As the weather starts to cool , I'm realizing that our crazy summer in Japan is nearly over. The sweltering heat and humidity has given way to warm days, and warm nights. Although I'm grateful for the cooler days, I'm sad the summer is drawing to a close. It's been incredible, just really incredible. After my brothers came in June, Robert and Janet made it over here for two weeks. Then, Alex and I got to spend some serious quality time with our friends here, going to festivals, having barbecues, dancing and feasting! A few highlights: Going to Tokushima for Awa [View Full Entry]

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Well, it's been a crazy few weeks. Robert and Janet finally got to home visit us in Asia. The original plan was for them to visit us in China but as many probably already know, we got delayed in Shanghai for 33 days. Man, the Chinese government does NOT mess around! All disappointment over that trip aside, we were elated to have them come this July. I actually think that this was the better trip anyways. I love/hate China, and it can be a very stressful country to navigate. Japan, on the other hand, is chock full of helpful people and [View Full Entry]

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Just because we haven't updated in a loooong looong time, I thought I'd throw out some pictures of what we've been doing. My brothers came to visit about a month ago, and we' took a trip to the Philippines and S. Korea before that, so we have tons of photos that need sharing. Here we go! [View Full Entry]

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Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the (bratwurst-shaped) dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the (yips and/or) pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the (boogers and) mourners come. Let aeroplanes circle (the house each morning, barking and) moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message: He is Dead. Put crepe bows round the (red peppers? NO!) white necks of the public doves, Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves. He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my [View Full Entry]

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Julie and I have been in Japan for about a week now, and we're really excited to try to put our thoughts about it into writing. But before we can pick up again and kick off the "Welcome to Japan" series, we figured we'd better issue a long-overdue "Farewell to China" closing to last year's bilbo bloggins. And anybody who ever uses the internet during the months of December and January knows that the only way to achieve closure is through the ever-trustworthy equation: list plus superlatives. So HERE THEY ARE! Your hot-and-nots for "Julie and Alex Blog Asia" 2008. Top [View Full Entry]

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keep checking it out, if you must.... Things that suck at first that you eventually get used to babies pooping in the street constant diarrhea being offered cigarettes upon meeting someone new, and being required to accept it to avoid insult ubiquitous prostitution constantly having to waste time haggling over even the most minor of purchases Things that suck at first that you eventually start to like Ass-guns (like the spray extension on some kitchen sinks, to be used in lieu of TP or bidet) - BTW, TP is outdated as of now Cheap, Dirty Street Food Squatters in Public Bathrooms [View Full Entry]

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Taking a few cues from our boy Chuck Klosterman, here's the most over-rated, under-rated, and most accurately-rated bullshit from the trip. Plus all the random American-type shit that helped us along. Most Over-Rated 1) Chinese tourist sights in general - they hype them up so much, but they're usually boring and crowded 1a) Forbidden City in one particular 2) The helpfulness of the China Lonely Planet - stunning lack of decent information, ridiculously skewed price estimates, and absolutely useless maps 3) Boat Tours everywhere - always choose the option that skips the boat tour 4) T [View Full Entry]

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Writing about Japan instantly invokes reflection on China. For those who don't know, we're working at an English school in Marugame, Japan. Marugame is where the ninjas...I mean samurai...well, ok nothing crazy happened here. But it's a pretty sweet town, and we have pretty sweet jobs, teaching youngsters how to cuss in English. China .... even after I've been out of the that country for months, I'm still thinking about it. I'm reading about China, I'm talking about China and I'm writing about China. Never have I felt such a disconnect between my personal enjoyment and (intellectual? menta [View Full Entry]

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We' re in Cat Ba Island, in Vietnam! As Alex pointed out, yesterday marked the first day in 8months that we didn't wake up in China. It feels good, realllllll good.. Would be even better if Alex and I didn't both have a cough-cold thing. This is sort of a "how we did it" in case anyone else needs information. Our route: Left Shanghai via 24 hour train to Guilin, then hopped the 1.5 hour bus to Yangshuo. In Yangshuo, we stayed one night only, just long enough to ship a bunch of stuff home. Then we jumped on board a [View Full Entry]

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I think it's safe to say I'm a little China-ed out. I'm past the point where I want to yell at everyone. Alex and I have simply ended up in a Zen mindset, realizing that our immediate future is out of our hands. But the good news is that we are supposed to pick up a real valid visa, not even back dated or anything, on Monday. We'll be flying out on Monday night to Yangshuo to pick up some of our stuff and then it's off to Vietnam for 3 weeks before we go home. We've spent our time (a [View Full Entry]

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