Jetting Educated

Hi travelers, I have just returned form Japan and loved it . I will soon be penning some Tokyo tips, but for now, check out Kyoto! The former capital city is well known for having temples and shrines everywhere. And they really are numerous!  Whether you want to check out the top few or go on a total temple tour, my first tip is seeing them by cycling around the city. I hired a bike for  800 JPY (5 GBP/7 USD) that had to be returned by 11am the next day, so its very affordable. Riding in Kyoto reminded me of wandering Rome in 2013 without a map, as both times my curiosity led me to great sights that I was not expecting to find. Kinkaku-ji is a very impressive golden temple and cost just 400 JPY (2.5 GBP/4 USD) to see. Other than that recommendation I'm going to talk about the non-temple attractions and other ways to absorb culture. Its easy to stumble across great sights that you weren't trying to find in Kyoto These three can all be enjoyed in English: ...

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're saying" I admitted, and automatically, my face contorted in to an expression of confusion and I gave an over exaggerated shrug.  My mumblings and body language were sure to tell him I was a confused foreigner, and indeed, the Italian man accepted his mistake and continued down the Roman street. My heritage pie chart: Guyana, Britain and a little bit of France In Italy I was often mistaken- natives and tourists alike were asking me questions or for directions. One one occasion I said "Hey, I'm new here too, but lets go," and then we ended up going to a science museum together. When meeting other travelers, a game of "guess my ethnic background" has ended with: Greek, Turk, Iranian, Spaniard and Italian among many others. I guess my actual roots from South America is a bit far to consider when people play that game in Europe.  While I am proud of this heritage, once you talk to me I...

I thought that spending Christmas in Lapland would the most festive and magical thing ever-  It's pretty much the Christmas place; there is always snow, plenty of reindeer, and of course the real Father Christmas lives here.  Well we actually have three of them- but shh! Lapland overall has been a highly enjoyable trip even if Christmas Day itself was a little strange. The problem was that day felt no different to any other because we have been in mega-Xmas mode for so long. Christmas music plays on the coach every day and we are surrounded by elves with fake presents. Since late November people have been pulling crackers at our festive dinners so I've become very desensitised. I was wondering if you lose the excitement of Christmas as you grow up, but I think its more to do with working all day on the 25th that made it seem less exciting, rather than my age. This aside, its been wonderful and at least the children we've taken care of have had a very specia...

Working Lapland is quite different to other seasonal jobs that I have done. For one, I've never been this tired in my life. When I worked in the Alps I could comprehend the reduced energy levels: we were living at 1850 meters above sea level which is always reason to eat more, plus I spent loads of time exerting myself on the ski slopes.          But here I actually feel more exhausted and all I'm doing during the day is talking to people. Plus we're barely at 400 meters so the altitude is not much of a factor. After work we never exert ourselves- we'd sooner watch a film or sit in the sauna. So why the endless tiredness? Well I've been thinking about it and come up with three reasons that working in Lapland will eventually put you into a coma. Hannah heading to work in the dark, at 9am Firstly we've gotta mention the darkness situation.  Its been said that Finland's high suicide rates could be linked to the mischief that the...