I've been considering my usage of the words 'visited' and 'been to.' It seems to me that I have visited Chicago, when I was young, in that I've walked around the place, but gained no true understanding of the place.
On the other hand, I've definitely 'been in' Tokyo and Okinawa; my visits there over the course of four and three years, spanning several months and a few weeks each time (respectively), I have a certain understanding of the way the places work.
This came up while I was considering exactly how much and what kind of national and international travel I aspire to go and do. I'd rather not bunny-hop from city to city for a day or two. You don't get a good understanding of a place in a day; all you get is souvenirs. But obviously there's a limit to how many places you can live in a lifetime. I haven't solved the problem, yet.
 I've also found a fascinating graffiti artist in the UK (via the Daily Dish): Banksy. His work very much reminds me of a bit of graffiti art I found in Okinawa, on the seawall. It was painted over by Summer '03.Labels: art, language, life, Okinawa, Tokyo, travel |
