Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

Among one's friends, there are often a few oddballs that decide, one day seemingly out of the blue, that the careers that they have been building for years actually do not interest them anymore.  They decide to give that all up, go back to school and learn brand-new trades.  Upon graduation, they stay once again, in perhaps their late 30s or 40s, at the bottom of the hierarchy in a new industry that they have never been professionally involved before.  I, for one, admire the willingness to forego the comfort of the known and enrich one's life by plunging into the unknown even at an age when people avoid risks and instability.

Humans are social animals, and social animals have a tendency to put themselves into social groups to define who they are.  And if humans are to use social groups to define respective individual identity based on belonging to certain groups, then it becomes necessarily the case that they define what are the differences among different groups that they belong to and they do not.  By distinguishing the major contracts between the groups that they belong to vis-a-vis those that they are excluded or voluntarily exclude themselves from, humans can, in turn, make sense of who they are and who they are not.

Japan is noted for convenience for shoppers , and the focus on convenience is also very much present when its legions of salarymen go out for their lunches on any working weekday.  In major business districts are arrays of different dining options, ranging from take-out microwaved meals in convenience stores, street carts serving up quick freshly cooked meals, and various fast food options ranging from noodles to burgers.  In such a competitive market to feed hungry workers quickly, traditional sit-down restaurants should have little advantage to speak of.

A Chinese-Australian friend described his experience interacting with the local Chinese population in Malaysia.  If he mentioned that he was born but moved away from China as a child, people did not want anything to do with him.  When he tried to save money by going for cheap meals and skipping drinks, people thought he was a "cheap mainlander" trying to make trouble.  On the contrary, if he splurges on food and drinks while dissociates himself from any connection from China, he found the local population much more receptive to his attempts to communicate and befriend.

Travelers seek out new destinations for a variety of reasons, but it goes without saying that all of them want a positive experience out of getting to the new place.  How to define what is "positive," however, may vary hugely from individual to individual.  For tour guides who are hired by travelers to assist them with exploring the new destination, catering to what the travelers have in mind for a positive experience is certainly needed to ensure the travelers' satisfaction from joining a tour.  But finding out exactly how the positive experience can be had for each individual is no easy matter.

Waiting in the line to get some visa-related matters finished at the ever-crowded and confusing Tokyo immigration processing center was a Yemeni seeming lost in thought.  Asked what he is doing here in Tokyo, the man timidly answered that he is looking to get his refugee status approved.  And why Japan?  For him, it was the only country where he could get a tourist visa even to come in the first place.  The decreasing appetite for Middle Eastern refugees in Europe and America meant that those desperate for good-paying jobs are now looking to Japan for the slimmest hope.

Age 30 can be a convenient marker for many people.  If the twenties is a time for travels and new experiences, the thirties ought to be one that is more grounded.  More stable relationships, more stable jobs, and more stable routines that allow one to grow in a more structured environment.  But for people who have become so used to fluctuations, some voluntary and some not so much, transitioning to more routine-based way of life can be quite challenging, mentally and physically.  Romance and steady environment can help anchor a person to a particular way of life, but without genuine love for the physical location that one is to inhabit, it is rather impossible for keep the anchors steady.