Departure

August 25, 2011. Written in Niigata prefecture, Japan

Departure

This morning, I finally started my long awaited travel around the world. Full of expectations I left my appartement this morning. However, it was raining so terribly that I got in a bad mood right form the start. Walking with the bag I packed the night before, I immediatly noticed that I had underestimated it’s weight. Man, was it a pain in the ass to have to walk around with that thing! I had to laugh about my plans to buy a bycicle somewhere and cycle to another city during my trip. It was most definetly impossible to cycle with that thing on your back!

When I finally arrived at the station, I first went to the local game store to use the tickets I have collected for more than one year with UFO catchers and get myself something. There was however, with the tickets I owned nothing I wanted or could use. I thought about giving up on using them. Who cares, I could use them when I come back to Japan one day.

But then, I studdenly heard some local primary school kids talk to each other. And what did I hear? Yes, they were talking about the tickets as well. They wish they had a 2nd price ticket, they said. And wouldn’t I have two of them. I looked at the kids. They were holding in their hands, exactly the tickets I wanted.

“Hey kids, how about trading your tickets with mine?” I started.

The kids looked with excited faces at me.

“Are you serious, sir?”

“Sure”

They started yelling happily. Now we all had wat we wanted.

After getting our gifts, we talked a bit. They were surprised by the fact that grown ups play games as well.

Great, still in my own town and communicating with the locals already, I thought. Not a bad start at all.

When I left the game store, it had stopped raining. My bag too, suddenly did not feel as heavy as it did before anymore. Maybe this world trip wasn’t so bad after all.

Alright then, let’s get going!