World Mysteries – Yonaguni Monument

Japan’s most mysterious dive …

The Japanese mythology “Nirai-Kanani” is a faraway land where traditional gods of the land live and happiness abounds. .

In 1987, Kihachiro Aratake was scouting more hammerhead breading grounds for his scuba diving company tours. Instead, he discovered the Yonaguni Monument. It is a site with several underwater rock formations off Japan’s westernmost Island, Yonaguni. There is a debate about whether the site is completely natural, is a natural site that has been modified, or is a manmade artefact. If man made or altered, it would change history books as we know them.

« The Arch. » It’s a crude arch at best, the five stacked stones impressively large but not seeming carved at all.

​ »Twin Towers, » (matching obelisks). These do appear shaped-and very exactingly at that. Two perfect rectangles, more than 20 feet tall. They seem aligned for some purpose. The foremost expert on the Yonaguni Monument, Professor Masaaki Kimura of the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, believes the four-inch gap between the obelisks may have channeled a shaft of sunlight signaling the autumn equinox.

« The Chapel » Here, there is, what appears to be, a platform with an incised cross.

Then we turn a corner and are filled with wonder upon seeing « the terrace ». We too, are filled with a measure of the same awe Kihachiro Aratake must have felt-the main monument itself. So massive and different from the sea around it, the edges so uncannily carved.I immediately thought of ancient pyramids and worlds long lost. Yet, like an optical illusion, the closer you get to it the more it changes. What seemed from a distance so symmetrical and distinct has no distinct details when seen piece by piece.

Hello! It’s me behind the camera!

We were lucky enough to dive with one of Japan’s National women’s freediver. She was incredibly beautiful!

If this channel was erroded, there is no left over debris. These parallel lines that stretch more than 20 metres may have been a gutter.

« The turtle » close up.

Another ‘turtle’ arial shot image source: http://pixgood.com/yonaguni-monument-turtle.html

Most Japanese children can recall, the tale of a kind fisherman named Urashima Taro (浦島 太郎?)  who rescued a turtle from being bullied. He is then rewarded with a visit to a faraway palace before returning to his home village. He tries to return to the turtle’s palace only to find it is gone and he has aged dramatically

« Swimming pool »

Nearby is a cavity in the rock, maybe 20 feet deep and somewhat rounded like a well. Professor Kimura calls this a tida hole-tida being the sun, and the hole the place from which it rises and disappears. Tida holes are features of other gusuku-which are palaces, fortresses and sacred sites all rolled into one-found in Japan. Another charming myth of the distant past.

 “I’ve dived there as well. What Professor Kimura says is not exaggerated at all.” Toru Ouchi, an associate professor of seismology at Kobe University,

My reflections:

After my experience, I believe that Yonaguni Monument has been altered by humans. However, I do not believe that the Yonaguni Monument is twice as old as the pyramids. I suggest that seismic activity drastically changed the shape of Yonaguni Island’s coastline. When I observed the coastline less than 50 metres from the site, it looked as though a big piece of it had broken away. The nautical directions of Yonaguni are an important characteristic of early civilisations, facing the sun rising in the east. The sheer number of sites around Yonaguni Monument (10 sites) is impressive. Furthermore, a human-face carved from rock on the nearest and highest hill ABOVE GROUND to the Yonaguni Monument which I also visited (discovered in 1996). Not to mention carved symbols which do not occur naturally and evidence of fire use.

It is clear that the early civilisation of Yonaguni were altering big rock formations facing the east above ground. Why is it so hard to believe that part of it fell below sea level as a result of huge seismic activity due to the tectonic shelf that Yonaguni is situated on? I believe that whatever that event was, it very probably wiped out the people that were living there. Japan’s earliest manuscript, the “Koijiki” tells stories of horrendous earthquakes and conflagrations supporting this theory.

