Traveler Profile: nomadicsiren | Matador

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Screen name:

Age:

32

Gender:

Female

If you must know:

It's none of your business ;-)

Travel status:

Traveling soon

Hometown:

Davis, Ca, USA

Currently in:

Akita-ken, Japan

Expert Tohoku region, Japan

I'm living in Japan, in the Tohoku region, on the northern most part of the main island, Honshu. It's a little off the beaten path, but still worth a visit! I know the most about the city Noshiro in Akita Prefecture, as that's my home base, but I do a lot of traveling around the rest of the region as well. I can tell you about the summer/winter festival scene, famous foods in the area, transportation tips or the best time of year to visit. Feel free to ask me anything about Tohoku in general, and Akita and Noshiro in particular.

Favorite places I've been:

Java, Bali, San Diego, Ghana, Cinque Terra, Paris, Shanghai, Kyoto, Joshua Tree, Organ Pipe Cactus Nat. Monument, Whidbey Island

Places I want to go to:

everywhere, New Zealand, Australia, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Hokkaido, Okinawa, Kyushu, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, Germany, Nepal, Shikoku pilgrimage

About me:

teaching English to all ages of kids in the middle of nowhere, Japan. Always scheming about where to go and what to do next.

Profile URL:

http://matadortravel.com/travel-community/nomadicsiren

Read more about nomadicsiren

I'm fired up on:

Exploring, learning about the under-reported fringe, This American Life, public radio, documentary journalism, photography, hiking, gamelan, Ghanaian drumming and dance

Tunes I rock out to:

Ani Difranco, Zero 7, Frou Frou, Gwen Stefani, Highlife, Dragostea Din Tei, Postal Service, Squarepusher, Koop, Sweet Honey and the Rock, Black Eyed Peas, dZihan & Kamien, Issa Bagayogo, Spearhead, Zap Mama

Travel style:

Groups are not my thing. I like to travel with friends to see friends. I like to overly prepare, and then throw it all away and see where I end up.

Quote:

"We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next, to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again -- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more."
-Pico Iyer

Sports I do:

biking, hiking, swimming

Favorite books:

Nice Big American Baby, The Alchemist, Cadillac Desert, A Brief History of Everything, Prodigal Summer, Beware of Dog, Kite Runner, Freakonomics, Interpreter of Maladies, Holes,

Languages spoken, other than English:

at one point have studied Spanish, French, Japanese

I felt the most immersed in a foreign culture when:

... when I am a participant instead of an observer.

Why I travel:

working towards my goal of exploring every last inch of the world

Before I die I'd like to:

speak another language fluently

Let's collaborate:

Looking to channel the wanderlust into either travel writing or radio pieces. I've been living in rural Japan for a year, and I have a wealth of experience outside the usual Kansai/Tokyo scene. I'm also interested in teaming up with someone who's looking for beautiful images from all over Japan.

My links:

http://flickr.com/photos/chrissam42/
www.hoasogli.com
http://www.japan-guide.com/
http://www.idealist.org/
http://www.goabroad.com/
http://www.sixdegreesrecords.com/home.php
http://transitionsabroad.com/
www.thisamericanlife.com
www.slate.com
http://www.sciint.org/
www.americorps.org
http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

Post New Comment

by tinatacy | 2009/04/06

Greetings

My name is Miss Eucheria i saw your email address at site today and i become interested in you, so if you don't mind , I will like you to contact me back with my private email (ucheani20@yahoo.com) so that i can give you my pictures for you to know whom i am,although i came on line searching for a true and honest man .I believe we can move from here!!! .Remember ,color , language or distance does not matter,but LOVE matters a lot in life.
best of my regards
From
Eucheria.
a lot of love and kissssssssss

by Trepan8Yourself | 2008/06/26

HI, I heard saw a link to your profile on a forum about ESL teaching in Japan. Any advice woman to woman?

by Adam | 2007/10/05

Really enjoyed your photos - how long have you been in Japan?

Eat Your Words

By nomadicsiren | Location: Japan | 07/21/07 | Pics: 1

Ok, ok. I'm totally guilty. I admit it. I leave stuff to the last minute. And as an ALT, this is a really easy trap to fall into. Most of my last minute lesson plans have actually gone pretty well, which only encourages my sloth. This is especially true at the elementary schools, where I am...

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A Little Less Black

By nomadicsiren | Location: Japan | 07/20/07 | Pics: 1

One of the English teachers approached me during a quiet moment in the teachers' lounge today. She asked if we had a dress code in the US. This little moment of international exchange had been prompted by a student flouting the school dress code. What had this juvenile offender done to rock the boat?...

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Hooray for Handy Phones!

By nomadicsiren | Location: Japan | 07/20/07 | Pics: 0

Every semester, the teachers here are required to hold demonstration lessons. I'm not sure if the classes are being rigorously assessed, or if it's just a general structured exchange of ideas, but the teachers can get really nervous about these lessons. As a JET, I'm kind of exempt from promotions...

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