Matthew Cortese: " Japan: A destination and a dream"

Hosted by:

Consuelo

Produced by:

KBOO

Program::

Once Upon a Time

Air date:

Fri, 01/19/2024 - 11:00am to 12:00pm

As an introduction to Japan, we are listening to Japanese Jazz and the version of "Take Five".

Then, Matthew, tells us about the first time he learned about Japan. He was in the first grade. His teacher spoke about a country called Japan. Since then, he started thinking and dreaming about it.

Consuelo started the show with an introduction about Japan. A little bit of history, culture, cuisine, and architecture.

Matthew's first trip to Japan is a dream come through. His memories and emotions are in several poems he wrote during and after his trip. Reading one of his poems, "Hidden Harmonies" during the show, we feel his sensibility in his words and the use of metaphors.

Consuelo explained that Travel Journal is also an autobiography. It has the same characteristics. Also, it could be a travel diary. In this case, Matthew wrote about his impressions, and places where he went, and his poems are autobiographies. His sensible view of the country had a tremendous impact on him since he was a child.

He was taking the rail network. About the rail, his impressions were "the efficiency, punctuality, and a tremendous and profound silence". The baseball hall of fame was at Tokyo Dome. The Hokusai museum was Sumida City Tokyo, a special Ward of Tokyo. He visited a Keith Herring Exhibit at the Mori Art Museum in the Roppongi Hill, in the city of Tokyo.

His narrative is full of anecdotes and experiences. Kyoto is a cultural city with beautiful trees, gardens, and landscapes. His descriptions of the trees and the colors of the leaves tell us about Japanese dedication, respect, and contemplation of nature. Another value in Japanese society and culture.

Travel journals, photographs, and videos kept memories of our time traveling. Consuelo comments "Traveling is an intimate experience that confronts us with our inner reality". Physical travel becomes an inner experience of thinking about the fundamental questions in our lives. Sometimes, it takes time but usually all travel has an intimate as well as an intellectual impact in our lives.

This time Matthew shares with us his emotional persona, his creativity, and his philosophy of life. The tremendous impact this trip is having on his spiritual view of himself and the world.

We will see and talk about his future trip to Japan. One visit is not enough to see in-depth a country with an eclectic past, present, and future.

-----