Uneven Pavement

Ukiyo (n) literally "the floating world"- living in the moment detached from the bothers of life. -Themetapicture. Ajigasawa Beach I am getting close to my one month anniversary in Japan, time is going by way to fast. In the last 3 weeks I have learned a lot, everyday I learn something new or discover a new place. I am especially happy by the fact that I live close to warm water beaches and tons of onsens .  I think I have always been pretty good at self-care, but in japan I am able to take that to new heights. I LOVE beaches- something about the infinite views of the never ending bodies of water and the feeling of sand in my toes.  Even in this 65-70ish degree weather the ocean water is sooooo warm (Sea of Japan). I am so happy to be so close and I am looking forward to many beach days. Another thing that I have found is numerous amounts of onsens (hot springs), I love hot springs and this was something I was not aware of before moving to this area, so it has defin...

"Now more than ever I realize I will never be content with a sedentary life, that I will always be haunted by thoughts of a sun-drenched elsewhere'' Isabelle Eberhart   I neglected to talk about some important first impressions of Japan in my last post. Japan has won over my heart and soul. The people here are so humane, so honest, so humble, so beautiful. I have fallen in love with the way of life. I will never forget when I first came out of the airport, there was a sea on bicycles and they were not locked in chains... I thought so many things, but it struck me, do people not steal bikes here? Immediately I felt so much safety and comfort in this country. ( I admit I've been a victim of getting my bike stolen once. In college it was a beautiful commuter that my dads boss, Mike gifted me) And so it goes without saying that people in Japan have truly beautiful souls, they do not believe in stealing! (I mean I guess a lot of us don't but in the societies I ...

To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world. - Freya Stark Well it's officially been a week since I landed in Japan. I do not even know where to begin with everything I have learned. One thing for sure is that I am extremely happy to have a place of my own, I didn't realize how much I needed my own space until I was able to have it,   my goodness. Tsurunomai Bridge, found here in my new hometown! biggest wooden footbridge in Japan! It is said if you walk across it you will have a long life! (Mt. Iwaki hidden behind the clouds, haven't seen the mountain as a whole since I got here-darn clouds) I arrived in Tokyo first, stayed a night, and flew out to Aomori the next morning. (It's way cheaper like that in case you want to visit me ;)) When I first arrived in Aomori I was picked up by my supervisor and a co-worker, both whom are wonderful women! They drove me into my new home town, Tsuruta. On my drive I couldn...

A dream come true! (Please don't ride Elephants if you go to Thailand!) I'm in bed now. It's the end of day 3 in Phuket, Thailand. The transition from Indonesia to Thailand was a little rocky, new currency, new culture, different season... I am finally grounded, estoy en Thailand! Goodness it's just as gorgeous, and don't even ask me which one is better because they both  are equally gorgeous for many different reasons. On my first day I had the best meal thus far (like on this month solo trip) , and lounged at Patong Beach. I was soo tired from Singapore, I actually slept on the beach for a good 3 hours. The first thing I noticed when I arrived in Thailand was signs everywhere that said "no sex", and also a lot of foreign-white skinned- blued-eyed-60+ year old men with young gorgeous Thai women. Sigh. I can't ignore this because it's so real. This sleezzyyyy (sorry) dudes are paying for "love" and these young women trying to ...

The cheapest flight I could book from Bali to Phuket had an 18 hour layover in Singapore- if you know me you know that's actually very exciting for me! Double win. Every time I have a layover that is  6+ hours  I immediately proceed to get out and explore. Here's what I got to see and do: The iconic merlion monument and plaza. My favorite part about Singapore was finding this gem! I read about it in some article somewhere. Best and cheapest tea ever! Sultan Mosque. And I hung out a lot at the airport, the airport in Singapore is soooo cool! They have a free movie theater, free foot massage machines, tons of shopping, a butterfly garden, a roof top pool, orchid garden and so much more to see and do.