Location: Meknes, Morocco
Status: excited
Can't read Japanese? Scroll down for English.
久しぶり！全然書いてないね。とにかくもうすぐモロッコを出るんだ。9月末に今の契約が終わって、次はタイへ行くよ！超楽しみにしている。1年間モロッコにいて、もういいって感じだなぁ… モロッコは悪くないけど、俺のタイプな国じゃない。なんか波長が合わないって気持ち。まぁとにかく今度のブログはモロッコについて沢山書くつもりだから楽しみにしててね。
タイへ行くよ！予定は10月4日にドイツのフランクフルトへ行って数日を過ごして10日に飛行機に乗ってバンコク へ！それから… まだ決めてない。もしかしてまた自転車で旅するかも…タイではどうかなぁ… とにかくドイツとタイにいるカウチサーファーに連絡して泊まる場所を準備している。そしてここでいろんなもの売ったり予防接種したり荷物を詰めたりしてモロッコを出る準備もしている。
楽しみだなぁ… 後2週間ちょっと…
それじゃ。 (^_^)v
アップデート： 航空券を買いました！10月4日の夜にフランクフルトへ飛んで10月10日にバンコクへ行くよ！よし！2週間で準備を終えなきゃ！ p(^_^)q
Well, it's been a long time, and I haven't written here at all, but I'm leaving Morocco soon, so I though I should post a little something about my plans. My teaching contract ends at the end of September, and I'm going to Thailand! :D I'm really excited to be getting back on the road again and seeing more of the world. I've been in Morocco almost a year, and I'm more than read to move on. Morocco just isn't my type of country. It's not a bad place, but I just don't really fit in the rhythm of life here. Next time, I will write all about my time in Morocco and my thoughts on this country. Sorry to keep anyone who is interested waiting.
Anyway, I'm going to Thailand! My plan is to fly out of Fes to Frankfurt, Germany on the 4th of October. I will spend a few days in Frankfurt, get some important shopping done, and then fly to Bangkok on the 10th, arriving on the 11th. After that...well, I don't really know yet. I have some ideas, and if it seems feasible, I hope to travel once again by bicycle. I'm waiting to hear from people in Thailand about that. Anyway, I'm starting to get ready. I've been contacting CouchSurfers in Frankfurt and Bangkok trying to set up places to stay and cool people to meet. I've gotten a few replies, so there shouldn't be any problems there (I can't say enough how AWESOME CouchSurfing is! There are so many wonderful people all over the world participating). I've also been making preparations to leave Morocco: trying to sell stuff that I've acquired while here, getting vaccinations, packing, etc.
Anyway, not much to say, but I can't wait! Next stop: Southeast Asia!
Update: I bought my tickets. It's official. I am flying from Fes to Frankfurt on the evening of the 4th and then flying to Bangkok on the 10th. I have about 2 weeks to get everything prepared.
p(^_^)q
2007-09-17
2007-05-02
Mountains of Photos! / 写真が山ほど！
Location: Meknes, Morocco
Status: normal
I've finally managed to get around to organising and uploading many of the photographs I have taken since this journey began last may. I have uploaded them all to my Picasa Web Album, and the albums are linked below. There are a lot of pictures, so feel free to take your time. Enjoy. :)
ハァー…やっと!この旅が始まったから撮った写真をやっとオーガナイズしてアップロードしました。お待たせ。GoogleのPicasaというソフトのウェブアルバムにアップして、下にはリンクが書いてあるんで、楽しんで見ててください。山ほどありますのでごゆっくりどうぞ。 (^_^)v
Pictures I took around London near the beginning of my trip. / 旅の最初のロンドンで撮った写真。
I spent a few days in Winchester, England. / イギリスのウィンチェスターで数日を過ごした。
The beautiful medieval city where Joan of Arc was burned. /「Joan of Arc」が焼かれたきれいな都会。
I spent about a week wandering around Paris. / 一週間ぐらいパリを回った。
The city where Joan of Arc was born. /「Joan of Arc」が生まれた都会。
Along the Loire River, France. / フランスのLoire川で。
I spent a week hanging out with my wonderful CouchSurfing hosts. / ステキなカウチサーフィンホストが一週間泊まらせてくれて、結構遊んだ。
This city has some incredible graffiti. Also, I was there for the music festival. / この都会にすごいグラフィティーがあるんだ。そしてフランスの国中音楽祭の時にいた。
Bordeaux was an awesome city, and my CouchSurfing hosts were great. / ボルドーもすてきな都会で、カウチサーフィンホストも最高だった。
Belize (one of my CouchSurfing Hosts) took me to an abandonned train depot for some urban exploration. It was an interesting place. / べリズと呼ばれたカウチサーフィンホストが打っちゃられた停車場へ俺を連れて行ったんだ。超面白かった。
The area around Ychoux, France. / イシューの近く。
From Irun, Spain to Madrid, Spain, including San Fermines in Pamplona. / スペインのイルンからマドリードまで。パンプロナのサンフェルミネスという祭も。
Madrid was a wonderful city. マドリードもすてきな都会だった。
Taken from the Train. / 電車の中から撮った。
All along the Mediterranean Coast. / 地中海岸。
Hanging out with my cool host and some cute girls in Malgrat de Mar. / かっこういいホストとかわいい女性と一緒に。
Coast and then mountains. / 海岸。それで山。
I stayed there for 2 months. / 2ヶ月をそこに過ごした。
Alet les Bains has a big festival at the beginning of August. It was a lot of fun, though a little strange. / Alet les Bainsは8月に大祭りがあるんだ。楽しかった。ちょっとおかしかったけど。
We took a little trip to Andorra. / ちょっと車でアンドラへ行ってきた。
Another beautiful French town. / またきれいなフランスの町。
Finally, I left Europe and came to Africa. / 最後にヨーロッパを出てアフリカに来た。
That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed them. Otherwise, there isn't much news. As you may have noticed, there are some new things on the sidebar of the blog. I have recently gotten into Last.fm, a site which is great for discovering new music and finding people with similar music tastes. Now, you can see what I have been listening to and which artists I like the most. Feel free to sign up and add me as a friend, if you like.