I believe that only specialists who have dived at the Yonaguni Monument over 20 times and also done snorkelling or free diving at the site (for the aerial perspective) need to come and make conclusive decisions about the origins and date of this formation. It deserves wide media coverage for its beauty and uniqueness.

“The best way to get a definitive answer about their origins is to keep going back and collecting more evidence,” said Mr Aratake. “If I’d not had a chance to see these structures for myself, I might be skeptical as well.”

– and I agree! ~ Bec Beyond Borders

 Kimura’s parting words: « Until someone shows me proof that it’s not manmade, I will believe that it is. »

Visiting Yonaguni? Go with Souwes, the family who discovered the site. They take care of everything including flights, airport pick-up, diving, eating and accomodation! Their friendly family was the highlight of our stay!!

You never knew Japan looked like this …

Over Christmas I visited the Yaeyama Islands: Ishigaki, Yonaguni, Iriomote and Taketomi. I want to share with you the highlights from each Island.

Ishigaki your base for Yaeyama Islands

Yonaguni an Island of mystery, scuba-diving and exploring. Our favourite!

Iriomote A hiker’s dream Island

Taketomi An exciting and relaxing half-day trip to an Island of STAR-SAND!

If I had to choose one undiscovered gem in Japan, I would say it was Yonaguni Island.
Which of these Islands do you feel most drawn to exploring?

-Bec

LASIK eye surgery in Japan (with video)

In 2014 I made the big decision to get LASIK eye corrective surgery abroad, in Japan. This is MY experience and I hope it can be useful to other people out there. For more about my choices in getting LASIK read the bottom paragraph “Background”.

Pre-operation: I had an initial eye-check-up appointment where they measured my eye’s dimensions and told me if I was eligible and my surgery choices. I used this as a chance to check out their facilities, hygiene and overall credibility (it was similar to Australia). Then I didn’t use contacts for about two weeks before another eye appointment measuring my eyes without contact use on the same machines. At this appointment they gave me a briefing about the surgery (and other small lifestyle changes for before surgery eg. Eye drops). The following appointment was the actual surgery. Here’s a picture of my eyes before surgery:

Operation-day (17th August, 2014, 14:00): I arrived a little nervous and was given plenty of time to relax and settle, I had chosen to pay on the day of procedure, so I did that before they prepared me. They did a third eye-check to make sure everything was still the same and there was nothing floating in my eyes. They gave me some medication to relax my muscles (less likely to flinch in surgery, although the machine stops if you trigger its motion sensors anyway).  I put a robe on over my clothes and wore a hair net, laid down on a reclined seat with machinery looking down at me from above in a dark room. I was on the chair for 7 minutes total which felt much shorter to me since my eyes were only held open mechanically for less than a minute at a time with extra eye drop lubrication. I had practiced the night before holding my eyes open and couldn’t even do 1 minute! It was much easier when then lubricated and held them open.

1st eye: suction (feels like a plunger) I saw black and this was the most unnerving moment of the procedure – although entirely painless – because I didn’t know if I was accidentally moving my eye. I couldn’t feel this, but the laser had cut a flap in my eye quite quickly. He asked me to blink after releasing the “plunger” pressure clamping my eye, asking if I had any pain which I didn’t. Same to 2nd eye.

The seat I was on swung to the right under another piece of machinery. This time my eyes were taped open and I was asked to stare at the light dot which was so easy and quick it was actually incredible! Before I was allowed to blink they used a light brush to put the flap back in place, I could see the brush but not feel it. They asked me to blink and told me I was finished. They took a quick eye check (Pre-procedure: Left -2.75, Right -2.75) Post procedure: L 1.5, R 2.0 ! Naturally eyes balance out in the coming 3 months. I didn’t wear eye patches leaving the surgery, just sunglasses. Here is a pic outdoors with me trying to keep my eyes open but feeling sensitive to light.

For 6.5 hrs after surgery my eyes were sensitive to light and my vision fluctuated choosing only to see short-sighted in focus or long-sighted.

