Misha returned to Japan for almost two weeks to celebrate Halloween and attend the Marine Corps Birthday Ball. After a costume party for Halloween, we returned to Kyoto and Osaka to see some sights we missed the first time around, then tacked on two nights of glamping at an olive farm on Awaji Island. It required many train rides and schlepping our luggage and Mochi. It was a great, if not exhausting, trip across the Kansai region.
Back in August, I made my first trip to Vietnam to visit Misha. We spent a week together, and though the timing wasn’t great (there were tsunami warnings and a lot of rain), it was still enough time for me to form an initial impression of the city.Â
Following our stop in Kyoto, we hopped on another bullet train for Osaka. The trip made up over 55km in under 15 minutes, enough time to drink a beer but little else. The next day was all about the World Expo, an event that moves around the globe every five years. Nations are invited to join and showcase different innovations and cultural aspects around a central theme.
Misha recently stopped in Japan to visit me while reporting for duty at Embassy Hanoi. It was great seeing her after two months apart. We had a little down time in Tokyo as she tried getting over the jet lag, though it takes about a week to truly adjust (or three weeks according to Misha). On a day when the heat and humidity made the air as thick as pudding, we hopped aboard our first bullet train (shinkansen) to visit Kyoto and Osaka.Â
I planned my arrival in Tokyo for Memorial Day Weekend to give me an extra day off to get over my jet lag. Â I also booked a 9am walking tour of the more popular attractions close to my neighborhood. Â This way I could get my bearings on the area before diving headlong into work. Â Some of the highlights included Shibuya Crossing, Tsujiki Fish Market, Hongan-ji Temple, and Senso-ji Temple.Â
I’m three weeks into my tour in Tokyo, over the jet lag, and am starting to settle into life here. The flight over was the longest I’ve ever been on: 14 hours direct from Dulles in Virginia. It wasn’t quite as bad as I expected, but the food service came three times (and with it the lights) making it hard to get any real sleep.Â
If you follow the Beer and Diplomacy Instagram, you may have been a bit confused about some of my recent content. Didn’t you say you were going to Vietnam next? What’s this about Flag Day? I have purposely delayed writing this blog for a variety of reasons, including the uncertainty surrounding my own employment and the typical delay for security reasons. Some answers to the above questions can also be found in my OMS post, but the main thing to know is: I finally accepted the offer!
This news is a coming a bit late but based on the number of variables and the confusing nature of bidding at this stage of Misha’s career, I wanted to make sure I didn’t report news that would require a retraction later on down the line. With that in mind, I am happy to announce... Continue Reading →
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