Osaka, Japan

Hi everyone! This is the third post from my travel blog series about my solo trip to Japan during my winter vacation. If you missed my posts about Tokyo and Kyoto, check those out first! This post will focus on my last leg of the trip - my wonderful experiences in Osaka.

Osaka's landscape

Pokemon Center!

Unfortunately, I only had about a day and a half to spend on this part of the trip, but I made the most of it. I arrived in Osaka in the early morning via a short train ride from Kyoto, so I decided to head to a landmark with a good view of Osaka's landscape, and after that I headed to an official Pokemon Center (aka a place with an insane amount of Pokemon merchandise). Because it was such a short trip, I wanted to get most of the famous sites out of the way during the first day so that I could enjoy my last day at Universal Studios Japan.

Osaka Castle

In front of Osaka Castle

I headed straight for Osaka Castle, one of the most famous landmarks throughout Japan. It was extremely large and beautiful, both outside and inside. I didn't have much time as I would liked to have had there, though. I'll just have to go back one day! In the evening, I walked around a few night markets, ate traditional Japanese foods, did some souvenir shopping, and went back to the hostel to prep for my big day at Universal!

Takoyaki

Glico man 

Okonomiyaki and beer

Universal was an absolute blast! I was a bit worried about going to a theme park alone, but my fear faded quickly. In fact, I enjoyed going to the theme park alone more than I might have with other people. I got to move faster through waiting lines as a single rider, and I could go to different attractions at my own convenience.

Universal Studios!

Making hearts with Charlie Brown

I ended up meeting a fellow solo traveler, although he didn't travel as far as me. His name is Mohammed, and he is a graduate student in Japan! He has a season pass to Universal and was just hanging out for the day. I met him while waiting in line for the Jurassic Park ride, and we hit it off quickly. I was actually somewhat relieved because I thought I was the only non-Asian in the park that day, haha (no offense meant by any means in that statement, just an observation). We decided to hang out the rest of the day and rode rides together.

My new friend Mohammed and I enjoying butterbeer

We ended up at Harry Potter world where we spent a huge chunk of time exploring. We had butterbeer, which tastes FANTASTIC by the way, took a tour of Hogwarts castle, snuck in line for the Harry Potter virtual ride (didn't want to wait 3 hours), and watched a magic wands performance. During the performance, I was selected as the chosen wand-bearer. I failed miserably. BUT the good part was that I was offered a discount on any of the wands in the shop, so I took that offer up and decided to buy one. The cool thing is that with my wand I could maneuver around the park, cast different spells from the series, and different things would happen! For example, I made some kind of object levitate, lit a chimney, and make clocks turn. So fun! I'll have to try it again at the Universal in Florida.

Testing out the wands

Hogwarts Express!

After a loooooong day at the park, Mohammed and I headed back towards the center of Osaka, ate some Turkish food, and called it a day. I was so happy to meet a new friend in my travels - thanks for a great day, Mohammed!

The next morning was time to go back to Korea, but of course, not without some unexpected events taking place. I woke up early and realized that my bunkmate (whose name I later found out is Mai) was also heading towards the airport. We didn't speak because she is Japanese and doesn't know English, and I am American and don't know Japanese. Mai's bag was huge, so I offered to help her carry it down the stairs through gesturing. She agreed and immediately a bond was formed. Upon completing our task, she offered up a ton of her Japanese snacks and goodies, at which I reluctantly accepted (but was secretly excited about). We headed to the airport together, and I figured out that she was traveling to Okinawa in order to move and start a new job! No wonder she had such a large suitcase. We communicated along our journey via Google Translator, which up until that point I had not been very fond of. My opinion has changed since then! We connected quickly, snapped a selfie, exchanged contact information, and before I knew it, we were departing separate ways. I felt a pang in my stomach because of how quickly we had shared personal information about ourselves, and just as quickly it was gone and the possibility of never meeting again was right in front of us. Travel is an amazing thing, but bittersweet. I made a pact that I would return to Japan again and brush up on my basic Japanese conversation skills until then.

My new friend Mai and I

I said a momentary goodbye to Japan, but made a promise both to myself and to my new friends that I would be back again.

