Another Chapter

Hello (cue sound heading out into the void, since it's been years since I last visited)...

It's been a minute since I wrote any, but I have decided to pick it back up again. Another life transition has me thinking (and itching to write it down) so here we are.

30 second update - I am starting graduate school at Yale in January in pursuit of a Master of Medical Science degree that will (lord willing and the creek don't rise) lead to licensing as a Physician Assistant.  It's a hybrid program which means that my wife and I (I have a wife now!) won't have to move to New Haven.

I have gotten a LOT of questions throughout this transition, including many from my church peeps who felt quite caught off guard by this seemingly sudden shift in plans. I decided to write this blog to answer some FAQ and also to process the why of this transition.

First let me say that I am about 50% excited, and 50% straight up terrified to leave the only career I have ever known and to go back to grad school (at 33). I most days feel terribly grateful and also tremendously worried about the work load, but I also get giddy with delight when I think about what the next years of my life will hold.

So. The million dollar question - why are you doing this?

The fact is that I have always (or at least as long as I have had memories) had an interest in medicine. I think the first shock for those close to me was that I did NOT choose to be pre-med in undergrad.  The long and short of it is: I started college at a time of upheaval for my family, at a time where I felt vastly unsure of myself, and without a lot of academic support. I had an interest in a lot of things, and had convinced myself that medicine would be too much work. To this day I cannot tell you why.

The true nail in the coffin, however, was my Biology for non-majors professor. I clearly remember going into his office one day during my sophomore year of college and telling him that I had an interest in medicine, looking for advice. The thought had been percolating around and I was starting to think seriously about the idea. One sentence from this man literally changed the course of my life. He said, with disdain, "you're not cut out for medicine. You're making a B in this class and this class is for non -science majors". I remember vaguely stuttering out an explanation about working 40 hours a week to make college finances less stressful, but I was completely defeated before I even arose from the chair in his office.

This man's one sentence had so much weight that I literally believed, for approximately 10 more years, that I was not smart enough for science. I internalized this idea so deeply that it became like a crappy, smelly, old suitcase that I carried around.  I continued flirting with the idea for a few more years, but I could never gain the inertia required to move and overcome my immense self-doubt.

After college in 2009, in the midst of the great recession, I felt lucky to find any job at all. I started working in church ministry, which I have done for 13 years. I fell in love with it and can say that I have never regretted choosing this career path.

In 2012, I moved to Hong Kong for a church job, and while there, met someone that I fell head over heels in love with. It was a girl. I cried to my bosses as I told them about this relationship, and I heard the words I never hoped to hear: "you can work here and be gay, so long as you don't act on it". I thought for several long weeks, spoke with a counselor, and eventually decided that I could not deny my identity and my desire for relational connection, and I decided that I had to leave. I was devastated. I had planned to be at this church for many years. I loved it, and I saw no reason to move on, so this development put my life in a tailspin.

I was fortunate to find a job almost immediately back in the US in the Washington, DC area, but it turned out to not be a good fit. I had tried to move on from my experiences in Hong Kong, but I found myself ruminating constantly on what I would do if I didn't do ministry. The awful experience I had while abroad forced me to confront the thing inside me that had always been there. I wasn't going to be happy long-term unless I allowed myself to more seriously entertain going into medicine.

Knowing nothing of words like "rolling admissions", I applied five days before the deadline to eleven postbaccalaureate programs across the country. I figured that if I got in, that would be a sign that I might be heading in the right direction, and if not, well...

After nine straight-out rejections, I was accepted to two programs, University of Vermont and Meredith College in North Carolina. I chose Meredith and started my postbac there in 2015. It was the hardest, best thing I have ever done for myself. I quickly found that I not only loved, but was, indeed, cut out for science. I finished the program with all As (save for one B in Microbiology, damn the Krebs Cycle).

I came back to DC, a city I had fallen in love with, and started work as a Medical Assistant, first with an OB/GYN practice and later in Pediatrics. Every experience I had confirmed that this was the right path and I intended to apply to school in 2017.

Life found a way of disrupting my plans, however, and I met my later-to-be wife in 2016. She worked for USAID and her office's budget was slated to be slashed (thanks Trump administration). It didn't seem like a good time to be starting graduate school, so we punted. I had been making minimum wage for almost a year as a medical assistant, and I was exhausted from hustling between four jobs to make ends meet. We agreed that I would work for several more years doing...something else...until the time to apply was right, or my prerequisite classes "expired", whichever came first.

Foundry UMC, my future place of employment, was unfortunately stricken by tragedy in January 2017 when their Director of Family Ministries unexpectedly died in his early thirties. I had been hired just a week after this tragic event to assist with Foundry's capital campaign, thinking it would be a temporary solution while I looked for a more long-term job. I didn't want the DFM job, to be honest, and fought against applying for it for several months. Eventually, I began to feel compelled, and I finally applied for and was offered the job, to start in July of 2017.

I have loved every moment of working for Foundry. I truly believe that if I had finished my ministry career where it ended previously, I would have always felt a sense of sadness and lack of resolution. In complete contrast, Foundry has been a community that has loved the ever-loving business out of me, and has given me and my wife a place where we are fully embraced for who we are. I have gotten a chance to be pushed to grow, and as ministry experiences go, it's the pinnacle (for me).

At the end of 2018, I did a review of PA programs, just to keep my eye on things as I had been doing every 6 months or so, and discovered that many schools in the DC area and around that I had interest in had brought their prerequisite window to just 5 years. This means functionally that many or all prerequisite courses need to be completed within 5 years of starting a program. I started postbac in 2015, so 2020 would be 5 years for many of my classes.

I decided that I'd do an exploratory application in 2019 and see what I got. I limited myself to PA programs in the area and on the East Coast, and I waited. Having learned, in the intermediate years, what rolling admission means, I applied to Yale's PA Online program in time to be considered for the Early Decision option, which guaranteed an admissions decision by June 15. I continued with other applications within the first week that the centralized application for PA schools opened. I was fortunate to be accepted to Yale, which had become my top choice, on June 10. I immediately accepted their offer. I was later offered interviews at schools in the DC area, in Boston, Philadelphia, and in New York. All in all, the stars seemed aligned that I should start school now.

