One More Year

For all who I haven`t informed by email or phone, I`ve signed another contract with my employer for one more year. The winter was harsh, but the positive aspects of work and life in Japan, such as teaching experience, pay, and a low-stress working environment, certainly outweigh the difficulties. To celebrate, I`m hightailing it to a secluded island. I`ve used little of my paid vacation time, so I`m going to be taking a week long furlough during Golden Week, which is from the end of April to the beginning of May. Because of the four national holidays occurring in Golden Week, it is a popular week for the worker bees of Japan to exploit their vacation time. An employee only has to take two days of vacation to get an entire week off from work. However, most of the people I work with aren`t going on vacation. Instead, they are planning to do activities with students, such as camping, and spending the remainder of their holiday "sleeping".

I have a different attitude toward vacation time. If it isn`t going to be a nuisance to my employer or coworkers, then I`m going to use it. As a result, I will be cruising 11 hours by ferry from Kagoshima city to the island of Amami-oshima. It is the third island of the inhabited string of islands trailing away from Kyushu. I will meet a friend, whose name is Jeremy and who I`ve recently become acquainted with, in the largest city in Amami, Naze. From there, I will stay at another ALT`s house, whose name is Ian and who, to my benefit, is letting me bunk in his house and rally his car while he is away visiting Okinawa.

Jeremy taught English as an ALT in Amami for three years, so he is well fraternized with the Island. In one week, he plans on showing me as many of Amami`s treasures as possible. He is a firm believer that Amami is one of the few jewels of Japan that has been left untouched by extreme industrialization, development, and tourism. We plan on snorkeling along vibrant coral reefs, canoeing and hiking through Amami-gunto National Park, and hopefully giving surfing a shot. In between staying at Ian`s house, trekking around with Jeremy, and unwinding on the beach, I just want to sit in the shade and finish One Hundred Years of Solitude (Spanish title: Cien años de soledad)--For those familiar with the book, the family lineage is making my head spin, so I need to map out all the Úrsulas, Remedios, Aurelianos, and Josés.

Traveling with a local is the best way to travel. These are the type of trips I look forward to. A local usually knows the mom and pop resaurants serving home cooked flavor and the hidden attractions tucked away from the oblivious tourist. The tourist traps always suck the energy out of me, leaving me bereft of my desire to travel and wishing why I`d come in the first place. This trip will most likely fill me with the desire to return.