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Kyoto, Japan

Hi everyone! This is the second post in my travel blog series about my solo trip to Japan during my winter vacation. This post will focus on my experiences in Kyoto, famous for its beautiful and historic gardens, temples, and shrines, among many other things. If you missed my post about Tokyo, check that out first. Let's dive in!

After my busy first three days in Tokyo, I headed out to one of Japan's more nature-y cities, Kyoto. Unfortunately, I was only there for two and a half days, which wasn't nearly enough time, so I hope to go back again when I get the chance.

Hanging out along the river in Kyoto

I woke up and took the express train (Sinkansen) from Tokyo to Kyoto, which was an expensive ticket, but worth it. Instead of heading straight to my hostel upon arrival, I decided to do some exploring near the train station. I visited a few parks and temples along my way towards the guesthouse, and the weather was beautiful! After dropping my bags off, I grabbed a beer and some snacks, walked along a river, and sat down on some rocks and enjoyed the sunset.

The encouraging worker and my Pikachu plush!

Later that night, I went towards the shopping market area, ate street food, and tried my luck at Japanese crane games, at which I failed horribly. I got sucked into one game because of a friendly, young worker who kept encouraging me and gave me free chances to play every now and then. I still ended up blowing about $35 and walked away with nothing... or so I thought! The worker must have felt really bad for me because she walked to the back of the store and whipped out a special edition Pikachu plush doll that I had been trying to win the entire time (about 30-40 minutes). I was so happy that I gave her a hug and made her take a picture with me, haha! A memory that I'll always remember.

The Golden Pavilion

The next day, I visited Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion), a zen garden, a historic castle, and a lot of shrines. There is so much sightseeing to do in Kyoto! Even though the weather was horribly cold and rainy all day, I still had fun learning about Japan's "old capital". I'll let the pictures do the talking!

Naji Castle

That evening, I met up with another Fulbrighter (Brittany!) and her boyfriend, who were also visiting Kyoto at the same time. We went to a revolving sushi bar, explored Japan's "one dollar" stores, and discussed anime and manga for a looooong time, haha! It was a blast and I was happy to have some company for once during my trip.

Revolving sushi... we did some damage

As I mentioned earlier, I didn't spend nearly enough time in Kyoto as I should have. It's on my bucket list to return again in the future! Stay tuned for my next post about Osaka.

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Tokyo, Japan

Senso-ji Temple

Hi everyone! I know it's been long since my last update, and I am finally getting around to writing about my winter break trip to Japan (back in February).

This is the first of three posts about my solo trip to Japan during my winter vacation. This post will focus on my first leg of the trip, where I spent three days in the nation's capital, Tokyo. It was unbelievably different than what I expected (in a positive way), and I am looking forward to going back one day.

           

On my first day of the trip, I arrived in Tokyo, purchased a subway ticket for my stay, and headed out to my hostel. Transportation was by far the most expensive thing in all of Japan! Traveling from place to place ate up the majority of my expenses during my one-week trip. I checked in, set my bags down, and just started wandering around the area. I stumbled into the Asakusa area, where I explored Senso-ji Temple, which is Tokyo's oldest. There was plenty of shopping and street food to be eaten, so I dove right in. I tried Japanese style ice cream, takoyaki (savory ball-shaped pancakes with octopus at the center topped with mayonnaise, ginger pickles and fermented fish flakes), and ikayaki (grilled squid). All were extremely delicious! I wound down the day by sitting in Ueno Park, reading a book, and drinking Japanese beer. Great first day!

          

The second day, I met my Japanese friend whom I met during my study abroad in Spain! Ayano and I took some of the same classes at Universidad de Granada, and we have stayed in contact for five years. I can't believe it had been that long since we last met. Ayano took me to Meiji Shrine, Harajuku, and Shibuya Crossing. We caught up, got our fortunes for 2017 read to us, ate sushi off of a revolving cart, and consumed way too many sweets. No regrets! We also went to a CD store where we recommended music to each other and bought CDs in commemoration of our awesome day together. Thanks for your hospitality, Ayano! Nos vemos otra vez muy pronto!

