And after a while, since the spoken language means little to me (since I don’t understand it at all) it sort of fades into the background. I wouldn’t want to live like that forever, but it’s interesting for a visit, since it’s soooo different than the normal bombardment of talk, TV, and advertisements. I don’t have to answer questions or make small talk.ĭon’t get me wrong-it would be wonderful to be able to communicate verbally with them. I hand them the bottle of water and money, act polite, and that’s all I have to do. They know that I’m a foreigner who doesn’t know the language. The checkout person will likely say many words to me in Japanese, but all I have to do is stand there and smile and say “hello” and “thank you” in their language. Let’s say I’m buying a bottle of water at a convenience store in Japan. There’s also a weird comfort about being in a place where I don’t understand the language at all. And if I ask someone a question, I don’t have to feel self-conscious because they’ll forget about me a moment later. If I’m not sure which way I should be walking, no one notices when I look awkward and confused. If I’m not dressed stylishly enough? Who cares! There are plenty of other tourists around anyway. They don’t care about me, and that takes the pressure off. I don’t have to worry or ponder my existence because the others in the crowd aren’t paying me any attention they are focused on themselves. There are so many people rushing to get around, to hustle to the subway, eat lunch, or get to work, that I am inconsequential.
(Notice that I’m talking about visiting a large city not living in one.
But I also love big cities because you can get lost in a crowd. On a recent vacation, I enjoyed exploring Tokyo and Seoul for several days.Īs an HSP, you’d think that visiting a big city would be overwhelming. Some might be surprised to hear that I like spending time in big cities. I used to live just outside of New York City for around 5 years, and I loved spending time there.
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