okawim travels►

You might think me strange, but sometimes I get really sad thinking about countries, oceans, and all the different languages in our world. There are times when I just don't understand why there is so much that separates us from teenagers in Korea, India, Germany, or any other country. I mean, we are all people, so why can't we know one another? Or understand one another? Is the world a cruel trick that purposely creates ways for citizens of the world to misunderstand each other? Why did God make the world this way? Was this his intention?

I don't have answers to any of the questions I asked, but I do have thoughts. Lots of them.

I'm half-Japanese/half-Caucasian, meaning that my dad is a tall white and my mom is a cute little Jap. This is all fine and dandy until I think about what I'll be missing out on for a lot of my life--half of my family. I don't like to think about this, but it's inevitable when your mother's whole family lives half-way across the world.

Am I missing out on a lot? Of course I am. As cool as it is to have family living in Japan, I know that I'm missing out on the chance to get to know this whole group of people. And I mean really get to know them, not the occasional phone call and the once-in-every-three-years visit. I wonder how close we would be if it weren't for that pesky large body of water (an ocean...I think it's called), a few countries (minor setbacks), and oh yeah--the fact that we don't exactly speak the same language. Well, I mean I can speak Japanese and they can speak some English, but it's not the same.

Maybe I'm being...dramatic or something, but in my mind, the way to world peace is understanding. The way to understanding is communication. The way to communication is...well...talking.

It's true that we can't go back to a world with just the landmass of Pangea and that we have to live with the fact that the tectonic plates have pushed us apart from one another. I guess we'll just have to learn to deal.