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I knew Tibet’s lunar new year, Losar, would be something special, but nothing could prepare me for the spectacle that ensued. I can still feel the echo of adrenaline coursing through my veins.

Sarah and I had waited patiently in the Barkhor Square with some fellow travelers and Tibetan friends for evening to fall. There were squads of jing cha patroling the area, as well as a fire truck clearly on stand by, yet all was quiet. Then, according to some unspoken cue, Lhasa erupted.

Throughout the city’s maze of alleyways, small sparklers and hand shells were being fired. We ducked into a narrow street to get a closer look - just as things got interesting. One after another, the rat-tat-tat machine gun of chains of firecrackers rang virtually non-stop in our ears. Someone had set a small pile of rubbish ablaze in the middle of the street. Tibetans emerged from their homes to add fiery armfuls of cardboard and straw - attempting to burn away their troubles in the coming year. More lengths of firecrackers were tossed into the mix, violently exploding within the raging inferno.

The heavier ammunition was slowly brought out, and Lhasa lit up in a riot of colors. Fireworks as impressive as any I’ve seen in the US blanketed the sky in every direction. The smoldering remains of exhausted explosives were now steadily raining down, forcing observers to seek cover. Billowing smoke from both fire and fireworks were making it difficult to breath. So this is what a war zone is like.

Yet a war zone this was not. We could just make out beaming Tibetan faces through the haze, and every now and then a delighted scream would pierce the cacaphony when a child danced too close to the pyrotechnics. The atmosphere was simply electrifying and you couldn’t help but be swept up in this unbridled expression of joy.

Perhaps most amazing, is that this is only the first night of the festivities. I can’t fathom what other kinds of new experiences the remainder of Losar has in store.

[Edit] Due to a combination of the lack of an auto-save feature from WordPress and a hectic work schedule, this post is coming roughly 3 weeks late…

After spending almost a week in Japan, I’ve got a much better feel for the country, and feel comfortable making observations beyond my immediate financial needs. There really is a plethora of fantastic aspects of Japan. In the wise words of Sarah:

Man, Japan has like, super everything!

Here are the top 5 aspects of Japan that I find the most super:

Respect for Nature
It seems like the Japanese have much stronger conservationist tendencies than other Western cultures that I’ve seen. Perhaps it stems from the early influence of Shinto. It’s easy to see why the religion was so widely accepted - the views from the coastline and mountainous regions are absolutely breathtaking. Even in the hustle and bustle of the mega-city, you can always find peace and relative solitude in beautifully landscaped parks and ancient shrines.

Methodical Mentality
There’s definitely a strong emphasis placed on tradition and ritual within Japanese society. This influence permeates every aspect of Japanese life, from the way they wash their hands before entering the temple to the method in which they pray. Back in the secular world, there’s a strictly defined ritual for distributing and accepting business cards. While this might sound restricting, in instances that call for precise timing, it works to their advantage. Tokyo’s metro system is outstanding for this very reason - every train comes frequently and the locals become angry when its even a couple of minutes late.

Minimalist Aesthetic
Whether the minimalism is a necessity for life in ultra-crowded cities, or whether its more deeply rooted in a national aesthetic, its like a breath of fresh air, especially when compared to the consumer culture of the West. It seems completely counter-intuitive, but out here, bigger is not better.

Fashion & Tech Forward
While there are other Asian countries that are rapidly developing, Japan stands out as the single Eastern culture that has truly caught up to the West. However, the technologies have developed on a track slightly independent of the US. The net effect is the country is just familiar enough to give the traveler a bizarro-world effect. Many establishments have Western style toilets, but the toilets themselves are miniature robots an entire panel of options. The taxis look similar, except they talk to you, and the doors open and close automatically. Businessmen or “salary men” will go out for drinks when meeting with partners or customers. However, they take it one step further, and spend virtually every night in drunken revelry.

Obsession with Water
Having grown up on the beach, I definitely appreciate Japan’s love of water. This seems like an obvious development in an island-nation, but its pleasant all the same. Whether its the strong SoCal surfer culture in Kamakura, or the different mineral waters available as hot springs in Hakone, the Japanese have refined enjoying water to an art form.

I used to be an incredibly religious person. My parents recently founded a college fellowship in Norfolk and back in the day I was a youth group leader. It wasn’t until around senior year in high school when I became disillusioned with organized religion. I simply refused to believe that all the gossiping, back-stabbing and self-righteous judging that I saw happening at church were a product of God. So I stopped going, and save for a couple of visits a year to support my parents, haven’t been back since.

Recently, the a decade-long scientific study commissioned to determine the healing power of prayer came to a close. The results indicated that patients who knew they were being prayed for suffered a significantly higher rate of health complications.

To all of my Christian comrades, I must ask: “How can you maintain your convictions in the face of evidence like this?”

I no longer buy the church’s bullshit. But I know what the church would say in response to this.

faith, n.
2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.