Ready to Tan

I've packed and unpacked 3 times.

I was desperately trying to squeeze everything into a backpack.

And it just wasn't having it. So I put everything in a holdall and it fit.

I was feeling rather smug and then I found out how little everyone else was taking.

So I've taken loads of stuff out and its back to the backpack! Better really coz I know that I'll be doing a spot of shopping there and then when will I have use for the 20 outfits I originally wanted to take?!

Hell I went round Thailand and Cambodia with 5 days worth of clothes for 2.5 weeks.

It's this great thing called laubdry - don't see why I can't do it again!

So I'm all packed and now I'm gonna chill out for a couple of hours and try and scoff all the food in my fridge. Haven't hit that mad excitement stage yet coz I've got so much stuff going on in my head but I know it will all be good when I get there.

Can't wait to get a tan though - I look kinda scary with my hair so dark and my skin so light!!

So yah, I'll be back 9th May.

See y'all then!

xxx

Are You Serious?!?!?

Give me a f****** BREAK!!!

How much bullshit do I have to deal with?!?!?!

What the hell?!?!

One thing after another - I can't deal with this all.

Not There Yet

You finally find the strength to get over it and move on.

And then WHAM.

You see or hear something and the effect it has on you makes you angry. You feel sick.

And then you get angry that someone who doesn't give a shit still manages to hurt you this way.

You know that you're stronger than this.

So why does it still hurt so much?

xx

Yummy!

Out of sheer boredom, I've baked a cake.

I'm just waiting for it to cool down and then I'm gonna make a jam and buttercream filling and then ice it.

LOL - for someone who is sposed to be resting, I'm being pretty active today.

I've tidied up, cleaned, sorted through all the clothes I want to take on holdiay, sewed on a couple of bottons and now baking.

II'm almost tempted to start packing. It's only 2pm and I still have the whole day to fill. But I know that if i start, then I'll only end up unpacking to make sure that I have everything anyway. Nah, I'll start all that tomorrow.

xx

Back to Brunette

I've dyed my hair back to it's natural colour.

It's been years since it's all been one colour.

And it's DARK.

But I LOVE it!!!!

xx

Preparing for a Weekend of....

....BOREDOM!!!

God!!!! I can't do ANYTHING this weekend and the thought of spending the whole weekend inside is horrible. Even if the weather is cack.

I guess the reason that I'm so pissed is that I had a busy weekend planned. But no point dwelling on that now.

The only thing I haven't cancelled is my hair appointment. I'm not even going brunette...I'm going back to my natural hair colour....if I can pluck up the courage to actually do it.

So be prepared for a lot of blogging this weekend since I'm not gonna have anything better to do.

xx

Gutted

I've just gotten back from the hospital.

I didn't strap up my foot yesterday or Wednesday and it's started to swell up again. And really hurt.

So I decided to go tot he hospital. I'm going on holiday next week and I wanted to make sure that there wasn't anything seriously wrong. Plus it gives me five days to sort it out.

No such luck.

I had my X-ray. My foot has a micro fracture and a load of torn ligaments.

And if that isn't bad enough, it's gonna take between 4-6 weeks to heal.

Bollocks.

I have a support for it but other than that there's nothing I can do except ride it out.

Gutted.

:-(

Bali Bali Bali!!!

I can't believe I'm gonna be in Bali in just one week.

Jealous? You damn well should be!!!

:-D

xx

Grrr....

Sometimes i wish I'd trust my instincts more.

I got a call last week telling me yesterday's elementary classes were cancelled and to go to the BOE in the afternoon.

Now my supervisor is new and doesn't seem to have a grip on things yet, so I was about 90% sure she'd forget. So I was debating skiving and staying home.

But I decided not to take the risk because if I got caught, I wouldn't have a leg to stand on. My BOE keep pretty close tabs on me, plus I got the call telling me what was going on.

So yesterday afternoon I dragged myself to the BOE. My supervisor wasn't even there and neither was the division head. And the others just looked baffled to see me. That's when I was like thinking I totally could've gotten away with staying home.

