A few months back, May Tim was struck with an idea.

He pondered to himself, “Wouldn’t it be interesting to send June Tim, July Tim, and August Tim on solo trips to unfamiliar places where they have no connections, and have them document their experiences in a compelling blog series?”

May Tim was brimming with excitement.

There were numerous uncertainties – what activities would the Tims engage in, what would the blog posts cover, how would they cope with a nomadic lifestyle for the entire summer while fulfilling May Tim’s commitments to readers and living up to the expectations he had set?

Fortunately, these dilemmas didn’t bother May Tim. He casually remarked, “They’ll figure it out,” as he lounged in bed, sipping his morning coffee.

The only crucial decision to make was where these Tims would travel. Since the project held little significance to him, May Tim enlisted the help of a large group of anonymous Blue Jay Blog readers to vote on potential destinations through an email poll. These readers, indifferent to the choices, selected Russia, Japan, Nigeria, Iraq, and Greenland as the destinations. Why not, right?

May Tim took care of the logistics – booking tickets, securing visas, getting vaccinations – and then moved on, distancing himself from the project.

Unexpectedly, May Tim vanished without a trace, leaving July Tim stranded in Russia with a set of vague instructions: “Produce a captivating blog post, explore Siberia for humor, swap lives with someone your age for a day as promised, and provide rationale for it. Oh, and manage without a fixed budget. I have to go now to avoid contributing to your current predicament. Best of luck!”

And thus, the Odd Trips in Odd Places series was born, scheduled to unfold until late August.

During each leg of the journey, I, July Tim, will immerse myself in each country’s culture by engaging with locals and uncovering the quirkiest aspects of society. Additionally, I will spend a day living another person’s life to contrast their experiences with mine along the way.

At the end of each trip, I will compile a detailed post recounting all the adventures. I will also capture moments through videos and photos wherever possible.

Moreover, I plan to pose a specific question to 50 random individuals in each country, asking, “If you had a magical Aladdin genie who granted you any three wishes, what would you wish for?” I anticipate diverse responses across countries, and I will share my findings after conducting these interviews in all five destinations.

That’s the agenda.

Here’s an overview:

Upcoming Posts:
Russia
Japan
Nigeria
Iraq
Greenland

The genie question survey across all five countries

And another adventure in North Korea

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