Category: Countries

Supermarket

The flight, with all its stopovers had taken me 48 hours and my bowels were complaining loudly. A couple I’d met on the last leg of the flight had recommended a hostal in the centre of town and I was relieved not to have to make a choice. The taxi took me directly there and… Continue reading Supermarket

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Categorized as Bolivia

Toilets

The urinals were along the wall perpendicular to the corridor, with the door beside them in the corner directly opposite the door to the classroom next to mine. Standing there, I could see the girls in the class and if they didn’t look while they were in their room, they couldn’t help but see me… Continue reading Toilets

Earthquake

Fear gripped me before I realised what was happening – or perhaps because I didn’t realise what was happening. The building jumped from side to side. My chair banging against the desk. My jug spilled water into a small puddle that crept towards my laptop. People around me screamed and dived under desks. I knew… Continue reading Earthquake

Police

There were a few on their balconies looking down at the scene, but none inclined to get close. “Well, at least we should call the police.” “They’re on their way. Any of these people can give them the message more quickly, and more accurately, than I can. I don’t even know what number to call.”… Continue reading Police

Fuji-san

The Japanese revere their highest mountain, which spears out of the surrounding flatlands near the coastline west of Tokyo. For most of the year, it hides in cloud, but when this creature deigns to appear, the sight is spectacular. Its conical form changes costume with the seasons, but as we approached in summer, lucky enough… Continue reading Fuji-san

Karoushi

Good morning everyone. I’m writing this at 5am, but I’ll leave the ‘why’ until later, and start at the beginning. I was going to continue the ‘day in the life of’ by writing about my trip home, but there’re other things to tell. There’s a well-known disease (do they call it that? – well, it’s… Continue reading Karoushi

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Categorized as Japan

Night of Sevens

After the show it was time for some games to demonstrate how good we were as couples. For each game a number was drawn out of a box and the respective couple was brought out on stage to undergo rigorous questioning about each other, or to perform some embarrassing physical act, the peak being actually… Continue reading Night of Sevens

Overwork

I didn’t want to tell her, or anyone else, what I feared – that I was on the edge of a major breakdown. Many Japanese businessmen die each year from karoushi, a disease, if I can call it that, which translates literally as ‘excessive work death.’ There’s usually no warning – like a horse that’s… Continue reading Overwork

Fashion

Catching the train back to town on the second afternoon, I noticed a lone schoolgirl fixing her socks. She was probably coming back from bukatsu which ran the entire year, even through the week of public holidays. She was wearing ruusu sokusu, or ‘loose socks,’ which are long white socks with all the elastic plucked… Continue reading Fashion