6.5 hrs after surgery I had perfect vision and no pain, it was so clear. I took all eye drops and pain killers as I had been told to.

Day-after procedure: They had to clean my eyes and they measured me the same as the day before: L 1.5, R 2.0

1 week check-up: (Pre-procedure: Left -2.75, Right -2.75) Post-procedure: L 1.5, R 1.5
8 days after surgery I spent 5-6 hours on a computer without breaks and felt a headache and a hint of nausea so I stopped and took a Panadol, it was gone within the hour.

6 month check-up: No other discomfort. My only side effect from the surgery is light halo’s which I only notice when driving at night. This doesn’t impair my driving or lessen my quality of life. I am so grateful for the changes that LASIK has made in my life, here’s a picture of my eyes no, since the day of surgery I haven’t had any pain.

Reflection & Recommendation:
The most shocking part of the procedure was that it was virtually painless, the slight sting from eye drops before the surgery was the most pain from the whole thing. The most unnerving part was the pressure on my eye ball that caused black vision because I didn’t want to do anything wrong. I could not even feel the laser cutting. I could see lights and hear tazer-like sounds throughout the procedure but there was almost no sensation/pain. I recommend getting LASIK in Japan through Kobe Kanagawa Clinic, it is safe and trustworthy but Japanese ability could be advantageous at times. However, coming to Japan just for the surgery is not worth it in overall price.

How much did I save and was the risk worth it? This procedure costs AUD$6,000 in Australia and I got it done in Japan for AUD$2824. This risk was worth it for me, but you never know before the surgery. The procedures and benefits were the same in Australia and Japan. The biggest positive to getting it in Japan was price. The biggest negative was the slight language barrier that still existed when their translator wasn’t present.

If you get LASIK you are one brave person. And if you get it done abroad, you are one very brave person. I hope the results pay off for you all as they did for me. This is a really personal choice so I wish you the best in making.

Let me know what you think of LASIK below!

– Bec

Caution: After 3 minutes it is hard to watch this video:

*Background* I got glasses for short sightedness in high school and never really got used to them with my active lifestyle. I decided to use contact lenses which I used for about 6 years (this thinned my cornea but I could still get LASIK). In my final year of University in Australia I was old enough to get LASIK but when I looked into the prices it was totally unaffordable. I started natural eye exercises, but with my busy lifestyle I didn’t give it my all and didn’t see any positive results. I was planning on going to Japan anyway and looked up LASIK prices online on a whim and found only one website with some sections in English (via this helpful blog: http://www.biginjapan.co/biginjapan/getting-lasik-in-japan/). Their price list was less than HALF of the Australian price. Kobe Kanagawa Eye Clinic is the name of the clinic I used. While most staff at the clinics did not speak English, Dr Masuda from their Tokyo branch was perfectly bi-lingual and English paperwork was helpful too. My operating doctor spoke some English. I was primarily worried my vision might be worse than naturally after operation. My emotions were probably amplified by the fact that I was far from home and had only ever had one surgery before. Making the decision to do LASIK was harder than I anticipated. I had my partner with me and couldn’t have done it without him, you should ensure you have support with you on the day of operation. I would recommend asking friends that have had LASIK for feedback, that’s what made me finally decide to take the plunge. Also the fact that 95% of people are satisfied with their vision after LASIK and there are no recorded cases when LASIK has definitely caused blindness. PS. DO NOT WATCH HORROR VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE (that’s torture).

Just because you’re breathing doesn’t mean you’re alive!

At least once a month are you overcome by the beauty of your life? The array of opportunities before you? Have you ever stopped one day and tried to list at least 3 things that you are grateful for? Have you tried not using the word “I” throughout a whole conversation? Or a whole day? I tried and realised it is so different to my usual habit.

