Two months ago, a mentally-unstable man that I met on the train in Saitama, took one look at me and announced in a loud, prophetic voice: “You are too young to be in Japan.” Once I got over the shock of being addressed in this manner (in English!) I laughed it off, saying “Buddy, I’m… Read More She’s a Super Freak
Have you ever just been going through the motions of your boring, every day life and all of a sudden you stop dead in your tracks and have this incredible epiphany? That’s been happening to me a lot lately. Living abroad will do that to you. I think it’s because you end up spending a… Read More What I Learned While Eating a Sea Cucumber
I tend to treat my private lessons with my Japanese teacher like therapy sessions. I’ll tell her about how one of my students is abusing me. I’ll show her the bite marks and the bruises and share horror stories involving chalk dust thrown in my eyes and markers hurled at my head. And then I’ll… Read More Teacher Barbie
I’m often the token American in a group of friends, which means I frequently field questions about the inner thoughts and motivations of the “typical American”. This is tough because one, I’m not a typical American, (the fact that I’m writing this from Japan is proof of that) and two, I don’t know what… Read More Are Americans ‘Bad Friends’?
Living in Japan is a really lonely experience. I have a lot of acquaintances here, but few people I can call close friends. This is true of my life in America too, though. I’ve spent so much time abroad that I’ve collected friends like I’ve collected postcards; found and then immediately forgotten. I’m a regular… Read More People I Will Never Know: Thoughts On Meeting People While Traveling
Well, I put in notice at my job yesterday. Which means that soon I’ll be homeless and jobless. While that’s not exactly unfamiliarity territory in the life and times of Reannon, it’s still a little frightening. Especially considering that the average American teenager’s allowance is greater than the amount in my savings account at the… Read More I Quit My Job…and Other Post-Worthy News
I never write about my roommate…mostly because it’s embarrassing to admit that I don’t know anything about her. It’s strange, because I’ve lived with her for six months and know random, intimate details about her life, like the brand of shampoo she uses or how she takes her coffee, but I don’t know the important… Read More My Roommate
Citizen Ice Skating Rink in Tokyo Today I relived the seventh grade and went ice skating at a skating rink in Shinjuku. This was ironic in that I was told by a friend that there were no ice skating rinks in Tokyo…and in a way, that was true. As an American, when I think ‘ice… Read More Middle School Revisited
“Lisa, if you don’t like your job you don’t strike. You just go in every day, and do it really half-assed. That’s the American way.” – Homer Simpson Last Thursday, dressed like Minnie Mouse and sick with the flu, I sang the Hokey Pokey song to a classroom full of gawking parents and students. As… Read More The Lazy Teacher’s Guide to Teaching English
The last two weeks I’ve been on Halloween overload. I threw no less than seven Halloween parties for my students (dressed like Minnie Mouse) and then this girl I met a few months ago in Yoyogi park invited me to a Halloween Party she threw at a bar in Shibuya. It’s more common in Japan… Read More Maid in Tokyo
