Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Harajuku
Today, I visited an area called: Harajuku. It is located in Tokyo. My first stop was at the Meiji Shrine. The Meiji shrine is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife. When Emperor Meiji died in 1912 and Empress Shoken in 1914 the Japanese people wished to pay their respect to the to influential Japanese figures. It was for this reason that Meiji shrine was constructed and their souls enshrined on November 1, 1920. (http://en.wikipdia.org/wiki/meiji_shrine) Check out slide show.
While there I was fortunate to witness a traditional Japanese wedding. Like most brides, she wore white and maintained a demure demeanor. There wasn't any cheering or outward displays of extreme happiness from the attendants or the public. Everything was very quiet. This was a serious, spiritual occasion. Check out slide show.
The last place I visited was a park called: Yoyogi. This place was an artistic haven! There was everything from street performance artist, tap dancers, musicians, rappers, dancers, you name it! I was in heaven. Taken it all in and loving the freedom of expression. If you weren't directly participating in the outward form of expression, you were blessed to be the recipient of it. I walked, danced, clapped, chilled and just took it all in. The energy of this place was great. It put me in mind of Chicago during the summer festival months. I thought to myself: show me a place where art doesn't live and I'll show you a place that's dying.
Dinner at Yakiniku
My first dinner in Japan was at the restaurant: Yakiniku (which means grilled meat) in Zushi, Japan. You buy the meat raw and cook it at your table. I was served a huge bowl of rice, which I quickly devoured, and 4 small cutlets of meat. It's interesting to see how my host communicates with little mastery of the Japanese language. Most people do not speak English and if they do, it's very little. Thus, we communicate by pointing to pictures. Hey, when you're abroad, whatever works. The food was pretty good. A little expensive. However, with the depreciation of the US dollar, life is quite expensive here. Which equates to it be equivalent to prices that you would pay in the US. Check out the slide show.
Sayonara
Welcome to Tokyo, Japan!
WELCOME TO TOKYO, JAPAN!!!!!!After 11 hours, two planes and one lay over, I have arrived at my next destination. The first thing I noticed is how serene and peaceful I felt. Perhaps, it was due to the flight attendants who offered a sweet smile and courteous bow upon departing the plane. Or maybe it was the sound of waterfall playing throughout the terminal. Yes, you heard right. Instead of hearing Jazz, Hip-Hop or unnecessary chaos on the P.A. system, I heard sounds of the ocean. Having studied the principles of Feng Shui, I am definitely a believer in "organizing" the flow of energy. When boarding the transit train which would take me to the immigrations terminal, the sound of chimes sounded as the train proceeded. Nice. It was hot, humid and extremely muggy on the train, however, everyone seemed relaxed.
As I walked through the immigrations line, I was surprised to see how quickly the line was moving. Everything seemed to operate so efficiently. I was even more shocked to see that I not only had to submit my passport for evaluation, yet, I had to electronically submit my finger prints and facial feature. I've traveled many places and I've never had to submit fingerprints. There was an electronic machine which took a copy of my fingerprints and facial features, just as you see them do in the movies. Japan ain't messin' around!
I passed through immigrations and headed to baggage claim, although, I was keeping an eye out for the lost baggage office. (We know of my history with bags and international travel.) I've learned that when traveling abroad, there is almost always an English translation. So, after studying the information board to inform me which baggage terminal to head to, I was relieved to see that an English version flashed shortly after the Japanese. Baggage Terminal B3. Now, I was quietly telling myself: what's the chances that your now....1 bag, actually shows up? As I approached the terminal, I was tickled to see my red suitcase going around the carousel. Well I'll be....I grab the suitcase and head towards customs. Here's the part that I always hate. TSA agents rummaging through your personal belongings. I then saw a sticker on the back of my suitcase that stated: Inspected by security. I hoped this would save me the time of having to endure the strip search of my belongings. After about 10 minutes in line, it was my turn. The attendant asked for my passport and asked me what I was doing in Japan. I stated: tourism, visiting a friend. He looked at me, smile and said okay as he handed back my passport. That was it? I couldn't believe it! Never and I do mean NEVER have I gone through immigrations and customs as quickly and efficiently as I had in Japan. I could get use to this place.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Farewell Bangalore!
Wow, I can't believe it's already time to say goodbye. This has been an amazing experince and it couldn't have happened without the woman who opened her home, her time and her heart: Nikki, I love you lady. You have truly become my sister. I'm definitely going to miss our glutonous trips to Baskin Robbins:) You are a beautiful woman. I pray that God strengthens you, keeps you and blesses you abundantly.
With that said, Nikki and I celebrated my last day in Bangalore by treating ourselves to facials and to a great dinner. I also received a mahindi tattoo that morning. Then the time came: it was time to say farewell. I'm not really the outwardly emotional type of individual, however, when I hugged Nikki, something in my heart constricted. I was really going to miss her. After a few words, I felt her tears and I knew mine were a blink away, so, she quickly pulled away and said: no, I promised myself that I wouldn't do this. I can't afford to do this. I understood.