じゃ、それで。面白いと思ったといいね。とにかく、他のニューズが特にない。あ、そうだ。このブログの新しいことに気づいたかなぁ。右側にある。最近Last.fmというHPをよく使っている。そこで新しい音楽を聴けるし、同じ音楽が好きな人も見つけられる。結構おもしろい。んで今からみんなは俺が何と誰を聞いているかそこに見える。よかったら参加して、そこでもつなぎましょうね。
ciao.
Status: normal
I've finally managed to get around to organising and uploading many of the photographs I have taken since this journey began last may. I have uploaded them all to my Picasa Web Album, and the albums are linked below. There are a lot of pictures, so feel free to take your time. Enjoy. :)
ハァー…やっと!この旅が始まったから撮った写真をやっとオーガナイズしてアップロードしました。お待たせ。GoogleのPicasaというソフトのウェブアルバムにアップして、下にはリンクが書いてあるんで、楽しんで見ててください。山ほどありますのでごゆっくりどうぞ。 (^_^)v
 |
| London, England |
 |
| Winchester |
 |
| Rouen, France |
 |
| Paris, France |
 |
| Orleans, France |
 |
| Loire Valley |
 |
| Poitiers, France |
 |
| Angoulême, France |
 |
| Bordeaux, France |
 |
| Abandonned Train Depot |
 |
| Ychoux, France |
 |
| Irun--Pamplona--Madrid, Spain |
 |
| Madrid, Spain |
 |
| Train to Valencia |
 |
| Road to Malgrat de Mar |
 |
| Malgrat de Mar, Spain |
 |
| The Way to Alet les Bains |
 |
| Alet les Bains, France |
 |
| Fête d'Alet les Bains |
 |
| Andorra |
 |
| Carcassonne |
 |
| Ferry to Morocco |
That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed them. Otherwise, there isn't much news. As you may have noticed, there are some new things on the sidebar of the blog. I have recently gotten into Last.fm, a site which is great for discovering new music and finding people with similar music tastes. Now, you can see what I have been listening to and which artists I like the most. Feel free to sign up and add me as a friend, if you like.
じゃ、それで。面白いと思ったといいね。とにかく、他のニューズが特にない。あ、そうだ。このブログの新しいことに気づいたかなぁ。右側にある。最近Last.fmというHPをよく使っている。そこで新しい音楽を聴けるし、同じ音楽が好きな人も見つけられる。結構おもしろい。んで今からみんなは俺が何と誰を聞いているかそこに見える。よかったら参加して、そこでもつなぎましょうね。
ciao.
2007-04-13
Bringing Things up to date / 最近どうなってるんだ？
Location: Meknes, Morocco
Status: A bit homesick, but otherwise OK
Can't read Japanese? Scroll down for English.
さて、久しぶりだね！最近全然書いてないから今まで何してたか書こうと思った。
仕事
冬セッションは1月10日から3月18日までだった。良くない生徒やクラスが得になかったけど他よりいいのがあったね。まぁ、とにかく結構楽しくて難しくない仕事だね。でも冬セッションにはカウチサーフィン以外に面白い事があまりなかったんだ。暇はほとんど家で本を読んだりギターを弾いたり音楽を聴いたりiPodに入っているダウンロードした映画を見たり日記を書いたりしたんだ。あまり家を出たくないんだ。ちょっとひきこもりになった。でもな、それはそんなにダメな事じゃないと思うよ。お金をためているから家を出なくていいじゃん。
3月19日から4月8日までは休みだった。何か旅行したかったけど、スペインへとかモロッコ以内でも良かったけど、色々あってどこにも行けなかった。やっとビザみたいな「Carte de Sejour」ってやつを申し込めたんだけど領収書を早くもらえなかった。－で、申し込み中に領収書がなかったら国を出ちゃいけないんだ。そして「すぐもらえるから数日待っててね」と言われてずっとメクネズにいたんだ。残念だったけど。ちょっと友達に会いにスペインへ行きたかったのに。でも面白いカウチサーファーズが来てくれたから結構楽しかったな。
それで、春セッションが今週始まった。また教えている。今回はもうちょっとハイレベルな生徒だから結構おもしろそうなんだけど、まだ一週間たってないからわからないね。でもおもしろくなるだろう。そして新しい部活みたいなクラブを作ったんだ、この英会話で。それは「Creative Writers Workshop」という物語とか詩など書くのが好きな生徒のためのクラブなんだ。結構面白そうだろう。楽しみにしている。
とにかく次の休みは6月なんだ。それまではどうになるんだろうな。
カウチサーフィン
そうそう！この旅が始めたからこのブログには何回かカウチサーフィンについてちょっと書いたね。何か褒める事をやめられないみたい。本当にすごいことだよ。旅人心とか面白い人に会いたいとかそういう人だったら絶対参加したほうがいいと思うよ。ホストしてもホストされてもどっちでも超面白くて楽しいよ。去年旅してた時に沢山なすごくいい人に泊まらせてもらった。そしてモロッコに来てから25人ぐらいが俺の家で泊まってくれた。とても楽しかったよ。
今まではカナダ人、アメリカ人、スペイン人、イギリス人、イタリア人、日本人、ギリシア人、プエルトリコ人など俺の家に泊まりに来たんだ。みんなはすごく面白くて楽しくていい人だった。カウチサーファーがいる時は出かける時なんだ。メクネズを紹介するために。メクネズをよく知る事になったからいろんなきれいな場所とか面白い場所など結構あって見せてあげたいからね。
とにかく、いつかカウチサーフィンについてもっと詳しく書くつもりなんだからとりあえずそれでいいじゃん…
モロッコについて考えたら…
もっとモロッコについて書こうと思ってたけど、今はちょっとできないね。ちょっと説明しにくいからなんだ。いつか書くつもりなんだけど、とりあえずこれで…
(これからは英語)
I've been pretty out of touch lately, so I thought I would bring things up to date for those of you who are following this.
Work
The Winter Session ran from 10 January to 18 March. I didn't have any bad classes or really any bad students, but I had some of both that were better than others. Still, all in all, it isn't a difficult job and I do enjoy it. Nothing particularly exciting happened with work during the Winter Session. Outside of work, I mostly hung out at home reading books, playing guitar, watching downloaded movies on my iPod, or writing in my journal. The only times I didn't really do this was when I was entertaining CouchSurfers (more on that below). I don't like going out much. However, that isn't such a bad thing, since I'm trying to save money anyway.
