i peel down the postcard a memory of you a you who doesn’t exist. not anymore i know this to be true it hurts to know that people go in such a silent way be relieved. be brave. be sad. be kind. be happy. you did live one day there’s tragedy in…
Education is arbitrary: what we learn is arbitrary; how we learn is arbitrary; whether we learn is arbitrary. This was something I suspected as a student and have had fully confirmed for me while on the other side of the chalk board. To put forward a very obvious example, there’s the seating plan. Quite…
South Korea’s second largest city, Busan, opened its port to the Western World back in 1876. Since then, it has expanded in a rather Western way (out instead of up, though they’re making up for that with some of their department stores now). The city is much more relaxed than Seoul and makes…
 The All Souls Trilogy A Discovery of Witches #1, Shadow of Night #2, The Tree of Life #3 by Deborah Harkness  “It begins with absence and desire. It begins with blood and fear. It begins with a discovery of witches.†For those interested in: universities, libraries, witches, vampires, daemons, foreign countries,…
 Where and When I was lucky to have been placed in Ono, about an hour away by bus from Sannomiya, in Kobe. I had originally planned on staying in JET for about 2 years, but almost immediately after arriving, I knew I wanted to stay for five! Ono is considered rural for sure,…
I’m a big fan of meals that are simple, delish, and can be thrown together quickly, so when my friend showed me a video for this simple dish, I thought: why not, let’s give it a crack. This recipe uses ingredients that you probably already have on your cooking counter and will add…
For perhaps the first time since I moved to Japan, a movie I was interested in seeing was released here before America! To celebrate such a momentous occasion, a visiting friend and I saw Civil War in IMAX 3D. On its own, it was enjoyable, but I was pleased with our decision from…
The first time the Englishman climbed Mt. Rokko, he was in a foul mood. The day had been hot– unbearably so– and now people he didn’t even know and wasn’t sure he liked were forcing him, via social pressure, to climb a mountain. He hadn’t spoken to anyone on the way up, partly to…
Japan is perhaps one of the most intriguing travel destinations the world has to offer. However after living here for nearly two years I can safely say that once you’ve done the major tourist rounds and found your own handful of hidden gems, you begin to look across the water. As an Australian…