When I Was Sixteen
Hoshino Michio remembers his first trip to North America.
In 1968, when I was sixteen, I had a dream of crossing the ocean by ship and hitchhiking in America. Foreign lands were very far away in those days. How could a boy ever go there and come home safely? But I did.
I left Yokohama by ship, and two weeks later, I arrived in Los Angeles. I had no place to stay. I knew no one. But I felt no fear. In fact, I wanted to shout with joy for my new freedom.
A few days later, I was at the Grand Canyon. I slept in a tent. It was my first experience with the vastness of nature. That experience led me to Alaska a few years later.
I traveled to the South. Atlanta, Nashville, and New Orleans impressed me deeply. There was a smell around every bus station: a smell of restrooms, shoe polish, hot dogs, and hamburgers. I am filled with nostalgia for America when I remember that smell.
While I was hitchhiking in Canada, I got a ride with a family for ten long days. I felt that I was part of that family.
With the help of many people, two months later in San Francisco, I completed my journey safely. I celebrated with a cola and a great big hamburger.
When I returned home, I found myself in the same old life as a student. However, my trip gave me a sense of freedom. Now I knew that there was a world beyond my day-to-day life in Japan. There were real people in those far lands, and they were living ordinary lives, just like mine. I learned to see my own country in a new light.
Today, I am in Alaska, and, as I walk alone through the wilderness, I often remember my first journey to foreign lands.
Hoshino Michio remembers his first trip to North America.
In 1968, when I was sixteen, I had a dream of crossing the ocean by ship and hitchhiking in America. Foreign lands were very far away in those days. How could a boy ever go there and come home safely? But I did.
I left Yokohama by ship, and two weeks later, I arrived in Los Angeles. I had no place to stay. I knew no one. But I felt no fear. In fact, I wanted to shout with joy for my new freedom.
A few days later, I was at the Grand Canyon. I slept in a tent. It was my first experience with the vastness of nature. That experience led me to Alaska a few years later.
I traveled to the South. Atlanta, Nashville, and New Orleans impressed me deeply. There was a smell around every bus station: a smell of restrooms, shoe polish, hot dogs, and hamburgers. I am filled with nostalgia for America when I remember that smell.
While I was hitchhiking in Canada, I got a ride with a family for ten long days. I felt that I was part of that family.
With the help of many people, two months later in San Francisco, I completed my journey safely. I celebrated with a cola and a great big hamburger.
When I returned home, I found myself in the same old life as a student. However, my trip gave me a sense of freedom. Now I knew that there was a world beyond my day-to-day life in Japan. There were real people in those far lands, and they were living ordinary lives, just like mine. I learned to see my own country in a new light.
Today, I am in Alaska, and, as I walk alone through the wilderness, I often remember my first journey to foreign lands.