Ask me a question! :3

[starkodama]

Meme stolen from ninchu:

We all know each other on LJ. Some better than others. Sometimes, posts don't say everything about us. Sometimes we wonder if it would be rude to ask a personal question, so we don't. Is there anything about me you want to ask? This is your chance to ask me anything about me/my life. I'm pretty much an open book so ask away.(Oh

Comments

[december_clouds]

What made you really get into yoga and fitness and how do you feel versus before?

[starkodama]

That's a good question, actually! Let me think

[december_clouds]

Thanks for answering!!

[fub]

You might have written about this before, but what made you decide to go to Japan to teach? Do you think you'll live anywhere else than Japan?

[starkodama]

I've been interested in Japan since I was little. It always seemed like a cool place to visit. I started taking Japanese language classes in college, and they quickly became my favorite classes, so I decided to major in Japanese.

I heard about the JET Program and folks going over to Japan to teach English, and it sounded like a good job for me, so I took a job with the eikaiwa AEON and came to Yokohama in August 2004. I thought I'd only stay for a year or two, but I fell in love. ;)

I dunno... RooG and I are quite happy here in Yokohama. I think I'd like to retire in a completely different place though.... like Europe, or Hawaii, or something. :)

[fub]

Interesting! I didn't know you majored in Japanese. Do you know of other JETs that came over and simply stayed?

And somewhere scandinavian might be nice to retire to -- if you can stand the snow...

[starkodama]

I actually didn't do JET, I worked at an eikaiwa called AEON. I picked AEON because I wanted to teach adults rather than children, and I wanted to placed in a city, not in the middle of nowhere like the usual JET placement. :)

I worked at AEON from 2004-2006, and sadly all but one of my gaijin former coworkers are no longer in Japan. ;(

I can't stand snow ;( I'd love to VISIT a Scandinavian country someday, though! :D

[ex_ninchu]

How do you like Japan compared to the US? Would you consider going back?

[starkodama]

I love America, but I feel like the Japanese day-to-day lifestyle just fits me better. I love how you don't need a car and you can get everywhere you need to by walking. I love the food here and the fact that portion sizes aren't huge. I love teaching English to Japanese students, and I really like living in Yokohama. So no, I'm not going back anytime soon. :)

[fub]

You don't need a car as long as you stay in the great metropolitan area of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. But we did miss having one on Kyushu! ;)

[sungirldotorg]

What keeps you motivated to workout on the days where you just don't feel up to it?

[starkodama]

Good question! The truth is, most of the time I can't wait to work out... I guess I'm weird. But there are a few days where it's hard to work up the motivation.

One thing that helps me is keeping a workout journal. I have a little notebook that I write each day's workouts in. I don't want to write NOTHING, so I feel like I have to do something, so I'll start a video. Usually once I get started, it feels good, so I just keep going. :D The hardest part is just pressing play-- I find that once I get started, I'm good to go. :)

[closedingirl]

What have you found to be the best weight loss tip?

And I just saw True Blood...It's not even like I particularly cared about that character but holy crap!

[starkodama]

Hmm! It's hard to narrow it down to one, but the phrase "Just push play!" comes immediately to mind. I feel SO good after a workout, but sometimes it can be hard to get started. I read somewhere that the hardest part is just pushing play, but once you get started, you almost always feel better than you did before. :D

And YEAH! That was nuts! My jaw hit the floor.

[closedingirl]

Not a bad tip. I'll remember it.

And I was literally yelling at my tv. "You're not doing this!"