久々！ どうしたの？ -- Long time no see! What happened?

G'day from Down Under!

Wait, what?

That's right! Two-- now three, years later, I'm no longer teaching English. After teaching (on my own!) at a French university, I felt I needed a change... So I went where the world is inverted! At least-- the seasons are, the 'driving on the left' bit isn't as shocking to me after Japan.

I applied to grad school in Sydney (Education Management, if you're curious), finished the following year (long enough to remember the pain of writing papers, but worse because the format and expectations were different and referencing is quite a pain). Then I got my first corporate job! Which is, sadly, coming to an end. Long story short: visa restrictions are a pain, but I'm lucky enough that I can be on a Working Holiday, which means I can renew it for a second year!

Which brings me to now. I'll be moving to northern Australia for 3 months. After all this city life, it should be fun (but oh so humid, I dread that).

Apologies for not uploading anything, life tends to... slip away? As all procrastinators know too well (the writer in me is in agony).

Australia's been good to me so far, I've met many interesting people and it's almost easy to feel at home. Everything's bloody expensive, sure, but crazy desserts, yeah? (Logic.)

Time for some pictures!

Obligatory Bondi Beach picture. (It's soooo prettyyy!)

Guess who kayaked to the Opera House!? (It was hard, especially in shit weather.)

Super duper clouds rolled in. Not a great storm to be outside for. But I <3 your clouds 'Straya!

Auburn Japanese Garden, quite pretty-- yet, not quite the same?

Actually worried about this water. Is it soap??

And that doesn't even begin to cover the wonder that is Australia. (I hope you get a chance to come visit one day!)

I do still have some drafts from my time in Japan, and if life doesn't get (too) crazy, I'll upload those. Otherwise, I'll just keep moving forward and attempt to be a decent guide to life Down Under. :)

ただいま…かな？ -- I'm back... sort of?

Greetings!

It has been way, wayy too long since I last visited this blog, and I do apologize. My breakup with Japan was painful, in more ways than one. (Sad, of course, frustrating and stressful were chief emotions along the way.)

I still intend to update all those drafted posts, if only to share those pictures and less about the story (depending on how good my memory and journal are), so perhaps this summer is about time I get to that. Although, I started another blog: my writing blog. (Yes, I want to write a novel.)

As for my update, let me just say I randomly, and quite surprisingly, ended up back in France! Of all places. While I'm still teaching English, I'm now teaching university students instead of youngsters and it's quite the change. (Again, for many reasons...)

I've renewed my contract for another year but by next summer, I'll probably quit teaching. We'll see, my life is still a "work in progress." I might go to grad school. While I don't dislike the education sector, I'm not entirely sure teaching is my best niche, so we'll see what I can find before diving into the pile again.

In the mean time, I might have to start studying my Japanese again because unless I'm chatting/skyping/emailing with Japanese friends, watching anime or listening to a lot of JPop, I feel my Japanese ebbing away... I figured a good JLPT test would freak me out enough for a spurt of studying. So let's start with you, N3!

With that said, I'm going to tip toe towards my bed so I can be productive tomorrow.

Enjoy your summer!

就職 -- Job hunting

Hello everyone!

I'm aware of the amount of unpublished drafts, and I'll get to them when I can.

I have, however, decided to break up with Japan. I still love you, but I need to move on... There are many reasons, some bigger than others, and perhaps I'll elaborate in a later post if I need to.

I've been really surprised to see how many people have been visiting this blog though! Especially from places I'm ogling as my next home (Singapore, Australia, perhaps Thailand), or my next destinations (looking at you Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and practically everywhere else).

I've only applied to two (teaching) jobs so far, and I imagine I'll be continuing job hunting until I succeed, or just go home for a while and pick up the slack there. I don't know. It's a work in progress. Huh, why don't I just call my life 'a work in progress' from now on? ;)

If you know schools who are looking for English teachers, I'd love a hint! Or any kind of opening where they don't mind training me, I wouldn't mind a change of field. Bring on the change!

Otherwise, sorry to say, but please bear with me as I prepare myself for another transition. :)

Thank you!
よろしく～

最高のペット -- The best pet

久しぶり… Sorry it's been a while, I tend to do that (as you've probably noticed). I'll update more trips and pictures when I get a chance, but I can't resist sharing my new pet!

A while back, a friend posted this on her tumblr. Marimo, aka moss balls. Obviously, being on the same island and decently close to Lake Akan, I immediately wanted one! Not to mention they're so easy to take care of and for some reason, ridiculously exciting. (Is it just me? Oh well.)

With another friend, I'd made passing comments how about we'd need to go visit/hike Lake Akan once the snow melts, etc, but today... Today I went to the airport, not to leave, but for shopping. How Japanese of me, I know. I don't know if people do that in Haneda or Narita (somehow I doubt it), but here in Chitose, they do that! It's a pretty awesome airport, full of shops and restaurants, next to an outlet mall... You get the picture.

So I was there, all excited to have taken a silly picture with a giant sheep advertising for ジェンギスカン (genghis khan a Hokkaido specialty, you grill lamb at your table and it's delicious), when lo and behold! What are those ugly green plushies/stuffed animals? A marimo character!? Ew. (Seriously, google/wikipedia it, it's not cute.) But wait a second, those couldn't be-- are they--?? Why yes, BINGO!!

After all those weeks, I finally acquired my new pet! Tada~!

And I get a plastic クリオネ (sea clione) as bonus!

Seriously, so excited!

Now I have to buy them water, because I lack a filter, and make sure they get light but not from the sun... Gosh, they kind of sound like vampires. Oh well, they're cool! I'll just have to a) find a way to take them on the plane with me, and b) remember to put them in the fridge if temperatures go over 30℃...

Don't you want one now? ;)

ね、知ってる？-- Did you know?

Happy New Year, February... Ok, that's a month fail. I didn't realize I forgot to include that in my last post!

In an attempt to take a break (who am I kidding) from posting about various trips mostly because I can't access my pictures on my work computer, I decided this should be a post of its own.

The fun facts below are randomly assembled from my everyday life and experiences, when I remembered to jot them down, and although some of them can be applied to most of Japan, I'll just add a quick disclaimer: most of these might only apply to Hokkaido and/or the Sorachi prefecture, or possibly just my town.

Did you know that police cars always flash their lights?