Finally...Tokyo!

After the flight from Hades, I didn't care where I ended up...it truly was the worst flight ever (i.e. when the captain says, "Flight Attendants, take your seats IMMEDIATELY!" and the plane starts to feel as if it is being tossed around in the air, you know it isn't going to be fun...that was somewhere around 2 hours into it). When we got to Tokyo, it was raining. I had hoped my first glimpse would be sunny and happy, but hey, if this is the only bad weather we have, life will be good!

We went through the Quarantine area, where I was fingerprinted and photographed. I am now officially in the books. From there, it was on to Customs to declare anything if we had it (I had nothing to declare other than the flight was horrible, but I didn't think that was the right time or venue to share that info). Then it was on to the busses! Truly, JFMF is amazing...I lost count of how many people were holding signs along the route, pointing us in the right direction. I felt loved, children, and more appreciated than ever in my life! I'm not kidding! On the bus, we had about a 1.5 hour drive into Tokyo. I took some pictures...most are on the webpage, but I am going to put a couple here for you to look at. I did see Tokyo Disney Resort, but a bus pulled up between the parks and me right as I was taking a picture, so it didn't turn out. But I did see it!!!

At the hotel, check-in was seamless...again, highly organized planning was evident. I didn't have a lot of time to get situated in my room, but I did shoot a video of what the room is like. Again, go check the webpage for that fun little jaunt around my little Castle Away From Home.

I then went DOWNSTAIRS (that's for you, lunch bunch) to meet up with a Fulbright scholar for dinner. He took four of us, including Debi who is going to Sanyo-Onoda with me (she's from Memphis, and she is awesome). The scholar's name was Eiji Tanaka. He studied at Western Michigan in 1965 as a Fulbright scholar. He studied Economics, and is now, believe it or not, a pet insurance salesman. Turns out that roughly 2% of the petowners in Japan take pet insurance out, and Eiji-san expects that number to grow significantly. Eiji-san took us on our first Metro ride to the Ginza district (I saw it, Dad!). We stopped at a traditional paper store, which was really cool. He then took us to a store that sold nothing but chopsticks and chopstick holders. Very cool, but oddly expensive.


Chopstick Store

We ate dinner at a yakitori restaurant. I have to be honest and say that I ate a lot of stuff and had no idea what it was. I only got truly disgusted once when I ate a chicken liver. That was just sick and wrong. I had various grilled meats and veggies (including one extremely hot pepper...it looked like a pea pod, so I put the whole thing in my mouth...huge mistake), FANTASTIC miso soup and pickled vegetables, and sticky rice with steamed bamboo shoots on top. I downed it with a nice cold Coca-Cola and a hot cup of green tea. It totally kicked that meatloaf from earlier, let me tell you!


Debi and I at dinner

Eiji-san then escorted us back to the hotel, telling us proudly that he had sold his car in 1995 and now relied solely on the public transportation system. I wish we had that!!! Corydon needs a Metro! I finally found my way back to my room (this place is huge, truly...it may be the size of Corydon, I'm not sure) and unpacked. I discovered that although my packing lists had been finalized for quite some time, and even though it had been included on such lists, I left my current adaptor and plugs at home. Luckily, US appliances can be plugged in here fine (I verified it with the front desk, thanks), so I am getting things charged...it just takes longer. I've been dozing off at the computer...I've been awake since 7:00 am Eastern time Monday, and right now it is almost 11:30pm Tokyo time Tuesday (about 10:30 am Tuesday Eastern time). I am beat, but trying to acclimate myself to a new schedule. I do have an early morning tomorrow, so I guess I better get on it. Talk to you all again soon!

Musings from Seat 62F

Top Five Reasons Why the Back Row of the Plane is not Cool:

1. Forget about sleeping. The open area for your cabin of the plane is directly to your left and right, and behind you. People will congregate here throughout the flight and talk, ignoring your frustrated look of despair. No sleep for you.

2. The flight attendants will run out of Customs cards in English before they get to your row, sending you into a state of panic at the Customs area as you search frantically for the card you never got.

3. Your choices for dinner are meatloaf and meatloaf, the chicken teriyaki having run out somewhere around Row 50. Continuing this thread, don’t be surprised AT ALL when for breakfast you are given a hot turkey sandwich while your other flightmates are noshing on traditional breakfast fare.

