Photo by Starsprinkles “Someday I’ll wish upon a star,And wake up where the clouds are farBehind me.” – Dorothy Last night, somewhere over the rainbow, on 14th street in Chelsea, Manhattan… Dude Sitting in the back of a Christmas Tree Truck: You dropped something. Me: (stopped walking to look behind me, surprised) Really? Dude: Yeah,… Read More There’s No Place Like Home?

My first day as an Eigo no Sensei (that’s Japanese for “Human Tissue and/or Punching Bag, Jungle Gym, Disney-Princess-Come-to-Life”) started in June, at a daycare center. I remember shortly after arriving, the teacher whom I was replacing, affectionately patted one of the toddlers on the head and said something to the effect of: “Aw, I’m… Read More And So Ends Another Chapter in My Life…

So I just got back from my nightly midnight snack run to the 7-11 across the street…and you won’t believe who was working behind the counter. A tall, gangly, pony-tail- wearing, white dude. Yeah, seriously. A live, breathing foreigner working at my convenience store! This is totally bizarro for a couple of reasons. 1. I… Read More Something Really Weird Just Happened to Me…

Have you ever just been going through the motions of your boring, every day life and all of a sudden you stop dead in your tracks and have this incredible epiphany? That’s been happening to me a lot lately. Living abroad will do that to you. I think it’s because you end up spending a… Read More What I Learned While Eating a Sea Cucumber

Well, I put in notice at my job yesterday. Which means that soon I’ll be homeless and jobless. While that’s not exactly unfamiliarity territory in the life and times of Reannon, it’s still a little frightening. Especially considering that the average American teenager’s allowance is greater than the amount in my savings account at the… Read More I Quit My Job…and Other Post-Worthy News

I never write about my roommate…mostly because it’s embarrassing to admit that I don’t know anything about her. It’s strange, because I’ve lived with her for six months and know random, intimate details about her life, like the brand of shampoo she uses or how she takes her coffee, but I don’t know the important… Read More My Roommate

I used to have this friend in New York; one of my ‘next time friends’, (as in ‘next time I’m in New York, we’ll have to hang out.’) Next time, whenever I return from (insert random country name) we’ll definitely meet up for drinks or Thai food or ice skating at Chelsea Piers. Well, she… Read More Where Do I Go From Here?

Yesterday I had an awesome birthday! It goes down as one of the more bizarre birthdays I’ve had (and that’s saying a lot. Last year I spent my birthday in Nepal, feeding a neighbor’s baby orphan elephant lentils out of a beer bottle). But it was nevertheless entertaining. Here are some of the few strange… Read More My Birthday in a Jail Cell with a Zombie…and Other Odd Moments

Today I found out why one of my students’ quit. Apparently her mother thought my lesson was too scary. The lesson in question was my famously fun Toilet Paper Lesson plan, an idea I stole from GenkiEnglish.com, (a useful site for fun game ideas young learners, by the way). We did a doctor/patient roll play… Read More A Cultural Misunderstanding…

Sorry I haven’t been updating this blog recently. It’s not that I haven’t had the time or even the energy. I’ve written several blog posts but haven’t published any of them because I guess I’m feeling a little lost. Okay, a lot lost. And a lot confused, too. What am I doing in Japan? And… Read More It’s been a rough past few days…