okawim travels►

I have a confession to make: My knowledge of the world outside of my front door is pretty limited. Actually, let me correct that: My knowledge of the world outside of my front door that is backed up by my own personal experiences/observations is pretty limited. Because, I guess I do know a thing or two about the world and the people who live in it. Of course, anybody who's read a book with an accurate setting of a place they've never been to, watched a travel documentary on TV, or talked with their Chinese/German/Australian friend knows the "rough outline" of a place they've never traveled to.

Such is the case with me. I haven't been to many places, but I know about other countries because of books, TV, and friends. Ah, the beauty of communication and cultural diffusion. (Ha, my AP World History teacher last year to include "cultural diffusion" in any essay I write to get automatic brownie points.)

To put the truth, plain and simple, I'm a Vegas kid. Sorry to disappoint, but I'm one of those people who doesn't understand the harshness of the January blizzards or melting in the July humidity or even the gloom of no sunshine for a month straight in April. Maybe that's why I want to see the world so much, to feel like maybe I'll be able to understand something.

Oh, the amazing power that must go to those people who can understand the situations of people in China or Africa! I would love to have that kind of understanding--that power that helps you realize that "Hey, maybe my life isn't so bad after all. I mean, I have a house, a warm bed, a family, and no potentially fatal diseases."

My dad has this kind of understanding, because at one point in his life he had lived in Korea for three years. He understands that Americans always want more--a bigger house, a better car, a faster something. "In Korea," he says, "the average house was about the size of our dining room and maybe half of the kitchen." But, he would go on to explain about how they were happy, even if according to us, they were definitely worse off than those in lower class

This knowledge is probably the reason why my dad is so good with money and why he's not greedy or materialistic.

I want that. That clarity. That proof. That knowledge. That power.

And that's why I want to travel--real traveling, not this book/Google traveling journey that we're going to embark on together, but that'll be fun too.

(And yes, I know that this wouldn't be something you'd find in a travel book and I apologize, but we'll start that...next time.)

Ciao. ;]

[End Note: Ciao means "goodbye" in Italian, in this case at least. Sometimes it means "hello." But I'm leaving, so it's "goodbye."]