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Published: June 30th 2008
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No drinking allowed
This is why American parks are no fun :( I am absolutely exhausted right this moment but with good reason at least; hopefully this entry will make some coherent sense and I apologize if it doesn't. But today has been wonderful in every sense of the word. I had my second Kansai Gaidai reunion with my friends Quill and Aurora. Quill flew in this week to visit her for a few days, and they asked me sometime back if I'd like to go sightseeing around Washington D.C. with them. Of course the natural answer was "yes"! I love them both so much, and it really felt good to feel like I was back at Kansai Gaidai again.
We managed to fit in a full day of sightseeing and strolling the National Mall: we went to the White House, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, the Hirschhorn Museum of Modern Art, as well as Gallery Place Station and Chinatown for lunch. It was good to see old familiar sites, but it was even better to experience them with true friends and a new perspective of things here in America. Because really, I honestly felt like I was back in Japan several times. The people around
Quill and Aurora
They're so adorable! me didn't seem to be speaking English, Japanese, or any language at all; they were just faces, and the only people that were in my world were the three of us. We could gaijin smash crosswalks, take pictures in the museum when we weren't allowed to, and talk openly about reverse culture shock and things we missed about Osaka. One thing Quill did mention that really stood out with me was this: "I'm still living my Japanese life here in America". Which as profound as it sounds makes a lot of sense. Who says we have to go back to how we were pre-Kansai Gaidai? We've all changed, haven't we? And for the better I'd assume. But it was wonderful hearing someone else say the words that I've been feeling this entire month. And even more it was great to know that we could pick up from where we left off in Japan with our friendships, and that the next time and the time after that that we get together it will mean all the more.
I had the strangest dream about Kansai Gaidai last night, though. Not sure exactly why, but the most ironic things kept happening today
that related directly back to my dream. Especially the image of a butterfly. In the dream Jukka, Fred, Mickey and I had all gone to get lunch from makudo and couldn't find anywhere to sit down at in the CIE or on the steps near the shokudou/conbini. So we all split up and went seperate ways to find some place to sit for everyone. While I was walking towards the fountains though I saw this huge sapphire blue butterfly out of the corner of my eye. It was sitting still for a few moments but shortly took off, and I decided to follow after it for the next time it landed to take a picture. Eventually it flew out of sight and I wandered a bit to see if I could find it. Then without warning I heard all this shouting, and look up to see Fred swatting at my butterfly and claiming it was attacking him for his lunch. Makes no sense, right? But then today comes. And seriously, wherever we went in D.C. I would always see something with a blue butterfly on it. There were special exhibits about butterflies, displays with butterflies, signs with butterflies and logos
Love story
...Cutest picture ever everywhere. It was.. odd. Unnerving to say the least. However butterflies also mean "change" in some sense; which really.. can apply for a lot that is going on with my life right now. What do you guys think?
But a lot of things we saw were fenced off and blocked because of the coming American holiday this week. Independence Day is on Friday; which means fireworks, barbeque, and visiting with friends and family on a superficial level. At a deeper level that I know several take for granted is the history of the day as well as history of wars and the veterans that served in them. For me the day does look into that historical tribute (since I love history, no matter what country we are talking about) as well as to pay honor to my two Grandfathers for serving in wars. I doubt that I'll go to see the fireworks or anything back in Raleigh but I do plan to get together with Iris when I go home. She's one of my best friends here in America. I've known her for a little over eight years now, and I've never had a problem talking with her about
Walrus
Okay. So. Walrus is my favorite animal, along with penguins. This picture made my day how I feel or knowing that she'll support me no matter what I decide to do. I'm not sure what exactly we'll do.. Might try for a picnic or going to a club, but whatever we do will be awesome. It's also my mother and Nozomi's birthdays -- I really wish I could send Non a birthday present but I think it'll be late arriving there..
On the topic of my mother I think she is making an attempt in a direction I never thought she would. Friday night she came to me and began talking about personality types, after I had mentioned off-handedly what I scored on my interview prior in the week. That led into her bringing up my Grandfather and how he raised her and her siblings. She said that he had always be introverted; that he wasn’t very affectionate, always serious, wasn’t open to discuss thoughts or ideas nor the imaginative creativity of a child’s mind. She said all of his children were trained in the same image - to be serious, hard-working people that always were at a distance and never really opened up. And that’s when she apologized to me.
At first
I thought she was joking. But then she continued to apologize, and we began to talk back and forth about how I felt when I was growing up. I told her that I felt like I knew nothing about she and my dad; I also said that I felt like I was put at a distance from them and had to rely on the affection of my close friends for that familial contact, especially when my Grandparents had passed away. I told her how it really upset me that she didn’t support my moving to Sweden, and that I never open up or talk to her because I don’t feel comfortable speaking with someone I know nothing about. She knows now that I very seriously considering the friends I made in Japan as my real family; that the people there are my brothers and sisters, and not just someone I might call up out of the blue one day to just chat with.
I hate that people keep telling me “You can’t move to Sweden” because honestly,
why can’t I? Life is all about experiencing new things and places, about living every moment to the fullest extent you can
Lincoln Memorial I
Statue of Abraham Lincoln ride on it with. If you don’t take a chance somewhere then things will stay the very same way they are now.. And life can’t occur without change. Growth, knowledge, experience, and happiness can’t occur without change. Each day that you do something new, or try something out it is a building block for shaping who you are. So it is basically absurd for people to say that I can’t move to Sweden; I’ve just been done living in a foreign country for five months, and at this point America feels like a foreign country as well. I’ve returned a changed individual; and living here these next six months is a growing experience. I’m apart of the world culture, now. And I told her that if she wants to understand who I am then she needs to understand that she doesn’t know a thing about me: this is our beginning. I think.. well, I hope at the very least we’ve come to an understanding of one another.
But I'm definitely feeling better than I have in a long time. This week has been lovely and I've gotten in touch with so many from my Kansai Gaidai family. I've made
Lincoln Memorial II
Enscription above the statue plans to attend a rally with Nils, am already plotting a trip in September or October, have exchanged emails with Fish and my imoutos, and I'm apparently incestual with Aaron as he is mine and Vincent's father now. I couldn't ask for anything more.
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Vince
non-member comment
My favourite animal is the orca. So my animal eats yours. Hah! And with the blue butterfly... there just as many as there always is but since you had that dream you looked for them now. That is my boring and down-to-earth-answer :( But nice to hear the good stuff and that you are feeling better!