Submitted by D. Vincent A simple story. I lived for many years in Japan, first in rural Tokushima Prefecture as an English teacher, then later in Tokyo, working for the NGO Peace Boat, where I met, among many other amazing
Love Down Under
In 1995 I spent a year living in Sydney, Australia and then returned back to my home state of Iowa. However, for some reason my heart seemed to keep calling me back to Australia. It took five years, but I
Christmas in Eritrea
One of my most treasured memories from my international travels is from my time in the small country of Eritrea, located in the Horn of Africa. It was Christmas and the Peace Boat had docked to the sound of “Jingle
Meeting my ‘Soul Sister’ in Japan
I had first visited Osaka, Japan during my time on Semester at Sea and later decided to return and take on the challenge of making a life for myself—for the first time—in a non-English speaking country. When I landed at
I’ll Take That House! A Small World Story
And I’ll Take That House: A “Small World” Story It’s not atypical for one’s teen years to be a time of discontent, but I was a teen who spent her formative years in Alaska where big waters, big mountains, big
My Persian Twin
The time period I spent in China was one of the worst in US-Iranian diplomatic relations. Just a week before I arrived at my international student dorm, several news stories were out about escalation between the two countries. So when
Small World, Big Connections
“After Peace Boat, I felt drawn back to Australia—the first foreign country that I’d lived and worked in after college—to pursue a master’s degree in International Communication. Once again, I learned not to underestimate the power of connections and what
Three Countries Tied
I was living on the 9th floor of an apartment in the heart of downtown Zhong Li, Taiwan with a gorgeous view of the surrounding mountains—about an hour southwest of the capital city Taipei—where I was teaching English. It was
Kyoto Crossings
In 2012 I was living in Seoul, South Korea teaching English at an English Academy in Daebang. During Chuseok (a traditional Korean holiday similar in some ways to the American Thanksgiving holiday) my friend Justin—whom I’d met at free Korean
Be Careful Where Your Photos Show Up in this Small World!
Before I moved to Japan, I worked at a community college in Iowa as a Japanese Student Advisor for an exchange group of Japanese college students from Tokyo. We took a weekend trip to Chicago and I showed them many