It has been the privilege of a lifetime to work in ministry and it grieves me deeply to imagine not serving on a church staff. I feel confident, however, that my background in church ministry will only help me to become a competent, caring medical provider someday.

So, for those of you still here (snooze) that's the story. Classes start in January and in the meantime I am hustling as hard as I can to be financially prepared for school, am doing a lot of non-medical reading, and am alternating between being elated and terrified. I'll do my best to post during school, but being honest, instagram is probably going to be the most I can muster. You can find me there at @whitkins.

When Travel Goes Wrong (a farewell to Airbnb)

Hello, Friends! It's 2017 and my travel blogging has been, well, non-existent.  Between a postbac program to prepare for grad school (read, no money, no travel) and a crazy busy year (that has included some awesome travel to the Caribbean an Central America), I have not had an opportunity to blog.

I got, well...inspired might not be the right word, but let's say indignant recently about a few experiences that we have had while traveling. Most of my travel has thankfully been very easy and the problems have been minor until 2017, in which I have had a string of travel disasters that have, frankly, reshaped the way I travel.

But let's go back.

First, I have been a huge Airbnb apologist since the very first time I stayed with them in a gorgeous downtown bungalow in Asheville, North Carolina in the spring of 2016.  It's such a perfect model! Locals hosting people in their homes, interesting suggestions and properties not filled with the douchebaggery that I have come to loathe in my older years. I have stayed in a total of 5 Airbnb properties (and had my parents stay in one as well when they visited last year), and all but one of them has been a great experience. 

So let's talk about that one and why I will not be staying with Airbnb again in the near future.

We arrived in Tulum, Mexico (paradise. Seriously, please go there) in April of this year.  We arrived to our unit which was very reasonably priced at less than $100/night to discover a persistent sewer smell coming from the bathroom.  Now I have lived in Asia, traveled in India, used a squatty potty in all of these places, and let me tell you that the smell was incomparable to anything I ever experienced abroad, even in developing countries.  The unit was nice enough, but there was no way in heck we were going to continue to stay in a unit with obviously raw sewage below us. Thanks to my Microbiology studies, I now know too much. 

I figured intense sewage smell would warrant a response from Airbnb, so I called them immediately when we figured out we couldn't stay.  Couple this with only 8% of listings being available in Tulum, and I realized that if we were going to move, we needed to do it, and now. So, while on the phone with Airbnb, I made a reservation for us at an alternative location, which turned out to be ahmazing. But I digress.

We moved, and went about our vacation.  The fun started when Airbnb refused to get in contact with us for 1 then 2 then 3 days.  I eventually spent many monies using International Roaming to call them on day 3 of our vacation to make sure that we had done everything properly and they assured me that I had.  Spoiler: #lies.

When we returned home, we did not hear from Airbnb for several more days.  Each time I called I was told that "our case was being elevated to the highest levels of customer care". Which is Airbnb speak for, we don't give a crap and will call you when it is convenient for us.  10 days later, I finally heard back, and a nice guy told us in an email that we would be getting a $616 refund.  Hey, I thought! That's more than we paid! But of course, it was just another instance of Airbnb's left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.  After 10 days of no refund in our account, I called back and got the worst customer service representative in America, named Kandice.  Kandice brusquely informed me through a series of 15 emails back and forth that no refund would be coming and that my request to speak with a manager was denied, oh, and they were going to "disengage from further discussion on this topic" (see photo).

I became seriously irate after calculating that I had spent a cumulative 10 (yes 10) hours on the phone with Airbnb trying to resolve this to no avail.  So, I got smart.  I was able to find the Airbnb CEO and Global Head of Customer Experience's emails online, so I wrote up a short summary of our situation and sent it to them.  An hour and three minutes later, the Customer Experience VP had gotten back to me and referred me to a senior specialist.  Through a long conversation, she acknowledged that Airbnb had been totally in the wrong, that the 8 customer service agents I had spoken to had given misleading and directly contradictory information, and that they would honor the $616 refund promised.   I received it 7 days later.

Moral of the story, #NeverAirbnb, and also, if at first you don't succeed, email the freaking CEO.

I got a mosquito bite....

Crocodile River at Sunset

It's funny. 

I always go on mission trips expecting to have huge lightning bolt revelations or major changes to my views, but it's always the subtle things that stay with me. 

The title of this post, "I got a mosquito bite" is just one example of a small thing that has stayed with me.  But let me go back.

While we were in South Africa, we were informed that there was an unseasonable outbreak of Malaria - in an area we'd all been told there would be none.  Hardly anyone on the team had taken any anti-malaria pills (because there wasn't supposed to be any).  The team medicined up, and I took my chances, since I only had a few days left in the country.

But even in those few days, I lived in a constant state of edginess.  Every time I heard a buzzing or saw a mosquito, I'd get a little paranoid and try to kill it, or duck into my sheets a little more deeply.

And it got me thinking - this is a way of life for a lot of people. 

I flew into DC on the night of the fourth of July.  It was a glorious evening with a spectacular sunset and temperatures right around 75.  As close to perfect as it can get.  And somewhere between the airport and my car, I got a mosquito bite.  I didn't even realize it until I noticed that my leg was intensely itchy.  But it stopped me for a moment.  That simple thing - one mosquito bite, can cause so much illness to people who can't afford the medicines that seemed expensive even to us (a Malarone pill can cost $5 USD per day - over a month for the team it was close to $150 per person).  This is more money than some of the people we served will see in a year.

Sobering.