Anyway, from 19 March to 8 April, we had a break from work. I was hoping to do some traveling, either around Morocco or out of it, but things came up that prevented me from being able to do so. I finally got all of my paperwork together to apply for my "Carte de Sejour", which is basically a visa so I can stay in the country and work here. Near the start of my vacation, I submitted everything to the police, and they were supposed to give me an official receipt which I could use if I wanted to leave the country while they are processing the application. However, they were very slow getting me the receipt (I got it on 12 April), so leaving the country during my vacation was not an option. It's a shame, because I would have liked to have gone up to Spain and visited a few friends. Also, during the vacation, I had some CouchSurfers scheduled to come and stay at my place, and since I had already promised them, I couldn't really leave. The ones that did show up were cool, however, so that worked out well.
Anyway, the Spring Session has just started and will run until June. Since this is still the first week and I haven't taught all of my classes yet, I'm not sure how things will go, but I'm hopeful. I'm teaching mostly intermediate and upper level classes, so it should be interesting.
Also, I have just started a new club at the ALC: the American Language Center Creative Writers Workshop. Assuming I find enough interested students, it should be a lot of fun, and hopefully just the kick in the ass I need to do more writing myself. The plan is basically to give students who have a passion for writing a group of people they can share their writing with and hopefully get some good comment and critique on how to improve it. There will probably also be various writing exercises and such as well as a lot of discussion about the art of writing and how to improve our own abilities. (As you can see from my writing style, this is something I sorely need)
Anyway, we'll see how the session goes.
CouchSurfing
I've mentioned CouchSurfing several times over the course of writing this blog since my travels began, and I cannot praise it enough. It is a simply amazing phenomenon, and I encourage all travelers and like-minded open-minded people to join up and either host or be hosted by wonderful people all over the world (or both, of course). During my travels from May to September of last year, I mainly was hosted by several CouchSurfers across England, France, and Spain. Since coming to Morocco, getting my own place here, and getting used to living in it and putting furniture in it, I have been hosting several travelers passing through. I think I have hosted about 25 people total so far, and I love it.
I've had travelers from Canada, the US, Japan, Spain, Italy, Greece, Russia, Latvia, England, Puerto Rico, and perhaps more. Everyone has been super cool, and we've managed to have some good times. These are the main times when I go out and around Meknes. I know my way around the city fairly well, including a lot of places that usual tourists probably wouldn't get to, so I usually take the CouchSurfers out and around town. There are some nice things about this city, and it is fun to show them off to those who stop by.
Anyway, in the future, I'll probably devote an entire post to CouchSurfing, but for now, I'll leave it at that.
Thoughts on Morocco
I intended to write a good bit about my impressions of Morocco after living here for 6 months, but I'm having a hard time organizing my thoughts on the subject. I guess it will have to be the subject of a future post.
Status: A bit homesick, but otherwise OK
Can't read Japanese? Scroll down for English.
さて、久しぶりだね！最近全然書いてないから今まで何してたか書こうと思った。
仕事
冬セッションは1月10日から3月18日までだった。良くない生徒やクラスが得になかったけど他よりいいのがあったね。まぁ、とにかく結構楽しくて難しくない仕事だね。でも冬セッションにはカウチサーフィン以外に面白い事があまりなかったんだ。暇はほとんど家で本を読んだりギターを弾いたり音楽を聴いたりiPodに入っているダウンロードした映画を見たり日記を書いたりしたんだ。あまり家を出たくないんだ。ちょっとひきこもりになった。でもな、それはそんなにダメな事じゃないと思うよ。お金をためているから家を出なくていいじゃん。
3月19日から4月8日までは休みだった。何か旅行したかったけど、スペインへとかモロッコ以内でも良かったけど、色々あってどこにも行けなかった。やっとビザみたいな「Carte de Sejour」ってやつを申し込めたんだけど領収書を早くもらえなかった。－で、申し込み中に領収書がなかったら国を出ちゃいけないんだ。そして「すぐもらえるから数日待っててね」と言われてずっとメクネズにいたんだ。残念だったけど。ちょっと友達に会いにスペインへ行きたかったのに。でも面白いカウチサーファーズが来てくれたから結構楽しかったな。
それで、春セッションが今週始まった。また教えている。今回はもうちょっとハイレベルな生徒だから結構おもしろそうなんだけど、まだ一週間たってないからわからないね。でもおもしろくなるだろう。そして新しい部活みたいなクラブを作ったんだ、この英会話で。それは「Creative Writers Workshop」という物語とか詩など書くのが好きな生徒のためのクラブなんだ。結構面白そうだろう。楽しみにしている。
とにかく次の休みは6月なんだ。それまではどうになるんだろうな。
カウチサーフィン
そうそう！この旅が始めたからこのブログには何回かカウチサーフィンについてちょっと書いたね。何か褒める事をやめられないみたい。本当にすごいことだよ。旅人心とか面白い人に会いたいとかそういう人だったら絶対参加したほうがいいと思うよ。ホストしてもホストされてもどっちでも超面白くて楽しいよ。去年旅してた時に沢山なすごくいい人に泊まらせてもらった。そしてモロッコに来てから25人ぐらいが俺の家で泊まってくれた。とても楽しかったよ。
今まではカナダ人、アメリカ人、スペイン人、イギリス人、イタリア人、日本人、ギリシア人、プエルトリコ人など俺の家に泊まりに来たんだ。みんなはすごく面白くて楽しくていい人だった。カウチサーファーがいる時は出かける時なんだ。メクネズを紹介するために。メクネズをよく知る事になったからいろんなきれいな場所とか面白い場所など結構あって見せてあげたいからね。
とにかく、いつかカウチサーフィンについてもっと詳しく書くつもりなんだからとりあえずそれでいいじゃん…
モロッコについて考えたら…
もっとモロッコについて書こうと思ってたけど、今はちょっとできないね。ちょっと説明しにくいからなんだ。いつか書くつもりなんだけど、とりあえずこれで…
(これからは英語)
I've been pretty out of touch lately, so I thought I would bring things up to date for those of you who are following this.
