Lanz
A. M. Martin Joined: March 11th 2007
Logged in: February 6th 2012
Logged in: February 6th 2012
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined" -Henry David Thoreau
Travel Blog Posts
Scenic Great Wall
“I really hope we don’t have to walk up that too,” my boyfriend said, pointing towards an extremely high, steep section of the Wall in front of us. I looked to where his hand was motioning and my body seemed very exhausted all of a sudden; I hoped not too. I was sure we were almost finished; we had been walking for about three hours by that time and the thought of scrambling up another sheer, rocky section made my legs ache. When people say they “walk” the Great Wall of China, I’m pretty sure they’re not talking about the section we did. Sure, there were parts that required as much energy as a leisurely weekend stroll, but there were also parts that had us on all fours, slipping and sliding with the loose rocks, searching ... read more
Chinese toys
I remember trying to dig my way to China when I was little, I used to love making mud pies and my Dad (like so many others I'm sure) told me that if I kept digging I'd get to China, so of course I dug my 5 year old little heart out...for about 30 minutes or so, then I gave up. It was way too much work and I had no idea what was there anyway, so I decided I didn't even want to go to this strange land I'd just heard of. Little did I know that 20 years later I'd be in China and that there is actually an easier way to get there. Was it worth the wait? You bet! Since I'm living in Japan I figure I should take the opportunity to ... read more
Kenrokuen, Kanazawa
So much time has passed, and so many things in my life are different that I feel like I need to start afresh. For starters, it's now 2009, yes a whole year since the events of my last entry and I won't even begin to try to fill you in on everything that's transpired in between, but a few things need to be noted. Yes I am still in Japan. That I suppose is the biggest news of all, and believe me it still even surprises me at times. I finished up my second year of teaching with Aeon on April 11th and it was an ending filled with mixed emotions. At that time I still planned to be returning home to Australia for good, in 10 days time. And although I was really looking forward ... read more
Nanta theatre
The lights were dimmed, and there wasn’t a sound. I could see an old wooden barrel in the centre standing upright. Off to one side there was a wooden stool with some pots and pans surrounding it and a little further back another stool with a bowl of water next to that. Slowly three people wearing dark robes entered and took their place at one of the stations, each of them carrying a candle to light their way. The person at the barrel was chopping something, every slice of the knife hitting the board with a tap, tap, tap. The person at the first stool was stirring something, every stir hitting the pot with a clink, clink, clink. The third person was washing something, every turn of her hand making a splash, splash, splash. Every sound ... read more
Gyeonbokgung
It's funny how easily you forget you're in a foreign country, especially after you've lived there for a while. When I first moved to Japan (wow, over 3 years ago now!!) everything was new and I would find the smallest things amusing, just because it was different to what I was used to. I suppose the longer you are surrounded by these things the more natural they become, and the less new experiences you have. My daily life here is so comfortable and familiar that sometimes I remember "Oh, thats right! I'm living in Japan". Sometimes I even find myself looking (no, staring!) at those conspicuous white people wandering around the city, completely forgetting that I'm actually one of them. I just feel like I'm part of this country, like it's totally normal for me to ... read more
Eating squid
I love reading. Books have to be one of my passions in life. People always say that there is nothing better than a book which you can't put down, one that captures you and you simply have to know what happens next. I agree that these books are great, but even better are those books which you can put down, those that you must put down. The books where the situation or character relates to you so much or something so profound is said that you need time to think about it and so you set your book down and simply stare into space contemplating it, letting the message sink in. I love these moments. Recently I have read 3 such books. The first is called Tuesdays with Morrie. A truly inspirational book written by Mitch ... read more
Harajuku craziness
Do you ever just turn up the volume of one of your favourite songs and dance like a crazy person alone? I do, it's really refreshing and up-lifting. Sometimes I have days where I feel alone and really miss everyone back home but I've found that a good dance session really makes me see clearly...I mean I have a dream: travel the world; and to start this travel off with living in Japan for a time, and here I am living my dream, dancing uncontrollably for some reason always puts this into perspective for me. So I know its been forever and a day since I last updated my blog...what can I say apart from I've been busy...living. My 6 month anniversary of being an Aeon teacher is believe it or not next week and its ... read more
Inuyama Castle
Did you ever wonder why…people shake hands to show friendship?…we nod our heads for yes and shake it for no?...zero scores in tennis are called “love”?...the square place where boxers fight is called a “ring”? I have. The world is full of questions, and why questions are always the hardest ones to answer. Sometimes there is no answer, sometimes it just requires a little bit of digging. I swear that if the entire collection of why questions in the world equaled 100%, then the ones that people (well, namely foreigners) ask in Japan must equal at least 50%. Why has it taken me 2 months to get the internet at home? Why aren’t the ATM’s 24 hour? Why do Japanese teenage boys wear hot pink clips in their hair? Why are fruit and vegetables so ... read more
My town-Anjo
I’ve been part of the Aeon team for about a month now, and I’ve already had a 10 day paid holiday. “Golden Week”, oh how I love you. Japan has an unbelievable amount of public holidays, a lot more than Australia that’s for sure. And 4 of those public holidays happen to fall around the first week of May, therefore most companies give their employees the days off in between too, and Aeon is one of those wonderful companies. So I’ve just had since the 29th April off work, but I have to go back tomorrow. I’ll give you more info of my Golden Week further down. So to update after my last entry, I have finished all my training and have had a week and a half of actual work in my school in ... read more
Nagoya TV tower
One week back in Japan and it has flown by. It's wierd to think that going back home was actually only a holiday, as Japan is my home at the moment. But as I said it was great to be back if only for a little while. I've been so unbelievably busy in the last week, it feels like I've been here for ages. I arrived back in Japan on Sunday night, and what with the time it took me to clear customs, get my luggage and catch the bullet train to Nagoya, I didn't get into the hotel until 11.30pm. I was exhausted. And Aeon had left a nice little package for me at the front desk: a training manual of which they wanted me to read the first couple of sections before training ... read more
Places I've traveled to 
Places I've lived 