Being <alive> means different things to different people. Here I’ll tell you what it means to me. Being alive is not about riding an open-top Cadillac down a highway wind-in-hair (although that can be a part of it), changing geographical location spontaneously (that can also be a part of it) or breaking out of your routine (same again). I believe you can be <alive> even if you’re living a daily routine of studying, working and errands. To me, being alive is about a state of mind not a set of circumstances. Being alive is living consciously.

In the title I said that just because you’re breathing doesn’t mean you’re alive. I mean that when people live complacently, as so often we do, we become unaware of the brilliance of our lives, the boundlessness of our potential. Why do we become so normalised with how amazing it is that we take a new breath again each morning, that humans exist, that life exists on this planet, from cells to bodies to eco systems, solar systems, galaxies, universe(s?)… That any day you can stand up and make a choice and change the rest of your life in whatever direction you like. We aren’t victims of existence and for some reason we act like it. Living complacently is not in our best interest. When we become passive participants in our lives, reacting to what life deals us, we make ourselves blind to the beauty that surrounds our existence and our pivotal role in it. We choose to see life as less beautiful. It’s part of our human condition.

There is nothing more exhilarating than feeling like one is maximising their existence, being <alive>. It all starts with living consciously… so how can one go about doing that while society by on large discourages it? This is where the clarity meets complex as I’m quite sure everybody achieves this change-of-perspective in different ways. As such, I’ll tell you mine and I’d be glad to hear yours in the comments below. To change my perspective on life and existence towards a more conscious approach: I need to be in touch with new, different, sometimes awe-inspiring and thought-provoking circumstances or people. Encounters like this push me to question everyday aspects of my life which were previously taken for granted. For me, travel is the best way to do this… it changes my perspective on life. I am no longer a passive victim in the way my life unravels, I am an active and proactive participant. I chose my future ~ I choose to live vicariously.

I don’t see people <actively living> enough, people seldom realise their great potential. Choose to see the beauty in things both big and small. Stop just breathing and start living.

– Bec Beyond Borders

Japanese in 13 weeks

I’ve been studying Japanese for four months now and I had to work really hard for it. It has been incredibly difficult, complicated, sometimes it felt like forever studying. Learning Japanese is tough for a native English speaker, but I was motivated to learn it to improve my ease and independance living in Japan. After two months of studying I wrote a progress report about how the language barrier affected my life and how much Japanese I’d learnt in 8 weeks (see here). Now after finishing my 13 week course I’m recording my progress again and thinking of future goals. Let’s take a look at what has improved (Note: Week 1 I knew nothing):

Right: all the kanji I learnt. Left: All the non-kanji vocab (spoken)

While fluency in Japanese is not my goal right now (see here), here are my goals to keep improving in my Japanese without a formal course.

1.    Speak well enough to feel confident travelling independently around Japan. I feel like I am almost there! Now I just need to take a trip and see! So that still remains my top goal.

2.    Second is to use the next 3 months while I do an internship in Tokyo as my chance to use each grammar point and vocabulary item in daily life. I think that by doing this I will retain the information I learnt in these 13 weeks for much longer. Learning things in a meaningful way is also more fun!

In my local café, about one week ago, a really sweet staff member who has known me since I got here in July 2014, came and sat down after her shift and we spoke in only Japanese for one whole hour (she speaks no English). This was really incredible for me, a real breakthrough. We needed to use an electronic dictionary for some words but we had quite a detailed discussion for my first time in Japanese about how old we were, our living situations, where she used to live, where I was moving to, how living with parents was different in Australia and Japan, at what ages we wanted to settle down and how that was different in our two cultures. We spoke about a shared interest in acting among other things and finally we organised to meet up in a coming weekend with our partners and go to the Christmas Markets nearby. This was the first time I realised what the last 13 weeks of my life had changed in me. In such a short time, I went from not being able to say anything to her, to being part of a one hour conversation without preparing anything. It had allowed me to connect with this super sweet girl of a totally different and rich culture. I was more proud of that moment than any number of exams I could have aced.

