The Importance of Traveling
By Elena Chen
Take every opportunity to travel. After moving away from the US and before arriving at our new destination, my partner felt it necessary to do some traveling. Despite already undertaking this logistical challenge of moving across the Atlantic ocean, he still wanted to prioritize some traveling that wouldn't be about bureaucracy or logistics, just for us, for experiencing the world differently, before settling down once more.
I think he was right. All these concerns floated across my mind: we should be preparing for settle down, we should be saving money, we should be figuring out how my visa status would work…but in the end I think they were worries and they were based in fear. Yes, life was going to be uncertain and there was a lot we would have to figure out. But here, between leaving and arriving, was a unique block of time that we may be hard-pressed to find in the future with work and other responsibilities. How lucky we are to be free enough of responsibility, to have saved a little money, to have the time, so that we may explore some more of what this world has to offer. So now we're in Japan. In Kyoto, for now.
“This traveler at the jazz bar seemed happy for me to hear that I had bounced around a lot, that I had found ways to live in different places. During these encounters I'm reminded of how right it was to have pursued the life I have so far, even if it's "odd", unconventional or difficult. That really, I'm glad I traded in stability for change.“
Yesterday, wrapped in the throes of John Coltrane drinking some smooth sake served by the elderly Japanese couple that owned this jazz spot, I found myself speaking to a solo traveler about what I did and where I was from. I realized that for a lot of people I was in a tough spot in life. I'm running a small handmade business but I was also working part time at a restaurant to support myself. I would also study French at my local community college. But I didn't have a clear direction, and I didn't know how to describe to people that I was still figuring stuff out without seeing them furrow their eyebrows. This traveler at the jazz bar seemed happy for me to hear that I had bounced around a lot, that I had found ways to live in different places. During these encounters I'm reminded of how right it was to have pursued the life I have so far, even if it's "odd", unconventional or difficult. That really, I'm glad I traded in stability for change.
On this trip, I went to a public bathhouse for the first time. I sat in hot water then submerged myself in cold water. I tried some traditional mochi desserts covered in red bean paste, never had that before. I took pictures with a sushi chef and he gave us a pink ingredient that helped counter wasabi kicks. I lost my phone on the subway and found it at the station our ryokan was at - a good Samaritan had turned it in. My friend lost his phone on the subway in Tokyo twice and found it again later because people had turned it in. I had Shaka Shaka Fries at McDonald's in pickled plum and nori flavor. It was great. It's also been stressful. Trying to understand what's happening when I'm lost, being turned away at restaurants without knowing why and having to spend two hours tracking down my phone when we knew where it was the whole time (Find your Phone is great). We've met rude people and kind people. And there are so many more kind people.
The attitude of wanting to see what else there is in the world, curious to understand that which is different or unfamiliar, is at the core of what makes life so fascinating. For me, I have tried to take every opportunity I got to travel because it makes my world and my life so much more interesting. I want to imagine a routine where I cook food from all over the world. My family and I will watch movies in all sorts of languages. We'll try our best to learn about the parts of the world that are spoken little about. And we'll take every opportunity we get to travel.
