Jan 2010
[day1] airport limousine
At 5 o'clock in the morning, at the empty lobby in the Park Hyatt, I didn't even feel a sensation for the departure on the round the world trip although I was waiting for the limousine bus for the airport holding a huge backpack. In the dark before the dawn, I just left a word 'See you.' and stepped onto the bus. I had known the fact that I'm leaving for far abroad but the farewell was simple as if we had promised to meet again the next day.
Maybe my feelings toward the idea of farewell were distorted due to the international student life in Australia. During the days when I was studying on the language course, we had a lot of farewell parties as students came and graduated every week and always said 'Good bye.', 'See you again.', and 'Keep in touch.' I’d wept often at first, however as time went by and the farewells became a weekly routine, tears seldom dropped from my eyes.
Thanks to the advanced aviation technologies, the temporal distance is surprisingly short. Anybody can reach the main cities of the world within 24 hours though overseas travel was very limited only 50 years ago. If I push myself hard, it is always possible to visit someone who I want see. What is more, by using the internet technologies like facebook, skype, and email, we can make contacts literally free. In terms of the mental distance, we should be able to bring it under our control, however the physical distance is long.
A meeting and a parting are two sides of the same coin. I, who realised that continuous hope lets me to see my friends again, won't shed tears due to anxiety and loneliness. The bus departed to the air port with me a little bit reluctantly watching the dawn view of Tokyo.