Grrr....

Married Men

Yesterday, I finished reading 'A Married Man' by Catherine Alliot.

I have to say, I do like easy, trashy reads from time to time, and this is my first by this author.

The story in this one? A woman's husband dies leaving her and their 2 sons financially struggling in London. Enter the evil but ridiculously rich mother-in-law, offering them a lifeline at a country manor in Oxford. The evil mother-in-law is out to destroy her and claim custody of the boys, but this backfires when she starts a fire which gets out of control and she dies.

I got really confused when I was reading it because of the title. In the book the protagonist falls for a married man but it's all over before it's even begun. She ends up meeting (and liking) the wife and hears the tragic story behind his philandering. That's about it.

I love the evil mother-in-law in this. Calculating, clever and I just couldn't believe all the twists, revealed neatly at the end. It's not some amazing book that I would tell everyone to go out and read - hell, I don't even think I'd recommend it, but I do like the way it is written.

This is the part where I would relate to my own life. But to be honest, I have nothing to say about this one. I've never gone, and never will go, after a married man. That's definitely crossing moral boundaries for me!

And that's all I have to say on the subject! LOL!

xx

A Much Needed Rest

I ended up sleeping for a whopping 11.5 hours last night ;-)

I was out by 8pm and contrary to what I thought was gonna happen, I only woke up twice - once at 12.30am and again at 6.30. I must have really needed to sleep because that never happens.

And then my JTE cancelled my 1st period class just because she had nothing prepared. She just did the class alone with the book and I stayed in the staff room. I was well chuffed because the 2nensei classrooms are on the second floor and I wouldn't have been able to get up the stairs!

I've strapped my ankle up today and I'm hobbling about like a fool.

xx

How's The Ankle?

The swelling has gone down but it's still very visibly swollen. It really hurts when I put weight on it but I can kind of hobble about now which is more than before.

I don't know if it's just coz I'm really tired, but my emotions are running really high. A load of things are running through my mind and it's exhausting to be honest. I've spent pretty much the whole day resting my ankle and watching Project Runway. But I don't think I could watch another episode! So I'm kinda at a loss for for something to do. I can't stand on my feet long enough to cook dinner, my eyes are tired, I feel drained and for some reason on the verge of tears. And I don't think the pain in my ankle is helping my mood.

So I think, at 7.15pm, I'm just gonna stop and go to bed.

I'm scared though because I know that I'm gonna wake up at some ungodly hour and won't be able to get back to sleep.

But I can't just sit here feeling this crap all night.

Gonna shove on some music and just sleep. I'm hoping that my ankle feels better tomorrow. One of two things is gonna happen at school. Either my kids will be really sympathetic about the limp, or they're just gonna take the piss out of me. Kids are such cruel arseholes sometimes.

On that note, I'm off to brush my teeth!

Night.

xx

Retardedness

I'm sitting here with a bag of frozen beans strapped to my foot.

It's so swollen that when I stand up, I buckle.

It wasn't even that I got RIDICULOUSLY drunk last night - it was my damn shoes.

5.5 inches. Taking me to 6ft 1 inch glory. Well, a bit over actually ;-)

So it started on the beach - no I did not wear those shoes to the beach!! It was such a glorious day my girl and I decided to take a picnic down there after the gym. Naturally this involved a bottle of sparkling wine.

So we necked that and then hit up a wine bar. We love this place called Bonito. The staff are awesome, the food is seriously yummy and the wine is divine. Expensive, but worth every penny. Another couple of bottles there.

And then here was the mistake - we met up with some friends at another bar and had beer. I KNOW better than to mix beer and wine - the end result is never pretty but it didn't stop me. You know I was good though, I took it slow and it was allllll good. But on the way to this bar, I slipped. And fell. HARD ON MY ARSE. Like, it didn't hurt or anything - but I dropped. What happened is that when we were in the wine bar, I kicked my shoes off. When you get warm, your feet expand slightly, so when I went to put my shoes back on, they felt a bit tight so I decided to leave the back strap down. Because they weren't on properly, they just slipped out from my feet and I went flying. Much to my friend's amusement. You could hear him laugh a mile away.

