Northern European Explorer And My Project Of Following His Journey
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Announced Essay Written by Chizuru Morikawa ■What is Antarctica for a Mother and Mr. Rune (03.12.8) |
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Sometimes you will meet the most random person in the most unexpected way. Who would have imagined that one fall day of 2003, a mother of two daughters living in the Tokyo suburbs would cross paths with an European explorer. There was no way to know that my meeting with my senior co-worker Mr. Onoda would open up the gates to Mr. Rune's exploration journey to Antarctica. Why now? Why all by himself? Why Antarctica? What is he in search of? Being overcome by these thoughts and living in Japan so far away, one day I decided to talk to Mr. Onoda to find out if there is a way I can accompany Mr. Rune's in his exploration. In this day and age where the internet connects countries and generations like never before, the beautifulness of all this is that the children will be able to go on their own adventures along with Mr. Rune. From this experience, I hope that they will pass on the wisdom and courage learned from the challenge of stepping into the world of unknown. I had become keen to Antarctica-related subjects as my anticipation for the journey grew. Coincidentally, the next research team was headed for Showa Base around this time and I began to notice TV programs about Antarctica and I continued to gain knowledge on the subject. I was born in June of 1961, which was the same year as when the Antarctic Treaty was signed. This froze territorial rights in the area and today it is believed that over 45 countries have ratified this Treaty. Something deep inside me told me that considering the situation with the current international community, there was good reason to think about Antarctica. My instincts connected with something, but to find out what this "something" is just may be the purpose of my journey. My English is not so good, but first I wanted to personally meet Mr. Rune and talk to him before he leaves for Antarctica. Also, for me it is important to give the children of Japan an opportunity to learn about exploration. I didnﾕt want to just sit and suck in information like a sponge. Rather I wanted an environment where I could share and experience the happiness and joy of living. This is why it's so important for me to realize this journey with Mr. Rune. |
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One day you are mesmerized by watching the amazing ability of a baby who learns something new everyday. Then suddenly, you see the same baby worrying about their hairstyle, using trendy words, and you notice that your own daughter is playing, skillfully riding a monocycle. Babies that are born today will be walking a year from now. As difficult it is to notice these changes on a daily basis, when you realize that these changes are occurring over time, this is when I can believe in the infinitive possibilities of life. A young Norwegian is preparing his exploration journey across Antarctica. When I told people this idea that I wanted to follow his journey from the Far East the response I got varied. Some thought that it was exciting while others could not quite grasp the concept of the whole experience. Some felt it was exciting but absurd and others questioned why I was going to take part in it. Some asked what I could possibly do to help out the exploration and still others felt the plan was immature. "We'll just watch and see" and "I'll do anything to help", the variety was endless. Exploring the Antarctica is no longer thought of with the same excitement it once carried. To most, it is just something other people somewhere else are doing. Still, I personally wanted to feel the strength of one to achieve a goal set through exploration. I felt that I could come closer to achieving this by joining Mr. Rune's journey. I wanted to express to the children the significance of the pursuit of an individual's possibilities. Until now I've been involved in Forums that were concerned with the learning method of experimental unit called workshop and facilitation. When I looked back at all these years of my work and life stage, I realized there is a common theme in all this work. That thesis is "self education". I clearly believed that to put yourself in an environment where you can formulate answers and to learn from yourself is education. By meeting Mr. Rune, I was able to confirm my instincts that by joining his exploratory journey, I would be able to leave behind a wonderful source of this education. |
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Many thoughts went through my mind as I fought a cold and a fever. When a person is put in an extreme environment, that persons body must be the one thing that one can truly depend on. How do you train and prepare for such a situation? How do you react if your body breaks down in such a place? These kinds of thoughts led me to believe that I must be stronger and decided against canceling the weekend party with some friends. I began to cook. I visited an old college friend's house for a party. We have been friends since college and she had a son who is preparing for the high school entrance examination. Off course, he was not at the party, in fact, by the time he came home from night school it was past nine thirty at night. That night we talked about many stories about the hardship and stress of the entrance examination. Always staring at your own test scores minutes after minutes. This exam is infamous for its extreme difficulty and stressfulness. I thought about the future when my daughters must face this same reality in a few years and the thought worried me some. My friend commented that the stress being nervous for exams only haunts you until you finish school, probably in an effort to make herself feel better about the situation. To this I ruefully found myself firing back, "There are many times even after school, where a person gets nervous." I feel that it is not a bad thing to be nervous about anything. When you are faced with a task, there are moments when doubts overcome and you wonder if you can really make it through. I believe that if you look straight ahead with faith, a path will open up. I have had these kinds of experiences in the past. Confidence comes later in the process, as in the beginning you are often overwhelmed by the enormous challenge. I believe that the key to emerging victorious is to never lose hope in you and to keep believing. That night when the topic of the conversation became why I was the one following his journey, inevitably my friends questioned, "Why you?" I tried to explain that I really do not know, but suddenly I found myself in this situation. My friends laughed and said, "You don't care about the results, you just want to go." At that moment my I felt my heart and confidence grew stronger as I felt the warmth of being surrounded by my supporters. I didn't tell the young man facing examination how much fun a challenge is. Yet, I wish that the young man who quietly listened to our conversation successfully fulfilled his goal. |