Another instance that has stuck with me  is the amount of time it takes to do anything.  For example, each morning, we would pull into the VBS sites to prepare for a day of running around with kids and general mayhem.  But I would always dread stepping out of the Land Rover because inevitably a billowing cloud of smoke would be descending onto our playing fields/parking area.  This cloud of smoke was ever-present, because it was the only way the Mamas we hired to cook for the kids had to prepare hot food.  Each morning, they would gather wood, build a fire on the ground, and with the might of two women, hoist an enormous pot of water (I'm talking ENORMOUS - probably 25 gallons worth) on top of the fire.  It would heat for what seemed like hours and then various ingredients would be added, making it into a stew and/or into Pap, a traditional South African carb meant to soak up the stews.  It could very well be 5 or 6 hours of preparation to make lunch for the children. 

Kiddos chasing the Land Rover on our way to VBS

Another moment was actually a replay from a previous mission trip.  After I had been in SA for about a week, the washing machine at the house we were staying in broke.  The team only brought enough clothes for about a week, so laundry desperately needed to be done.  So, I and four other girls heated water on the stove for at least an hour to soak the clothes and proceeded to wash 11 people's week-worth of clothes.  It was exhausting, but again reminded me that things in other parts of the world take much longer than they do at home.  I was reminiscing about a mission trip to India I'd led where we washed the clothes of the kids at the Children's Home where we stayed and what a process that was. It was so tiring, but the ache in our bodies and the chemical burning on my hands reminded us that someone does this work all the time.

And that leads me to some reflections...

I could say how fortunate we are for having what we have, or talk about how much faith people have, though they have very little.  These things are all true, but they're not the point.  What I think stands out more to me is this - we as Americans are often too quick to judge others or to give our pity, and not our power.  The recipients of our judgement are both in the US and abroad.  I have, many times, heard people make comments about people "not working hard enough" or "not trying" or "not caring about doing better for their families".  I can say, after having done the required research across four continents that this just isn't the case. 

People in developing countries, and specifically the most economically disadvantaged of them, often struggle to live on very, very little.  Infrastructure is woeful.  At the house where we stayed, in a nice and relatively built up area of South Africa, the electricity and water can come and go as freely as a wild game animal.  It's just not reliable.   In the villages, many houses have only one light bulb to illuminate an entire room. Or none at all.  Families sleep 7-8 people in cramped quarters.  Things take so. much. time.  Travel via taxi and bus is cheap enough, but can take hours to get from point A to point B - a distance we easily (and quickly) traversed in our private car.  Making food, going to buy food, growing food, all take up precious time as well.  It's not a matter of lack of will, it is, as one of the mamas said to me that, "we live simply, because we have no other option".   

A Mama selling Nuts alongside the road

The teenagers of these houses, and especially the ones that Hope of Africa is involved with, know that they can do better.  They have had opportunities to be schooled and clothed and fed and to experience what Christian community looks like.  But how can a student write applications to college with no electricity?  How can a family survive when one or both parents have died from the most massive HIV/AIDS epidemic in the world? (see here http://www.avert.org/hiv-aids-south-africa.htm).  Many children are themselves caregivers of their younger siblings, far before they are ready. 

That's why I am so hopeful and excited about the work that Hope of Africa is doing.  There are many problems in South Africa - probably too many to list.  But the ministry we worked with is going to the heart of the issue - people.  The Hope of Africa is investing in kids who have potential and aiming high.  The chances of success are greatly improved for these teens if they can attain a college education.  So Hope of Africa tutors them.  The kids have a safe place to come and use laptop computers to write up applications and essays.  The kids have a community with other kids like them, where, for just a few moments, the actually get to kick around a ball and just be kids. 

I feel, as I always do when humbled by those who do so much with so little, inadequate.  And I think that's okay.  Mission trips function as an agitator.  If you come back feeling good, there's probably something wrong.  I'm just trying to figure out how to turn that agitation into action once again.

Til next time,

The Adventurer

 

South Africa 1

Well hello there readers!

I know what you're thinking...where in the heck have you been for the last few months???

The answer to that is lengthy, but the easy answer is

1) I moved from Hong Kong
2) I moved to DC and started a new job!

So there hasn't been too much time to post things.

Lots of exciting things have been happening, but right now the most exciting thing is that I write this blog post from South Africa.

Here's the truth: Moving back to America was (and still occasionally is) incredibly hard.  I have missed being in another culture incredibly a lot and was looking for what my next Adventure would be.  (That's the name of this blog after all!)

So that's how we get to South Africa.  Long story short, my good friend Heather was going on a mission trip to take photos and videos (because she's awesome - side note, check out her website at www.media29-llc.com) and I got insanely jealous.  I threw out a question one day that went something like this, "Hey, so could I join the South Africa trip?", half joking.  She immediately mentioned how much fun it would be and how we'd get to adventure together and fired off an email to the trip leader.

Fast forward, faced with the daunting task of raising $1500 in addition to my part of the trip, I didn't know if it would be possible, but I committed anyway.  I sent out fundraising emails to friends and family, set up a Go Fund Me, and incredibly, my funds were completely raised in under a month, days before I was scheduled to leave.  I truly believe that doors were opened for me to attend this trip that were totally out of my control.

So started the trip.  On Sunday, June 22, I took a late Brussels Airlines Flight from Washington, DC to Brussels.  I can say one thing - Trans-Atlantic flights now look downright short compared to 16+ hours Trans-Pacific.  I had a brief layover in Brussels and then connected to Frankfurt where I had a 6 hour layover.  The very first thing I did in Frankfurt was take a SHOWER.  I tell you, people, those who can travel for 30 hours without showering are better than me because I am an unhappy camper if I have to sit in my own grossness for too many hours (and on a plane with other people).  No thank you. So I always make this a travel priority.

Fresh and ready to go, I still had a couple of hours to go and it was a struggle to stay awake.  Which is actually a good thing, because from about the moment I sat down (on the extremely nice Lufthansa A380-800), I was OUT.  I woke up briefly for dinner, and slept the rest of the flight - for at least 8 hours! Spectacular.  I landed in Johannesburg and had to pick up my bags and re-check in for my domestic flight.  I was slightly worried about the time between flights, but it worked out alright.