After that we went to our usual watering hole, Montana. I had a (really bad) white russian there and then we went to get some food and call it a night. On the way back to the car (no, we weren't driving - we were sleeping in it!!!) I just didn't see any steps. I missed the first one and went sprawling forward. And this time it really f****** HURT! I felt my ankle go straight away. I couldn't walk on it and had to hobble back to the car. I barely slept coz it was throbbing like hell and I was just like, damn I need to get this strapped up.

I got home and just walking into the apartment was agony. It's still so swollen I decided not to strap it until tomorrow.

So retarded. Falling twice in one night??!?!!? Falling full stop is so unlike me. But that's what I get for not putting on my shoes properly. And they were stilettos. Idiot.

And to top that off, even though it didn't hurt when I fell on my arse, I now how a bruise right at the top of my thigh. Just in time for Bali.

Retard.

And what's even more annoying, is that the weather is gorgeous today and I would've loved to have gone to the beach. And now I can't go anyway.

Double retard.

xx

Psychics

I've just finished reading 'I Never Fancied Him Anyway' by Claudia Carroll.

It's about a woman who has the ability to see into the future. She has a magazine column and then gets offered a TV slot. It's basically a chick read about people with relationship problems who go to her for help and blah blah blah.

LOL!

I wanted to talk about psychics rather than the book actually. I've never really made up my mind about people who claim to have pyschic powers. I mean, if I'm reading a magazine and I come to the horoscopes page, I do read it but I just dismiss whatever's written as a load of bollocks. I don't read horoscopes regularly and if I have a magazine, I don't normally seek out those pages.

I am a teeny, teeny bit superstitious. I NEVER walk under ladders, I get uncomfortable if I smash a mirror, I will never fully open an umbrella indoors and I detest cats. Saying that, I don't know what I think's gonna happen if I do those things, but I'd rather not find out!

The thing about psychics and all these other fortune tellers and palm readers and what not, is that people seek advice from them, and then proceed with their lives with that 'information' in mind. So I'm always wondering if people would do the things they do if someone hadn't told them something would or wouldn't happen if they did or didn't do these things.

About a year before I came to Japan, a girl I worked with read my tarot cards. She told me I would move to Asia, fall in love and would be working with children within a year. I absolutely pissed myself laughing. Out of the 3, it was the working with children part that I thought was the most ridiculous. At that point, moving to Asia wasn't something I'd thought about, I was having too much fun being single and working with kids would definitely have been up there amongst the jobs the types of jobs that I would NEVER want to do.

A few months later, I applied to JET. I didn't even think about the tarot reading after it happened. I had laughed it off as a load of bollocks. I came to Japan, fell in (and out) of love and am now a teacher of kids between the ages of 6-15. It was only when the girl who read my tarot messaged me to gloat that I actually thought about it again.

I guess I'm trying to say that sometimes people can read things about you. I can only go by my own experience. These things - the whole idea of the supernatural - are always a touchy subject. I'm not really sure to be honest.

What do you all think?

xx

Advice

I am so quick to give out advice. And the advice I normally give out is pretty good (lol!!!).

But when it comes to taking advice, I'm absolutely useless. I should take my own advice. I know what to say to other people if they are in certain situations, but when I find myself there, I end up doing everything that I tell other people NOT to do.

So all the shitty feelings I help people to avoid, I end up feeling them myself.

You end up in these situations and your own emotions are so powerful, all logic goes out the window.

I tell myself all the right things, and then I end up doing the opposite. It's because I just don't understand why people do the things they do and I want to know why they hurt me so much.

Stupid I know.

But I can't help it.

xx

AAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!

I told you.

You saw right? I KNEW I was gonna be let down.

And now I feel upset, hurt, disappointed. The heartache has returned.

