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I've never been so lost - I've never felt so much at home.
I read a post on my lj flist that got me thinking about why I like travel so much. My friend talked about the isolation and fear of being in a new country long term. The funny thing is, I got what he was talking about, and yet I didn't.
One of my childhood stories that my mom loves telling is how in kindergarten, I scared her because I chose to walk out of a different gate from the one that she usually picked me up at. My friend's mom spotted me and marched me back to my mom.
I don't remember what I was thinking when I walked out the other gate, but knowing me it was probably along the lines of "Oh, let's see if it's possible to walk outside of the kindergarten to the other gate." Even back then, I had an adventurous streak. But what I do remember was that isolation was part of the thrill of the adventure. "I'm going to find out things on my own. How fun!"
It was with this same excitment that I treated the isolation that came with travelling. I had somehow linked isolation with finding out new things, and travelling is where one tends to find the newest things. It also satisfied my need for wandering around. There's something exciting about walking down a road guided by only a map - you never know how accurate the map is.
That was how I felt when I went to the US - I did research on where I wanted to go, but whether the place was the same (or better!) than expected was half of the fun. I remember going to the New York Chinatown and being surprised at how different from the other Chinatowns I had been to - delicious eating places tucked away inside non-descript buildings that didn't look like the buildings in other Chinatowns. Or travelling between Washington DC and New York by myself and just soaking in the new sights and sounds. All the while I was isolated, but along with it was a feeling of excitment and happiness that seemed to feed on the isolation.
This is why I'm so excited by my upcoming Japan trip - I'm going to get lost and feel at home doing so.
One of my childhood stories that my mom loves telling is how in kindergarten, I scared her because I chose to walk out of a different gate from the one that she usually picked me up at. My friend's mom spotted me and marched me back to my mom.
I don't remember what I was thinking when I walked out the other gate, but knowing me it was probably along the lines of "Oh, let's see if it's possible to walk outside of the kindergarten to the other gate." Even back then, I had an adventurous streak. But what I do remember was that isolation was part of the thrill of the adventure. "I'm going to find out things on my own. How fun!"
It was with this same excitment that I treated the isolation that came with travelling. I had somehow linked isolation with finding out new things, and travelling is where one tends to find the newest things. It also satisfied my need for wandering around. There's something exciting about walking down a road guided by only a map - you never know how accurate the map is.
That was how I felt when I went to the US - I did research on where I wanted to go, but whether the place was the same (or better!) than expected was half of the fun. I remember going to the New York Chinatown and being surprised at how different from the other Chinatowns I had been to - delicious eating places tucked away inside non-descript buildings that didn't look like the buildings in other Chinatowns. Or travelling between Washington DC and New York by myself and just soaking in the new sights and sounds. All the while I was isolated, but along with it was a feeling of excitment and happiness that seemed to feed on the isolation.
This is why I'm so excited by my upcoming Japan trip - I'm going to get lost and feel at home doing so.