Fourth quarter

Like millions of people, I was woken up by an unusual alert on my phone about two weeks ago1, and among all the things I did not expect, this one has to be close to the top of my list. All I was able to understand from my neighbor was that I should pack my stuff, and find shelter in the metro station around the corner.

Fortunately for me, the alert was called off after a short time, and I went back to my regular day. But that was a very weird experience. I don’t think I was prepared for such an event. I don’t think anyone’s really prepared for such an event.

I often think about the day I landed in Seoul, in the middle of march. I had no idea what I was getting into, and if I would like this place. The weather was much colder. I didn’t know how long I would stay and when I’d be leaving. What happened is that I spent the entire spring over there, split my time between Seoul and the deep countryside, and only left at the beginning of the summer, after having explored the four corners of the country, travelling by plane, train, buses and bikes.

By the time I left, everything felt less intimidating. The language, the customs, the streets, the food, the people. This is a very pleasant feeling, that I believe you can only make happen with time.

While I wouldn’t want to settle and live here, I like the country more than I thought I would. Seoul gave me very similar vibes to what Berlin gave me on my second visit to the city, back when I still wasn’t living there. If I had heard about Seoul fifteen years ago, there’s a little chance I would have wanted to try it out.

I started learning japanese on my own, the same way I tried to learn korean while I was there. I’m not sure if the combination of using an app and living in the country is the most efficient way to do it, but it’s probably not the worst way to do it either.

I’m now in a weird place where I need to make an effort for the basic “hello”, “excuse me”, “please” or “thank you” to not come out in korean. If I don’t think hard about it, these words will now naturally come out in korean, and that’s a very strange position to be in, given that neither korean (the language that’s in my mind now) or japanese (the language I’m supposed to be learning) are languages I can actually speak.

But it’s funny to know a few words and expressions in five different languages.

I spent my first evening in Japan in a small bar just next to my hotel, and met a few people, who interestingly asked me the same question, one after the other: how do you do that? The owner of the bar was interested in knowing how I managed to travel for such a long time. The two people sitting next to me were interested in how it was to travel alone.

My answer to the first question reinforced how privileged I am to be able to do that. I don’t think I’ve been taking it for granted, and I’ll try my best to keep it this way.

The reaction to my second answer made me realize some people have always had someone to travel with, and never travelled alone, in their entire life. This actually made me go back to the answer I gave to the first question: there’s probably a way to go on such a journey with someone, but it would be completely different, in terms of planning, budget, mindset, and basically everything else. I think it’s much easier to do if you’re on your own.

Japan is the last country I wanted to visit on this long adventure, and now that I’m actually there, it feels like I entered the fourth quarter. I can’t help but keep looking at the clock, from the corner of my eye.

I’ve been here for about two weeks now and already visited and stayed in five different cities (mostly thanks to the JR pass, that lets you get in any high speed or local train, for a limited number of days). I’m glad I got to sit in a Shinkansen for the first time in my life, visit many castles and museums, and spend time in local onsens and restaurants in such a short time, but I don’t like that this pass is making me move faster than I really want to.

My pass expired two days ago, and I decided that I wouldn’t buy another one. What I really want is to slow down, and get back to my own pace. I want to remind myself that there’s absolutely no rush whatsoever. The end is getting closer, but it’s still weeks away, if not more.

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