My experience in learning several other languages is that it has always been a very gradual process. This experience was unique because it was among the first sustained conversations I ever had in Japanese and it went for 1 hour. That moment helped me appreciate my progress in a more dramatic way than I probably ever had until now! It was like a land-slide victory in language learning.

While I am living in Tokyo I will write another update about how the application of my goals actually works out! For now, let me know about what languages you want to learn or the experiences you’ve had doing so?

Universal Studios Osaka, Japan (Destinations: Southern Japan Series)

Before going:

• Do NOT buy express passes. Most rides offer “singles” line which usually has a 5 minute wait time instead of 45mins-2.5 hour wait. People don’t usually know about this line because there ARE NO SIGNS FOR THEM, just enter “express” lane and when they ask for your express ticket, instead say “singuru” (Japanese accent on the word ‘single’/single rider).
• Check opening times (vary each season)
• Bring a re-fillable water bottle, it is a huge day and you will get dehydrated! There are water bottles around.
• Check how long it takes to get to the park by train from wherever you will be that morning.
• Bring a SMALL bag with cash, drink bottle and phone/camera. You will get sick of a big bag but don’t fret, there are lockers as soon as you exit from the train station. When exiting look right for the machine that helps you get a locker (lockers are to your left).
• Prepare for a normal sized lunch to be 1500JPY per person. We ate at the drive in diner and got a burger, chips and drink for that price.

When you’re there:

1. Cheap snacksfrom Lawson convenience store before entering (last cheap food for the day, may have long lines though).
2. Enter with your tickets (Staff scout peopleentering for very creative outfits to be part of a parade later in the day).
3. Go straight to the area opposite Harry Potter World RESERVEa time for entering. They will stamp your ticket with a one hour time frame in which you must enter, if you are 10 mins before/after they shouldn’t mind. Make sure you don’t miss out – it’s a highlight of the day!
4. Depending on which Harry Potter World reservation you get, do the rides listed below in any order. I suggest choosing Harry Potter world entrance around sunset so you can get pictures of the castle in light and dark, then spend the rest of your evening checking out the shops and shows etc. The photos from their main ride cost around 2000 yen but come in a cool dragon frame, a great souvenir.

Best rides (as 20-somethings) are:

• Harry Potter & Harry Potter World
• Amazing Spiderman
• Hollywood Dream (forwards direction, a backwards one exists too but I’m not fond of backwards)
• Jurassic Park Ride (+ see dinosaurs roaming periodically)
• Waterworld show (happens about every 45 mins)
• Jaws & Amnity village surrounding it
• Hollywood Parade (about 3 per day, we saw it around 13:00 while we ate lunch)

Disappointing rides:

• Back to the future & backdraft
• Terminator 2
• Space Fantasy

Enjoy USJ! Please leave your feedback below!

A monk hit me with a stick

Today I went to my first Zazen meditation class, the word means ‘seated meditation’. Zazen is basically a kind of Buddhist meditation that aims for unity of the mind (by letting one’s thoughts continually flow without lingering on any particular thought for too long) and sitting in a correct posture (the same posture Siddhartha Gautama did when reaching enlightenment).  Overall it was something I have really been looking forward to and really enjoyed. It was definitely a great cultural experience! We had to dress modestly and comfortably, be quiet, walk in certain directions, bow to certain things and squash our pillows in certain ways. The ceremony of it all was really beautiful!

The room itself was quite simple, it was tiled with a raised seating area all along the walls that had tatami mats and many little squashy black pillows. In the middle of the room was a statue of the Bodhisattva Manjusri (who has reached enlightenment). We were instructed to sit facing the wall and begin 15 minutes meditation. We could choose if we wanted to sit cross-legged, half lotus or full lotus. Also Zazen is a type of meditation done with eyes open at a 45 degree angle to the floor. I wanted to choose full lotus from the beginning but didn’t feel confident I could hold it the whole time so I did half lotus position. The monk walked around looking at our postures. My thought pattern revealed something very interesting for me: the habits of my mind. I remember my first train of thought was: am I doing the same thing as the person next to me?, am I allowed to look around?, I wonder what my boyfriend’s doing now, my back is really sore, try not to hold onto that thought, stop thinking about how sore my back is, stop it!, visualise your thoughts as a river, Im so tired, how much longer till the break?, was my back this sore all day?, river, is the river visualisation thing working? Nup, finally break time! Pins and needles.

