Departures

At the conclusion of this trip, I have to ask myself, did it change me.  I initially set out hoping that it would.  I was not sure exactly what kind of change I was hoping for, but clearly embarking on a trip of this magnitude cannot fail to have some effect.  Would it change who I am fundamentally?  Would it only change my set of likes and dislikes?  Would it alter the way I see the world in a permanent and enduring way?  I thought I would experience a profound culture shock, that I would be constantly confronted with that difference in Japan.  Surprisingly, after only a day or two, I felt very at home there.  Things had an everyday quotidian quality that made the simple act of living one's life seem very easy.  I remember remarking on how "doable" everything was.  There was a shared script or operating system for going about one's everyday business; going shopping, using credit cards, going to ATMs, exchanging money, getting onto wi-fi, eating in restaurants, doing laundry, etc.

T.S. Eliot has been quoted as saying "We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."  I have heard this quote before and it has always stuck with me as particularly profound.  I think this trip did change me, but not fundamentally.  I am still pretty much the same person I was when I left.  The trip was a wonderful exposure to a new culture and a new place.  I met many kind, generous, thoughtful, and interesting people, saw beautiful landscapes and artworks, enjoyed culture, cuisine and camaraderie.  I have had my horizons broadened.  I even contemplated the possibility of living in Japan as an ex pat, something had had never considered before and that only because I met some ex pats for whom it was a positive decision in their lives.

As Eliot says, the change in oneself from exploring may only become evident after you return home and see your familiar surroundings with new eyes.  I felt that keenly as I made my way back to Champaign, Illinois.  I immediately saw things in a new and different light.  I noticed for example how grimy the Chicago subway and Union Station seemed and how huge the cars and the roads appear to me now.  I looked at my fellow passengers on Amtrak as if through a foreigners eyes.  I observed our standard offerings of food and beverage and noticed the incessant obtrusions of noise. 

It is impossible to see things here the same way ever again.  I will always be aware that in another part of the world, things are done very differently.  People look, act and speak differently, and they inhabit the landscape differently.  They have a different relationship to nature, the environment and world.  They have a spirituality and a philosophical outlook that is unlike our own.  It is impossible to have this awareness and not think differently about what is or is not possible.  I hope that in future, I will harbor my experiences abroad, not simply as the trip of a lifetime, or the celebration of my half century anniversary, but rather as a source of continued inspiration and insight.  Viewed through this new lens, my life and my future can be different and hopefully, better.  Even as out plane taxied down the runway at Narita, I looked back with a sadness to be leaving and a strong desire to return again.  Sayounara, Nihon. Mata aimashō.

 

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/tseliot109032.html

We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/tseliot109032.html