All in the Neighborhood: Want to see the world? Start by staying home.

This article is part of a package on the golden age of re-engagement. For more, read The Lonely American: Choosing to reconnect in the 21st century, The Art of a Lively Conversation: Be real. Be brave. Be bold. (And learn some manners.), One Nation, Indivisible: Reconnecting the public with its public servants.

I recently traveled to Japan with my son and daughter-in-law to visit her family on the island of Kyushu, at the southernmost tip of the country. Because so few tourists go there, I met only two people who spoke English during my stay. I was amazed at my feelings of isolation and anxiety and my longing to communicate. On the other hand, I was charmed by Japanese culture: the low tables with floor cushions, the narrow streets, the tiny cars, the food, the language, the indecipherable alphabet.

By the time I arrived back home in the States, I was eager to have a slice of pizza and a pint of dark beer at a pub. But I also was determined to enroll in a Japanese-language class in preparation for my next visit.

On my way home from the airport, I was struck by the number of stores with foreign writing on their signs; the majority of markets in my neighborhood now catered to immigrants from either China or India. While I was walking to the park the following morning, I smiled and said good morning to the neighbors I passed, as usual, but this time I noticed how few spoke in return. Many just smiled or nodded. When I stopped to comment on a beautiful garden, the owner couldn’t understand my words, but he grinned, delighted that I liked his plants.