4. The back row is at a slope, severely limiting your view of the movie screen to the top inch of the screen. And that’s only if you sit up fully in your seal while trying to stretch your neck an additional six inches.

5. There is NO doubt whatsoever that you will be the last one off of the plane. In fact, watch out for departing flight attendants, who will look oddly surprised at your being on the plane still. While waiting for the crowd to disperse, maybe it would be a good time to catch up on that missed nap from earlier!


This was what I looked at for the entirety of my 10.5 hour flight from San Francisco to Tokyo. I thought I was going to lose my mind! It became extra fun when that seat was reclined!

Flying over the Rockies... Oct 12

Pretty...

I left my heart in San Francisco...okay, at least my sanity...

Okay, kids, I am writing this in my hotel in San Francisco at 5:15 in the morning (8:15 at home)…not sure when I will get to post it as I decided to not pay the ridiculous hook-up fee here, but I did want to go ahead and jot down some thoughts so that they were fresh for you. After the mess of checking in at Louisville, I eventually did make it on my flight (read the post behind this for my first official trip post). I had the best seat! I knew at that point that I would be sitting quite possibly in the worst seats ever for the rest of the trip since I got the best one on the first flight out. It was in the first row, by the window. Although it meant that I couldn’t have my carry-on with me as there was not a seat in front of me to stow it under, it did mean I got to stretch out. Not that it did me a lot of good…that flight to Chicago is a short one! I had just enough time to get my cran-apple juice down before we started our descent into Chicago.

If you’ve never been to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, let me tell you…that place is huge! My plane pulled up to a gate at Terminal One. I had a 1.5 hour layover, so I had good time to make it over to Terminal Two. I put on my backback which weighs approximately the equivalent of a 3-year-old and took off. About halfway through this jaunt, I realized I had forgotten to put on my pedometer, and wow, was that a mistake…I must have walked a mile to make it to my next gate. I could have stopped on the moving sidewalks, but those things are a trip to walk on, and as they throw you off at the end, it’s kind of like a ride, so I kept on walking! I made it to the gate, sought refuge at Starbucks only to be told that they were only serving drip coffee (no Pumpkin Spice Latte for me), and then meandered to a seat near someone that looked like Kathy from the Ning site…it was Kathy!! Later we were met by Peter, Carissa, and Holly (also going to Sanyo-Onoda…more on her later!). It was fun getting to know each other, and feeling as part of a group for the first time.

On the plane, I had a window seat. I love the window, so this was perfect. It was a 4.5 hour flight, relatively uneventful but there was a lot of turbulence. Luckily I don’t tend to get sick easily, so I was fine. However, I was starving, so I broke down and bought airline food. Yes, I had said that paying for airline food was ridiculous, but when you are starving, you’ll eat just about anything! I got the SmartPack, so I suppose it was even healthier. For you foodies out there, here is what $6 bought me:

Bagel chips (unseasoned, but did have some sea salt…yum!)
Spreadable cheese with vegetables (scrumptious…love that cheese)
Granola (currently in backpack for a treat later today)
Phyllo dough cookie twist thingy (odd, but not horrible)
Pears (I hate pears, for the record…the menu said applesauce…I wasn’t pleased, but I ate it)
Cashew Roca candy (highly recommended)
Emergen-C Energy drink packet (which came with no water…frustrating)

I did catch a nap on the plane, but would wake up at times to see the most amazing things. I took some pictures as we flew over the Rockies. People, this was gorgeous. It was truly breathtaking. I will try to upload a few so you can see it yourself…my words would do it no justice. Flight landed with no drama, although approaching an airport over a body of water is never comforting. Getting luggage at San Fran took longer than my flight to Chicago (I am only moderately joking here). Finally, it showed, after a good deal of panic on my part. I met up with a bunch of other people (there were quite a bit of us at that point) to get on the shuttle bus, where I saw the funniest sign. I’m posting it as my picture of the day, because it was too good to pass up.