My last leg was the only flight I took this trip that was not completely sold out - I got a whole three seats to myself to stretch out for 45 minutes of glorious scenery out the window.  The terrain changed from the city (and smog, unfortunately) of Johannesburg to brown fields (it's winter here) to rolling hills and mountains to the North of the plane.  It was really, really gorgeous.  I was scared for a minute when we landed in Nelspruit because I could not see the runway anywhere and we seemed to be about to crash into the side of a hill - but in reality, the runway is on top of the hill!  Phew.

Let me mention something brief about the airport.  I LOVED it.  It was absolutely spectacular.  The roof is thatched and is totally traditional African architecture - such a great way to be welcomed to this beautiful country.  Heather and Heather (my friend Heather and the long-term missionary working here that we're partnering with) picked me up with smiles and it was GREAT to see them.

We grabbed a quick lunch (a chicken avocado wrap, if anyone's curious) and headed to Malelane, our final destination.  The city was shrouded in a thick layer of smoke, which was curious to me.  Apparently, during winter, the farmers burn the sugar cane crops to let the fields fallow before replanting the next year.  A good idea, but not so great for the breathing.

We pulled up to the house where the team was already staying - it's modern and in the middle of a neighborhood of very, very large houses.  There are a couple rooms of bunk beds and Heather had already staked me out some room.  I had the opportunity to relax for a bit before we took a short walk around the neighborhood.  The house almost directly backs up to Kruger National Park, the largest national park in South Africa.  This park is HUGE.  It stretches up a huge swath of Northeast South Africa and into Mozambique.  We were able to look out over the Crocodile River where they frequently see Elephants, Rhinos and Hippos.  It's insane that this is literally in the backyard! One of the staff members said that she encountered a male elephant one morning on her run who almost charged her from about 5 feet away! Crazy!

After our walk, we loaded in the car to see the Malelane Kruger gate at sunset which was absolutely spectacular.  The sun was setting right over the river as we pulled up and after looking for a moment, we saw a hippo frolicking in the water.  That's an image that will be with me for a long time.  After that, we headed over to one of the high schools that the ministry here works with and I met some of the kids.  We kicked around a soccer ball and did some introductions (in SA, anyone who is older than you is Auntie - so I'm once again Auntie Whitney - makes me feel like I'm back in Hong Kong).

Now, the team has returned from leading VBS in one of the local villages and some of the girls are cooking a delicious dinner.  I'm not too tired yet, which is great, though I'm sure I will be soon enough! 

Thanks for reading, and check back for updates!

-The Adventurer

Tokyo Disney Sea

Well, friends, a milestone has been hit.  It's not that I've hit 30 countries before I'm 30 or that I finally successfully navigated the Tokyo Metro without getting lost. 

...But I've visited every Disney park in the world.

On the Monorail!

To you, this might not be a monumental occasion, in fact, for many, this very post will elicit groans and eye-rolling (I'm looking at you, Julie and Wade).

But to me, it's a BIG DEAL.

So, in the following paragraphs I will delightfully describe to you my adventure! Let's get started.

First off, Tokyo Disney actually has two parks - Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea.  These two parks are completely different from one another, but most importantly, Disney Sea is completely different than any other park, anywhere.  So naturally I decided to visit it on the first day.  I had to check out what it was like and I was so excited to get started when I got to Tokyo.

Let me mention that I thought that going on a very rainy and cold Wednesday would help thin out the crowds that I have heard are absolutely atrocious.  Imagine my dismay when I arrived at the park an hour after opening time to discover that lines for many of the rides were already at 120+ minutes and fastpasses for several other attractions were already gone.  Already gone. Like Christmas at Disney World, but this is a random Wednesday in March.  

That was my first preview of what the next two days would be like.  I had read that you should get to the gates an hour before park opening and sprint to your first ride.  Sprint, people.  I told myself that this certainly couldn't be true, but in fact, it's what's necessary for you to get on the rides you wanted.  I immediately decided in this moment to take a relaxed approach to the whole experience, and just focus on riding rides that were Tokyo-exclusive.  The short list of these at Disney Sea are as follows: Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, A Rollercoaster next to Indiana Jones that made so little impression on me that I don't remember the name, Tower of Terror (completely different than WDW version) and Storm Rider.  I also wanted to see a couple of shows, namely Mystic Kingdom and Big Band Beat. 

Fortunately, I was able to all of these in just one day.

Here's how I did it.  I went immediately to Journey to the Center of the Earth, an attraction that was at the absolute top of my list.  I got a Fastpass.  Two rides at Disney Sea have single rider lines, and since I was the definition of a single rider, I booked it over there.  Indiana Jones and the Rollercoaster were both next on my list.  I felt a little guilty as I walked past people waiting in a 200 minute - yes 200 minute - line for Indiana Jones.  But no so guilty that I didn't do it twice, ha! I then proceeded over to the Rollercoaster - which is OUTSIDE - to ride in the single rider line there. 

After this, I did a loop towards the section of the park where Tower of Terror is (because I could get a new fastpass at 12:40) and I stopped at Storm Rider enroute.

Storm Rider Preshow.  Kind of like Star Tours and Stitch combined.  I liked it.

 I then made it over to Tower of Terror, got my fastpass for that which had a return time of 9:20 at night, and then decided to eat some lunch.  I relaxed, saw Mystic Kingdom, then headed over for my fastpass time at Journey.  Brief diversion, I LOVED this ride.  It was one of the most elaborately themed rides that I've been on in any Disney Park, and the attention to detail was INSANE.  After that, I rode 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea which in contrast was one of the most underwhelming rides I've been on.  Wouldn't wait in line for that again.

