug). There does not seem to be as many indie films that don't care what race you are which is mildly irritating, but is something that I've noticed about London in general. The amount of times that my Chinese-ness has come up is surprising given how multicultural the city is.

Poland: I went to visit Basia in Krakow over the mid-Autumn break. The trip was amazing, despite enduring two 26-hour bus journeys to get there and back and atrocious American movies (i.e. What Happens in Vegas, Are We There Yet?) with even more atrocious, monotonous Polish dubbing. Krakow is a beautiful city with lots of great food and historic buildings galore. If only I had more time there! I also went to Auschwitz-Birkenau which made for a rather harrowing day, but it was incredible to actually be there and see the place in real life rather than in grainy black and white photographs. I also went to this awesome 70o year-old salt mine in Wieliczka which was full of sculptures carved from salt by the miners that worked there over the years. There are even a couple dozen chapels carved into the place, and one of them was as big as a church and gorgeous. If I ever get married and convert to Catholicism, I am soooo getting married there.

Birthday: The big 2-5. Yes, my quarter century has now come and gone. It's all downhill from here. I suppose I had built up the milestone in my head but I can't honestly say that I feel any different. Shouldn't I be a little wiser?

Other: I feel very settled here and I'm loving it! There are still many tourist-y things that I'd like to do and my list just keeps getting longer. One of my favorite things about living here are the markets, filled to the brim with food from all over the world and random trinkets. I also found the best way to watch a movie: Secret Cinema. You buy tickets to a movie but you have no clue what it is til the night before when they drop hints. You dress up for the event and show up to the venue that's all decked out by theme and people dressed up as characters from the movie. We went to one on Halloween to see Alien and it was awesome! I never want to see another movie any other way.

I also plan on taking advantage of more concerts since it seems like everyone comes to London to play. The Simian Mobile Disco gig was fabulous, and totally different from the more intimate gig in Osaka. I'm going to see Protest the Hero at the end of the month for a little bit of Canadiana, metal-style! Other than that, I should be saving as I've just purchased my ticket to visit Osaka over Christmas. Due to lack of fundage, my European adventures may be limited for a time, but someday France, I shall invade you!

And with that, I shall leave you all for now. Until next time...

Alive!

Yes I am!

Apologies for the delay in updates, but the past few weeks have been rather busy with settling in and starting life in dear ol’ London. Though it has been but a short time since I left the Great White North, I feel like I’ve been here way longer. Part of this may be due to my short long-term memory (is that an oxymoron?), but perhaps it is because I already feel quite comfortable in my surroundings.

And so, a recap:

Upon arrival in London, I stayed with a fellow ex-NOVA teacher for the night before moving into my new flat. One of my flatmates is also ex-NOVA, a very cool dude, so at least something good came out of that horrible Engrish sinking ship. I live with four guys (guess they needed the token girl) in Finsbury Park, which for those football fans out there, is very close to Arsenal’s stadium. I, however, have yet to figure out what all the football fuss is about, but they’ll be plenty of time for brainwashing.

Work has started, much to my wallet’s delight and my nightly rest’s dismay. Supply teaching is about what you’d expect. Days are spent with kids who either love you or give you lip. I haven’t decided if I actually like yet…When the going’s good it’s very, very good, but the going’s bad, it’s horrible.

I just realized that the tone of this entry is getting quite dichotomous, but I assure you there are way more good things than bad. For those wondering when I plan on coming home, the answer is definitely later rather than sooner.

My social life has been busier than expected. I think I’ve been to almost as many different pubs as the number of days I have been here, and no, my alcohol tolerance remains unaffected. I’ve been hanging out with the ex-NOVA crew and their friends, who are very nice people and rather musically inclined. Aside from that, I have met some nice Canadians and students from UCL to fill in the rest of my days…actually, I think practically everyone I’ve come across here has been tremendously nice, so thank you London for treating me so well.

A sampling of things I have seen or done for the first time:
-sightseeing via boat cruise
-cooked a meal using more than 3 ingredients
-witnessed a bar fight involving someone I know
-pretended to be a student (for I am finally not one) to sneak into places
-suffocated in a class full of 14 year-old boys who have yet to grasp basic personal hygiene
- watched a pub full of people participate in a Cockney sing-along
-seen someone swallow a Rubix cube, turn the tiles around in his stomach and cough it back up (among other wondrous regurgitating acts)

That’s it for this update. No pictures this time around, but I'll put something up next time. I will try not to wait as long for the next entry (and hopefully they'll be another one, unlike my failed Japan blog). ‘til then, I shall say “Good day!” to you. Oh, and that I miss you and all that sentimental stuff. But you knew that already right?