Japan
Japan seemed so far away when we started this semester. It was always a place that was far away in both time and distance. And now we have already left it. I had a wonderful time in Japan. I saw temples and shrines, walked through the museum in Hiroshima, danced in clubs and sang karaoke. I did all I wanted to do and more, mostly because I didn’t do a lot of planning for this country. It just seemed so far away that by the time it snuck up on me I didn’t know what to do.
As bad as it sounds, I realize how glad I am that I will never do a Semester at Sea field practica again. I am very, very glad that I got to see Hiroshima and Nara, and I doubt I would have seen as much going by myself. Still, traveling in a huge group with a tour guide for the whole day is not something I think I will ever enjoy. I’m too much of a wanderer to listen to a guide for hours. Half the fun of traveling is getting around, getting lost, figuring out what to do. When it is all laid out for you in a compact itinerary it takes out all the adventure.
After my two SAS sightseeing days I went with my roommate Maggie to visit her friend who is studying abroad in Osaka. But finding her friend was an adventure in itself. Not having a cell phone to communicate with friends from the ship is one thing, and has proved to be frustrating this semester. But not having a cell phone to call an outside acquaintance that went out of her way to meet you at a specific place is a whole other thing. After searching for a phone card, a phone, and an internet café, and failing to contact Drea by phone or e-mail, Maggie and I returned to the ship defeated. We were ready for a full night of sleep so we could wake up early and try again to contact her friend. But lucky for Maggie and me, her friend Drea and Drea’s friend Ashley were very patient and waited for us once they found the port. As we walked up to the port area hours after we were supposed to meet the first time, a girl (who we now know as Ashley) asked, “Are either one of you Maggie?”
After the enormous relief we felt at actually finding them, we had to switch gears for the night. Instead of going to bed early, we were actually staying out the entire night in Osaka. This was a little bit of a shock for my body, but I don’t really concern myself with that while I’m in port anyway. I can rest in the United States.
After all the fun things that we did those couple of days with Drea and her host family, including karaoke and an amusement park, it was time for us to go back not only “home” to the ship but really on our way home. This time I was not ready or even semi-ready to get back on the ship and get some rest before the next country, because the next country isn’t some interesting and fun place, it is the United States. There will be no more foreign ground to stand on, at least until I do more traveling on my own.
It seemed like a lot of people felt the same way. On our way to the ship, we saw large numbers of students sitting or standing near the ship, smoking, talking, or taking pictures. It was like no one wanted to get on until it was absolutely necessary. As we swiped our card coming back through the last time, it actually felt real that this is about to end. Of course we will come back on the ship again in Hawaii, but that doesn’t really seem to count. I have never been to Hawaii, and I’m sure it’s a really nice place, but whatever it is, it is not a different country, and it is certainly at the very end of this trip. I remember my doctor who prescribed my malaria medication looked at my itinerary and said, “Oh, you are going to Hawaii, huh?” I remember thinking what an absurd thing that was to say. On that itinerary was South Africa, India, Vietnam, etc. and she picked out Hawaii? But now all that is left of our itinerary are Hawaii and San Diego, so now seems like an appropriate time to pick it out of the “list” to get excited about it.
After we left Japan, but even a little bit before, the conversation on the ship started to change. Instead of, “What are you going to do in (insert country)?” now the top questions are “What are you doing when we get to California?” and “What are your plans for the summer?” Although these questions have been creeping up on us for the whole voyage, it is actually time to be thinking about them seriously. I find myself thinking too much about being home, both in a negative and positive way. I am so excited to see my family, my friends, and my cats. I am ready to get back into a normal routine and know what is going on in my best friend’s life. I am even ready to have time to reflect on what happened this semester. But I am not ready to leave my friends here. I am not ready to be in one country for a long period of time.
I will have to find my own fun things to do, like go to art museums or parks. But an art museum in Knoxville, Tennessee hardly compares to seeing one of the wonders of the world. Perhaps fortunately, I’m not going to see (or smell) durian at any farmers’ markets in Maryland. Bargaining will not be allowed, and we won’t even have to do any conversions to the US dollar. All the things we have gotten used to on this voyage are coming to an end.
It is almost time to say good bye to all of our new friends, and our home the MV Explorer. But it has to end at some point. We have to get back to our normal lives. We have to start paying back all the money that we spent this semester. And the most important thing, I think, is that we can finally do something about all the things we have learned about. We can start putting into action all the knowledge we have about globalization, over-consumption, global warming, poverty, AIDS, etc. If we don’t do anything when we get home, at least talk to someone about one issue, then I’m not sure what the point of this voyage is. So here we go. The dread and excitement of being back home are only going to get stronger from here, until they are replaced by nostalgia for the ship.
