Travel by Chris Guillebeau
If we live truly, we shall see truly. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Not everyone wants to travel the world, but most people can identify at least one place in the world they’d like to visit before they die. Where is that place for you, and what will you do to make sure you get there?
(Author: Chris Guillebeau)
My response to the 5th prompt of the #Trust30 writing/self-reliance challenge:
I do not know all countries of the world. I have visited 18 of them on 3 continents. And lived in a few. Not anywhere near Chris Guillebeau, but still… I am not attracted by all countries and ironically, I ended up living in the one which has challenged me the most (talk about constant opportunity for learning!). I have felt so at home most places, that I am the one tourists would approach for questions, even though I would be just passing, like them. Many countries I have no desire at all to visit, but the one which has always attracted me is Japan.
I would love to go to Japan.
That is probably the one place where I think I will feel “dépaysée”, a wonderful French word which literally could be translated as ‘de-countrified’ , but which actually conveys that feeling of being transplanted out of your usual environment and habits to find yourself in a completely strange place (Google translates it as homesick or bewildered).
Japan would probably be the place where everything would feel new to me, where I would be out of my element, where I would not have any bearings, where I would not know the rules of conduct, but where my ignorance would probably be excused because I will look so foreign (am I hoping too much?). A place where I will see everything with ‘fresh’ eyes. Where I don’t know the language and where I would probably – and hopefully – feel like a child in awe.
