Boats (and a sorta secret message too)

I live in Funabashi. It's a beautiful place. Literally translated it means "boat bridge," which makes about as much sense as Springfield. Anyways, back when I hadn't given up about blogging about China in a reasonable amount of time, I realized that the sky was very washed out in a lot of my pictures. At the time, I blamed it on over exposure. Now I blame it on not having an expensive and beautiful circular polarizing filter.

But anyway, I set out one day in my neighborhood, determined not to over expose the sky.

This is what I did:





I love my camera.

so here's the big news:
in January I'm heading on a big big crazy trip. well, crazy is all relative right? I mean, I could put my money in one of these banks... or I could get my CELTA (a one month English teaching certificate) and brush up on my Spanish.
So I will be back in The States on Dec 11th. Now, hopefully, one student who I gave this blog address to won't actually read this part. It's still a secret. But I can't contain myself any longer.

In January, preferably on January 16th--for purely sentimental reasons-- but probably sooner, I will head south by bus or ride share or something. I'll head all the way down to Mexico City over a few weeks. All things not going terribly wrong, I will fly to Buenos Aires and spend a month getting my CELTA and staying in a dormitory.
The CELTA degree plus my experience in Japan will qualify me to teach in Latin America, Eastern Europe (non EU countries) and pretty much all of Asia. To teach in America, Canada, Australia, ect or the UAE you usually need an MA in TESOL. I'm thinking of getting me one of them in the near future too. But then again, I've been having doubts...
To think about THE FUTURE is awfully much. So I'm focusing on the right now--working, fixing things up, passing this Japanese test, birthday parties, etc and the next big leap --this next big trip.
I think I have some lingering... doubt isn't right, more like misplaced guilt or something about it all. I mean, shouldn't I be scrimping and saving and suffering? Many loved ones, mostly friends more than family are working as hard as I but don't have this opprotunity. I wish I could take you with me. I feel sorry to come back to the states only to leave again, but I feel it's what I have to do, too.
This is something I've been thinking about a long time.
So from the beginning of March to ...say... end of May (not decided completely) I'll move slowly around Argentina and up to Peru--probably through Chile and Bolivia.

I'll fly by from Lima, probably to LA and then get up to Oregon. I'll spend the summer in Oregon and after that... I'm undecided. Many things are bouncing around in my head. I think they'll become clear as time passes.
So I'm both very excited and scared about the trip ahead. I don't know what being on the road for so long will be like. I imagine, something like my cycling adventure this summer that I will find a pace. I plan on using couchsurfing and WWOOF a lot, both as a cheap way to travel and as a way to not travel alone, despite traveling alone.

I will travel very light, bringing only a backpack and day pack. I will bring my camera (of course!) but not my computer. I will bring both walking shoes/sandals and dance shoes. I'll seek to be both quick footed and witted.

...so, which picture did you like best?!?

the adventures certainly do continue in vivid color.