My thoughts in that short meditation made me realise how often I analyse myself based on those around me, how often my thoughts drift to my boyfriend subconciously and how incapable I am at letting thoughts come without holding on to them. In the second half of meditation I did full lotus and managed to hold it the whole time. Also, I moved my hands to a prayer position and tilted my head left as a signal to the monk that my thoughts were drifting and he came over and bowed holding a stick up with both hands them gave me a lofty hit to the neck with his “stick of compassion”. There was a definite sting but thankfully I didn’t vocalise any pain. It was pretty hilarious to see a monk who has dedicated his life to being compassionate and virtuous hitting me with his stick of compassion! I loved how bizarre the whole situation was and I laughed inwardly for some time! Overall, I still feel more relaxed after my morning yoga then I did after Zazen meditation but I really respect and appreciate it as a cultural practice.

Would you try Zazen meditation? What, if any, meditation do you prefer? Let me know below!

– Bec

A mantra for my fellow student friends (especially at Nagoya Uni, Japan). Initially written as a note to myself at the end of October, heading into 6 weeks of learning 13 chapters and doing 30 tests:

1. This is only 6 short weeks of your life, it will pass quickly and you’ll find yourself wishing you could be an exchange student again in the future. Don’t be so hasty in wishing it away.
2. It does NOT matter how well you do compared to others. Comparing yourself will to others will just stress you out and make you feel unhappy about results you worked hard for.
3. For me, the importance is on what I learn, not grades in my tests. My transcript will just show P either way.
4. If I need two tests that I do not study for then I can not study and not feel guilty about them. My happiness is more important than exam marks.
5. Listen to my rational mind not my sleep-deprived one. I am not angry at anyone and I should not take my stress out on them. I love people and I am a positive person.
6. A clean room and healthy eating is not my priority until December 17 but I should try to sleep at least 8 hours a night.
7. Be effective with my study time. Use good strategies like flashcards so I can have more time for thing I enjoy.
8. Do at least one thing a week which I enjoy or find relaxing. Do it for a couple of hours and without guilt.

This list works for me, but what would you do differently or add??

Bec

Easy Peezy Japanesy

I have been very quiet on social media since I arrived in Japan. A lot has happened and I wanted some time to digest everything before I shared online. It has been a time of so much fun and discovery but also some harder moments of frustration and asking myself why I was even bothering learning such a difficult language.  I still ask myself that question sometimes! Truth is, while living in Japan, it can be really difficult to do daily tasks and adapt to life unless I have at least a basic grasp of the language. Washing, cooking, shopping, using an air conditioner and finding the hot water in the shower were all a huge task I couldn’t do alone. Recently, after doing the grocery shopping by myself and feeling so chuffed I cooked a meal: Pumpkin soup and spaghetti bolognaise only to find it was lobster soup and tuna spaghetti. Did I mention I don’t eat sea food?

Luckily things are starting to change now, I have been studying the Japanese language for exactly two months and I just finished my mid-term exams yesterday,  receiving over 90% on all exams. I figured this is the perfect time to take a moment and reflect on how I’ve been going and share it with you. In three words the first half of semester have been: exhausting, intense and rewarding. I have learnt hiragana (46 characters), katakana (46 characters), and 80 of the 2000 kanji (each has between 1-8 different readings). My spoken vocabulary is approximately 450-500 words in Japanese and I can write these all in hiragana and katakana.

