This was my last day in Japan, after a week full of new discoveries of a part of the world that I knew so little about. I was supposed to be here for three days with Captain Abu Raed, but I fell in love with this country and its people and decided to stay for a week. One of the greatest benefits of making movies is that you make new friends from all over the world. And here in Japan, this group of filmmakers from Jordan, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Turkey, and Lebanon have built a special bond that will last for a lifetime. From the first day we met, we instantly hit it off at the Spider bar down the street. The next morning, we all felt the earth shake from the 15th floor of the hotel where we're staying. It was scary then sweet! To experience an earthquake in Japan from a high-rise, Yes! And everyday we've experienced something new. From Zen gardens to Budhist temples, to incredibly dense city chaos and neon lights to narrow old-fashioned Japanese restaurants. Hopping on trains. Watching people. Meditating on life. Relating a culture so different from our own, yet so spiritually enriching. The people are so patient and respectful. Such basic virtues that we seem to get farther and farther away from in the US and Jordan.
If I look back at the life I wished to have when I decided to leave my business suit behind, this is exactly what I wished for. To live a life of traveling the world, experiencing cultures, and making friends that teach me about their countries. It is the life I wished to have while writing Captain Abu Raed, and it came out in the form of this old man in my movie. Well, now Abu Raed is actually traveling the world and making new friends. I'll write more when I get back to LA.
