Just one day before I leave for Japan and I am filled with uncertainty and excitement. I have realized that I never been away from where I grew up, Northeast Philadelpphia, for more than one month in my entire life, which actually may be a bit sad. Even when I was away in college, I still came home to enjoy mom's cooking, raid the cabinents, make my mom do my wash, and ask for money. Even later in life when I worked in New Jersey and lived in NJ for three years, I still made it home to raid my mom's cabinent, make my mom do my wash, and ask for money. This is a big move for me one that will hopefully give me more insight into my life as I approach my 30th year of existence.
I have never been to Japan let alone anywhere in Asia and I realize that it is going to be an interesting experience. First I envision myself being at least a foot taller than anyone. I assume I will be like godzilla knocking buildings, people scurrying down the street running away from me. Although I taught a unit on Japan, I am really curious to see what life will be like. I know fair amount about the history of the country, but really don't know much about what life will be like in the city. Much of what I learned about life in Japan is from American movies, so of course, if I am going to do well in Japan I will have to find a Japanese sidekick to hang out with.
As I leave I can only take with me my the experiences from past international travels and learn from them. I have been to Canada, Mexico, throughout the mainland of Europe, Caribbean islands and this is what I learned:
Top Ten Things I learned from Past International Experiences
10. Never jump into the middle of an ocean if you can't swim- While out on a boat ride with my girlfriend and some American who took us out on his boat a couple miles off the coast of Jamaica. They jumped into the water and swam back to the boat. Then the boat driver said to me, "When else are you going to get a chance to swim in the middle of the ocean." I quickly thought your right, this life ain't no dress rehearsal, I might as well. As I jumped off the side off the boat with no life preserver, I realized I can't really swim well. As I tried to use my below average doggie paddling skills to get back to the boat, a current pick up the boat and the boat moved further and further away from me. I started to panic, flail and take in water and almost drowned. Luckily, the boat driver was accurate at throwing a life preserver and my girlfriend jumped in to help me to the side of the boat- what better way to display your prowess as a man than have your girlfriend jump in and try to save your life. Follow up note, while in the Domincan Republic years later, while on a banana boat, I screamed like a baby the whole time and was deathly afraid of another drowing incident so I managed to hold on the entire time even when the intentionally turned over the boat and I nearly dislocated my shoulder. Ah, can't wait to get back into the water.
9. Even if the "the beach is good," you shouldn't yell it out over and over again - While in Barcelona, Spain, I was so excited to be at the beach after a long train ride and I started to repeatedly yell out "La Playa es bueno" over and over when we stepped foot on the beach and somehow everyone at the beach looked at me like I was crazy. A friend then informed me that imagine you were ona beach in the US and someone started yelling out "the beach is good" repeatedly, you would probably think they should be sent away. I agreed.
8. If something only legal in two countries, then you shouldn't do it. While in Switzerland, a friend and I went Canoning. The brochure looked really interesting- majestic waterfalls, smiling faces and cool wet suits and helmets. Whatever, I was in. Then as we drove up the Alps, I learned more about canoning. Canoning is where you drive up to a high point in the mountains and scale down where the water travels down the mountain. You repel down the sides of waterfalls, cliff dive and rock slide. Apparently, it was only legal in Switzerland and New Zealand and we learned that 15 people had died the year before because there is a high danger of flash flooding. Especially to someone who can't really swim, this experience became particularly terrifying. ( and my friend signed us up for the advanced route, lucky me) It strarted off horrifically and only got worse. I was terrible at repelling. I would was so slow and nervous and the whole group had to wait up for me at every turn. There was a 55 year old guy and a 16 year old girl in our group who even passed me in evertything we did. Then we had to jump off of a wooden 2 by 4 resting on our crazy australian guides lap into a pool of water surrrounded by pointy rocks 30 feet below. Needlesss to say, being long and lanky did not help, because I missed the landing pool slighty and my leg hit the rocks. I had a bruise that was the size of a football and lasted the rest of the summer. Luckily, it started raining and there was a danger of flash flooding, and we just hiked down the rest of the mountain, ending my humilation and utter terror.
7. The French can crush any dream- I had a simple dream. I just wanted to dress in the typical French fashion: a beret and a horizontally stripped shirt, and speak in an unitelligible French accent to embarass my friends and girlfriend while I was in Montreal, Canada. Somehow the French knew my plan and there was a conspiracy against me getting my beret. I walked in every store and no one had one? In the center of French- Canada? Impossible, the French are diabollical. Whether it is ruining a beach experience by wearing a disturbing speedo on the NJ beaches, generally looking down on Americans or the beret conspiracy- the French can crush your easily crush your American dreams.
6. Rob Schneider movies are really funny . . . if you are in Amsterdam. Somehow when I watched Duece Bigalow a second time in the United States, it somehow wasn't that funny as the first time, but I still don't know why.
5. Before you go out in a city, it is a good idea to know the name of the place that you are staying. This seems like a simple rule, but easily overlooked. During my first night in San Sebastion, I became seperated from the people I was traveling with and started hanging out with some Spaniards. I started looking for my friends and could not find them and then realized that I did not know the name of the place I was staying. I proceeded to be lost for the next ten hours, wandering through the city in the pouring rain looking for the place that I was staying and could not find it.
4. If you are lost just yell out "Ayudame Cristo" and good things will happen. Although not really religious, I implored the help of some higher powers while being lost in San Sebastian. After being distraught, tired and thinking that I would never be able to find the group that I was traveling with. A police officer drove me around to every hostile and patiently waited as I asked every front desk, "Am I staying here?" We eventually searched about 20 hostiles until we arrived at the one that I was staying at.
3. Batering is Fun - In batering you win some and you some, but you will certainly have fun haggling over cost. I once bartered bartered someone down to 1 dollar from 20 dollars for two aztec sculpture. I once bought a stress ball in rome for 3 cents (however an hour later it exploded on me and the powder gave me a rash), I once paid 50 dollars for fake cuban cigars that disintegrated when you took the out of the box. Even in Philly just last weekend, I was part of a contigent that was able to barter a mink coat off a stranger for 30 dollars. With batering, you never know what you are going to get but it will be fun.
2. Never stay at someone's place who solicites you at a train station. After taking an overnight train from Rome, we meet Franco right in the middle of the train station. He said he had a place right around the corner from the station and we were really tired so we decided to give it a try. I was even traveling with my friend whose nickname is "Edog" and he grew up in the Eastside projects, so I figured how could we be ripped off. All the signs were there that maybe we should not trust this guy- we meet him at the train station, he had the thin mustache, slicked back hair, and told us right away he had a different girlfriend for every day of the week, but still we stayed with him. He ripped us off and probably stole from us too. He took us on a half hour walk to the worst part of Rome, the room was dirty and he charged us three times that of any other hostile in town. When I asked him to serve as an interpreter because I could not get a hold of my friend's sister who lived in Italy because her Italian boyfriend answered the phone and he spoke no English, Franco screamed at him for five minutes and told me to call back after 7. I found out later that he threatened the boyfriend and said he would do horrible things to him if he did not telll me how I could get a hold of my friend's sister. When it was all over, we still gave gifts when we left. He was a true master of his craft.
1. Never stay in a circus tent when in Germany, even if it only costs four dollars a night. No explanation needed here, just don't do it.
Hopefully, I will have learned from these past experiences. As I leave I will miss probably anyone reading this- family, friends, my sweetie, my soulmate (my cat emma), any students, colleagues or whoever stumples upon this as I go oversees. Upcoming blog items-things do on a airplane for 14 hours, pictures and my search for a Japanese sidekick.