          

On the third day in Tokyo, I took a day trip to Hakone, where I saw marvelous sights of Mt. Fuji and Japan's natural beauty. It was an early start, where I took a "romance car" to the outskirts of Hakone, explored a few gardens, and took a cable car up to the base of Fuji. While at the base, I ate Japanese pork cutlet and enjoyed the view. It was so beautiful that I made it my future goal to hike to the top of Mt. Fuji one day! From there, I took a ropeway back to ground level, and then finished the tour with an exploratory cruise around the Hakone area with various sights of Mt. Fuji. In the evening, I met another friend, Arisa, who I first met in Korea through a mutual friend. She took me out for Japanese style ramen, which was absolutely AMAZING! We finished the night with a few beers and I headed back to my hostel.

          

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking - it was a full three days, and wish I had a bit more leisure time, but now I know I'll just have to come back in the future.

          

Next leg of the trip, Kyoto - stay tuned!

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Winter Class

"The List": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abqo7prT840

We made fake blood!

After the New Year celebrations, my school requested that I teach a voluntary two-week winter class to help students practice English. Because it is winter BREAK, I decided to make the curriculum something fun and out of the ordinary. I also learned that I had a small class of seven students, so my creative juices were boiling.

I ultimately decided on having the students make some type of movie (the genre and its contents solely up to the decision of the students). Luckily, the students loved the idea and immediately started brainstorming ideas. I was a little unsure if we would be able to get a solid production put together in such a short time frame, but we gave it a whirl anyway!

Practicing their lines

The first week was spent coming up with a topic/setting, roles for the students, script writing, storyboarding, and prop preparations. The students divided themselves into small groups, with the student director monitoring each person's role. They did a fantastic job writing the short film. The premise is a Thriller/Slasher movie where a jealous girlfriends seeks vengeance on her boyfriend and the girls he's been flirting with. She creates a LIST (movie name, "The List") and goes through it one by one, killing each girl along the way. I was pleasantly surprised by their creative abilities and the depth they added to their short film.

Giving guidance for stage direction

Close-up of a killing scene

The second week was spent filming and editing, with a viewing party held on the last day! I think this week was the most fun for the students because they could bring their roles to life, and they loved giggling at (with) one another throughout filming. I should also mention how much they enjoyed making fake blood and smearing it everywhere for the murder scenes. I wish I had captured the looks of pure joy on their faces - some actual serial killer smiles! Haha!

They filmed the movie at school using my Canon camera, and they edited it in the school computer lab. I think it was most students' first time using a video editing software, so I did a quick tutorial, and the rest was history. They picked it up quickly, editing the clips, adding sound and transitions, etc. They're continued dedication for the project made me so happy, and it was awesome because I was doing minimal work, just helping as needed.

"The List": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abqo7prT840

The students really seemed to enjoy this project, and I hope I have another chance to do a similar project in the future. This project was a great way for students to utilize their creative abilities while also practicing the target language (English). Entirely student-lead, I only provided guidance when requested. All work was completed by the students.

I'm so proud of them and want to share the movie with you all. Enjoy!

That's a wrap!

"The List": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abqo7prT840

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Spring Awakening

Sand castles that locals sculpt everyday

Hello everyone! My apologies for the delayed blog post, but to be honest, I haven't been up to too much except relaxing and enjoying the remainder of my vacation before school started back up just today. This post is titled "Spring Awakening" with good reason - I've been out of school for four months, and I was in for a shaky first week to start the spring semester.

En route to Boracay

Before we get into that, however, I want to share with you all some pictures and stories from my vacation in the Philippines! Five Fulbright friends and I decided to take the last ten days of our winter break to head somewhere warm. We were ready to enjoy the hot weather, get sun-tanned, relax on the beach, and enjoy the nightlife. We packed our bags and said a brief goodbye to the freezing Seoul temperature and were on our way to paradise February 20th. Unfortunately, we were in for a long haul. Our first flight from Seoul to Manila went smoothly (a four hour flight), although a bit crammed. No more luxury Korean Air seating, as we booked budget airlines to save money. Once we arrived in Manila, it was like heaven on earth. Warm weather, friendly English-speaking people, but most of all, we spotted a WENDY'S RESTAURANT!!!!! None of us hesitated and immediately agreed to enjoy an early dinner during our layover from Manila and Kalibo. It was so delicious. I miss Wendy's square burgers so much.

