A Day in the Life of Chaos

Every culture must look odd to every other.  We all have our own ways of doing things and our own unique perspectives.  While at times odd, it is something that distinguishes one culture from another and makes the world seem a little less like Walmart. Some of the biggest contrast comes between the East and West.  Each civilization developed their own way of doing things and consequently can look quite bizarre to the other.  Of course I arrogantly speak these words from a Western perspective and the way I do things is obviously far superior putting me in a perfect position to judge. One well known example of cultural oddity is the Harajuku girl of Japan.  Immortalized by Gwen Steffani as the perfect combination of style and cuteness.  Or there is another variety that harbors an odd proclivity to walk around in public dressed as an animal.  I have even asked my Japanese friend Shinichi about them expecting to gain insight into some kind of ancient and profound ritual only to be tol

Something about traveling changes a person.  This is especially true when the traveling reaches beyond the boundaries of our own lands.  I think if one were to get mathematical about the whole thing the formula might read something like: Familiarity = Comfort Comfort = Complacency Complacency = Ignorance When we journey out of our comfort zone the results can be unpredictable at best.  Sometimes we reach a feeling of enlightenment, sometimes we become depressed.  Sometimes when we return to our normal state we find that what was once normal has changed. Many of the feelings confronted depend on how far from our comfort zone we journey.  Feelings about ourselves and our lives might vary little if we went abroad to Canada yet traveling to South East Asia, Africa or China can result in an enormous re-evaluation of who we are and where we fit into the world around us. A few days ago I returned from a trip to the Far East.  It was largely a family trip to the Philippines punctuate