Work
The Winter Session ran from 10 January to 18 March. I didn't have any bad classes or really any bad students, but I had some of both that were better than others. Still, all in all, it isn't a difficult job and I do enjoy it. Nothing particularly exciting happened with work during the Winter Session. Outside of work, I mostly hung out at home reading books, playing guitar, watching downloaded movies on my iPod, or writing in my journal. The only times I didn't really do this was when I was entertaining CouchSurfers (more on that below). I don't like going out much. However, that isn't such a bad thing, since I'm trying to save money anyway.
Anyway, from 19 March to 8 April, we had a break from work. I was hoping to do some traveling, either around Morocco or out of it, but things came up that prevented me from being able to do so. I finally got all of my paperwork together to apply for my "Carte de Sejour", which is basically a visa so I can stay in the country and work here. Near the start of my vacation, I submitted everything to the police, and they were supposed to give me an official receipt which I could use if I wanted to leave the country while they are processing the application. However, they were very slow getting me the receipt (I got it on 12 April), so leaving the country during my vacation was not an option. It's a shame, because I would have liked to have gone up to Spain and visited a few friends. Also, during the vacation, I had some CouchSurfers scheduled to come and stay at my place, and since I had already promised them, I couldn't really leave. The ones that did show up were cool, however, so that worked out well.
Anyway, the Spring Session has just started and will run until June. Since this is still the first week and I haven't taught all of my classes yet, I'm not sure how things will go, but I'm hopeful. I'm teaching mostly intermediate and upper level classes, so it should be interesting.
Also, I have just started a new club at the ALC: the American Language Center Creative Writers Workshop. Assuming I find enough interested students, it should be a lot of fun, and hopefully just the kick in the ass I need to do more writing myself. The plan is basically to give students who have a passion for writing a group of people they can share their writing with and hopefully get some good comment and critique on how to improve it. There will probably also be various writing exercises and such as well as a lot of discussion about the art of writing and how to improve our own abilities. (As you can see from my writing style, this is something I sorely need)
Anyway, we'll see how the session goes.
CouchSurfing
I've mentioned CouchSurfing several times over the course of writing this blog since my travels began, and I cannot praise it enough. It is a simply amazing phenomenon, and I encourage all travelers and like-minded open-minded people to join up and either host or be hosted by wonderful people all over the world (or both, of course). During my travels from May to September of last year, I mainly was hosted by several CouchSurfers across England, France, and Spain. Since coming to Morocco, getting my own place here, and getting used to living in it and putting furniture in it, I have been hosting several travelers passing through. I think I have hosted about 25 people total so far, and I love it.
I've had travelers from Canada, the US, Japan, Spain, Italy, Greece, Russia, Latvia, England, Puerto Rico, and perhaps more. Everyone has been super cool, and we've managed to have some good times. These are the main times when I go out and around Meknes. I know my way around the city fairly well, including a lot of places that usual tourists probably wouldn't get to, so I usually take the CouchSurfers out and around town. There are some nice things about this city, and it is fun to show them off to those who stop by.
Anyway, in the future, I'll probably devote an entire post to CouchSurfing, but for now, I'll leave it at that.
Thoughts on Morocco
I intended to write a good bit about my impressions of Morocco after living here for 6 months, but I'm having a hard time organizing my thoughts on the subject. I guess it will have to be the subject of a future post.
2007-03-02
明星の12年生へ…
Location: Meknes, Morocco
Status: ちょっとホームシック… 日本に…
Can't read Japanese? Sorry. This one is meant for my former students.
最初は俺がみんなに謝らなきゃ… 今年の3月に卒業式のために一度日本に帰る約束したんだな。でもその約束を守れないんだ。仕事があって、お金もあまりなくて…まぁあるけどそのお金をためないとこの国を決して出られなくなっちゃうね。ごめんなさい。またいつかね。
とにかく卒業式はもうすぐだよね。お疲れ様、みんな。よくがんばってきて嬉しいよ。これからもがんばってね。一つの言いたい事があるんだけど。これを信じても信じなくてもいい。俺はこう思っている: 高校の卒業はただの一歩だけだぜ。大きな一歩みたいけど実は本当に小さな一歩なんだ。
人生の一番大事なステップがスケジュールされてないよ。
それでも卒業は大切な一歩だね。これから大人の世界にごっそり入る。高校が始まったからちょっとずつ(一歩一歩)その世界に入ってたからあまり何も変わってない気がするかもしれないけどこれからは100パーセントだよ。でも心配しないで。楽しんで自分のやりたい事をやってちゃんと責任を持ってたら人生が上がるしかないから。高校で色々学んだけど、これからは人生を学ぶよ。
Carpe diem. p(^-^)q
卒業おめでとうございます。お疲れ様でした。
チャンスがあったら連絡してね:守＠ジメール.コム。みんなどうしているか知りたいからね。そして卒業式の写真も見たいね。
Status: ちょっとホームシック… 日本に…
Can't read Japanese? Sorry. This one is meant for my former students.
最初は俺がみんなに謝らなきゃ… 今年の3月に卒業式のために一度日本に帰る約束したんだな。でもその約束を守れないんだ。仕事があって、お金もあまりなくて…まぁあるけどそのお金をためないとこの国を決して出られなくなっちゃうね。ごめんなさい。またいつかね。
とにかく卒業式はもうすぐだよね。お疲れ様、みんな。よくがんばってきて嬉しいよ。これからもがんばってね。一つの言いたい事があるんだけど。これを信じても信じなくてもいい。俺はこう思っている: 高校の卒業はただの一歩だけだぜ。大きな一歩みたいけど実は本当に小さな一歩なんだ。
人生の一番大事なステップがスケジュールされてないよ。
それでも卒業は大切な一歩だね。これから大人の世界にごっそり入る。高校が始まったからちょっとずつ(一歩一歩)その世界に入ってたからあまり何も変わってない気がするかもしれないけどこれからは100パーセントだよ。でも心配しないで。楽しんで自分のやりたい事をやってちゃんと責任を持ってたら人生が上がるしかないから。高校で色々学んだけど、これからは人生を学ぶよ。
Carpe diem. p(^-^)q
卒業おめでとうございます。お疲れ様でした。
チャンスがあったら連絡してね:守＠ジメール.コム。みんなどうしているか知りたいからね。そして卒業式の写真も見たいね。
2007-01-03
Happy New Year! / あけましておめでとう！
Location: Meknes, Morocco
Status: pretty good, trying not to be lazy
Can't read Japanese? Scroll Down for English.