Ilig Iligan Beach

Anyway, our second flight was a short, one hour flight from Manila to Kalibo, but ended up being delayed almost five hours. Our original flight time was 5:45, but was pushed back until 10:30 p.m. This wouldn't have been a problem if Kalibo was our final destination -- but it wasn't. Once we were to arrive at Kalibo, we still had a two-hour van ride and a short ferry ride to the island we were staying at for the trip (named Boracay). During our layover, we decided to exchange our currency, and a few of us bought data packages to keep in contact throughout the trip. We eventually landed at midnight, booked a van to get to the ferry port, and finally made it to our resort around 3:00 a.m. Phew! We passed out, but didn't sleep too long as we wanted to get an early start the next morning.

Sunset over White Beach

On our first official day in Boracay, we settled in, bought some necessities, and met up with another Fulbrighter who was already in Boracay. She showed us around a bit, and we decided to go to a more secluded beach that was supposed to be extremely beautiful. The beach is called Ilig Iligan Beach, and it was some of the most blue water I have laid eyes on! The beach itself was actually a bit dirty compared to the other beaches on the island, but a lot less populated. While there, our group met a middle-aged Italian guy named Paulo who had been staying on the island for three months already. He took us back towards the main beach and we made it just in time for a beautiful sunset over White Beach (it's called White Beach because of the white sand). We ate Filipino food for dinner, which I fell in love with over the course of the trip. SO GOOD. After dinner, we headed back to the resort, showered up, and spent our first night out enjoying drinks and dancing!

Delicious Filipino food

Day two: woke up hungover. A couple of us decided to grab brunch and it was a good decision because it was delicious. After brunch, we headed straight for White Beach to relax all day. Got tan and burnt in a few areas, called it an early night.

Day three: went to a different beach, which was my favorite of the trip! It's called Puka Beach, and I liked it because it didn't have as much algae as White Beach. During the months of December-February, some of the beaches are known to get algae because of the waste being dumped into the water #sadness. Anyway, I got quite burnt this day and felt like a lobster. Luckily my burns only lasted throughout the night and turned into a nice tan by morning. That night we decided we were ready to enjoy the nightlife again, so we explored a couple new clubs and danced the night away. I ended up meeting some other Americans who have extended family living in the Philippines, so I talked with them awhile and we ate McDonald's together. McDonald's Philippines has this awesome thing called "BFF Packs" where you can purchase multiple menu items for 3-4 friends at a super cheap price. Unfortunately I never got to try this, but I feel like it is something that would be a big hit in America.

Sunset over White Beach

Day four: woke up super late, hungover, and walked around the island. The group split up and did our own thing, and we met up at night for dinner. We decided to chill in our resort for the night and played Cards Against Humanity for a long time before passing out.

Day five: Woke up, went souvenir shopping, laid on the beach awhile. For dinner we went to an awesome seafood buffet and we all went HAM on that baby. It was so good. We found an awesome bar that played rap and hip-hop music, so we hung out there for awhile. A couple of our friends decided to go home, so my friend Teri and I wandered around and met some native Filipinos and ended up talking to them for a long time before crashing.

Sunset over White Beach

Day six: AKA the day that brutally destroyed me. Our group booked a tour to an island called Ariel's Point. At this island, we can go cliff diving, snorkeling, kayaking, and -- all you can drink! On our way there, we met a Filipina woman who was around our age and she hung out with us for the day. She actually got super drunk and started vomiting on the boat. Oops. I decided not to drink too much since I wanted to participate in a lot of the activities, so I took it easy. Once at the island, we found out there was a 5 meter (16 feet), 8 meter (26 feet), and 15 meter (50 feet) cliff dive. Our whole group decided we would all at least conquer the 5 meter jump, but the other two were up to guts and facing fears. The five meter jump was like jumping off of a diving board - pretty straight forward, not too scary unless you've never jumped off a diving board before. However, the eight meter and fifteen meter jumps created a pit in my stomach that I wasn't sure I would overcome. The eight meter was pretty easy to do, I just ran straight off of the cliff and landed in the water, even though I felt like I was floating in mid-air for much longer than I should have been. Upon impact with the water, my thighs and butt stung, but I would realize that the sting of the eight meter had no comparison to what would come from the fifteen meter jump. My friends and I stalled on the fifteen meter jump until right before it was time to board the boat and get back to the mainland. Two friends jumped with ease, but I stood frozen at the top. I kept thinking about whether or not I really wanted to do it. And I thought about the stinging of my butt and thighs from the eight meter jump. How could I land straight into the fifteen meter jump, twice as long as the previous jump?

