Kodomo No Toki, Ore No Jitensha Wo Norimashita…

Besides that one time when I was living in the apartment with my homies this past summer, it has been years since I’ve ridden a bike.

I used to love riding my bike all over my neighborhood; carefree with no worries.  I still remember the first bike that I ever owned and still to this day remember it to be the best bike that I’ve ever ridden.  Whether it be rain puddles or semi-beaten trail paths near Poor Farm road, me and my bike had fun.  I let my uncle use that bike when he had no car to use and well…never owned the bike again.

Anyways, fast-forward to about 12-13 years in the future to the present time.

Now I’m in Japan, a place where bikes are treated just as importantly as cars and motorcycles.  Here, a bike is a legit vehicle in every aspect ranging from the laws governing it’s use to its original purpose of getting you where you need to go.  It was recommended to me to get a bike when I went to Japan, but now I’m glad that I have one even though I originally thought that riding a bike would take away from me taking in the scenery of this country.  After today, I know for a fact that that thinking was wrong.

Being the usual me, the one I’m trying to change, I had to pick up my gaijin card (think of it as an identification card for foreigners) from the city council so that I could apply for a language tutor position helping people out with their English.  The city council is pretty far walking and I don’t know how to work the buses around here and I had to have this application in by 5 or else I wouldn’t get the job.  With my bike (which is purple by the way) and a rough idea of where the area was I metaphorically and damn near literally flew there and back.  Since Nagoya is a pretty hilly area, coming back was definitely a bitch but the way there…

Straight down hill…

Just me and my iPod…

Cars blurring past me…

The buildings gradually turning into countryside beauty…

For just a brief moment in time I went back to being that kid on his first bike.

Thinking back on it, this experience is practically synonymous with my experience in Japan as a whole.  Having the freedom to do what I want, working hard at something every day while actually seeing the results of your hard labor, and making new friends everyday.

I think I’ll take that bike ride more frequently and take pics around the area.  I could go on for some time about how good that bike ride felt, but I’m tired with a ridiculous amount of work to do so I’m hitting the bed.

My homie once said “Wherever you go, people are the same but different.”  For me, I think I can personally expand on that quote to portray my growth from my childhood to my transition into adulthood.  Am I different from then?  For sure.  On the other hand, have I really changed since then?

Apparently not.

Peace N Be Easy (PNBE)

Snowfield Rhapsody

#childhood #country #life #japan #thinking #bike