First Tastes of Japan

I know some of you are wondering, so you should know that I did finally make it; but not without some adventures along the way. My night in the Seattle airport was as expected. It wasn't the most comfortable of nights, but I made it through to the next day. I filled my time with reading, music listening, a movie and some good old people watching. Sleep eventually overtook me and I tried my best to get comfortable. I woke up early and got my boarding pass for the rest of my trip from Seattle, to San Francisco, to Tokyo to Nagoya.

We made it to San Fran just fine, but that is where the adventure starts. We got on out Tokyo bound plane and after about 30 minutes in the air, we heard a pretty startling bang on the left side of the plane (thought it might have been a bird in the engine). The passengers seemed a little worried at that point, myself included, and shortly after the pilot informed us that we would be turning around to get the mysterious minor mechanical problem checked out before we committed ourselves to flying all the way over the Pacific. They informed us that it would have to be repaired over night, so they provided us with hotel accommodations for the night and told us to come back early the next morning. At first I only thought of the confusion and hassle this was going cause with my arrival to Tsu city. The pickup time was going to be off and I had limited resources to call home or OBC, I didn't have my cell phone with me and I couldn't remember any phone numbers off the top of my head. luckily I found the number for OBC and called them and my house from my hotel room to update them on the situation.

After I got that worry sorted out, my stay in San Fran was actually pretty cool. I got out of the hotel for a bit and picked up some much needed snacks for the rest of my trip. And the best part of all, there was an In-and Out burger very close, so I got to try that for the first time. Its popularity was very apparent, it was a crowded joint to say the least.

I made it back to the airport early the next morning and by about 12:30 pm we were on the plane and in the air. I found that when you go though an experience like that with a group of people, there is some group bonding to be had. I met some nice people and had some good conversations.

The flight to Tokyo was a long one though. I usually sleep most of the time on flights, but because of the time difference and the mix of excitement and nervousness I had about getting here, I hardly slept at all. I did however watch four movies on the flight, which is a new record for me. Quick movie review: Caddyshack was a good one, pretty funny.
Yes Man was good, classic Jim Carry, kind of corny sometimes
Taken, very intense and even hard to watch sometimes
but very good
Frost/ Nixon - very good. I thought the acting was great
and the story was very compelling. I am usually a fan of
Ron Howard's historically based movies.

I was exhausted by the time I got to Tokyo because of the time difference. I got here at 3:oo pm local time when it really felt like 12:00 am back home.

When I got into the airport, there was a strong rush of memories from my study abroad experience, almost like deja vu. It even felt weird that I wasn't going to be meeting up with all of my study abroad friends, the people I experienced Japan with (miss you guys).

But I finally made it to Tsu city after another flight and a boat ride. I was welcomed at the dock by Tsuyoshi, the owner of OBC, and promptly went to the school to get the basic stuff done (passport copy, keys, schedule) and then came to the apartment where I met up with Nicole and Jeff and met the current teachers. They were very welcoming and we conversed some and had a few laughs before we went to bed. It is a really good group here and I can't wait to rest up and enjoy more times, especially before the current teachers leave in a few weeks.

I got a good nights sleep and am thankful to have today off to rest. Actually, we ae planning on going into town to get to know the area better today, so resting will come when it comes.

Lastly, I will be getting more information here shortly, so things like schedules and addresses will be coming. I would love to talk to you guys soon so we'll be able to set that up.

until next time....