Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Japan day 0, Aug 31 - Flying

I feel like I'm always hyper aware of diversity when I'm at an airport and getting on a plane. Not to mention judgemental as fuck, which is always fun when traveling with a companion. Unfortunately, since I'm traveling alone, judgements just make me feel mean.

Sitting in fake leather seats still warm from the last traveler and eating oatmeal so thick it's guaranteed to take a week to struggle through my system, the people in this flying hunk of metal run the gamut. There's the overweight, balding businessman across from me with a dead look in his eyes, the young white women tapping the screen so hard she's giving the guy in front of her a concussion, a middle aged balding man with a slow, slurring southern accent talking loudly about God on his mobile phone, the old man creeping into my seat's area caressing the entertainment screen like he's never seen one, a Hispanic woman chatting away in Spanish behind me up until take off (oddly I've heard much more Spanish on the plane than Japanese), more Asian women with white men than I care to acknowledge, a large and flamboyant black man with straightened hair recording himself strut down the plane aisle while boarding, and so much more.

Interesting that such a diverse group is travelling to quite possibly the most homogeneous country on this planet.

Aug 31 - Let's try this again...

Spending so much time with my so-called adopted family in Chile, I found little time or motivation to really sit down and write on here. I think it was the lack of personal space that led to a lack of inspiration to be introspective and to really take my time and put my thoughts on paper, beyond just my travel journal (which suffered in details towards the last half of the trip). Quite honestly, I'm happy about that though. I had never expected such warmth and love from total strangers.

On this next adventure, I think I will have far more time to myself... And, thusly, I'll try to post every so often with photos and just various writings.