That afternoon, I headed back over to the area of the park where Tower of Terror is and saw Big Band Beat.  I was actually quite lucky to see it as they do a "lottery" system for tickets and generally not a lot of people get tickets each day.  Fortunately, they weren't operating the lottery that day, and so showing up 30 minutes early was plenty good enough to get great seats.  This is one of the best Disney Parks shows I've seen, which is accompanied throughout by a live Big Band.  I loved it. Also, I believe that the most difficult casting in all of Disney Parks has to be in this show.  At the end of the show, Mickey Mouse comes out and plays drums along with the big band.  At first, I thought it was totally just tracked-over, but at one point, the Big Band drummer and Mickey take turns drumming and it is most definitely played live.  So for that role, they had to cast someone who is under 4'10 (probably a girl) and they have to be proficient at drumming (oh, and Mickey Dances later on in that same scene without any opportunity for cast changes).  So somewhere out there they found this drumming, dancing, 4'10 girl (or likely girls).  I was impressed, to say the least.

After that, I headed over to the Teddy Roosevelt Lounge where I was able to relax and have a not-so-good sandwich with a great cup of coffee.  After killing an hour or so doing that, I realized that I still had two hours until my fastpass return time for Tower of Terror, so I did something I said I would never do - I waited in a 120 minute line for Toy Story Midway Mania.

Midway Mania!

 I love this ride at WDW, but had written it off because let's be real, I wasn't going to stand in line that long for a ride I'd already ridden.  But I could think of nothing else to do with the two hours, so I did it.  I almost froze to death, but I enjoyed the ride.  After that, I headed over to Tower which is incredibly different than any of the US iterations, and then I booked it out of the park.

Phew.  I'm tired just typing all that.

Okay, so here are some observations-

Tokyo Disney is INSANELY CROWDED most of the year.  I read message board after message board of people in the US asking if it's worth it to go to Japan just to visit the parks.  My answer after doing the required research is probably not.  Unless you can go at the most off-peak of off-peak times, you will probably feel frustrated and stifled by the crowds and frustrated that you aren't able to ride everything like you're used to.  I have heard that there are some times of year that are much more manageable, but you'd really have to hit that window.

I spent my wait for Big Band Beat trying to touch the polka-dots on my neighbor's umbrella with the water droplets coming off mine...

Sad face after I saw the wait and fastpass return times...

FP return at 9:10, this was taken about noon...

Japanese people, despite turning out in abundance are extremely respectful.  I experienced no pushing, yelling, fighting, or jostling, which is a complete 180 from Hong Kong Disney.  It was a nice break.

Japanese girls are insane with the clothes they wear to the parks.  So many groups were matching and I saw more girls than I could count in skirts with NO TIGHTS - bare-legged, while I was shivering in my rain boots and knee-length puffy jacket.  I have no idea how they did it.  I also saw girls in sky high heels, something that I will never understand.

Inappropriate Footwear

Matchy-Matchy

Japanese people LOVE popcorn.  They sell these popcorn tubs that you can wear around your neck and TONS of people have them.  There is also flavored popcorn, ranging from Strawberry to Curry.

All in all, I found the cast members to be WAY more smiley and friendly than your average Japanese person, which probably speaks to the indoctrination that the Disney Company puts employees through.  I've seen this as a consistent experience at every park I've visited, no matter where in the world.

Anyway, that's all for now - I'm getting ready to board my flight to the US.  Singapore Air A-380! I'm excited for this plane!

Til next time,
-The Adventurer

Skiing in Niseko

Greetings from the land of the rising sun!


It's my last full day in Japan which hardly seems possible, but yet is a relief in some ways, too.  Traveling, especially solo, can be a little exhausting after a couple of weeks, so it will be nice to be back in a country where I speak the language and know how to get around.  And where there's Chipotle.  I'm just saying.

Okay, so for the fourth installment of my Japan adventures, we go to Niseko! Niseko is probably the best ski area in Japan, though you may or may have not heard of it.  Probably you're familiar with Nagano, host of the 1998 Winter Olympics.  Coincidentally, the '72 Olympics were held on Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan where Niseko is located.  But I digress.

Hokkaido is called the Alaska of Japan because they get a LOT of snow every year.  Also, I will say that Niseko has probably the best snow in the world for skiing.  I know that's a bold assertion, but Niseko can get up to 600 inches of snow in a ski season.  2-3 feet of snow can fall overnight, and it's snowy and fresh, dry powder most of the winter, so it's great for fresh track skiing. 

So, my trip.  I flew into New Chitose Airport outside of Sapporo, the main city on Hokkaido and had to wait about three hours for my friend who was flying in from Hong Kong to meet me.  She invited me to come up with her and her cousins and assorted friends, and of course, I wasn't going to turn down free lodging.  And I really like hanging out with her.  If you ever fly into New Chitose Airport, please do yourself a favor and give yourself a couple of hours to explore the airport.  It is spectacular.  It's basically like a mall where planes just happen to fly in and out of.  I ate in the "Ramen Dojo" and had some of the best Ramen I've eaten in Japan.  It had Gouda Cheese on top, which I was doubtful about at first, but Good Golly Miss Molly, it was absolutely Spectacular.  I had it on my way out of the airport, too.

Gouda Ramen.  Don't knock it til you've tried it.

 After my meal, I wandered around the airport a little more, and looked around in some different shops and restaurants.  This airport literally has it all.  Somewhat bafflingly, I did see lots of smoking rooms that were for "Adult Smokers Only".  I understand the intent, its just a funny way to phrase it! Kids, you'll have to smoke elsewhere, sorry.

Lots of funny advertising like this all around Japan.

Sorry, kids, you've gotta smoke somewhere else. 

Finally, the Hong Kong contingent arrived and we were off.  After about two hours of driving, I finally got a glimpse of Mount Yotei.  It's called the Fuji of Hokkaido, because it's got the same distinctive shape.  Usually, it's covered in clouds because Niseko gets constantly pounded with snow in the winter.  I felt lucky to see it.  Little did I know I'd see it a lot over the next few days, as there was an uncharacteristic "warm" spell with hardly any snow for a few days (a rarity in Niesko). 

The hosts of this trip were the cousins of my friend from Hong Kong.  Don't try to keep the details straight - I barely could and I was with everyone for 5 days! Anyway, they own a BEAUTIFUL house in Hirafu Village, near Hirafu Ski Area.  We were eight people in total.  I got to sleep in a Tatami Room for the first time which was awesome! It didn't hurt that my "futon" was temperpedic!