So, we departed. I entered into the airport and watched Nikki through the window as she patiently waited to ensure that I'd made it through. Upon checking in, I was dismayed to discover that I'd exceeded my bag requirement. How much, I asked? 25kg's. I hadn't taken the time to learn the conversion metric system from kg to lbs, so, I'm thinking okay, maybe I'm about 10lbs over. Whatever it was, I'm sure it wasn't more than $25-$50. The attendant informs me that it would be 18000 rupees for me to check my bags. I did understand that conversion. Since the US dollar is valued at about 42rupees for every dollar, I quickly calculated that I would owe about $450! So, back out the door I went (luckily Nikki hadn't left). Anyone who knows of my history with traveling internationally knows that my bags NEVER SHOW UP! I always have some sort of lost baggage issue. So, here I was once again, on the side of the road trying to remove clothes as the world looks at me pulling out my thongs and bras. I had to laugh...that's what you do...you just have to laugh at times. I instantly thought back to the first time my luggage was lost: Nigeria. I cried on the inside. I was so upset. Distraught. At a lost. Three years later, I'm shaking it off and making the best of the situation. If I've learned anything in life it's that sometimes you have to leave things behind you (own that truth). Sometimes, things are lost, never to return again (accept it). At other times, they're misplaced or post-poned until you can gain a better appreciation for them (understand that).
As I sat there on the side of the road trying to make a rash decision about what I absolutely had to have, versus what I could live without until I'd be reunited (hopefully) with, Eryka Badu's song: Bag Lady from her Mama's Gun album came into mind: Bag lady, you gon' hurt yo back. Draggin' all dem' bags like dat'. I guess nobody eva' told you, all you must hold on to, is you, is you, is yoouuuu. One day all dem' bags gon' get in yo' way. One day all dem' bags gon' get in yo' way. I said, one day all dem bags gon' get in yo' way, so, PACK LIGHT. PACK LIGHT. PACK LIGHT...OOHHHH...OOHHH.
At that moment, I decided to leave the entire bag. The entire dog-gon' bag. This journey was about many things: self-reflection being at the top of the list. I was definitely looking to de-clutter my life. To disconnect from all of the emails, meetings, assignments, television, noise...everything. I looked Nikki in the eye and said: you know what? I'm going to leave this entire bag.
Pack Light....
Pack Light....
And I'm on my way
With that said, Nikki and I celebrated my last day in Bangalore by treating ourselves to facials and to a great dinner. I also received a mahindi tattoo that morning. Then the time came: it was time to say farewell. I'm not really the outwardly emotional type of individual, however, when I hugged Nikki, something in my heart constricted. I was really going to miss her. After a few words, I felt her tears and I knew mine were a blink away, so, she quickly pulled away and said: no, I promised myself that I wouldn't do this. I can't afford to do this. I understood.
So, we departed. I entered into the airport and watched Nikki through the window as she patiently waited to ensure that I'd made it through. Upon checking in, I was dismayed to discover that I'd exceeded my bag requirement. How much, I asked? 25kg's. I hadn't taken the time to learn the conversion metric system from kg to lbs, so, I'm thinking okay, maybe I'm about 10lbs over. Whatever it was, I'm sure it wasn't more than $25-$50. The attendant informs me that it would be 18000 rupees for me to check my bags. I did understand that conversion. Since the US dollar is valued at about 42rupees for every dollar, I quickly calculated that I would owe about $450! So, back out the door I went (luckily Nikki hadn't left). Anyone who knows of my history with traveling internationally knows that my bags NEVER SHOW UP! I always have some sort of lost baggage issue. So, here I was once again, on the side of the road trying to remove clothes as the world looks at me pulling out my thongs and bras. I had to laugh...that's what you do...you just have to laugh at times. I instantly thought back to the first time my luggage was lost: Nigeria. I cried on the inside. I was so upset. Distraught. At a lost. Three years later, I'm shaking it off and making the best of the situation. If I've learned anything in life it's that sometimes you have to leave things behind you (own that truth). Sometimes, things are lost, never to return again (accept it). At other times, they're misplaced or post-poned until you can gain a better appreciation for them (understand that).
As I sat there on the side of the road trying to make a rash decision about what I absolutely had to have, versus what I could live without until I'd be reunited (hopefully) with, Eryka Badu's song: Bag Lady from her Mama's Gun album came into mind: Bag lady, you gon' hurt yo back. Draggin' all dem' bags like dat'. I guess nobody eva' told you, all you must hold on to, is you, is you, is yoouuuu. One day all dem' bags gon' get in yo' way. One day all dem' bags gon' get in yo' way. I said, one day all dem bags gon' get in yo' way, so, PACK LIGHT. PACK LIGHT. PACK LIGHT...OOHHHH...OOHHH.
At that moment, I decided to leave the entire bag. The entire dog-gon' bag. This journey was about many things: self-reflection being at the top of the list. I was definitely looking to de-clutter my life. To disconnect from all of the emails, meetings, assignments, television, noise...everything. I looked Nikki in the eye and said: you know what? I'm going to leave this entire bag.
Pack Light....
Pack Light....
And I'm on my way
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