故郷 (Home town)

I feel like I literally wax nostalgic about my hometown every 3rd blog post, but I do want to recognize suburban Chicagoland,  故郷 ( furusato) since it just got a foot of snow in late-November..... with a top 10 (or 8? Maybe?) list of most nostalgic things I feel about my hometown (Darien, IL- small surburb outside of Chicago).



1.) Walking to school- probably the only exercise I got as a kid, walking the mile or so to and from school made me recognize the value of seeing the sights and sound of nature, taking a minute and thinking about life, planning the next move (like chess), and also the value of a school bus/ car to transport oneself to school- saves a lot of time.

2.) spending the summer at the local swimming pool- really the only hangout and option for any kid in our neighborhood, it would become the neighborhood watering hole and recreation center during the summer months, and it was much needed.

3.) Riding bikes around - Like a less violent version of Sons of Anarchy, the neighborhood bike gang had unity, solidarity, and common purpose- to waste as much time as possible riding through the same streets we'd always ridden in.

4.) Imagining secret passageways, underground tunnels, hidden gardens, etc., I had a wild imagination as a kid from reading a lot of books, and I always romanticized about our neighborhood, partly due to knowing the neighborhood so well down to which kid lived in which house, what time certain cars would pull in, etc.

5.) Trick-or-treating: my first trick-or-treat was the best, as it allowed me to go around the neighborhood and go to each house, so who was in it, what kind of candy they would give out, what kind of doorbell they had, etc., etc. I've always been a big fan of trick-or-treating since, and it always seemed like that first version of the neighborhood was the best.

6.) Random ponds/ lakes- nothing beats bodies of water in one's neighborhood that serve no tangible purpose other than for decor, or for ducks, geese, and all nature of birds to gather around during the fall/spring. Also made for fascinating romanticizing (see 4 above) as to what was in the lake, whereas I have the largest body of water in the world (Pacific Ocean) a mile away from my house and basically ignore it.

7.) Going through a thunderstorm- nothing like a Chicago weather change where it could be nice and sunny one minute and then start thundering and downpour the next. I definitely got trapped in the rain more than a few times, which is a feeling that's hard to replicate in Southern California but makes me want to just soak and sing in the rain when it does downpour. (土砂降り= doshaburi = downpour in English). 

8.) Two words: Snow football. Chicago kids are probably loving the foot of snow at this second because of the ability to ski down small hills (even a sled or a cardboard box will do) and play snow football with soft landings (falling in the snow is not hard, even fun!) and impromptu snowball fights. Damn it, why can't I go back there now! If you've never made a snow angel in the season's first snow, or built a snowman (yukidaruma = 雪だるま), you haven't lived. 

Fantasize on, Robert Yan