YAJIE
ALESSANDRA'S ASIA
Web Content Editor and Copywriter obsessed with Asia. Yajie is the blog where Alessandra shares articles related to Japan, Korea and China.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
OF ECOLOGICAL TRAVELERS
WELCOME TO EASY TRAVEL HOSTING! COULD YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR OBSESSION WITH ASIA AND HOW YOUR BLOG WAS BORN?
Thank you for inviting me to this chat about travel and my favorite countries.
My obsession with Asia was born with me. Ever since I can remember, Japan and China have occupied a large part of my imagination and thoughts. I was just a child when I watched Japanese cartoons and dreamed of visiting this distant land and it didn't take long for this childhood interest to become a real passion and the subject of my university and professional studies.
My blog was therefore born from a dual need. On the one hand I felt the need to combine my profession as a Web Content Editor with my passion for the countries of the Far East, on the other hand there was the urgency to tell about these lands (especially China) to those who don't know these lands at all. Since my university days, I have always found myself arguing with those who limited themselves to judging the People's Republic of China based on a Western and Eurocentric vision.
I aim to offer a different look at the East, a Western but non-judgmental look. What I want is to open a window on these cultures in order to arouse curiosity and, who knows, maybe even the desire to delve deeper and go beyond hearsay.
IS THE LOVE FOR ANIME AND MANGA ESSENTIAL, IN YOUR OPINION, FROM THE LOVE FOR JAPANESE CULTURE?
Absolutely not. During my volunteering experience in Hokkaido, my Japanese adventure companions defined me as an "otaku" (nerd, obsessed with comics and anime) unlike them, who were not particularly fans of comics or cartoons. The image of Japanese culture intrinsically linked to the world of manga is a bit of a stereotype (which I certainly won't help eradicate haha).
However, it is undeniable that my generation's first window into Japan was Japanese cartoons, anime, and then comics and manga. In the pre-internet era, before low-cost travel and the possibility of visiting Japan at affordable prices, cartoons on television were our encyclopedia. As for me, as a child I didn't know anyone who had ever been to the Land of the Rising Sun and China was still that mysterious country that only seemed to be of interest to journalists and writers.
Of course, the same argument would not apply to today's children, but in the 80s/90s cartoons really immersed us in a different way of life, in a very distant culture that fascinated and intrigued us all.
For the same reason, those who have developed a love for Japanese culture in different contexts are not necessarily a manga reader or an anime lover (or a cosplayer). Japanese culture is immense and fascinating for so many reasons, many of which are far from the more "otaku" art forms. Manga and anime are real passions and strands of art with undisputed credibility but which can be liked or not liked.
So no, I don't think that love for anime and manga is essential from love for Japanese culture but I believe that respect for these art forms is. Those who know and appreciate Japanese culture recognize the cultural and historical importance of these two elements. Differently from those who don't know or love Japan, for whom anime and manga remain simple forms of entertainment for children.
IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE ONLY ONE ASIAN STATE, WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
This is an extremely difficult question and I hope I never have to make a similar choice. Japan is a love that I have carried with me since childhood, while I associate China with a more mature, more adult love: a country whose interest did not arise spontaneously but which I chose to get to know and study in adulthood.
I would therefore choose China, the middle earth, the Dragon par excellence. Why? Simply because it is a country that never ceases to amaze and that is capable of changing and evolving with greater strength than any other country.
Historically, China has been very powerful, the most powerful country in the world. But then she fell, was humiliated and mocked by the Western world. Ostracized and smeared in every way possible. Yet there she is, rising from the ashes like the most majestic of phoenixes. In complete silence, she managed to once again enter the chessboard of world powers. Yet he doesn't boast about it. She leaves us here, convinced of our Western moral superiority while she creates a new way of life by taking back her space in the world.
When I talk about the PRC with someone, more often than not my interlocutors still believe that China is a third world country. That poverty is widespread and visible even to tourists, that "there is nothing to see" because it is a poor country. It may seem strange but every time I announced that I was going on a trip to the Dragon I was always asked the question: "what are you going to do? There's nothing in China!"
Absurd, right?
And who explains to these people that I'm going to a country that has long since eradicated payment by cash and where even beggars ask for alms via WeChat? Who can explain to them that in this country artificial intelligence is so advanced that the entire shipping chain is now managed by robots and that there are even hotels and restaurants whose staff are entirely robotic?
That's why I would choose China. Because this is where the story is taking place, even if so many of us don't know it yet.
WHAT DO YOU DO TO MAKE YOUR TRIPS MORE ECOLOGICAL?
When I travel I always try to rely on sharing economy services. AirBnb, BlaBla Car, Uber, HomeExchange and CouchSurfing are just some of the services I use during my travels.
I am in love with this turning point that our society has taken: the idea of sharing goods and making travel a common experience between traveler and host, having the opportunity to meet and spend time with local people and living in inhabited houses and not in sterile hotels.
Furthermore, I believe that the best way to make a difference on both an environmental and humanitarian level is to rely on non-governmental associations or organizations that make sustainability their primary objective.
In 2013 I participated in two volunteer projects in Japan and Hong Kong through the International Civil Service (SCI), an NGO dedicated to development cooperation and training activities. Thanks to this experience I learned a lot about our social and environmental impact, what inclusion and sustainability mean and how to change things once we return home.
SCI taught me that the most important thing we can do when we travel is to give back, that is, to share our testimony with others. Whether telling the story of the Nepalese minority in Hong Kong or explaining how a social farm on the island of Hokkaido hosts all those people who have not found their space in the metropolis of Tokyo, our testimony can be an opportunity for growth for those who listen to us and therefore a means for change.
These are teachings that I still treasure today in every one of my journeys. I try to travel in the most authentic way possible. I choose volunteer or "workaway" trips rather than package holidays, I am hosted by local people rather than booking a hotel, I eat local rather than in chains. But above all I always try to get to know the reality of the place I visit by getting to know people, informing myself about situations of marginalization, so that I can "give back" once I return home and change not only myself but also anyone who will have the patience to listen to my stories.
Easy Travel Hosting thanks Alessandra heartily for this perspective she gave us on Asia, a gigantic area of our planet that is still so little understood and little explored.
If you want to find out more about her project, you can follow her on her website by clicking here. And on social media too!
Easy Travel Hosting it is 100% ecological Hosting tailor-made for travelers by travellers. Do you want to tell us your story? Contact us HERE.