Monthly Archives: July 2015

Domestic details – especially for Sally

Posted on July 27, 2015 by arleebug54

Apparently in my efforts to convey the relative remoteness of my location in Japan, I may have left the erroneous impression that I have traveled back in time to the 19th century, complete with outhouses and water pumped in the … Continue reading →

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A trip to Yuzawa

Posted on July 26, 2015 by arleebug54

Well, things are going to get a little out of chronological sequence, but I hope you don’t mind. Yesterday two colleagues and I decided to go day-tripping to the nearby alpine village of Yuzawa, and we had a ball poking … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel - Japan | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Trip to a Shinto shrine

Posted on July 21, 2015 by arleebug54

This past Sunday, the program graciously offered us a tour of some of the local sites of note, and the excursion included a Shinto shine, a vineyard and winery, and a Buddhist temple. I was thrilled to get a chance … Continue reading →

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Provisioning in Japan

Posted on July 19, 2015 by arleebug54

One of the guaranteed delights of international travel for me and probably most of us is visits to grocery stores that clearly cater to a different palate than the ones back home. No trip anywhere is ever complete without a … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel - shopping | Tagged | 4 Comments

Goldilocks and the two minibuses…

Posted on July 13, 2015 by arleebug54

Now, in all honesty, this blog should be about the start of the summer term at IUJ – specifically about the delightful new students who are assembling here, getting oriented, and preparing to enter our classes on Wednesday. There’s been … Continue reading →

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Settling in to IUJ

Posted on July 10, 2015 by arleebug54

I landed in Tokyo Tuesday evening after a 12-hour flight, added to a time difference of +13 hours from Portland, Maine. To my great delight and tremendous relief, former student and current friend Koji made the trek up from Osaka … Continue reading →

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Heros and good wishes in O’Hare

Posted on July 9, 2015 by arleebug54

By now you are probably aware that I really like major transit hubs – airports and train stations in particular. They seem to me to be portals of adventure, worm holes leading to the next reality. While O’Hare in Chicago … Continue reading →

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A summer adventure in Japan

Posted on July 3, 2015 by arleebug54

This summer I am honored to be serving as a Visiting Instructor at the International University of Japan (IUJ) in Minamiuonuma, Japan. IUJ is, to my knowledge, the only all-graduate, all-English-medium university in the country. There are two main types … Continue reading →

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A Touch of Asheville

Posted on July 2, 2015 by arleebug54

I’ve had some extra time on my hands this spring between the completion of one contract and the beginning of another. And since time, in my mind, most often equals “chance for a trip,” I’ve been taking a few little … Continue reading →

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