Getting Bitten! (Over and Over Again…)

No, I’m not referring to ‘squitos, ants or bees here, but rather to that elusive slinking creature that is the Travel Bug. You think it’s gone dormant, burrowed deep in a wall in the place you’re calling home, and then suddenly it’s upon you and you’re caught up in a whirlwind of passports and planning and swooning over distant seas and mountains.

This happened to me this week. My parents came down to Oaxaca for a visit and I was smacked into seeing the city anew again. I saw bromeliads in the Sierra Norte and broken turquoise balconies on the second floor of crumbling buildings.

Photo: Sarah

The flavors of tortillas jumped out at me again and I remembered just how good the cappuccinos at café Nuevo Mundo are, and how good it feels to sit for hours there under a sky bluer than blue. I also remembered, seeing my family see, feel, and process the city, just how overwhelming and transformative travel can be.

Photo: Sarah

And then I found out that I’m going to Japan. I’ve been offered a three-month position training teachers in Nagoya. So right on the tail of a big family visit, still swept up in all the renewed enthusiasm for Mexico, I got bit again—hard—by the travel bug.

I can’t wait to get back to Asia and to see Japan. I’d be forever grateful if you, readers, would offer your experiences with Japan and Japanese culture. Anyone taught there? Lived there? Traveled there? Advice? Insight? Sound off below!