The emotional I feel most of all.

Anger.

Anger at myself. At my weakness. At allowing this pain to come back because I blindly hang on to false hopes. Even though the hope wasn't there in the first place. I already had the sign that I was gonna be let down. I'm such a fool.

But you know, I think I 've realised why I keep setting myself up for these falls.

Because I'm scared.

When that person is COMPLETELY out your life, I'm scared of what I will do on my own. It's like I still need him for a couple of things. And I was relying on that help you know, because deep down, I'm scared that I'm not going to able to do certain things by myself.

I think if I can get into the mindset that I'm ready for the challenge of working this all out on my own, then just MAYBE I can get myself out of this depressive rut.

Damn, I used to be hard as nails and now I'm as sensitive as ****.

And I hate it.

Snap Me Out Of It!!

For God's sake.

When someone lets you down x amount of times in the past...

When someone calls you and tells you that 'maybe' something is or isn't happening, it's a safe bet that it's not. So they're letting you down again.

So why the hell am I still holding out for this person!?!?!?!?

When I KNOW that they are gonna let me down AGAIN?!?!?!?!

I actually can't stop myself from thinking bout the teeniest possibility that they won't.

But I know they will.

I need a slap!

xx

Shoot Me Already

God, I am so ridiculously bored in the mornings at school. No classes and absolutely nothing to do. I can't be arsed with the CLAIR course - kind of gave up after book 3 because these new books are terrible.

The afternoons aren't so bad because the elementary classes have started already. And I have 5th and 6th period 4 days a week. But these mornings drag on and I get to a point where I can barely keep my eyes open.

And to make matters worse, the book I'm reading right now is so unbelievably dull it's boring me even more! I dont' know how many times I raided the biscuit tin this morning - not that there are any decent biscuits in it mind you!

Don't Hate the Player...Hate the Game

I've just finished reading 'The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pick Up Artists' by Neil Strauss.

It's about a guy who has no self esteem and is completely useless with women. He joins an online community and starts talking to and meeting pick up artists - and starts learning how men can pick up any woman by following a few rules and dropping a few lines. He then goes on to become the best pick up artist in the field.

It's an interesting read but also quite ridiculous. I'm gonna be one of the women he patronizes and say that that shit would never work on me. And I don't believe it would. Spout a cheesy line and the girl will sleep with you or give you her number?!?! And if a guy approached me wearing a fluroscent shirt, a feather boa, platform shoes and silver nail polish, I'd tell him he was in the wrong kind of club.

LOL!

I'd give it a 2 out of 5. Nothing new and exciting in there for me. Just empasises what fools men are to shell out so much money to be told how to get laid!

Doh!

You know, I was really glad when my elementary school let me out for a couple of hours this morning to attend the welcome ceremony for the new students at JHS.

And then I got there and remembered who I was dealing with. Out of the 64 kids, I like 19 of them. The rest are from the school where I quit the classes coz the kids were so bad.

Nothing's changed - they're still moody and full of a stinking attitude. I just hope the JHS teachers are able to snap them out of it. It was clear to the other teachers too - the students I adore were so excited to see me. And there's the others who just sat there with their arms folded with scowls on their faces, barely bowing even when the head took the stage. My JTE came up to me and told me it was obvious who my favourite students were. I told her they're not just my favourite students - they are the students who are worthy of my attention.

Little shits.

Realization

I would rather keep you in my life as my friend rather than make a move on you and drive you away.

You are such a good friend and are so important to me.

I don't want to lose that.

xx

Bored!!!!

3 days back at school and I'm bored shitless.

Apart from the tedious farewell/welcome ceremonies in the freezing gym, I've done nothing but read for 3 days.

I'm on a book a day.

I guess it's not that bad - I mean, I like reading. But it just seems so pointless to be doing that at school all day you know. There's only a temporary timetable for next week and that's already figured out and seeing as there's a textbook now at elementary school, I don't have any new materials to make or any lesson planning to do!!!

