Hell
guess been lucky in my Life as have been able to travel a lot bcuz of
my jobs (both working overseas & back in Canada) cuz when
married guess we saved & luckily invested successfully! So
when my marriage kinda ended have tried to live my dream as figure
Life is 2 short 2 be hung up on material shit or save for a rainy day
(shit isn't that this time of year right now in Van? lol)!
So thought
I'd like to go to Okinawa as it's kinda tropical and part of my
ancestorial homeland of Japan! However I'm too far removed from my Japanese
roots to consider myself Japanese! But have always thought the
Japanese peep in Japan were so kind, polite and honest so cudn't help
but respect and admire how such a small sized country cud have over
100 million peep and be so respectful of each other's privacy!
I'm
proud of my heritage and roots tho I may not quite understand or follow
their culture I nevertheless feel tied to this culture in some way!
https://www.google.ca/search?q=japanese+culture&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=gPhiVPKpGMi1ogTTm4LIBw&ved=0CCsQsAQ&biw=1218&bih=659
Heck today Nov 11 is Remembrance Day in Canada!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day A day when peep get the opportunity to show respect to the men and women who scarificed a lot for their country starting in WWI, WWII, Korean, Vietnam, Afghanistan and future wars that Canada is involved!! There are what we call Cenotaphs in all cities and towns throughout Canada! http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/cenotaphs-monuments-to-our-veterans-1.972283 Where people go to show their respect to our veteran and current Arm Forces people! One of those is in Stanley Park in Vancouver which was erected in dedication to the number of Canadian Japanese people who served in the Canadian Arm Forces!
http://najc.ca/support-the-japanese-canadian-war-memorial/ I feel honored that my father has his name inscribed on the monument/cenotaph there! Also my son is currently serving in the Canadian Armed Forces so every year I attend the Remembrance Day Ceremony there to pay my respect to both father and my son!! I have read portions of the Japanese Canadian newspaper (The Bulletin) tho not on a regular basis to realize how proud and important we are of their and others service means to all Canadians of Japanese ancestory! http://jccabulletin-geppo.ca/
Attending that Remembrance Day Ceremony is probably the few times I feel very deep feelings, closeness & ties to my Japanese heritage!
https://www.google.ca/search?q=japanese+canadian+cenotaph+in+Stanley+park+Vancouver+canada&espv=2&biw=1218&bih=659&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=YCxkVM_hCMzqoASAsYKYCw&ved=0CDYQsAQ&dpr=1.5
Heck today Nov 11 is Remembrance Day in Canada!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day A day when peep get the opportunity to show respect to the men and women who scarificed a lot for their country starting in WWI, WWII, Korean, Vietnam, Afghanistan and future wars that Canada is involved!! There are what we call Cenotaphs in all cities and towns throughout Canada! http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/cenotaphs-monuments-to-our-veterans-1.972283 Where people go to show their respect to our veteran and current Arm Forces people! One of those is in Stanley Park in Vancouver which was erected in dedication to the number of Canadian Japanese people who served in the Canadian Arm Forces!
http://najc.ca/support-the-japanese-canadian-war-memorial/ I feel honored that my father has his name inscribed on the monument/cenotaph there! Also my son is currently serving in the Canadian Armed Forces so every year I attend the Remembrance Day Ceremony there to pay my respect to both father and my son!! I have read portions of the Japanese Canadian newspaper (The Bulletin) tho not on a regular basis to realize how proud and important we are of their and others service means to all Canadians of Japanese ancestory! http://jccabulletin-geppo.ca/
Attending that Remembrance Day Ceremony is probably the few times I feel very deep feelings, closeness & ties to my Japanese heritage!
https://www.google.ca/search?q=japanese+canadian+cenotaph+in+Stanley+park+Vancouver+canada&espv=2&biw=1218&bih=659&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=YCxkVM_hCMzqoASAsYKYCw&ved=0CDYQsAQ&dpr=1.5
Even with out attending the Ceremony I have often had a deep desire to visit Japan again to maybe try and understand this
culture and perhaps learn a little Japanese (been there twice but
just to the islands of Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku but wud like to also visit the islands of Hokkaido
& Okinawa 2 even tho the 2 islands are on the opposite ends of Japan
and have far differing weather!)! So
dam thought that maybe Okinawa wud be a better warmer place to
visit!!
However after doing some more research I started to realize that in our winter it was more or less typhoon season in Nov to Jan in Okinawa when I wud like to visit there!
http://www.accuweather.com/en/jp/okinawa-shi/219498/november-weather/219498http://www.okinawa-information.com/weather-forecast-typhoon-rain
Hell one year I had been in Goa, India about April and also planned to stay for May and June too! However the monsoons came starting in April so cudn't do much which kinda sucked!! So decided wtf don't want to go to a place to experience a monsoon/typhoon season again as fuk all to do when it rains during the day! So thought do I want to go thru that type of rain again and cud my bank account afford expensive costs?
So decided to go back to South Africa again! Cuz got an invitation from my friend P to visit and stay gratis at her Mom & her home! They have a room in the back of their house in the rural country close to the beach (are off the grid and proud of it!!)! P invited me to repay me for hosting, taking her camping and showing her the beauty of Canada! Also she has a pickup/bakkie so said wud take me camping (like did for her as she loves camping and nature) 2 parts of S.A. that I had missed b4! Also if we have time maybe can go to neighboring countries like Namibia, etc.!
https://www.google.ca/search?q=camping+in+south+africa&espv=2&biw=1218&bih=659&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=lzFkVKmpGtjpoASlp4GgAQ&ved=0CCcQsAQ
Guess kinda turned P into sort of a Free Spirit like myself plus is 420 friendly! P told me that this summer (Nov - Mar cuz S. Hemisphere) she's NOT going to do her business! But going to try to find a teaching job again as was a high school teacher for 7 years in Jo'burg (but disliked the city) or maybe return to a job as a Technical Writer (worked at it b4) cuz she's an English Grad and now taking online Honors Psychology! Tho doesn't educate herself for a good paying job or status but to learn as doesn't really give a shit about money or status like moi!! So if she returns to teaching the new term starts in Jan! The rest of my stay in S.A. I'd prob travel around on my own as know some local peep plus others around! Cuz thought heck why not take the offer rather than work part time in the rain!!!
Think P realizes that I love traveling & enjoy Life as not my style to hit on chicks as enjoy hanging out plus don't try to change our friendship, but who knows as it might!! Although hell I like the way my Life is now without looking to change it!!
P thinks of herself as a patriotic S. African and wants to be part of the solution to improve things NOT Bail on her country! She definitely wants to work to improve the way of life for peep like herself as NOT INTO MONEY similar to me! So we kinda think alike in those ways as I try to assist P to improve what ever I can in any small ways!
Just don't want peep to think my visit to South Africa is to look, found true love or want a wife!! Cuz heck bin dar dun dat so don't want it again plus still truly care for my x wife as feel if did that wud be a slap in her face which is not my style! But who knows what the future holds?? Tho know wud never marry again!!!!
But what really sealed the deal to make the trip economical for me was finding a $1350 flight return ticket from Vancouver Canada to
Johannesburg S.A. and the offer of free accommodation which made it affordable!! Bcuz feel can prob live cheaper in S.A. for 3 months than can in Vancouver even while still paying rent 4 the apt have in Canada due to the fact that Canadians get a very favorable exchange rate! Which makes living in S.A. fairly cheap, along with getting free accommodation, going camping a lot of the time plus cooking our meals! Plus was able to save $1300 towards a flight in the past 3 months so yeah why not go?