then and now

From 2015, when I was visiting Japan: Why find yourself when you can lose yourself? I’m in a cramped room in Itabashi, squeezed into the middle of three narrow bunk beds reading Martin Amis on Lolita. I’m always reading when I travel: in airplanes, subways, and air-conditioned convenience stores while my friends buy cheap beer. There are five other people staying in this Airbnb. It's cheap–slightly under $30 a night. The host is a Japanese guy currently working on his masters in mathematics. He began renting out his place because he wanted to interact with more English speakers back in college. I admire people like that, who decide they want a certain type of community and then promptly go on to construct it. I can never find in myself the desire.

From 2015, when I was visiting Japan: Why find yourself when you can lose yourself? I’m in a cramped room in Itabashi, squeezed into the middle of three narrow bunk beds reading Martin Amis on Lolita. I’m always reading when I travel: in airplanes, subways, and air-conditioned convenience stores while my friends buy cheap beer. There are five other people staying in this Airbnb. It's cheap–slightly under $30 a night. The host is a Japanese guy currently working on his masters in mathematics. He began renting out his place because he wanted to interact with more English speakers back in college