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I think about the anxiety of life. I think about how so many people in Japan must walk through their lives worried about being so anxious and nervous all the time that they might get sick. The Japanese used to cherish the importance of the definition of "walking through". Persistence in any situation was valued. There must be many people who sympathize with those who fell before they ever achieved their goals. In the Sixties, Seventies, and the Eighties when Japan went through a rapid economic growth, there seemed to be many popular songs that preached the hardships of life. I have heard that folksongs, foreign rock, and ENKA all sang about the futility of life. A company workers life was defined by overtime, working on the weekends, and working all night. The Japanese who were blinded by this time of rapid growth find themselves in search of their identity, even to this day. They are like a lost civilization, which have become dependant about every situation imaginable. I remember when Western countries often said that the Japanese work too hard and needed to take more vacations. Who would have thought that such unnecessary advise would result in a soulless Japanese population of today. Hence, when I hear of the rigorous pain of students battling through school to achieve the high scores necessary on their school entrance examinations, I cannot help but to feel confused by the gap in theirs and my reality. To understand that the goal of their difficult examination is the loose society in which I live in did not make any sense. In this day and age, the education for the teenagers, who are in their prime for learning, must be formulated to reflect the global world connected through digital networking. Some believe that maintaining pride in culture and differences among countries is the key to maintaining the balance of world piece. Once upon a time at the Tower of Babel, a method of common communication seemed to be destroyed. The Internet revolution almost feels like a revolution of our time allowing us to expand into the sacred territory of God. In order to make sure that a collapse of the major operating systems like Windows, does not lead to a worldwide confusion, I believe that it is important to establish a new form of communication that more heavily relies on human contact and relationships. I do not believe that such a evolution of the internet will occur in Japan, rather in another country where there are more strength in philosophy and digital communication, some people may already be working on such a project. Maybe somewhere like Norway. I have heard that Western Europe leads the world in digital communication but I have never confirmed this. These things are much too beyond my ability and I am dependant on Mr. Onoda. In the last thirty years, Digital, an organism made of silicone, has continued to replicate and spread out throughout our planet, earth. It is still unclear how these new species will affect the human being. Digital technology is quickly advancing and the Internet is rapidly moving towards faster speed and increased capacity. As a person closely associated with digital technology, I like to believe that these developments will bring happiness to mankind. There must be many people who develop courage while they walk across the icy land, believing in their goal. This year I lost two of my closest supporters and friends. One was a world-renowned songwriter and musician. His name was Mr. Masaki Ishii and he strived to spread international exchange through modern music, as well as introducing traditional Japanese art. He was only in his Sixties. The other is Mr. Hisashi Naganuma, who was insistent in the visual expression of digital technology at NEC during the transitional phase from Printers to digital camera development. He later moved to Kodak where he passed away in his Fifties. Working out of Silicon Valley, his love for Macintosh and hate for Bill Gates co-existed, but his goal was never clear to me. I wish they had told me what it was, but either way it is clear that their life goal was not achieved. However, the anxiety which persisted until the very last moment of their lives to spend the last days happily with the family member was a reflection of the wonderful ways of their lives as a whole. Other than these close friends, I think about a couple other people that I have heard about from friends. One was known for his skills in Karate, computers, and as a pharmacist. The other had enough success in the golf world to have golf lessons within his company building. Both were diseased in the brain in the late 40`s and are currently in their mid-fifties. Although they are both going through rehabilitation, they both have pride in themselves as professionals in their respective fields. Although both of them stand in an important path within their lives, the difference is that one is alone and the other is not. The one with the companion is living a kind life and is trying to decide the next path to take. The other who separated ways with the loved one has ended up living a lonely life in search of support for his ailing heart. When you examine what is left with you after all
the anxiety has gone, you cannot help but to ponder about the happiness
and cruelty that life can be. This reaffirms my belief that life is exploration