I hate sitting on my arse doing nothing. I mean, sometimes it's cool - especially when you've been really busy, because then it's a nice break. But I've had nothing to do for weeks and now it's getting annoying!!

I have a brain and I wanna use it!!!!

LOL!!!

Having said that, when the classes all start up again, I'm gonna be wishing I was having one of these quiet spells!

xx

Race

I've just finished reading 'The Colour of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother' by James McBride.

I didn't like it. It was an incredibly frustrating read. I get what he's trying to do but it's the protaganist that killed me. It's about a white Jewish woman who marries a black man and has 12 kids. It's the story of her living in a black world back in the day where interracial marriages were scorned and tells of all the race, religion and identity crisis that her and her kids encounter.

Sounds interesting, right?

I thought so too until I started reading it. Then I just started to feel angry at this white woman - ignoring her own whiteness and her children's questions about who they are. Choosing to keep them segregated. Granted, she drilled the importance of education into them but ignoring questions of race and identity and telling them all they need is God absolutely infuriates me. Hats off to her for her persistance in living in a black world as a white woman. And a Jew at that. For dealing with the racial abuse and encouraging her kids to ignore it and concentrate on their education. She herself had a tough upbringing - boo hoo. But hating on the black bourgeoisie? What, black people can't have a high life too? Not explaining to her children why they are black and she is white? Telling them they're a human being as an answer to the question 'why am I black?' Unforgiveable.

Speaking as a mixed race person myself, I just find this behaviour unacceptable. The questions that mixed race children have are completely understandable and I think that the answers to these questions are vital in the development of one's own identity.

I was raised very much in a white world. I grew up in a white neighbourhood, went to predominantly white schools and I have never received a 'rascist' comment in my life. Well, I have had only 2. I was called a 'Paki' by a stupid little white boy when I was 7 aNd then when I was 19, I was called a white girl by a black girl. I was able to laugh them both off easily, because, well - look at them! Pure ignorance right there!

Despite the fact that I grew up in a white world, I have totally embraced my black side and fiercely defend it. I have friends from all over the world. My friends in London aren't predominantly of any race. That is the beauty of living there.

I dunno, I read this book and I just felt mad. In so many ways, the mother is incredibly selfish because she denies her children the right to know who they are and where they came from, all because she doesn't want to have to deal with her own past. I have to say, I did soften a bit at the end though. But I would NEVER do that. If I were to have kids, they are gonna be seriously mixed! But I would never deny them the knowledge of discovering who they are.

NEVER.

Mature Students

While I was looking into scholarships at the weekend, I also started looking into regular university courses. For a split second I was seriously considering it.

And then I changed my mind.

These are four year courses we're talking about here. Which means by the time I graduate, I will be 30.

NO EFFING WAY!

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for mature students. I just don't want to be one of them. I want to settled into a career at that age -not just starting out. Plus, I wouldn't be able to afford studying full time and living in Tokyo. Impossible. No, I'm not gonna steer away from my original plan.

Focus girl, focus!

The New School Year

It was the first day back at school yesterday. I walked in to find the staffroom sparkling clean...and my desk in the same place. I'm not particularly bothered about desk positions but I hate where mine is. I would rather be sitting with my back against one of the walls instead of in the aisle. They never seem to move the position of the ALT desk.

I also realised how many teachers have left. I wouldn't know because I skipped the farewell enkai but I was greeted with a load of empty desks. Again, not particularly bothered because I wasn't overly keen on them anyway.

The biggest change I noticed? The attitude of the new 3nenseis. Only 2 weeks ago they were 2nenseis and I didn't like them then either. Now they're strutting around the school like they own the place! Some boys said to me this morning 'Hello Jeido! Now we are big boys!' I couldn't help but laugh! I'm excited for them though because they've had the same JTE for 2 years and she stuck to the book like glue so they never had any fun. Now that JTE's left so hopefully things will be better for them.

