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my mind that an earthquake or tremor could occur at any time in a country like Japan. Yet, I am aware that this could happen in other parts of the world I frequent as well. You can’t live your life in fear. Even so, I think about the possibilities and am always aware of my surroundings. In the hotels, I take note of the emergency exits, and if something were to occur I am fairly confident that I would be able to react to the situation quickly. It may make a difference. It may not. Many things in life are a bit like some of the scenarios that could occur on an aircraft, and therefore much of what we crew learn as part of our emergency training comes in handy in general life situations.
    I know what to do and how to react in case of a fire, especially if one breaks out within our hotels. My first-aid training has been used on a few occasions outside of work (and many times onboard the aircraft). I am more competent than most in survival situations, and I am far more vigilant in my assessments of situations. In case of a natural disaster such as an earthquake, I know I have the skills to make quick and crucial judgments. I am also acutely aware that some things in life are out of my control.
    I am not one to take big risks, but I am also not the type of person who is going to sit in an underground bunker, fearing the possibility that something bad might happen. Life is too short.
    Just like my stay at home this time, which is over in the blink of an eye. Somehow my three days here feel like a nanosecond, and it’s already time for me to pack my bags for my next trip. A quick check on the internet tells me the weather in Japan is going to be good, so I pack the appropriate clothes. Fortunately my wardrobe has the capacity to hold clothes meant for any type of weather.
    A hostie once gave me some terrific advice: ‘Pack half the clothes you think you will need, and take double the money you think you will spend.’
    She then explained, ‘If you need more clothes, you can always buy more – and sweetheart, what girl doesn’t like to buy more clothes?’ Sound advice indeed.
    Shopping in Japan is not as enjoyable as it is in some other cities I’ve been to. They have the big shopping centres like most of the Western world, but, for me, it falls short of being known as a shopping paradise. It kills me to say this, but not all shopping is necessarily good shopping. Let me explain myself, because those who know me will expect an explanation. I can relate shopping to ice-cream, my second favourite food group (after chocolate). I like most flavours of ice-cream, but not necessarily all of them. The same goes for shopping.
    Funnily enough, I don’t particularly like the ice-cream in Japan either. I adore Japanese food overall, but some of their ice-cream flavours make me cringe. I’ve tried green tea ice-cream. It was just OK, surely tolerable. However, a particular Japanese ice-cream flavour made my stomach turn: shrimp ice-cream. Yes, shrimp, and it actually had pieces of real shrimp in it. The Japanese love their seafood and they love ice-cream, and they probably thought they can mix their two loves. In Japan, apart from shrimp ice-cream, they also eat crab-, eel-, octopus- and even oyster ice-cream.
    I tried shrimp ice-cream once, just on the off-chance that I might be wrong, and it might actually taste nice. I was not wrong, and the ice-cream didn’t taste nice.
    I love raspberries, and I also love caviar, but I would never dream of putting the two together. I am respectful of other culture’s culinary tastes, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
    Another weird ice-cream flavour I have seen was spaghetti ice-cream in Venezuela. It thought it would be ice-cream with some kind of candy that looked like spaghetti, but it had actual pasta mixed into it. Did I try it? No way.
    It is not just the exotic lands that come up with strange ice-creams. I was in a Denny’s Restaurants