お久しぶりです。ごめんなさい、モロッコに来てから全然書かなくて・・・ とにかくもう2007年になっちゃって書いたほうがいいね。いろんな事がたくさんあったから。
去年の10月10日にモロッコに来た。11日にアパートを見つけて、仕事も始まった。それからはほとんど毎日仕事だった。休みがちょっとしかなかったんだ。でも週には24時間ぐらいだけ働いているからそんなに大変じゃないけど、休みなしの毎日は難しいね。でも今は冬休みだよ！ p(^_^)q
とにかく・・・
俺は今American Language Centerという英会話で働いている。生徒たちは面白くて結構がんばっているからこの仕事は結構楽しいね。ほとんどの生徒は高校生だからいい仕事だね(その年の人々に教えるのは一番楽しい)。授業中は英語だけ。
モロッコにいる生活は・・・面白い・・・ まぁ、食べ物はおいしくて、面白い場所が結構あるけど、何か・・・ この国は汚い。本当に。どこへ行ってもゴミがたくさんある・・・公園でも田舎でもどこでも。それは本当に残念ですよ。こういう事がなかったら、ここは本当にきれいな国だろう。そしてモロッコ人は何か・・・ 優しい人がいるけど・・・ 何かわがままみたいな怠け者もたくさんいるみたい。
とにかく、モロッコが嫌いじゃないけど、あまり好きじゃないね。
そういえば、一つの超悪いことがあった。ある日、俺が仕事中の時に、誰かが俺の家に入って6万円ぐらいを盗んだ。それはちょっと俺のせいだったけど・・・ 俺が初めて入った時にかぎを変えなくて、そしてお金はちょっと見つけやすい所に置いてた。俺は本当にバカだね。でももう二度とそういう事が起こらないね。絶対。
とにかく、このメクネズで撮った写真を見てね。
そうだ！今は冬休みって言ったね。俺はスペインへ行ってきた。グラナダという都会へ行ったんだ。すごくきれいだった。そしてその町は面白いgraffiti artがたくさんあるんだ。写真をたくさん撮った(見てね)。とにかくそこに住んでいる友達と一緒にカウントダウンをして、朝まで踊ってた。すごく楽しかったなー。
とにかく、あけましておめでとうございますよ。
俺はもっと書こうとするね、これから。ではでは！
Well, it is a new year, and I have been here for nearly 3 months, so I guess it would be a good idea to post about it. A lot has happened.
I arrived on October 10, found a place to live on October 11, and also started my job on October 11. Since then, with the exception of a few national holidays and one teacher's conference in Tanger, I worked every day from then to December 20. However, the hours are not long. I'm only working about 24 hours a week. Still, having to worry about going into work everyday with no breaks can burn you out a little.
Now I am on vacation, and have been since the 20th.
I am working at the American Language Center here in Meknes, teaching English. It is actually pretty enjoyable, because the students learn quickly, want to learn, and have a pretty good overall English level. Also, most of the students are young: high school and university age, which are my favorite age groups to teach. Teaching consists 3 hours per class per week, and I had 8 classes in the fall session, which just ended.
Life in Morocco is...interesting. There are things I like and things I don't really like. The food is delicious and there are a lot of interesting places to go. However, from what I have seen, it is a fairly dirty country. There is a lot of garbage an litter around making what should be very beautiful places kind of ugly. It is sad, because otherwise this would be an incredibly gorgeous country. The people are generally friendly, though sometimes a bit noisy.
Anyway, I've pretty much gotten used to life here. I have no trouble getting food and most of the things I need. I can't really speak either of the two commonly spoken languages (French and Moroccan Arabic), but I am working on my French, and it is almost passable enough for everyday situations...I just can't really converse.
I have only had one particularly bad thing happen to me here, which stemmed from my own stupidity, but I have managed to deal with rather well. When I arrived and got my own apartment, I didn't even think to change the locks after I moved in, and so in mid-November, someone who had a key to my apartment (it might have even been the landlord for all I know) walked in while I was out, managed to find my money stash (which, again by my own stupidity, wasn't hidden particularly well), and stole the 6000 dirhams that I'd managed to save to that point. Luckily, cash was all they took, so I still have my camera and all of my other gear. I've since changed the locks, and I carry my savings in a security wallet strapped to the inside of my leg. It's not the best solution, but it will have to do until I can get a bank account.
Anyway, like I said, blame my own stupidity for that one. Well, I'm the type to only get burned once, so that won't ever happen again.
Check out some pictures I have taken around Meknes (Picasa Web Gallery).
Like I said, I have mainly been working, but now I am on vacation. I just went up to Spain for New Year's. I had to go because I can only be in Morocco for three months at a time without a carte de sejour (basically a visa to stay in the country), and things have been slow with my paperwork to apply for one. Still, it was nice to go up to Spain. I went to visit a friend in Granada, and got to see Andalucia for the first time. It is an incredibly beautiful area of Spain, and Granada was a very cool city.
Check out some pictures I took (Picasa web gallery).
Anyway, I'll try to be more up-to-date, but I wanted to let the few of you who are following this thing know that I am still alive. Happy New Year!
Status: pretty good, trying not to be lazy
Can't read Japanese? Scroll Down for English.
