T-32 Hours To Departure

It's been 2 years since I last left my country to explore the world (if you don't include my 2 day whirlwind trip to Canada last May...I don't). To those to whom this seems a short span of time - in the context of my recent life, it is not. From 2005-2007 I counted visits to 14 countries. Thus, zero in two years feels strange. I fear it has tipped me off-balance.

The anticipation girding us for this trip is different from that I have felt before. In many ways, it is stronger - I've never planned for a trip for so long, I've never faced so many obstacles on the way to actually boarding the plane, I've never traveled abroad with so many friends (I rarely travel with anyone else at all). I have never set foot in East Asia. At the same time, this trip is different for other reasons - I'm not taking part in any kind of work while I'm there, I'm not staying in anyone's home, I'm visiting first world countries. The toilets may be different, but I've done that before. The language, both written and spoken, may be incomprehensible, but I've done that before. The question marks preceding this trip are therefore different than I am used to. I wonder how I will react to finally having traveling companions - how their insights and experiences will enrich my own. I wonder if Japan will throw me more than India, simply because I expect it not to. I wonder how the 24-year-old, 18-country version of myself will react to things in comparison to the 14-year-old, zero-country version of myself. Writing that just made me realize that this will mark the 10 year anniversary of my first trip - we left on July 12th. I'll never forget that date. I don't know what it is that makes me such a better version of myself when I travel, but I'm yearning for it after its 2 year hiatus.

In any case, here we come, Japan. Here we come, South Korea. Despite all of the lingering pre-trip questions, one thing remains steadfast and sure - the five of us are about to have an experience we cannot yet imagine and will not ever forget. We will be transformed by the people we meet and the places we see, as they will in some small way be transformed by us (Japan will learn the art of dancing "The Jose"...and we'll learn the art of wearing a kimono, par exemple). There may be bumps in the road, even painful ones at times, that intermix with the euphoric and epiphanous moments. But that's okay. It's part of the journey. All my bags are packed (well, almost) and I'm ready to go (as always).

Next stop: Tokyo. A sprawling megalopolis vying for world predominance. A study in contrasts. An assault, I suspect, on the senses. And something altogether different from anything I've ever experienced before.