and adventure. It looks like my subject today is overly serious. Itﾕs
not as if I have a cold myself, but I could not just sit and read Morikawa-san's
story. |
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Dear Morikawa-san, Good evening. I just thought that it was interesting how the year you were born was the same year as when the Antarctic Treaty was ratified. The South Pole symbolizes peace, but on the other hand, the North Pole was the key location of the Cold War between the USA and the USSR. (Although even today there are nuclear submarines all over the place) When thinking about the Antarctica, I wonder if it is appropriate to consider the North Pole? Reading your essay written in a diary form, I thought about a professor I respect. He used his own diary as a textbook in his class. Although diaries are written to your self, maybe this is the very reason why textbooks sometimes end up sounding like a lecture. The questions and feelings of the writer are transferred very clearly to the reader. More than knowledge itself, I feel that this professor taught me the motivation to learn. Looking back, I think that the thoughts and feelings the professor had to himself transfer to me with so much clarity, that it then gave me the motivation to learn. I think you will continue to write. In fact, please do. And one day it may be a good idea to use your essay as a textbook. As you continue to write, I hope that the essays will contain not just the facts of the journey, but the emotions that you directly experience are reflected in your writing, as your adventure leads you through fantastic, as well as difficult situations. The more emotions the essay contains, the better educational tool it may become. I see question marks at the end of many sentences. Sometimes the question marks that appear at the end of other peoples questions, appears to be nothing other than your own questions. I feel that these parts of your essays are filled with your feelings and I must say that it truly moves me to read these words of yours. Just thinking about school exams, what if instead of the teachers creating a test, the students write down the questions they have from their everyday classes use them as testing materials? That would be much more interesting. And if one of your own questions is used in the test, you get some extra points! "One Weekend", really hit the spot! I naturally thought about your friends' son and how it all leads to each individual adventures. As you meet Mr. Rune and continue to get involved with more people, my hopes that children will learn something from this project increases. And for this reason, I think that school teachers should be involved in this project. I have been thinking about something recently. There seems to be more opportunity for working people to give classes. However, most of these classes tend to be a one-day course or a short term set of classes. Just as Mr. Rune need to scrupulously prepare the details for his adventure, taking as much time as needed, in order to be properly educated, one needs to take time in learning and being educated. Would it not be so exciting if everyone, from children
and teachers and whoever else involved in this project could all follow
Mr. Rune's journey! I have to admit, it is really me who wants to follow
this journey. I will have to carefully navigate the balance with my current
job, but I wish to not just help you, but really become part of the journey
myself and somehow make Mr. Runes journey in to that of my own. I truly
look forward to the development of this project. |
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"Have you read anything from Antoine de Saint Exupery? I hadn't even read "The Little Prince" carefully." This is what my friend said as she began to talk about the collection of essays called "Wind, Sand and Stars." It was right after New Years when I met with my friend. She said, "The writings of those headed towards the unknown often sounds like a letter to someone." She went on to explain that the writing of Michio Hoshino had the same tone. Mr. Ryu Murakami, who edited and published the job guidance dictionary "Job Guidance For The 13-Year-Olds And All Triers", said this in an interview in todayﾕs newspaper. "One must decide its own fate. People get connected to the world through their work. That's why I want to say that one should achieve freedom through becoming economically independent through a job that one enjoys." I thought about what he said, how "People get connected to the world through their work". If efficiency is the key to making money in business, I want to believe that it is people's vision and dreams that make money. This is the stance I will take as I continue my work. Is adventure a right only given to children and a limited number of people? Or is it just an opportunity to challenge your self by facing danger? Maybe itﾕs about how every adult in society with skills has the opportunity to test the potential that can only be realized by venturing out in to the unknown, as long as they are willing to part with the precious comfort of their life as they know it. Excuses come in many forms. It can be age, gender, or even environment; I've heard it all. These come from people who try to stay away from exploring something new or shy away from doing their responsibilities that lie right in front of them. I was probably one of them. You face fear and hesitation before you make your first step. There are no changes in how I feel. I still feel like I need to stand firm in my beliefs and stay connected to the world in everything that I do. I want to contribute while closely being involved with the society. I want to live the way where I wonﾕt hesitate to search for the right word to clearly express my feelings to everyone. So now, after saying good-bye to my friend, I went to a bookstore to look for a book written by de Saint Exupery. There I found a collection of short stories called "Night Flight". It was a work with vivid viewpoints of the author, who was a pilot, describing the hopes and wonders of people living quiet, yet harsh lives. Maybe every moment of our life is an adventure.
I think about this especially when I run into a person headed towards
a certain goal.
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