Enjoying the sun

Eventually, I mustered up my courage and was the last person to jump off of the fifteen meter jump. I told myself, "Tomorrow is my birthday. This is a birthday present. Face this fear and just do it." So without further ado, I walked right off of the cliff, floated in gravity for what felt like forever, flailing my body and trying to make it pencil-shaped, and went KABOOM into the water. I landed right on my ass, and there are various bruises to prove it (I won't post pictures here, as this is a public space). It is almost one week later, and I'm still having difficulty sitting on chairs, standing up/sitting down normally, etc. But I did it. I survived. And I'll never do it again. Lol!

After our day of cliff diving, snorkeling, and kayaking, we headed back to our resort to get cleaned up. We headed to dinner with some other people that were on the trip with us, and we had a mini celebration of my birthday! I ended up inviting our tour guide to tag along, and at midnight we all took birthday shots. Afterwards, we hit up the dance club and danced the night away.

Another sunset over White Beach

Day seven: my birthday! Unfortunately, we woke up to a typhoon outside our windows. A couple friends and I decided to meet up with our tour guide anyway because we wanted to go island hopping and see some prettier sights for snorkeling. We headed out, bought fresh produce and snacks for a picnic at the island we were going to, and were on our way. The island our guide took us to was beautiful! The weather was clearing up by this point, so we were able to explore and enjoy the seemingly deserted island to ourselves. We barbecued and enjoyed a light picnic, relaxed some more, and then headed back out to the open water. This next part was one of my favorite parts of the trip! We stopped our boat in the middle of the sea, grabbed our snorkeling gear, and dove in. I have never been much of a water sports type of person, but snorkeling may have turned me. There were some of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen! Now I am wondering what else is out there in the remaining 70% of water that inhabits our Earth. We stayed out there for quite some time, and eventually made our way back to the mainland. I showered up, got ready, and did some last minute souvenir shopping because the next day we would be leaving beautiful Boracay :(

Banana Crepe!

For my birthday dinner, my friends and I decided to go to a Spanish Tapas restaurant, which made me reminisce on my time in Spain. The food was amazing, so rich, and gave me a stomach ache, but it was well worth it. After dinner, we headed back to the resort and decided to pack up, as we had to leave early the next morning to get back to Manila.

Our awesome tour guide, Alfred

Day eight: Everything packed. Good to go. On our way to Manila where we would spend the day and leave early the next day to get back to Korea! We said farewell to our awesome tour guide, and promised to meet again one day in the future (I will be back, Boracay!). Once we got to Manila, we decided to go to the Mall of Asia, have dinner, and walk around. To get there, we took a method of transportation called a jeepney. They are elongated jeeps that the public people hop on and off of to get from one place to another. It's interesting because it seems to work on an honors system. People hop on, pass money back and forth amongst one another and eventually get it to the driver. I have no idea how they know how much everything costs, but I guess locals would know better than me. Ayway, the mall was HUGE. We didn't walk around much as we got distracted by food and an insanely large American-esque supermarket, but I felt like I could have spent my entire life savings there if I had the chance. And if I could afford it. LOL. Anyway, we had our final meal in the Philippines, went back to our hostel and called it an early night.

B-day wishes from Debbie (love ya)

Day nine: Woke up at 3:00 a.m. to get to the airport for a 7:00 a.m. flight. Much of this day was spent traveling and not super interesting. I made it back to Gwangyang at 9:30 p.m., and I was thoroughly exhausted. I showered and passed out right away. Overall, it was an awesome trip, and I was so happy to spend it with friends and enjoy warm weather before getting back to the grind at school.

The spring semester started two days ago, and I am happy to be back. My co-workers and students also seem genuinely happy to see me and have been asking about my health, so it feels good to be back with a warm welcome. Although I've come down with a bit of a cold (maybe due to the weather change, exhaustion, what be it...), I am prepared to tackle this semester and have fun along the way!

Our last night in Boracay (and my bday)

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