This is the last stretch for me. It feels kinda weird that this is my last term. I'm also pleased because I feel ready for something new - a different environment anyway. Saying that it already feels different with so many new teachers at my base school. And they've introduced textbooks for 5 and 6nensei at elementary school now. Not a good move.

Although it does take a lot of the pressure off me because now the HRTs have to be T1!!

HAHA!

Hiroshima お好み焼き

God this feels like a long time ago.

Well, I guess it was really. February 2008. I spent the weekend in Hiroshima. It's about a 4 hour drive from where I live here.

This is Hiroshima style okonomiyaki. Egg, noodles and fish flakes. It was good but seriously filling. And to be honest, I prefer the Osaka style. Much tastier in my opinion.

Feels weird looking at myself in this photo. My hair is so long! Man, I can't wait till it grows back again.

That was a really, really fun weekend away. It was one of those weekends where everything retarded that could possibly happen, happened.

Good times.

xx

Cooking

This week I finally did a PROPER shop at the supermarket.

So I can finally get back into the habit of cooking.

I have been so damn lazy recently but it feels good to be cooking again.

Tonight I'm making inarizushi, ramen and topping it off with a cheesecake...that I haven't made yet!

Pancakes for breakfast tomorrow and I'm gonna bake some muffins and cookies!!!

*drool*

雨

Has anyone else noticed how it always seems to rain on the weekends here?

I was just thinking about the last few times I've been out to Fukuoka.

It has rained every time.

And it's funny because I said I was debating about going to Fukuoka tonight. And then I woke up and it's raining!

What the hell is that about?

Doesn't make a difference to me anyway. I'm gonna go and check out a couple of new classes at the gym and then I'm coming straight home.

I can't afford to go out and I don't want to be persuaded otherwise.

Plus, I'm quite looking forward to a night of DVDs! Not that I have many but that doesn't matter! It will give me a chance to catch up with my TV shows online as well!

How sad does that sound!

Oh well, I don't care!

LOL although I don't think I'll tell you what else I was planning on doing today!!

xx

A Day Off

Don't you hate it when you think you're doing OK, that things are finally getting better, and then something or someone goes and lets you down AGAIN.

And then all the feelings of hurt and disappointment come back.

I just want ONE day where I don't feel this pain.

Is that too much to ask?!

Clothes

So I'm starting to get things figured out in my head regarding my move to Tokyo.

Over the last couple of days, I've been going through my wardobe and pulling out clothes that I no longer like, wear or that don't fit. I've been finding clothes that I forgot I'd even brought here with me.

And then I'm also realizing that a whole load of clothes that I KNOW I had are missing! Where did they go? That's the problem when you have too many clothes - you lend stuff to people and then you forget about it! I never lend any of my favourite items, so that's why it happens so much. I don't even know where to start looking for them either.

*sigh*

Going through my wardrobe has also made me realise how many clothes I've bought since I got here. Everyone thinks they can't buy clothes that fit in Japan.

Trust me - you can!

xx

Time

I've just finished reading 'The Gift' by Cecelia Ahern.

A pretty standard storyline really. The protagonist is an incredibly successful man who works all the hours God sends, constantly has affairs with his staff and barely spends any time with his wife and kids. He befriends a homeless guy who gives him some pills which allow him to be in two places at once. So he is able to continue business at the office whilst spending time with his family. On Christmas Eve he is in a fatal car crash, but before he dies, he takes one more pill so that he is able to go home and tell his family that he is sorry for never being there.

It got me thinking about the importance of time. Especially because I'm having a massive debate with myself about whether to go out tomorrow night.

Only another 4 months to go before August creeps upon us. I'm thinking that I should be making the most of seeing people at the weekends - especially when there is an event going on and a lot of people will be out in town. The thing holding me back? Money. I'm broke and I have an enkai on Monday that I HAVE to go to. I have an enkai tonight as well but I just can't afford to go to both - even though the other teachers are expecting me to. This month has been financially crippling. Shikoku ended up costing WAY more than I was ever anticipating (and wasn't even worth it), Kyoto cost an absolute bomb (and was worth every yen), I had to pay off my Bali flight, my bills, gym membership, petrol, food - it's been a nightmare. I haven't been able to save anything.

