May 19, 2004
Jet Lag
It's 4 in the morning and I can't sleep. No surprise there.
To say that a trip like the one I just had was life changing would be a bit of a redundancy. I think that in most ways, all trips (for me) could be classified as "life changing." Takes away some impact of the words, I know, but I like to think I grow off all my trips, even the short ones to the Eastern Shore, or the crazy ones to Vegas.
Returning to Japan, I think that this was more personal, and therefore more moving, for me than most. The problem is, it's really hard to convey these feelings without resorting to words such as "awesome" or "fantastic" or "wow." I can't point to any one thing and say, "This is what I liked about the trip." I only have a collection of thoughts, impressions, and feelings.
There's color everywhere: lime green public phones, purple construction equipment, neon lights, golden temples, small cars and vans that would make Crayola proud. The kids all wear yellow hats when they're on field trips. People line up to get on the subway and trains. The tiled roofs of temples neighbor 20th buildings on the skyline. People still sleep on the floor, and tatami mats and rice paper lanterns aren't just things you see at Ikea. I'm always thinking that people are calling my name!
I can list on and on, but I won't. Not here. I feel... at home there. It's comfortable. I remember walking through the thick stream of people dispersing this way and that at Tokyo station and smiling.
One of my friends (Emilie from SF) had this theory about places that really resonate with your soul. Certain people are drawn to particular cities. For her, that city was Sydney. For me... I can't say it's any one place. I think that doing so would be an over-simplification of something that should never be over-simplified. I don't think I want to over-analyze something like that. But I do think that certain places speak to me more than others. Some places are places to visit; some are places to live. For me, Japan tops the list of places to live.