お久しぶりです。ごめんなさい、モロッコに来てから全然書かなくて・・・ とにかくもう2007年になっちゃって書いたほうがいいね。いろんな事がたくさんあったから。
去年の10月10日にモロッコに来た。11日にアパートを見つけて、仕事も始まった。それからはほとんど毎日仕事だった。休みがちょっとしかなかったんだ。でも週には24時間ぐらいだけ働いているからそんなに大変じゃないけど、休みなしの毎日は難しいね。でも今は冬休みだよ！ p(^_^)q
とにかく・・・
俺は今American Language Centerという英会話で働いている。生徒たちは面白くて結構がんばっているからこの仕事は結構楽しいね。ほとんどの生徒は高校生だからいい仕事だね(その年の人々に教えるのは一番楽しい)。授業中は英語だけ。
モロッコにいる生活は・・・面白い・・・ まぁ、食べ物はおいしくて、面白い場所が結構あるけど、何か・・・ この国は汚い。本当に。どこへ行ってもゴミがたくさんある・・・公園でも田舎でもどこでも。それは本当に残念ですよ。こういう事がなかったら、ここは本当にきれいな国だろう。そしてモロッコ人は何か・・・ 優しい人がいるけど・・・ 何かわがままみたいな怠け者もたくさんいるみたい。
とにかく、モロッコが嫌いじゃないけど、あまり好きじゃないね。
そういえば、一つの超悪いことがあった。ある日、俺が仕事中の時に、誰かが俺の家に入って6万円ぐらいを盗んだ。それはちょっと俺のせいだったけど・・・ 俺が初めて入った時にかぎを変えなくて、そしてお金はちょっと見つけやすい所に置いてた。俺は本当にバカだね。でももう二度とそういう事が起こらないね。絶対。
とにかく、このメクネズで撮った写真を見てね。
そうだ！今は冬休みって言ったね。俺はスペインへ行ってきた。グラナダという都会へ行ったんだ。すごくきれいだった。そしてその町は面白いgraffiti artがたくさんあるんだ。写真をたくさん撮った(見てね)。とにかくそこに住んでいる友達と一緒にカウントダウンをして、朝まで踊ってた。すごく楽しかったなー。
とにかく、あけましておめでとうございますよ。
俺はもっと書こうとするね、これから。ではでは！
Well, it is a new year, and I have been here for nearly 3 months, so I guess it would be a good idea to post about it. A lot has happened.
I arrived on October 10, found a place to live on October 11, and also started my job on October 11. Since then, with the exception of a few national holidays and one teacher's conference in Tanger, I worked every day from then to December 20. However, the hours are not long. I'm only working about 24 hours a week. Still, having to worry about going into work everyday with no breaks can burn you out a little.
Now I am on vacation, and have been since the 20th.
I am working at the American Language Center here in Meknes, teaching English. It is actually pretty enjoyable, because the students learn quickly, want to learn, and have a pretty good overall English level. Also, most of the students are young: high school and university age, which are my favorite age groups to teach. Teaching consists 3 hours per class per week, and I had 8 classes in the fall session, which just ended.
Life in Morocco is...interesting. There are things I like and things I don't really like. The food is delicious and there are a lot of interesting places to go. However, from what I have seen, it is a fairly dirty country. There is a lot of garbage an litter around making what should be very beautiful places kind of ugly. It is sad, because otherwise this would be an incredibly gorgeous country. The people are generally friendly, though sometimes a bit noisy.
Anyway, I've pretty much gotten used to life here. I have no trouble getting food and most of the things I need. I can't really speak either of the two commonly spoken languages (French and Moroccan Arabic), but I am working on my French, and it is almost passable enough for everyday situations...I just can't really converse.
I have only had one particularly bad thing happen to me here, which stemmed from my own stupidity, but I have managed to deal with rather well. When I arrived and got my own apartment, I didn't even think to change the locks after I moved in, and so in mid-November, someone who had a key to my apartment (it might have even been the landlord for all I know) walked in while I was out, managed to find my money stash (which, again by my own stupidity, wasn't hidden particularly well), and stole the 6000 dirhams that I'd managed to save to that point. Luckily, cash was all they took, so I still have my camera and all of my other gear. I've since changed the locks, and I carry my savings in a security wallet strapped to the inside of my leg. It's not the best solution, but it will have to do until I can get a bank account.
Anyway, like I said, blame my own stupidity for that one. Well, I'm the type to only get burned once, so that won't ever happen again.
Check out some pictures I have taken around Meknes (Picasa Web Gallery).
Like I said, I have mainly been working, but now I am on vacation. I just went up to Spain for New Year's. I had to go because I can only be in Morocco for three months at a time without a carte de sejour (basically a visa to stay in the country), and things have been slow with my paperwork to apply for one. Still, it was nice to go up to Spain. I went to visit a friend in Granada, and got to see Andalucia for the first time. It is an incredibly beautiful area of Spain, and Granada was a very cool city.
Check out some pictures I took (Picasa web gallery).
Anyway, I'll try to be more up-to-date, but I wanted to let the few of you who are following this thing know that I am still alive. Happy New Year!
2006-10-04
Going to Morocco / モロッコへ行くんだ。
Location: Alet les Bains, France
Status: rather excited
Can't read Japanese? Scroll down for English.
ハァ、久しぶりに日本語で書いたね。とにかくでかいニューズが来たんだ。やっとこのAlet les Bainsという小さな町を出るんだ。最近仕事を探してて、やっと見つけた。だからこれからモロッコのメクネズという町へ行くんだ。そこでまた英会話の先生になるんだけど、それは来年の夏までなんだ。それまで仕事をして、お金をためて、また来年旅を続けるつもりなんだ。できたら、7000ユーロぐらいためたいと思うね。
とにかく、これからはモロッコ・・・おいしい食べ物とか面白い建物とかきれいな自然とか優しい人など・・・
楽しみにしている。
P.S.来年の3月に俺の生徒の卒業式を見に行くために日本に戻る約束をしたね。できたら、その約束を守るつもりだから、楽しみにしててね。(^_^)v
Well, after about two months in this small town, I am finally about to move on from Alet les Bains, France. I hadn't moved on before this because I didn't have enough money to go anywhere that wasn't towards a source of income, so I have been searching for jobs. I finally found one, well, two, actually. The first I found was in Istanbul, Turkey, but I don't have enough money or time to get there. However, I just received a job offer in Meknes, Morocco, which I am happy to accept.
I will be teaching English at the American Learning Center of Meknes, and while I am there I will hopefully be able to save up money to continue my travels next year. I'm hoping to try to save around 7000 euros if I can.
I'm looking forward to moving on, even though I do like this little town very much. However, I am excited to be traveling to another continent (my 4th) and to experience another culture. I hope things will work out well there, and I'm not worried that they won't. With luck, I will continue to improve my French and learn a bit of Arabic as well.
Anyway, I need to get ready to go.
Ciao.
Status: rather excited
Can't read Japanese? Scroll down for English.
