The Uni Crew 🙂
Random Observation/Comment #98: I miss field trips. They made me so happy because I could be legally absent for a day. I was one of those losers who had perfect attendance throughout elementary, middle, and high school. My mom always said I wasn’t sick enough to stay home, and I never met bad enough friends to convince me to skip classes. Things were easy back then – I played with blocks, waited for naptime, ate some lunch, and talked to random people who became friends. As I grew up, the blocks had changed to books and computers, but then rest sort of stayed the same. Now, there’s much less time in the day, and everything feels so rushed. I’m blitzing through life when all I want to do is stop running. Can I ever take five for a breather? Oh yeah, field trips are cool.
R: “Clemens, are you free next Tuesday and Wednesday, and do you have 20,000 yen?”
Me: “Well I have the money, but I was thinking of exploring Osaka a little mo–“
R: “No no no. You’re coming on the field trip. Shimada-san, can you add Clemens to the list?”
Me: “Well, wait… Where are we going, and what are we doing?”
R: “Oh, I have no idea, but there will be a lot of alcohol involved. Plus, you speak English and I need someone to bother. Bother bother bother.”
Me: “Uhhh… I don’t have a say in this?”
R: “Not at all.”
Me: “Okay. Sounds good to me.”
And so it began. I had already spent countless days traveling alone, so I took the opportunity to be social. I had no idea where I was going, but it didn’t matter – I had learned that life is not always about your location or situation, but rather sharing that moment with those you care about most. No matter how well I can write, nothing will substitute another person’s perspective. I can’t write their experience in their own eyes. I can’t capture their thoughts and bring them to life. If all the people I wanted to share this experience with were next to me, I wouldn’t have to.
We cramped into a bus and drove for hours to some random location in the middle of nowhere. The fog that day gave it an eerie Hollywood horror film feel to it. It felt like there was a murder mystery brewing behind the scenes. Three rooms would be shared by 16 people, and one of them was reserved for the only two girls that joined us. Seven guys sleeping on the floor of a normal sized single sounded terrible at first, but we had the perfect solution to make it not matter – alcohol. I had called “no homo,” but I think Richie and I were the only ones who understood. Before the eventual drinking night, we went paragliding and ate some of the best barbeque I’ve had in my life. College field trips accompanied by alcohol are just simply amazing. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to make me happy.
~See Lemons Happily Dragged Along
eerie fog that night
