Andy Borgmann's Blog

I am in Chicago O'Hare airport right now. About five minutes ago I passed the gate I departed out of when I left for school at APU. Right now I am passing a gate I arrived at from LA, 8 days after September 11th, 2001. I am heading for the gate I departed to Israel for my study abroad (which is oddly being used as a gate to Atlanta). All this takes me back to my first international trip: France, I was in 8th grade and I was 14 years old.

Thinking about this makes me crack up a little inside. Since that trip I have been in 17 other countries and flown close to 200,000 miles. What a difference 200,000 miles & 17 countries make.

My first trip to France was with about 40 other middle school students. If memory serves me correct, we agreed to the trip in October and left in June. I remember being in at least 4 meetings before we left. I can remember taking probably a good week to pack and "gather the essentials." I remember going to the bank in downtown Fort Wayne with my Dad and exchanging US money into French money. I even remember receiving my first Passport.

This trip was pretty much the opposite. I traveled by myself (although I met up with 30 APU students). I agreed to the trip in late February and departed the first of April. I had one 15 minute phone meeting. Packing took me all of 15 minutes to complete. As far as money, well, I took $40 bucks in US cash, a credit card and an ATM card and I figured I would be ok (which I was). My now worn passport was sitting cosily in my desk drawer. I knew I was going to need to stay in a hotel as well one night and I didn't even have that booked until I hoped off my plane in Tokyo on the way back and walked up to the information desk and said, "I need to book a hotel room for tonight." Quite the contrast.

I think in part this is because I have more money now, and strangely, when traveling, money is like freedom. Take for instance the hotel. I just thought to myself, worse comes to worse, I'll just book a room at the Hyatt or Hilton or wherever has an vacancy for whatever price. But I think there is more to it than just money, and that brings me back to O'Hare.

My first time in O'Hare alone was when I was 15 and I was flying to visit my grandparents in Denver. I didn't even have an escort. If I wanted to, I could figure out how many times since then I have flown through O'Hare (but I am too lazy). But all that travel builds confidence and it makes me realize a.) how small this world really is, and b.) everywhere is pretty much the same in operation but vastly different in experience.

What I mean by point b. is that a train in Japan is like a train in Europe, which is like a train in America. A bus ride in Japan is like a bus ride in America. The airport terminal in Japan is exactly like Australia, which is pretty much the same in America. Making a hotel reservation is the same everywhere, some just cost more. There's really nothing to fear when traveling abroad other than the experience you might miss by not doing so. So if you got the time and money: get traveling!

(P.S. The first photo is a group of my (at the time) friends after we checked through security at O'Hare on our way to France. The second photo is of me rubbing the belly of a GIANT Buddha statue near Kamasura.)

It's 5:12 am "locally" (locally here is defined as 35,000 feet over Whitehorse, Canada). It is now the second time this day (April 14th) I have experienced 5 am. Traveling over the International Date line is weird. I actually will arrive in Chicago before I took off in Japan. Take that Back to the Future. I am just sitting down after an hour conversation with a Marine named Mark, who apparently is also super claustrophobic on planes like I am and decided to stand back with the flight attendants for an hour.

Mark was reading a book on Philosophy when I first started talking to him, and I later found out he had served in Iraq twice and Afghanistan once. We talked about everything from the historical context of the problems in the Middle East, to traveling the world, to our homes, and what we want to do with the rest of our life. It was a good hour.

One thing I brought up with him was an observation I had made about Japan while there: I wish Europe was more like Japan. I loved Japan. These are words I never thought I'd say. In fact, in all my extreme desire to travel, traveling to the Far East never really interest me. This changed on this trip. I could go many different routes with this, but I am going to stick with one.

About 51 years ago, the USA dropped two Atomic bombs on Japan. They were our enemy, and we were in a bitter, bloody fight and we decided this was the best course of action to save lives. You would think there was some modern day resentment by the Japanese, but there was none. Contrast to Europe, who would all be speaking German right now if it weren't for our help, and they hate our guts. So let me get this straight: here we have a country where we killed innocent men, women, and children, and they were the most friendly, warm, "American" place I have been to (except Israel was more "American, but that's another story).

I just don't get it. Transition to a conversation between Hoey (APU student) and a part-Japanese kid on the trip whose Grandfather fought against America in WW2. He proceeds to tell us that his Grandfather even admits it was good for America to use the A-Bomb as it probably saved Japanese lives. Hoey proceeds to tell him that it was/is never ok for us to do something like this and I step back and think: man this is strange.

We have built so much "white/American guilt" that we hate ourselves more than those we wronged do. Why? Why can't we recognize that if we have been forgiven and the Japanese have moved on, why can't we? Better yet, why can't anyone but the Japanese recognize that America is not perfect, but that we are a good country, trying to do good in the world.

America has done some historically awful stuff. But we have also done some great things (long before Bono & Jolie ever stepped on to the scene). So why are we hated? Why are we ashamed sometimes of our international presence? Why when the countries in which we "affect" are better off then if left alone, do we get accused of imperalization?

Historically speaking, most of what is turbulent in the Middle East is Europe's fault. Whether it was the English drawing country lines without consideration of indigenous people & tribes, or German's forced exile of the Jews back to the Middle East, the problems we are trying to rectify were created by Europe. So it ends now. I've said all along Iraq will be a better place for Iraqis because of our involvement, and I won't feel guilty about that. Let's just hope the Iraqis are more like their Asian counterparts and less like Europe.


You can listen to similar thoughts I shared on our radio show this weekend by pushing the play button above. The entire show can be found at http://www.allenhuntshow.com/Listen/189/