The office environment in which I now sit is not the same as when I first started working in Japan, but the reason it continues to stay that way is entirely my own doing.
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Tags: japanese friends, japanese office, living in japan, making friends abroad, teaching esl, teaching japan, working in japan
Posted in Japan, Travel Jobs | No Comments »
Believe it or not, I've found there are actually situations in Japan improved upon by not having a strong grasp of the language. What do you think?
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Tags: expat life, japanese, language barrier, language difficulties, language skills, learning japanese, living abroad, living in japan
Posted in Japan | No Comments »
Have you ever felt compelled to blame your host country or the people there for the problems you've faced working abroad? This blog entry is for you.
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Tags: ESL, esl japan, living abroad, negativity, solving problems, teaching abroad, Teaching English, teaching japan, white privilege, working abroad
Posted in Asia, Japan, Teaching English, Travel Advice, Travel Jobs | No Comments »
Do you prefer to greet people in English or the local language when you're abroad? Even if you're a native English speaker, here are a few reasons you might want to hide that fact.
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Tags: esl japan, esl tips, japanese high school, Teaching English, teaching esl, teaching japan, teaching tips
Posted in Asia, Japan, Teaching English, Travel Advice | No Comments »
Even well prepared travelers can't avoid some of the problems with culture and other-ing when they step foot on Japanese soil. Being aware of these situations can lessen the shock.
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Posted in Japan, Travel Advice | No Comments »
Needing to get back to the US for a wedding, I left work in Kagoshima Thursday afternoon. This is the story of the chaos that resulted from needing to party, delayed flights, and lax security.
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Tags: crazy travel, Japan, stopovers, wedding travel
Posted in Japan, Travel Writing | No Comments »
Part one of my four-part series on crazy travel experiences I've had. This one involves me hitchhiking from Kagoshima to Nagasaki to run a half marathon, then make it all the way back before work on Monday.
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Tags: crazy travel, hitchhiking japan, japan travel, kagoshima, kyushu, nagasaki, running japan, weird travel
Posted in Asia, Japan, Travel Advice, Travel Hacks, Travel Writing | No Comments »
Though I didn't complete the Sano Marathon in my goal time or even close to it, it was good attempting to run a full 42.195 kilometers again.
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Tags: huaraches, Japan, marathons in japan, minimalist running, running, running abroad, running in japan
Posted in Japan, Running | No Comments »
This weekend, I ran my first race since returning to Japan seven months ago. How do events in Japan differ from those in the US?
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Tags: marathon, marathon training, running, running abroad, running in japan, マラソン, 足利
Posted in Japan, Running | No Comments »
Running is incredibly popular in Japan, but that's not the reason why the country is better for me in terms of training for a marathon.
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Tags: barefoot running, living in japan, minimalist running, runners, running abroad, running in japan
Posted in Japan, Running | No Comments »