overstimulated in the tokyo airport

Hello!! And welcome back to my semi-regular journal on what we’ve have been up to! Our keyboard for our tablet has a 25% chance that any given letter will work so I am very discouraged at the moment because I’m typing this on my gasp phone. Maybe this makes me an older millennial but there are certain things that MUST be done with a laptop/keyboard and one of those things is blog writing! I will survive this like the trooper I am.

Ok enough of that. We just spent a glorious 5 days in Tokyo, Japan. We stayed in a neighborhood called Kita City and were able to indulge in the robust train system, fresh food, kind people, and all the gadgets which just make sense that Tokyo has to offer! We decided to stop through Tokyo on our way to Vietnam after looking at the length of travel day from Denver to Ho Chi Minh City paired with recommendations from friends. Needless to say we’re very happy we did.

I think I’ll be reflecting on Japan for awhile. It’s possible we will head back through here on our way back (oil prices and air space closures may make it difficult to access Eastern Europe) so perhaps we will be back for more! Tokyo was a quiet, peaceful, bustling city. The absolute silence on each train shocked Sam and I. You could close your eyes and think you were alone on the train, opening them to 50 people in suits/ties on their way to/from work. They value silence and harmony in a way I can’t quite comprehend but apparently have gotten used to because this airport seems LOUD. I tried to start writing and could only hear a man behind me on the phone… I realized I didn’t hear that at all in the city. People don’t take phone calls on the train and pull off sidewalks to chat so as not to disturb others (imagine that!). So now I’m up on my high horse being unable to focus with moderate noise in public because I rode a couple of trains in silence.

I do feel like a different person compared to when we originally embarked in January to last week leaving Denver. I think I needed extra time to process the significant life change that happened at the end of December. Leaving a job I loved, a community we loved, people we loved, and a state I moved to in the middle of COVID. Washington gave me (us) so much and I think I mourned the change for longer than I had anticipated. I leaned into fear during that time. I took fear with me everywhere I went for a few weeks. I craved familiarity only to return to the United States wanting the unknown again. I’m picturing myself moving along a continuum and starting this trip on the “ready for anything” side compared to where I was in January. I tried eel in Tokyo. Most of you know how big of a deal that is for me! More on this in the future…

We spent a few weeks in Florida and a few weeks in Colorado, getting lots of sun and love from our families in both places. We are a lucky couple to feel “home” with both of our families and to have places to be in the “in between”.

They’re starting boarding for Ho Chi Minh in a few minutes. I survived a blog post from my phone! I have so much more to say and reflect on and less to worry about. That is a new feeling. Letting joy in. Putting fear in my back pocket. Until next time!