Outside the House

The next day, we headed out bright and early for our first day of skiing.  I discovered that I am VERY VERY rusty.  I was feeling alright before I got on the mountain, but I swear, every year closer to 30 I get and I feel my body talking to me more saying, "really?? you really wanna go down that hill??" Ha.  Anyway - I skied in the morning with my friend and then in the afternoon had a mini-lesson with one of the ski instructors.  Things were a lot better after that.  Additionally scary, I have two friends who have blown out their ACL's while skiing in Niseko, so I was terrified that I was going to get hurt (especially because I have no health insurance while I'm between jobs!)

 

 

Me and Rulin - Gorgeous Day at Grand Hirafu

Skis all lined up for a day of skiing at Annupuri

Did the same run about 10 times the last day! I really wanted to get it going at full speed and I did, eventually.

SO much snow and a beautiful sunset heading home from Annupuri

So there was lots and lots of skiing, but also, the people I went with LOVE to eat at great restaurants.  We ate at what I am sure are the very best restaurants in Niesko.  The first night, we had fondue and crepes at The Niseko Supply Company, another night, we had a hodge-podge of Korean Soup, Calamari, Sushi and Noodles, a third night, we ate at Ezo Seafood, a place where you need to book reservations months in advance just to get a seat.  I sat in awe as party after party of walk ins were turned away.  We had amazing crab, oysters, fish, and all kinds of other things I'd never tried before.  It was spectacular to say the least.  The last night, we had one of the most amazing dinners I've ever eaten, at a restaurant called Asperges. It's the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Niseko.  The restaurant sent a shuttle bus to pick us up from the house, drove us 15 minutes out to Hanazono Ski area and we were seated in a vast, open restaurant with only a couple of other parties.

 

Mushroom Soup, Carrot Mousse and Oysters

Salad with a zillion different vegetables

Prawns

The Group!

My most favorite part of the trip, though was getting to to go the onsen and getting a massage at the Hilton Niseko Village.  It was absolutely spectacular.  I skied in the morning, met the group for lunch, then spent about an hour in the Onsen.  Onsens are all over Japan and are volcanically-heated pools that have lots of minerals in them.  This particular one was incredible, looking out over a pond and snowy embankment.  This is not my picture - it's off a Niseko Tourism website, but it is so, so peaceful and gorgeous.

I could've spent an entire day here

Waiting For the Massage - Tea and a hot towel

View out my treatment room window

Sadly, that part of my trip came to a close, and I headed to Tokyo.  Niseko makes it really easy to get to and from.  I took the White Liner bus that left Niseko at 8am, and it got me to the airport just after 10:30.  I had plenty of time to hang out and get ready for my flight. 

Really pretty stopping point on the way back to the airport

Finally, here's a spectacular collection of funny and/or interesting things that I saw while in or around Niseko...

NO LUBBISH!

In the Niseko Gondola

Don't wanna pay to check those ski boots?  Just wear 'em on the plane.

Put your life vest on, then assume your best Brad Pitt pensive pose.  To think about...your impending demise?

Always a good reminder.

 That's all for now, folks.  Get excited because there is going to be a Tokyo Disney EXPLOSION coming soon. 

Til next time,
-The Adventurer

Kyoto 3

Howdy, Folks!

I've been all over this country, but before I get too far, I wanted to to make sure and wrap up the last bit of Kyoto before I take you to Niseko.

Alright, so last day in Kyoto - it was raining and cold, so that was a bummer.  I decided to go to Kiyomizu-Dera, one of the most famous temples in Japan.  As I rode the bus, I had a sense of foreboding after looking at some comments on Trip Advisor.  Let me say right off the bat here that if you are going to a country where you know nobody, Trip Advisor is your very best friend.  Seriously.  Everywhere I ate in Kyoto and half the things I saw were based on recommendations from Trip Advisor.  Just do it.

Alright, enough with the PSA.  On Trip Advisor, I read that Kiyomizu-Dera was undergoing construction but that "It's no big deal, it doesn't get in the way of seeing anything..."  So I trekked out there.  I, along with 3/4 of the rest of the bus ambled out at the stop.  There is a hill leading straight up to the temple (it is quite high and overlooks the city, hence why it is such a photographed spot!).  This hill is lined with all sorts of shops selling handmade stuff and tourist kitsch.  Well, as I rounded the corner, I discovered that the entire pagoda portion of the temple was completely wrapped in construction wrap such that I would have no idea that it was even a pagoda if I didn't otherwise know.  I decided to save energy and just turn around - I'll be back in Kyoto for sure, so I decided to check that one out next time.

By this time, it was about lunch, so I consulted Trip Advisor once again.  It told me that there was a great Ramen place (which I had actually seen reviewed days before) just about a 1.2 mile walk from where I was.  One of the things I loved about Kyoto is that it is a very easy city to get around.  After a couple of days, I totally had the lay of the land and didn't look like a tourist with a dazed expression anymore.  Also, the allure of the Ramen place is that it was right next to a covered market that I'd wanted to visit.  2-for-1! It's called Ippudo Ramen and is just a couple blocks from the Shijo Metro Stop.  It's a chain but it's very, very popular.  I had to wait about 10 minutes when I first arrived, during which time the server asked for my order so they could get started on it. 

Pork Ramen and Gyoza.  SO DELICIOUS.

After lunch, I went shopping in the covered alleys near the Ramen Shop.  Lots of interesting things.  I picked up some gifts and ate two glutinous rice dumplings with red beans inside.  They were SO GOOD.  

Loved the roof on the shopping street

All kinds of things to be found on the street, including eel, clams and a big fish being cleaned by the guy in the background.

 

 

After that, I was cold, so I decided to go back to the hostel for a cleanup of my room since I had to catch the train at 6:45 the next morning.  This is the only mildly inconvenient thing about Kyoto - the airport is located about a 75 minute train journey away in Osaka.  Luckily, there is a direct train from the airport to JR Station which is about a 5 minute walk from the hostel I was staying in, but still, makes for an early start if your flight is before 10 - just a fair warning.

