Tonight I was reminded of something.
I was at Shoppers Drug Mart developing the last of my Japan pictures. I was at the counter for nearly an hour, pouring over the last few months of memories. The people, the places and sights and sounds of the country I had grown to love. I have to admit, I was feeling sad and happy all at the same time. My time in Japan was spent not only teaching english, but attempting to document the things I was seeing and feeling. Over the last few days, I have been so desperately wanting to communicate with people over here, what this whole experience has been like for me. But, I seemingly can't find the words.
When I came back to the counter to pick up my photos, the girl behind the counter said, "Erickson, right?." I said yes. And she then continued to say something along the lines of, "Can I just say, I was looking through your photos, and I wanted to sit down with you and get to know the people and the places you were seeing. I told the girls to come at look at them with me."
Sometimes, after taking so many pictures, and looking at them so many times, its easy to only see the mistakes or the places where I could have improved. Tonight, the staff at the photo centre reminded me...I DID go to Japan, and I DID encounter some beautiful things. It wasn't just a dream. And I guess my biggest fear in coming home was that my experiences there would only take place in isolation. While some of them I want to only remain in my mind, I was filled with so much joy at the surprise of a stranger showing a heart-felt interest in my pictures.
To girls at Shoppers, thank you. You reminded me of the excitment I felt in Japan.
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2 comments:
see? i told you you were good. If i only saw your photos I would want to sit down and hear your stories too.
Is there going to be a Jane in China blogsite?
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