The difficulty of Japanese, compared to other languages I have learnt, would be roughly equal if it didn’t have kanji. The kanji writing system makes learning Japanese an incredibly time-consuming venture for a native English speaker. Fluency means many things to many people, but to me in my Japanese language it means communicating at ease without mind-blank moments in conversation. Personally, I have decided that being fluent in Japanese is not, and will probably never be a goal of mine as my career will revolve around other languages. Fluency in Japanese may take approximately seven years living in Japan depending on the person and circumstances. While I am here my main goal is to speak well enough to feel confident travelling independently around Japan. By the end of this semester of study I should know around 1000 spoken vocabulary items and 200 kanji with their variations.

If someone told me one year ago, while I was living in France, that I would be where I am today studying Japanese full-time and planning to work here in 2015, I would never have believed them. It certainly hasn’t been all easy but I am really proud of what I have done and where I am at today. Here’s a list to give you a better idea of my capabilities right now, Ill write an updated list at the end of this semester and see what has improved:

I cannot:

• Have a conversation in Japanese
• Read most kanji on the streets
• Read books written for adolescents or older
• Be 100% confident in spoken situations dealing with numbers (I’m always too slow and then second guess myself)

I can:

• Order coffee confidently
• Speak, respond to and write basic greetings
• Understand isolated words and sometimes the gist of most things I hear.
• Express myself with basic adjectives
• Read graded children’s readers.

I have had many lapses in motivation but it helps when I remember that each bit of language I am learning opens up another little corner into the Japanese world that I couldn’t access before. As always, the more fluent I become in any language, the more aware I am of the potential for further development. And although I told myself that this semester I should focus more on my hobbies than previously, I find myself increasingly driven towards learning the language.

What languages have you tried to learn? How did you find it?

– Bec

Shopping on the road

Yesterday I bought all this! Guess how much it cost me?! 2 pants, 5 dresses, 1 shirt, 3 jackets, 2 skirts.

While I’m abroad I have to be selective about how many clothes I bring. Ill be moving to Tokyo soon and volunteering as a teacher so I needed a little professional shop. Here are the things I considered before buying, to make sure they were worth carrying around:

1. Is it comfortable? Is the material itchy or static?
2. Is it practical? Is the material easy to wash, prone to sweat marks? Can I bend over/ride a bike in it.
3. Is it appropriate? For travellers it’s important to remember your social context. In Japan, a girl would show her legs and tummy before daring to show any cleavage. In Australia almost anything goes except not usually showing your tummy. In Turkey, I tried to cover up each of those things!
4. Is it me? Do you feel like yourself when you wear it? Chances are that if you don’t feel yourself in it, you probably won’t have anything to wear it with at home. Furthermore, you won’t wear it with confidence.

Other tips when shopping abroad:

• Exchange rates: make sure you know the exchange rate before going shopping. I always like to use XE converter. Before heading to the counter that one final time I do an approximate total and decide if I am happy to spend that money at that time/ if I should prioritise other immediate needs first.
• Language: Normally, you don’t need too much language to get buy but some basics like “hello” and “goodbye”, “yes” and “no” and “how much does it cost” will be handy.
• Flexibility: Where you’re in a different country don’t expect to find the same style of clothes or the same food produce as back home. You may not be able to cook that old favourite recipe of yours. Take it as an opportunity to explore something new instead! Maybe take a cooking class!
• Different prices: Between countries and even within that same country, prices will change according to that area and season. In Australia a mango might be $2, in Japan they are $7 each and in Brasil/Peru you can find the cheapest mangos in the world at less than a dollar! In Japan, I have been eating far less fresh fruit because of the high prices. Eating out can be incredibly cheap here too! Prices and availability could be drastically different so just prepare your mind for it. When buying food/clothes ask a local where the cheapest shop is or go out and discover it yourself! I went out and discovered this shop for myself!

All of these clothes for less than JPY17000 or AUD180 ! Best buy of the day:

A brand new Duras Ambient brand name dress, original tag said JYP14000/AUD$150 but mine for JPY1700 or AUD$17.00