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The Value of Space
The heat has increased in the last few days, and it has become muggy. Still, I make sure to walk regularly. It’s one of the things I like to do because when I walk, I think. I consider, reflect and develop ideas. Sometimes that means I think myself into a deep, dark hole that I…
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Starting the Last Chapter
Yesterday evening I went to sit at one of my favourite shrines in my neighbourhood. It’s quiet and not too far away. It is ordinary, not as unique as the Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, but somehow it is special for me. It’s peaceful and even though there is a road just beside it, the…
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Finding Treasure in Osaka
Today, I felt sick again. Maybe it’s the hay fever, maybe it’s my teaching schedule, maybe it’s all the new things that have been happening in my life recently… but I have been exhausted almost every day. I decided to go to Osaka anyway. Some things have been happening in my life recently, and I…
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Language is a Game
I have been going to the same café in the mornings for some time now, and I am starting to recognise people saying the Japanese words I know. This is a very new language learning experience for me, and even if I don’t learn as much as I want to I know that this experience…
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A Head Full of Doubts
Today, my head is full of doubts. Why am I here? What am I doing? I always have days like this, especially in a new country where I know no one. I remember when I first arrived in France in 2020, I would walk back from the little village to my apartment in the dark…
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There is Plenty of Time for Everything
These days I feel my schedule being consumed by the daily tasks, things I need to do and don’t necessarily want to. Cleaning, washing, shopping… it seems like I am always washing dishes and always running out of food. I feel that I am not getting time in the day to do what I want,…
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A Quiet, Cool Moment
Sometimes the effects of change catch up with me. The bed is harder here than in other places I’ve slept, the water tastes different, even the air is something new I need to get used to. I love being in Japan, but all of these changes are wearing me down slowly and for that reason…
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My Little Recipe Book
I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ve started a little recipe book so I can take my memories of my travel with me. At the moment, it has recipes from France and Taiwan in there and soon I want to think about something Japanese. Since Japanese is a cuisine that I am quite familiar…
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Turn Your Attention to What Seems Insignificant
One of the most fascinating things that I have learned about myself while travelling around is the kind of home that I’d like to keep. To be honest, it’s one of the reasons why I really wanted to spend time in Japan. For years before this moment, I have been watching lifestyle influencers from here…
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Telling Stories
Spring in Japan is slowly coming to an end. The last cherry blossom may have fallen a while ago now, but there are many other flowers still in bloom. Like the beautiful hydrangeas, and the pretty little wildflowers along the side of the road. This also means that the pollen is still very present, floating…