Scott Abroad

Aging, Autopilot, and False Confidence Something that I discovered about myself as I’ve aged, and I don’t know how I feel about it, is that I am a bit more forgetful than I used to be. Like, I’m not leaving things in unusual places—nobody has found my cellphone in the freezer…yet—but it seems to me that my brain puts certain tasks on autopilot and forgets to grab the yoke when it’s time to go…

Back at the Counter Welcome back, everybody. After a short break, I’m back at the writing desk again, and this time we’re moving into my first winter in Japan. Unlike the first trip, I’m going back alone. Joy will join me later, but she couldn’t come over for the full three months, so this stretch belongs to me—alone with my thoughts, daily life, and the snow. Rather than easing into this…

Breakfast Since Tomakomai was a day trip and not a full-on expedition into the heart of Japanese culture and nature, we took our time getting up and getting ready. We enjoyed a lovely breakfast while figuring out the train schedule from New Chitose Airport. It looked like it was going to be an easy journey. Besides, I was looking forward to the train ride and exploring the city a bit, while my…

Before kicking off this post, I want to place a small asterisk on my last post about reading the trash schedule. Despite my poking fun at it, the City of Otaru’s official government website is genuinely one of the best municipal websites I’ve ever used. It’s filled with exactly the kind of information that everyone—both domestic and foreign—needs to navigate daily life: language services, trash…

Before I get into this one, a quick note. What started as a small newsletter meant to let people know what I was up to beyond the borders of the U.S. has quietly turned into something bigger. That’s been both surprising and deeply rewarding. If you’ve been reading along, you’ve probably noticed that the writing has shifted over time. Like any craft, it starts rough, then slowly improves if you…

Adequate Sleep I wish I could say that I slept like a baby, but I didn’t. The air mattress was, in a word, adequate. I wouldn’t give much beyond that—although it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Air mattress technology has had some fascinating advancements since my days as a Boy Scout, including battery-powered fans that inflate the things for you. That’s a solid win in my book. Yet, if…

Coffee and the Shape of the Day I have a guilty confession to make. I was happy about not going back to the house to sleep on the air mattresses. Don’t get me wrong, I was looking forward to sleeping in my own house—on an island, in an island-nation, on a different continent, on the other side of the world—but I also wasn’t looking forward to sleeping on an air mattress, no matter how temporary.…

So, before jumping into this post, I want to take a moment and thank you for following along up to this moment. By now, I’m sure you’ve determined this isn’t your standard travel blog. It’s a blog about personal growth on the uncomfortable edges of life, and what happens when you take your dreams seriously enough to follow them. If you just found this, welcome aboard. I hope you enjoy my writing…

The Philosophy of Small Arguments Healthy relationships don’t usually hinge on the big conversations. Those are easy. You both show up, you both care, you both want the other to thrive, and you work through whatever the big issue is. No, the real test is in the granular, often nonsensical negotiations of the everyday. It’s the debate over whose turn it is to be the “responsible one” when both of…

Today’s post skips ahead a bit — from the little shop where we had our tea and cake straight to breakfast the next morning. It’s not that nothing happened in between; it’s that what did happen was mostly us avoiding being responsible adults for the rest of the day, which includes activities not appropriate for you, my audience. So thank you for your flexibility as we jump forward to breakfast at…