ハァ、久しぶりに日本語で書いたね。とにかくでかいニューズが来たんだ。やっとこのAlet les Bainsという小さな町を出るんだ。最近仕事を探してて、やっと見つけた。だからこれからモロッコのメクネズという町へ行くんだ。そこでまた英会話の先生になるんだけど、それは来年の夏までなんだ。それまで仕事をして、お金をためて、また来年旅を続けるつもりなんだ。できたら、7000ユーロぐらいためたいと思うね。
とにかく、これからはモロッコ・・・おいしい食べ物とか面白い建物とかきれいな自然とか優しい人など・・・
楽しみにしている。
P.S.来年の3月に俺の生徒の卒業式を見に行くために日本に戻る約束をしたね。できたら、その約束を守るつもりだから、楽しみにしててね。(^_^)v
Well, after about two months in this small town, I am finally about to move on from Alet les Bains, France. I hadn't moved on before this because I didn't have enough money to go anywhere that wasn't towards a source of income, so I have been searching for jobs. I finally found one, well, two, actually. The first I found was in Istanbul, Turkey, but I don't have enough money or time to get there. However, I just received a job offer in Meknes, Morocco, which I am happy to accept.
I will be teaching English at the American Learning Center of Meknes, and while I am there I will hopefully be able to save up money to continue my travels next year. I'm hoping to try to save around 7000 euros if I can.
I'm looking forward to moving on, even though I do like this little town very much. However, I am excited to be traveling to another continent (my 4th) and to experience another culture. I hope things will work out well there, and I'm not worried that they won't. With luck, I will continue to improve my French and learn a bit of Arabic as well.
Anyway, I need to get ready to go.
Ciao.
2006-09-03
28 years...
location: Alet les Bains, France
status: a little older
I haven't written in awhile, have I? I guess I'm pretty lazy about things like this. Again, this will be a long one, so get comfortable. Also, it may get a lottle (not a typo) sappy, so if you aren't into that, feel free to stop reading.
I am still in Alet les Bains, where I have been doing HelpExchange volunteering for a little over a month now. I have been reluctant to move on because my cash flow is getting on the low side. I have been searching for jobs around Europe or northern Africa, and have a few leads, but nothing is confirmed yet. I have sent my CV to various schools and companies all over Europe that I found on ESLJobs.com and Dave's ESL Cafe, and so far I have only received replies from a few places. Right now, the most promising places are Meknes, Morocco, Istanbul, Turkey, and Milan, Italy, in that order.
Of course, I wouldn't say no to "under the table" work if I find some, but I really need something to get me through the winter. My plan, if things work out, is to work and save money through the winter in order to continue my travels next summer. We'll see what happens.
I am very grateful to my HelpX Host here in Alet les Bains. She has been very sweet, and also very kind to have let me stay this long. The work has been hard on occasion, but the hours have not been. Besides, I am not afraid of hard work. This is a very charming little town, and I am enjoying the slower pace of life here. It has been a nice break from being on the road, but I am somewhat eager to start traveling again. However, this time I really need to have a destination that will lead to a source of income or I could be in trouble. No worries, though. Something will work out.
So here I am, having finished 28 years of this life. I'm feeling a little introspective, but I also probably shouldn't write too much because people will be coming soon and I can't ignore them. Writing is a very anti-social activity isn't it. I agree with Stephen King that writing should be done with the door closed, though perhaps he meant it in a slightly different way. Today it would be rude for me to disappear behind a closed door.
I've been thinking a bit about my 28 years, especially this past one. I don't feel 28, or rather, I don't feel like what I imagined 28 would feel like. Then again, I don't feel older than 23 (nor do I look it, according to a lot of people). I suppose these are good things. A lot happened during my 28th year.
It started with me beginning my second term as a full time teacher at Myojo Gakuen High School in western Tokyo. That was the term where I really earned the respect of my students and they earned mine. Unfortunately, teaching is not the only job of a full-time teacher, and my inexperience with my other duties, along with a lack of guidance and support from the other teachers at the school, led to the decision by the school to not renew my contract. This happened at the end of that second term, just before Winter Vacation. Winter Vacation brought a snowboard trip to Hokkaido, along with a couple of other day trips. The beginning of 2006 brought me into my final term as a high school teacher and a big decision to make. My contract ended in March, so I had to decide what I would do after that. The choice was between settling down and finding another job or setting off to try to go around the world. Since you are reading this, you obviously know what decision I made, but perhaps not completely why I made it.
I was actually quite torn. We all have a fear of the unknown to some degree and the easy road is always tempting. I could have settled down, worked at building my career, and been safe and comfortable. It wouldn't have been difficult. My resume is good enough that I could have found a new teaching position in Japan rather easily, I imagine. Or, the other choice was to set out for the unknown, seize the opportunity I had to escape from the mundane, and just up and go. I was leaning towards this, but my fear was holding me back. It turned out to be my students that made my decision for me.
My mind has always been open to my students, so naturally I told them of the school's decision to let me go and the reasons behind it. I found out that the school frowned upon this, but I don't care. My students were asking me about classes I would have been teaching the following academic year, and I wasn't going to lie to them or attempt to hide the truth from them. A good teacher wouldn't do that, and I want to become a good teacher. So, one week, I took the last 10 minutes of my classes and told them what was happening and what I was thinking about doing with my life. A lot of them were shocked, a good number of them were sad, and none of them appeared happy about it, but "That's life," I told them, "You have to take what it gives you and make what you can from it."
Anyway, one day, not long before my last days at the school, two of my students sat me down to have a little talk (those two, if you are reading this, you know who you are). The conversation went something like this (translated to English):
Students: "Are you really leaving? Are you really not going to be here next year?"
Me: "Unfortunately, yes. The decision has been made and it's probably not going to change."
Students: "Well, in that case, we want you to leave Japan."
Me: "What?!?"
Students: "No, no, no. We want you to go and travel around the world, and then come back and tell us about it."
Me: "Ahh, I see..."
Of course, I couldn't say no to something like that, and it turned out to be just the push I needed to make up my mind. After that, I told my students of my decision, and started preparing to travel.
So, that is why I am here, on the other side of the world from the life I lived for the past nearly 5 years with very little idea of what the future holds. I've actually almost made it all the way around from where I started from in the US. The east coast, where I grew up, is only the North Atlantic away.
