#NerdsUnite: All over with Oliver - Cost Efficient Travel, FTW!
<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Oliver. He's really into traveling and wants to show you all that you don't have to have a lot of money to see the world ... dudes, he does it all on a dime! Sometimes LITERALLY!! I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT OLIVER!! </editorsnote>
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @oliverdomer
So continuing on from last week on my trip to Japan.
The main reason I took the trip I (or any trip) is that I'm looking to find myself. Plain and simple. Though not the only reason, I do enjoy new cultures and experiences, but those are just side benefits. Like anyone else, I have so many questions and doubts about my life, career.
Tokyo being a walkable city with great public transportation, I spent a lot of time either walking or waiting for/riding the subway. Unlike driving, these activities don't require too much focus. Often I'd just pick a direction and start walking. It allowed me to see the city, avoid the tourist traps and see everyday Japan. Being a pretty safe city with a metro stop every few blocks, you're never lost or in danger. The latter and former converged to allow a lot of time for reflection and deep thought. [And yes, I did just write that last sentence. It's an awkward sentence, but whatever. Just roll with it]. So I walked. A lot.
Epiphanies, however, are hard to come by. Specially, when you're looking for it. Sometimes I feel like I'm trying too hard in looking for the meaning of my life. Should I just let it come to me? In a way, that's what made the Japan trip a little bit disappointing. I didn't find what I was looking for.
In many ways, I learned a lot about myself as I navigated my first solo trip. Japan and the people I met gave me a great appreciation for my life, my family and living in this great country. I learned that hangovers in Japan and US feel very similar. Also, the food portions in Japan aren't small. They are normal; Americans just have a fucked up sense of portions needed to satiate hunger. I learned that as the picture below suggests, I am indeed kind of a tool [Don't hate].
I learned that they have really weird toilets. Like, seriously.
The biggest lesson was I able to truly appreciate what I have in my life. The US might have a lot of things wrong with it, but we have freedom some countries only dream of. While I didn't get the clarity and answer I was looking for, I can tell you that I have no regrets from my trip.
Per tradition, cool travel site of the week...Yapta.com. Tracks price differences before and after you buy your flight. If the price drops a certain amount, Yapta will notify you, and you could be eligible for a refund from the airline.
Party on Wayne.
#nerdsunite
P.S - Random request, if anyone out there is taking the post bacc route to pursue at medical degree and are in your late 20s/early 30s, hit me up on the Twitter. I want to get your perspective on what the hell I'm getting into.