Arrival

The plane ride was a little more than eleven hours with much too little leg room for me! The good news is they had lots of great movies. I had no trouble going through customs and the airport was much easier to navigate than I expected! Everything here is in both English and Japanese. Plus there are people telling you where to go. After I got through customs there was a huge crowd waiting with their cameras ready and people from TV, so I guess someone famous was coming. The crowd was big and I didn’t know where to look for Jake so I decided to wait in the "meeting people" area. Thank god he called my dad and found out he had to pick me up today instead of the next day, which is what the email he received supposedly said.

We took a train from the airport to a huge train station that was very confusing and packed. Then we took one or two smaller metro trains to the station that is nearest Jake’s house. That to me is still pretty far away after all the walking I had been doing. We went to two grocery stores to get some dinner and walked to his house. By then my feet were killing me, my back was breaking from my huge backpack, and I was incoherent and exhausted. I had some octopus, which no matter how many times I try it I still hate it (can’t handle the chewiness and tentacles), noodles, and a salad, which was good.

pre-trip jitters

I can barely believe I am leaving tomorrow! I didn't actually think I would get to go on this amazing adventure and here it is right in front of me. All I have done this past week is hangout with my parents, try to get as much schoolwork done as possible, and try to prepare myself for Japan; in truth i really have no idea what it will be like though. I also have a feeling I am going to missing everyone much more than I usually would on a long trip because of all the cultural differences. Plus I am usually with family or friends on trips, this time I am on my own in many ways, even though I am staying with my family's close friends. Japan is so different than any other country I have ever visited; their culture is so unique. I don't think that much sleep is possible tonight with all that lays ahead of me and everything I will be experiencing in the next 3 weeks. Figuring out the airport with be a experience in itself. I also very much hope that they will upgrade me to first class since mistakenly my ticket says I am:) It is a 14 hour time difference and so I have to force myself to sleep on the 9 hour flight. I leave at 1:30 pm and arrive at 4 pm the next day. After my plane ride I have a 6 hour train ride to Jake's house. Keep in mind my body will think it is 2 am. I am very excited to see Jake again, see Olivia (his daughter and my friend) for the first time in years , and getting to know Noriko, Jake's lovely wife (who left the U.S. when I was in 2nd grade). Next time I write I could possibly be the tallest person in the whole country!