That evening, after cleaning up, I set out in search of the one food I hadn't really had any of since arriving in Japan - tempura.  There is a great restaurant located in the JR Kyoto Train Station called Ten-Ichi that had great reviews so I decided to pay it a little visit.  It's on the 11th floor of the building (above the ramen floor where I ate my first day), but it is beastly to find.  You go out the elevators, and through the shops and then to a tiny hallway in the back of the shops which opens up to a whole other eating area.  SO CONFUSING.  I wandered around for about 15 minutes and almost gave up.

Finally, I found it and wandered in.  It's a great little place with seating at the bar, where you can watch the chefs prepare your food right there.  It's pretty sweet. 

I was a little nervous when I sat down and the waitress immediately tied this bib around me.  But since I was at the bar, I guess it was to prevent any wayward sloshing of Tempura oil onto my clothes.  I went along with it, especially when I saw a businessman sit down and go through the same rigamarole. 

Tempura Bib

Now, you might be thinking, okay, Tempura, easy.  Fried food, dip in sauce, eat.  Oh no, my friends.  It's not like that in Japan.  I was served this:

Squid Salad, empty bowl (top right), lemon wedge, empty side next to the lemon.

 I looked at all of these implements in utter confusion.  What did I put on what??? Luckily, the chef saw my distress and took mercy on me by pointing and helping me decide which topping went with which.  There was also a bowl of soy sauce to the side that you can't see in the picture. 

The courses were served one small bite at a time.  The one above is a shrimp head.  Those of you who know how scared I was to try weird Asian food when I moved to Hong Kong will know what it an accomplishment it is that I ate it AND LIKED IT.  Boom. 

Next up was some fish, which I didn't take a picture of, then some veggies.  Here's broccoli, and the next one is Bamboo.  

Broccoli

 

The Bamboo was my favorite. 

Course by course, the chef battered and tempura fried my food.  Lots of shrimp and veggies and some fish.  When I first looked at the menu, I was afraid I'd leave hungry, but it was the perfect amount of food for me.  Also, at the end they bring you Miso Soup and Rice, just to top you off if necessary.

It was a little on the expensive side (~30USD) but it was worth it for the experience.  I loved the chef.  He was so sweet to me and really helped me get the most out of my meal.  He would plop down whatever he'd just cooked and then point at what I should dip it in.  Generally, here's how it goes - fish gets lemon and salt, veggies get soy sauce, except for a filet of fish that he made me use salt mixed with curry powder.  Fantastic.  If in doubt, look helpless and ask for help. 

Just in case you go looking for the restaurant, here's what it looks like on the outside.  Oh, here's some trivia - when Bill Clinton visited Japan at some point during his presidency, he was taken to the Tokyo branch of this very restaurant.  So there you have it.  If it's good enough for a president, well, it's good enough for me!

That was about it for my time in Kyoto! Stay tuned for Niseko! ALL the snow!

Til next time,
-The Adventurer

Kyoto 2

Another Day, another Yen! (okay, okay, bad joke)

Actually, I'll start off this post with the rest of yesterday since I left you guys a hanging after the Plum Blossom festival. 

Tuesday

I made my way to the nearest bus stop and discovered that I wasn't too far from the Golden Temple (Kinkaku-Ji), and it was definitely on my list.  Fueled by chocolate banana and mystery food, I pushed onward.  (Side note, there are absolutely NO trash cans in Kyoto.  I walked around with leftover leek bun and half eaten chocolate banana for at least 20 minutes trying to locate one.  Don't tell anyone, but I surreptitiously stuffed it in a recycling bin next to a drink vending machine.  I feel guilty, but what was I gonna do?!) (Side, side note, why put a recycling bin next to the vending machine?  Do they really expect people to stand there and drink the drink? Okay. Rant over.) 

Newly freed of my garbage and with a little twinge of guilt, I boarded the bus.  500 yen later and I had bought my entrance ticket to the Golden Temple.  And IT WAS SPECTACULAR.  I was there at probably 3pm and the lighting was fabulous.  When they say the Golden Temple is Golden, they aren't joking.  It's plated in gold! You aren't allowed to go inside for obvious reasons, but it was beautiful to see from the outside.  There are also some nice gardens that you can peruse.  I could've stayed much longer, but I was tired from the Plum Blossom festival so I headed back to the hostel for a nap. 

At the entrance to the Golden Temple

Really, Really Gold.

As gorgeous as it was, I'm sure it'd be prettier in the autumn or spring when the leaves are turning or cherry blossoms are out in full effect.

No selfie for once!

Last night, I searched "things to do in Kyoto at night".  Most of the options were karaoke or clubbing, both of which I was most definitely not up for.  I saw, however, that the Gion district, famed for its Geisha, is particularly beautiful at night, so I headed over there.  On my way, I found a review for a good conveyor belt sushi place (Musashi Sushi) in the train station I would leave from, so I gave it a try.  Verdict - very good for what it was - cheap, fresh sushi with no frills.

I've been surprised, actually, at how inexpensive things are when I'd been warned that I'd be burning cash like it was my job.  I probably spent less than $10usd for my entire meal which included 6 plates of sushi and a beer.  Boom.  Also, I was seated next to an adorable older Japanese couple and the wife of the couple had to help me figure out how to dispense the hot water for the make-it-yourself Green Tea.  She chucked at me (in a very endearing way) and helped me out.  Again, friendly, awesome people. 

Musashi Sushi - cheap, cheap, cheap, but delicious.

After that, I headed to the Gion district.  I, by complete chance, got dropped off almost immediately in front of the Yasaka Shrine, which I had not heard of and had no plans to visit.  But it was so spectacularly lit up that I had to go and have a look.  I appreciated a couple of things about this shrine.  First, it was almost empty, but also, it had a serenity that I haven't experienced at other shrines.  Perhaps because it's off-hours and not jammed with tourists.  I spent probably an hour just wandering around.  I loved exploring it - and I'd definitely recommend going at night.  In fact, this was much better than the rest of Gion, which turned out to be a mild disappointment.

