Have you ever been on a bad blind date? One where your friend said "you'll have so much to talk about!" and proved herself to be a malicious liar? When occupations, friends, television and books fail to create any sort of response, I go to travel. And it generally works - provides me a topic I find fascinating, so at least I enjoy hearing myself talk for awhile. So not that this is like a bad date at all - I'm sure I'd have a lot to talk about with all of you. I can't overstate how pleased I am with all the comments on the last post. The next installment was going to be negative though - it was a bad experience, and I'm still slightly bitter. I think it's important, both for me to write out and perhaps for someone else to read. I'm pondering some wording and how much detail I want to share, knowing that someday I might need to take ownership of these words in a more personal way. So as I continue to think and revise the next publications post, I'm heading to my back-up plan. I thought I'd show some pictures of a trip to Kyoto!The nice thing about traveling alone - or taking time away from a group of boys who walked far faster than I did, in the case of Japan - is that you can never say "hey! Look at that!" so you take pictures of everything so that someone at home might share your experience. So I took 6 rolls of film in Kyoto, and probably could have done more if I hadn't attended so much of the conference. The lessons we learn, right?
I love the pictures. I recall going into my advisor's office 6 months before the meeting, and informing him that I would not be traveling to Japan. Why? It's on the other side of the world! If you're looking at a globe, you don't just have to shift it a little to see Japan, you have to turn it around. And that's weird to me - completely disturbing for some unknown reason. And the whole time I was flying, sandwiched between one of the guys from my group and a man I called Satan, who urged me to enjoy porn with him on his laptop, I was bothered by the fact that we were leaving the familiar behind.
It turns out that they have some good stuff on the other side of the world. I ended a 4-hour morning walk one cloudy day at a temple, Chishaku-in, before heading back to my hotel. The first picture is looking in a section that was closed, mid-way through the grounds. I stood behind the rope and peered up the stairs, capturing the statue in a photo since I couldn't get closer. I was always conscious of the rules in Japan, horrified of doing something disrespectful.For the middle photo (part of a lovely series), I paid 350 yen to see these exquisite wall paintings created in the late 1500s. So I paid 2 lovely women who gave me a brochure with a page in English (which I removed from my album to consult for this post). I removed my shoes and walked alone through the building, awestruck at the paintings, lingering at each doorway, reading my brochure and staring at these incredible works of art. There's something about being without shoes, as if the intial show of respect prepares you for the full experience of something unique and special. I adored the gardens outside while I walked from room to room, viewing the paintings. So now maybe you can adore them a little too.
I had my map and walked around the area of Kyoto with the largest concentration of temples. Unlike my adventure in London (if you haven't read the post, please go look at the picture - it's my favorite one), I didn't get lost at all. Why? Landmarks - gorgeous temples, incredible cemetaries, and the slow pace. I found that amazing things could be found around every corner and walked accordingly slow, cherishing each step and new sight.
This last photo was taken earlier on my walk. I had gone a little farther than I intended and reached the Otani Mausoleum. I sped up at this point, eager to hit 2 more temples (does that make me a stupid American? That I had a timed agenda to see the spiritual sights of Kyoto?) and had not allocated time for this area. But I was here, so it was logical to walk through.
And it, like many other places, was amazing. Quiet, somehow separate from the business of the city, lushly beautiful, and intense.
6 comments:
Were you able to organize your six rolls of film? I've still got rolls of developed film from....five years ago!?! Pictures from when I went to Europe for the summer...I put maybe a month's worth into an album before procrastinating with the rest. Obviously, a poor decision. Hopefully, you've got your photos ordered to better remember your trip!
mplsju - I'm insanely organized with these photos. I'd never been outside the US until grad school, taking my second plane ride ever after my second year of graduate study. So while I've traveled quite a bit now, I'm always completely aware of how amazing the opportunity is for me. I have albums on my shelves that have photos in chronological order, journal entries of the trip and brochures and maps that I picked up along the way. It's a little over-done, but I want to remember as much as I can about being somewhere I never thought I'd go.
And I envy you the European trip! I got to the UK, but no farther yet. Let me know if you put pictures up!
Thank you for posting such lovely pictures. I love Japan and have been there on several occasions to do research (once, even did a study on Sumo wrestlers). The first time in Japan, I took more pictures in a 3 month span than in the previous 3 years.
Never made it to Kyoto, spent most of my time in the Tokyo area, but I did visit several temples. Your photos bring back memories.
Hey Charlie-
Just looked at some of your art - wow. That's quite a talent you have there. After traveling for 42 hours to get home from Kyoto, I said I'd never return, but it's only been a couple of years and I'm ready to go back.
We flew into Tokyo and it was insane - I couldn't cope with the sheer number of people. Kyoto was more my speed - less crowded and slightly more relaxed.
42 hours? ! ? Wow, you beat my record. The first time I went to Japan I was still in graduate school, so to get the cheapest possible flight, I flew from nyc to Alaska to Korea to Tokyo. . .it took about 26 hours. Totally wiped me out. The last few times I went I was able to afford direct flights. . .so much better.
Thanks for the comments on my blog. Painting and running kept me sane through my post-doc at NIH (a very strange place it was).
Good luck with the job search. Life after post-doc, at least for me, has been so much better.
Yes, 42 hours where the sheer discomfort became overwhelmingly painful. I'm not able to sleep on planes - I'm too nervous and feel that staying awake and keeping an eye on the wing from my window seat somehow helps the ride go smoothly. So after the train, then 4 plane rides, each with long layovers between, I continued to grow more and more irritable. I think I finished 5 books, and the guys I traveled with were asking if they could buy me more by the end of the trip. They seemed to not enjoy my incessent whining by hour 40. Our last flight ended up getting delayed by about 3 hours, and Northwest threatened to leave us in the airport overnight. At which point I turned to one of my colleagues and said "I can't do that. I don't know what I'll do, but I can not stay in this airport all night." Direct flights would be lovely and first-class would be better still. So I'm hoping for some sort of financial windfall before I plan my next trip.
Your paintings are really gorgeous. I took an art class a long time ago and can draw a pretty good box. In 3 dimensions even. But that's as far as I go. :) I'm glad you're pleased with your life after the post-doc (and doing one at NIH, no less - impressive) and hope you have time to paint more. I sincerely look forward to seeing the next one.
And thanks for wishing me luck. I have some time before I start searching in earnest, but I've continued to look around. I am happy where I am, but there's a part of me that's always aware that it's yet another temporary position.
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