thanks, that was fun

Kahm-sahm-nee-dah. Arigatou. Khop khun kha. Xie Xie.

It’s so easy to say “thank you” in Asia, so hard to say just how thankful, from here …
But here’s my best go at some embarrassingly overdue words of gratitude:

to here:
Whatever you do, don’t be deceived. Traveling isn’t always adventurous – sometimes it’s the exact opposite: inaction. What you may claim courageous I confess was cowardly – I hightailed it across the world, while you, the more sensible, remained in Canada & fought for your rightful spot in the rat race. Give credit only where credit is due, etc, etc …An uncompromising desire to see the world is quite selfish, really. Selfish I may be, but ignorant I’m not – I recognize that my ability to “get up and go” is solely reliant on the fact that I had people who didn’t share the same foolishness …the fact that I had people & places to come back to. I had a safety net on the other side of the Pacific… which means all the world. So kudos to you that stuck around. THANK YOU for giving me something to come home to.

to there:
Funny things happen in foreign countries – you immediately find yourself feeling connected & comfortable with complete strangers based on one common bond – the fact that none of you belong. It’s a type of camaraderie that can never really be replicated. And what’s also funny are the “categories” that always seem to kinda automatically develop: there’s the “same time, same place” kinda friends, the “hometown proud” friends [people from the same province and/or country who are immediately compatible because they’ve heard of the Blue Jays and miss maple syrup almost as much as you do] …and then there’s the rare people you meet that make you change your way of thinking altogether, and make you realize you’ve been doing it wrong all along. You learn about places you’ve never even heard of and lifestyles you’ve never even imagined, and I’d like to think you’re better for it. If not, why travel? So to these, and all of the people I met in Korea – THANK YOU.

to: there
love, here
To everyone that wrote a letter, sent a card, sent a package or made a phone call to the other side of the pond … For proving that out of sight isn’t outta mind – THANK YOU.

…and everywhere in between:
To one boy with the patience of a saint – THANK YOU.

And, in closing, thank you to the wise man who once said this:
“There are three types of people in the world: Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who, old and gray, ask, ‘What happened?’”

Whatever you want, make it happen.

Gracias.