Day out in Dunlaoghaire

I had a great first day in Dublin. I managed to get to Glenageary (I had to direct the taxi driver and we were both pretty clueless) in time for a quick shower and then out to meet Rhoda Mary for lunch. We went to Mao in Dunlaoghaire for Asian food followed by a walk. We then went for tea at the Jules Verne Cafe in the maritime museum (converted church) which was very nice. Somehow we ended up at the Forty Foot drinking cider on the terrace. It was great to catch up with RM and a lovely first day. About 18 degrees and cloudy. A nice change from Tokyo!

4.31am, Istanbul Airport

9pm, Narita Airport

Incident at the bus stop

Leg 1 is the airport bus from Kaihin Makuhari. I put David on this same bus a few days ago and now it's my turn to stand in the sweltering early evening heat and wonder how late the bus will be (trains in Japan are always on time, buses are always late). A random guy starts talking to me! This never happens in Japan (it always happens in Wales). He's not a passenger, he's just hanging out at the bus stop smoking, eating an ice cream (yeah, at the same time) and bothering people. The other passengers humour him, but he's a bit aggressive to me. He asks where I'm going. I don't answer so he shouts at me. I think it's his attempt to speak slowly to a foreigner as he thinks I don't understand Japanese. I say (in English) "none of your business". He scoffs, lights another fag and goes off to bother someone else. The guy in front of me is embarrassed and kindly helps me with my bag. His kindness more than cancels out the first guy. 

Some things I would like to do

Apart from seeing family and friends, here are some things I'd like to do this summer:

Ireland

• Have a Teddy's ice cream
• Have a pint of sitting outside a pub DONE!
• Go to Trinity College library
• Go to the Guinness brewery bar for a great view of Dublin
• Climb Kiliney and Dalkey Hills
• Go to Glendalough

Wales

• Have tea in one of the Victorian arcades
• Visit a castle
• Make jam, pickles or chutney with my dad
• Make a cake for the family afternoon tea (aka the 'Mynard Bake Off')
• Play with my nephews

Italy

• Visit the university in Padua
• See more of the EuroCALL conference than I did when it was in Nottingham (I was sick)
• See some off the beaten track places with our Italian friends
• Go to the Botanical gardens (Padua)
• Have coffee at piazza cafes
• Gondola? No - too touristy. Eat a gelato and take a water bus along the Grand Canal instead.
• Get lost wandering around Venice
• See a Venice view from a tower
• Have a 'Don't Look Now' scary moment

Turkey

• Have a traditional Turkish breakfast
• See the Ankara Citadel
• Walk around the old quarter

Holiday planning

Hooray! It's almost the holidays. Just a few things to finish up and then I'm free for four whole weeks! This year I get to go to Europe - yipee!

7-19 August: Dublin, Ireland

20-25 August: Cardiff, Wales
25-30 August: Padua, Italy
30 August - 1 September, Ankara, Turkey.

4 countries, 4 weeks, 3 hotels, 2 houses, 9 flights, 2 new cities!

In Ireland I get to spend time with my lovely in laws, gorgeous nieces and nephews, and wonderful friends. In Wales I get to see my awesome parents, catch up with my brother, sister in law and my cute (and sporty!) nephews, and drink lots of tea with my aunties and uncles, cousins and other Mynards that I don't get to see very often. In Italy I'll be reunited with my fabulous colleagues as we present our research together at a major European conference. In Turkey, I'll meet up with forward thinking academics to talk about future collaborations between our institutions. I'll take lots of opportunities to have fun, try new things and come back to Japan feeling rejuvenated and refreshed.

I have a few projects I'm working on (of course!), but not as many as previous years. Here's the list:

• Review a book on agency for Applied Linguistics
• Put together the September issue of SiSAL Journal
• Liaise with co-editors regarding a journal special issue on young learners to be published in December
• Liaise with a co-editor to put together a call for papers for a journal special issue on learning spaces coming out in March
• Prepare my graduate school classes for September (MA course on Learner Autonomy at KUIS)
• Contact possible advisors for Candlin & Mynard ePublishing
• Give feedback to authors on C&M book drafts