So I'm thinking that given there's another 3 weeks until payday, I really shouldn't spend the money going out tomorrow. And I want to go out next weekend as well...out of the 2 I would rather go out next weekend and skip this one because I'm more interested in seeing the people who will be out next week to be honest.

Looks like I've managed to make up my mind. But it doesn't stop me WANTING to go out tomorrow. I really do. But it's just not worth me bankrupting myself for. It really isn't. I do still have time to see the people who will be out tomorrow, whereas the people who will be out next week, I RARELY get to see.

Now I just have to work out what I'm gonna do all weekend at home by myself. It's been months - literally- since I've had a weekend at home. Looks like it'll be me, a nice dinner, a bottle of wine and a load of DVDs!

xx

Bring it On!!!

I have a new teacher in my aqua class.

And she's awesome!

And hardcore!

My legs are CANING!!!!

xx

Muahahaha!

I got told today that from this new school year, I will only be teaching 5 and 6 nensei at elementary school.

YYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!

No more having to deal with the little shits with snot encrusted faces!!!!

Heavy Eyelids

You know what?

I have been going to bed so early all week and I'm still knackered.

I'm just not getting enough quality sleep.

It's like, I'll be in bed by 10 and then wake up at 2am coz I'm just not used to going to bed so early.

And it sucks coz I'm really trying to rest and it's just not happening!

DOH!

xx

Travellers

Yes, another post about Kyoto. And it won't be the last! ;-)

So while I was there, I was staying in an 8 bed dorm in a hostel in Gion.

It wasn't too bad actually. I think if you are travelling alone, it's definitely the best option. You get to meet a lot of people in a short space of time because no one stays in the same place for very long.

I met this 23 year old guy who is on a round the world trip. Before Japan, he'd been travelling South America, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia and Thailand. When he's done here, he's gonna be going China, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, India, Nepal and then Syria if he has the money, before going back home to England.

A 10 month trip in total.

Not bad, eh? But personally, I don't think I could travel continuosly for that length of time.

1) You would have to save for such a long time to get the money together for a trip on that kind of scale. I'm a complete failure when it comes to saving and that would also mean bye bye to your social life in the period leading up to your departure.

2) I would get so sick of living out a backpack, spending time in transit - especially at airports and bus stations. Anyone who knows me well knows how I lose my temper at airports.

3) I would just get sick of being a tourist EVERY DAY. It doesn't apply so much if you're hitting the coast, because you do get your down time. But you don't have that time, say, where you'd stay at home and watch a DVD or hang with your friends. I mean, they do have those facilities in the hostels but it's just not the same. I like working in between and then jetting off somewhere because

a) it means I have money and

b) it's a really welcomed break.

The downside of that is that you have time restrictions in terms of how much of a country you can see. When I went to Vietnam last year, I was only able to see Saigon because I only went for 5 days. So you do lose out in the sense that you're gonna have to pay to go back and see the rest of the country.

Moving on, I just have to mention this 17 year old I met. He was born in South Africa, grew up in Zimbabwe, moved to Australia and is now doing a gap year in England. What interested me about him is he came to Japan for 2 weeks, and is only staying in Kyoto. 2 weeks in Kyoto?! There was no reason for it either. How rare is that? Kyoto is the best place to base yourself if you wanna see other parts of Kansai and even Kyoto - all of which you can fit into 2 weeks. But he's not going anywhere outside of Kyoto. He's on a super tight budget so maybe that's what's stopping him from going anywhere else. How insane is that? To fly halfway across the world to only see one city when you have the time to do so much more.

Hell, each to their own!

I love swapping travelling stories with people. Except the people who always try and better what you say. And I def ran into one of them. But hearing everyone else's experiences made me realise how much I've actually done - and how much I still want to do.

So many countries and so little time.

And bugger all money!

LOL!

xx