Obviously, this particular journey is the biggest thing that happened to me in my 28th year. Other things that happened seem to have stemmed from this. I met a really great girl during my last 2 months in Japan, but never told her how attracted I was to her because I figured it would be less heart-breaking to leave as friends regardless of the outcome had I said anything. I managed to teach my students a few good lessons about life as well as some English. I helped some of my students pull of a really good choral concert, in which they sang all of their songs in English. I was introduced to my new favorite bar/restaurant in Japan. I found out about CouchSurfing, which has completely changed my life. I said goodbye to a lot of people that I really care about: my brother, my friends, my students. I've started on an amazing journey, on which I've seen some amazing places and have met amazing people just about everywhere. Rather than re-typing it all, feel free to read my previous blog entries.
Anyway, I just want to send out a great big thank you to all of you who have helped me get this far, who have kept me in your thoughts, who have given me your support, who have lent me your couches, and so on. You all should know who you are. Thank you so much.
I love you all.
status: a little older
I haven't written in awhile, have I? I guess I'm pretty lazy about things like this. Again, this will be a long one, so get comfortable. Also, it may get a lottle (not a typo) sappy, so if you aren't into that, feel free to stop reading.
I am still in Alet les Bains, where I have been doing HelpExchange volunteering for a little over a month now. I have been reluctant to move on because my cash flow is getting on the low side. I have been searching for jobs around Europe or northern Africa, and have a few leads, but nothing is confirmed yet. I have sent my CV to various schools and companies all over Europe that I found on ESLJobs.com and Dave's ESL Cafe, and so far I have only received replies from a few places. Right now, the most promising places are Meknes, Morocco, Istanbul, Turkey, and Milan, Italy, in that order.
Of course, I wouldn't say no to "under the table" work if I find some, but I really need something to get me through the winter. My plan, if things work out, is to work and save money through the winter in order to continue my travels next summer. We'll see what happens.
I am very grateful to my HelpX Host here in Alet les Bains. She has been very sweet, and also very kind to have let me stay this long. The work has been hard on occasion, but the hours have not been. Besides, I am not afraid of hard work. This is a very charming little town, and I am enjoying the slower pace of life here. It has been a nice break from being on the road, but I am somewhat eager to start traveling again. However, this time I really need to have a destination that will lead to a source of income or I could be in trouble. No worries, though. Something will work out.
So here I am, having finished 28 years of this life. I'm feeling a little introspective, but I also probably shouldn't write too much because people will be coming soon and I can't ignore them. Writing is a very anti-social activity isn't it. I agree with Stephen King that writing should be done with the door closed, though perhaps he meant it in a slightly different way. Today it would be rude for me to disappear behind a closed door.
I've been thinking a bit about my 28 years, especially this past one. I don't feel 28, or rather, I don't feel like what I imagined 28 would feel like. Then again, I don't feel older than 23 (nor do I look it, according to a lot of people). I suppose these are good things. A lot happened during my 28th year.
It started with me beginning my second term as a full time teacher at Myojo Gakuen High School in western Tokyo. That was the term where I really earned the respect of my students and they earned mine. Unfortunately, teaching is not the only job of a full-time teacher, and my inexperience with my other duties, along with a lack of guidance and support from the other teachers at the school, led to the decision by the school to not renew my contract. This happened at the end of that second term, just before Winter Vacation. Winter Vacation brought a snowboard trip to Hokkaido, along with a couple of other day trips. The beginning of 2006 brought me into my final term as a high school teacher and a big decision to make. My contract ended in March, so I had to decide what I would do after that. The choice was between settling down and finding another job or setting off to try to go around the world. Since you are reading this, you obviously know what decision I made, but perhaps not completely why I made it.
I was actually quite torn. We all have a fear of the unknown to some degree and the easy road is always tempting. I could have settled down, worked at building my career, and been safe and comfortable. It wouldn't have been difficult. My resume is good enough that I could have found a new teaching position in Japan rather easily, I imagine. Or, the other choice was to set out for the unknown, seize the opportunity I had to escape from the mundane, and just up and go. I was leaning towards this, but my fear was holding me back. It turned out to be my students that made my decision for me.
My mind has always been open to my students, so naturally I told them of the school's decision to let me go and the reasons behind it. I found out that the school frowned upon this, but I don't care. My students were asking me about classes I would have been teaching the following academic year, and I wasn't going to lie to them or attempt to hide the truth from them. A good teacher wouldn't do that, and I want to become a good teacher. So, one week, I took the last 10 minutes of my classes and told them what was happening and what I was thinking about doing with my life. A lot of them were shocked, a good number of them were sad, and none of them appeared happy about it, but "That's life," I told them, "You have to take what it gives you and make what you can from it."
Anyway, one day, not long before my last days at the school, two of my students sat me down to have a little talk (those two, if you are reading this, you know who you are). The conversation went something like this (translated to English):
Students: "Are you really leaving? Are you really not going to be here next year?"
Me: "Unfortunately, yes. The decision has been made and it's probably not going to change."
Students: "Well, in that case, we want you to leave Japan."
Me: "What?!?"
Students: "No, no, no. We want you to go and travel around the world, and then come back and tell us about it."
Me: "Ahh, I see..."
Of course, I couldn't say no to something like that, and it turned out to be just the push I needed to make up my mind. After that, I told my students of my decision, and started preparing to travel.
So, that is why I am here, on the other side of the world from the life I lived for the past nearly 5 years with very little idea of what the future holds. I've actually almost made it all the way around from where I started from in the US. The east coast, where I grew up, is only the North Atlantic away.
Obviously, this particular journey is the biggest thing that happened to me in my 28th year. Other things that happened seem to have stemmed from this. I met a really great girl during my last 2 months in Japan, but never told her how attracted I was to her because I figured it would be less heart-breaking to leave as friends regardless of the outcome had I said anything. I managed to teach my students a few good lessons about life as well as some English. I helped some of my students pull of a really good choral concert, in which they sang all of their songs in English. I was introduced to my new favorite bar/restaurant in Japan. I found out about CouchSurfing, which has completely changed my life. I said goodbye to a lot of people that I really care about: my brother, my friends, my students. I've started on an amazing journey, on which I've seen some amazing places and have met amazing people just about everywhere. Rather than re-typing it all, feel free to read my previous blog entries.
Anyway, I just want to send out a great big thank you to all of you who have helped me get this far, who have kept me in your thoughts, who have given me your support, who have lent me your couches, and so on. You all should know who you are. Thank you so much.
I love you all.
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