At the hotel, we checked in. This is the one time that we will have a roommate the entire trip. Mine was not here yet, and I had no idea who it would be. Turns out, it is Barb, the other teacher from Indiana. We were good roommates…we crashed immediately after we got back last night and were both up around 7:30 your time this morning (4:30 here). Not bad! Anyway, I went downstairs, and met quite a few other people…a lot had recognized me from this blog and from the Ning site, so that was cool! I got lunch (pretty routine…salad, sandwich, fruit) and then changed into my “professional” attire…we had orientation, which could have been done in casual clothes, but we were on a tight schedule, and very little time after the orientation to get ready for the evening’s activities. We were given our schedule, which is individualized for each group and has a VERY detailed itinerary. It also costs $25 to replace so it is now my new best friend!

After orientation we boarded busses that would take up to the Consul General’s house. The Consul General is right beneath the Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. and represents the San Francisco area. His residence is gorgeous, and although I was disappointed that it was too dark to get pictures of such before it got dark, it was pretty cool to see Alacatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge from his house. Very cool. He welcomed us and fed us a lovely little Japanese feast…sushi, kids! Actually, there quite a few things there that I ate that I wasn’t sure of, but hey, I’m a trouper. The only thing I really didn’t care for was the tofu, but after talking to others, the general agreement was that the tofu was rather bland. Whew! Because let me tell you, it takes a lot for me to eat tofu, but I’ve decided to try everything, so I ate it. Anyway, it was a rather elegant reception, lots of standing, but nice regardless. When we got back to the hotel, Barb and I agreed to crash immediately. The beds were ever so comfy. There were FIVE pillows on my bed! Nice, nice…


Me chilling with the Consul General

Anyway, I’m off…I feel like I am writing a book here! More to come, more to come…

And so it begins...

Man, is it ever early!!!

Mom picked me up at 3:30 this morning (thanks, Mom!) to cart my happy butt off to the airport. The last few days have been stressful, to say the least, but at least I am finally here at the airport! Of course, that was not without drama...the computers were down at the United counter. My boarding pass is a wonder, let me tell you. If these days of heightened airport security, it was EXTREMELY odd to be given a handwritten boarding pass. I half expected to be given an old-school flying helmet and silk scarf next...this was just bizarre! Unfortunately, because the computers were down, I was unable to find out where my seats are for the next few legs of flying, so knowing my luck, I am probably in the middle of the middle section. Ah, joy. But, then, you never know...maybe I need to quit being so pessimistic.

Still in a bit of shock that the day of departure is finally here...definite butterflies in the stomach and all that jazz. Or, maybe I just need breakfast...I'm hoping that the usual snack bag turns into a sausage biscuit, but I think I am pretty much out of luck! Besides, United has drastically scaled back on its gratuitous services, and if you want food on a domestic flight (if you're flying Economy, which I am), you have to buy it. Imagine! BUYING airline food! For those of you who have not experienced airline food, trust me, this is something one should not have to pay to experience.

Oh well...sounds like I am complaining, but I am actually relieved and ready for this whole thing to get under way...and I guessm in a way, it has!

More later...stay tuned...

Tired But Excited

I think I have taken myself to the point of exhaustion in trying to get ready for this trip. Just when I think that I have everything done, a couple more things spring up that need to be done. And in the process? Well, I'm losing my mind!

Last night I repacked my backpack (that thing weighs a ton...I'll post a picture of its contents later) and in the process, I realized that I was missing my camera. So I started hunting, checking out the usual places, and I couldn't find it! After about an hour and a half, I gave up, thinking I would look for it later. I was frustrated, and that meant that I needed pudding (that's normal, right?). I opened the silverware drawer, and guess what I found? That's right...my camera. I am a little concerned about where I put the knives and spoons though...

I am having trouble sleeping. I'm pretty excited about this trip, and the suspense is killing me. It's making me lose my mind (read story above again for proof). I made a decision to skip watching the debate on Tuesday (and it was town hall, too...my favorite style!) in favor of going to bed at 9. I woke up feeling that I had just experienced the best sleep ever, and that it must surely be time to get up, only to see that the clock read 11:30. My life is a roller coaster right now!

This week has been busy, and I know it will prove to be rewarding. Sunday is right around the corner!

Completely Unrelated

For my Sixth and Seventh Period Classes...
I'm currently sitting at home and flipping channels, and guess what is on!!! Titanic! And guess what scene it is? You got it!
She let go, kids! She let go! Cruel and heartless woman!
And yes, I'm laughing...