The front that drew me in.  So beautiful all lit up at night.

A pavilion with hundreds of lanterns around the outside. Spectacular.

A sub-shrine - lots of hearts with inscriptions on them.  Maybe praying for love? Who knows.

After that, I walked down the main road of Gion, Shijo Dori, but it was honestly just a huge tourist trap.  I decided to hang a right off of the main street through some narrow alleyways and that was a much more interesting experience. 

Very narrow alleys

There are loads of these nondescript shopfronts.  Occasionally, I'd hear a burst of laughter or music from inside.

Could be a Geisha house...I read that the Okiyas have the Geisha's names above the door like this.

Street Corner and traditional architecture

I enjoyed walking through the Gion District, though not as much as I thought I would.  If you're wide-eyed and idealistic like I was, you'll be expecting Memoirs of a Geisha to come to life, but sadly, the area has been gentrified just like a lot of other areas.  Though there are patches and a few streets of buildings in the old style. Here's an interesting tidbit - the old style houses were built to take up as little frontage to the road as possible, because in yesteryear, property taxes were calculated based on a house's frontage to the street.  Lots of houses extend far, far back, but have relatively narrow fronts.  So there's your bit of trivia for the day!

Wednesday

I have been so incredibly lazy on this trip, I'm afraid.  I slept in and didn't get a move-on until 11:00 this morning.  Nonetheless, I had a pretty packed day that mostly consisted of eating and pretending I was in Memoirs of a Geisha.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

First up today was the adventure that I planned for yesterday and that is the Torii Gates.  Cliché, but true nonetheless, I wanted to see them ever since I saw Memoirs of a Geisha.  There is a scene where little Chiyo, bolstered by her meeting with the chairman and probable sugar-high from the shaved ice she eats runs through the gates enroute to a shrine (which I discovered to my dismay today) is actually not at the Torii gates at all, but across town.  Nevermind. The Torii gates were what I was really there to see, so without further adieu:

The entrance to the shrine.  So fabulous.  And SO MUCH ORANGE.  (I love orange)

 I was a bit disappointed at first because there were hordes of people, which dashed my dreams of getting photos of the gates without people in them. I walked on past the point where a lot of people seemed to drop of and there were ample stretches with no people to be found. 

 

 

Throngs of people on the way up, but peaceful on the way down

Each gate is inscribed with the name of the donor. 

This one was just being painted and hadn't had the characters filled in with black yet.

One of me! So happy!

Really, really peaceful.

Hopefully those photos give you a brief glimpse into the area.  I chose to do about half of the hike, which amounted to a moderately-strenuous 25-30 minute walk, ending in some steep stairs.  There is, however, plenty to see if you're not the stair climbing kind.  I turned around at the point where you can look out over Kyoto.  The weather was a little hazy today, so I didn't even bother taking pictures.  It was a nice resting place, though.

I had been craving some udon and after my nature hike, I was ready for something warm.  Omen Udon was one of the top-rated places in Kyoto and could be easily reached by the metro, so I headed that direction.  I was seated at a bar area and handed an English menu, which was really helpful.  I chose to order Udon with crab and sushi on the side.  It was a bit on the pricey side ($20 for lunch) but I was so excited that I thought the price was justified.

The sushi came, and I took one bite and could not eat any more.  It was a very strong mackerel with skin on draped over rice.  I am normally a huge fan of sushi, but the piece of fish was extremely thick and one of the fishiest tasting pieces of sushi I have ever eaten.  I felt terrible, but I could not eat any more of it.  The guy sitting next to me got his udon which included a side of tempura and I began to regret my decision.  My Udon arrived and it was not at all like what I was expecting.

Sushi that I regrettably had one bite of and could not finish

If you've ever had egg-drop soup in the Chinese style, you can imagine what the soup was like, in consistency, at least.  And actually, it did have egg in it.  The udon was really tasty and a good texture, but the whole thing left me underwhelmed.  I was actually coveting the guy's next to me.  His tempura looked delicious.  Oh well.

Udon noodles were great, but the soup was just so-so.

I spent a bit of time after lunch in the Pontocho district, another well-known Geisha district where I did see a Maiko Geisha scurrying down the street, presumably to get away from the throng of tourists who were stalking her.  It's a shame that people won't leave the Geisha alone - I mean, I understand the fascination, but they're people just like anyone else and being chased by crazed tourists is probably disconcerting.

I headed back to the hostel for my customary afternoon nap.  I have been exhausted this week, so it's been nice to have a place so near to JR Kyoto Station that is easy to get to for naps and such.

Tonight, I decided to venture up to one of the main shopping areas in quest for another of the top-10 rated restaurants in Kyoto via Trip Advisor, Gogyo Ramen.  It is tucked down an alleyway in the former house of a fairly famous Kyoto Geisha, so that was already intriguing.  But more so than that, this restaurant is famous for its Burned Ramen, both in Soy and Miso varieties.  The interior of this place is spectacular, and I would rate the ambiance probably near the top of anywhere I've eaten in Asia.  The bar area (which I would absolutely recommend sitting at if possible) overlooks an open kitchen where you can see the flames violently bursting up the sides of woks as noodles and other yummies are added to the pan.  Really an interesting experience and GREAT food.  I had the Miso Burned Ramen.  The flavor was incredible, but I could not finish the whole thing.  Some of the reviews said that it was a bit oily for them (the noodles are cooked in 300°C lard) and I would agree with this.  I had about half and I was done.  The Kirin Beer I drank with it was a great compliment as it cut through the oiliness of the dish. 

So delicious and really unique

Bar seating adjacent to the front door.  Sit here if possible for a great show!

Loved watching the chefs cook and the fiery explosion that would happen each time he added sauce to the pan.

From the outside.  Really great experience.

All in all, it was a great choice and I would say definitely my favorite eat so far in Kyoto. 

Alright, that's it for now.  Rain tomorrow, who knows what will happen??

Til next time,
-The Adventurer