It's the Year of the Orientations... (for me at least)

The past two days have been filled with busy schedules, frustrations, moments of triumph, and, above anything else... Orientation, yay! (not really...) It's only been two days since I last wrote and I have so much to say. So, pull up a chair and drink another Dr. Pepper for me. Oh what I wouldn't give for a Dr. Pepper...

After I wrote my last post, my roommate Koti (who is from Argentina) invited me to go with her and her friends from last semester to a place in Hirakata-shi called 280. 280 is a restaurant where everything you order is only 280 yen. The portions are a little small so you'll want to order at least two things but it's still very inexpensive compared to everywhere else. Water is free, but you can order what is essentially Japanese alcohol and sour fruit juice for 280, and a tall glass of beer for 280. And we're talking TALL glass of beer. I had water because I'm on limited funds right now, but that's only until all the banking paperwork goes through, which should be this week. But, Koti had the sour lime and let me try it, and it was very good. I don't know the names of what I had to eat (it was all in kanji and I can read only a few of those) but one was chicken and mushroom and broccoli that was grilled together and served with a sauce that looked kinda like soy sauce but wasn't, and the other was what looked like a very small jelly-filled doughnut but it had some sort of cheese inside. Both were very good too. I would like to go back, but not right now, since the bill was 600 yen and the bus ride (too far to walk--we had to be back by 11) was 220 each way... I spent about as much as I would spend at Taste of Thai at home.

As for yesterday, I took my placement test at 10:00 in the morning. I did horrible on the listening part (they spoke really fast, the tape only played the dialogue once, I didn't know the questions until after the dialogue was finished so I didn't know what to listen for, and I didn't study all summer so I'd forgotten most of my Japanese). Then they handed out the hiragana/katakana part which of course was SUPER easy. Then came the grammar part. And in this part, there was a definite line between what I knew and what I didn't know. At first, I was just flying through the sections because I knew all the answers. But at about level C, I just suddenly had no idea what the answer could possibly be because I'd never seen the sentence pattern before. I either knew the answer or had no idea, which was weird because I was expecting a sort of gradient: things I knew, things I sorta knew, things that I knew I should know but didn't, and things I definitely didn't know. But no, it was definitely either one extreme or the other. As for the results, I won't know until Friday what level I'm in. I'm shooting for at least level 2.

After the test, I went and had lunch. I had Makudo (McDonalds) and I'm never eating there again. For starters, the lines are incredibly long. It took me 15 minutes to get through. Next, there are less choices, so I had a chicken sandwich and fries. It tastes exactly the same as home, but the portion is smaller and the price is higher. It cost me 650 yen. In fact, almost all food in Japan is more expensive, but especially American goods and anything with fruit in it. However, Japanese dishes are usually less expensive and are definitely more filling. It is very difficult for me to finish a meal that I buy at the cafeteria for only 300 yen. Too bad I have no way of sneaking the meal back to the dorm for later.

After lunch, I went to the banking session where I was to set up a bank account in Japan. It was an absolute nightmare. Oh, I have never been so frustrated over something that should be so easy. First, I had to go all over campus trying to find a place to make a copy of my passport because everywhere that had a copier had only a broken copier. Secondly, the bank is very very picky about everything. First, your name and address had to be written in EXACTLY THE SAME WAY as it was in your passport. Which means that my name was last name, then first name, both in all caps, while my address was in normal print. So, after having to redo my form because it wasn't written in exactly the same way, I took it up front to be checked by the staff that were there... and they made me write the forms over again because they didn't like my capital Y! I write my capital Ys with two strokes. It's the same height as the rest of the capitol letters so it's definitely capitalized but it's written like a proper times-new-roman lowercase y. Just start typing in Word to see what I'm talking about. But even though it's definitely capitalized, they wouldn't accept it because it wasn't a proper times-new-roman capital Y. I haven't written a capital Y like that since first grade. And it looks absolutely disgusting on the paper too because it's my neatest handwriting until you get to the Y, where it suddenly looks like I gave the pen to a first grader to let them write the last letter. So, after I finally fixed that, I flip the paper over to realize that I'd have to do the whole thing again. Why? Well, it was one of those sheets where you write on three pieces of paper at once and it marks on all three. On the top page, you can't tell that someone had written their name in pencil, but on the last page, you can definitely see their name covering up mine. Gah, so I had to go and write it all AGAIN. It took me four tries to get through that line and I was so frustrated that all I wanted to do was scream as loudly as possible.

So after my nightmare at the nit-picky banking session, I met up with Autumn, Whitney, and Peter (all fellow Americans). At least I think that's their names (I'm sure that Autumn's name is Autumn). I've been meeting so many people this week that I can't remember anyone's names and it's really embarrassing. But, anyway, I went with them to Hirakata-shi (we actually are on the outskirts so on the mail we're listed at Hirakata-shi, but we're not actually in Hirakata-shi... according to the RAs and staff at Kansai Gaidai). It's about a 30 to 40 minute walk from campus to Hirakata-shi, and on the way there is all downhill. We went shopping in a place called Izumiya for a journal for Peter, but ended up getting Autumn an alarm clock. Izumiya is both rather messy and very neat at the same time. It's like the store has too much stuff to sell so it looks messy from a distance, but then you realize that every single item has its place, but that there's so much that you can't take it all in at once. They had a few interesting things there so I'll have to go back there again sometime. The walk back up the hill was murder though.

After we got back to KGU, we went to go watch the cheerleaders. All the sport team members at KGU are attending summer training right now (their classes don't start until Sept. 25 while ours start Monday) and the cheerleaders invited us to come watch their practice. It was fun to watch their routines, but most of their cheers were "Kansai Gaidai, let's go" repeated over and over. In case you're wondering, Kansai Gaidai's team is the Pyrates, and they do have a football team. And I mean REAL football team, not soccer. Though they have a soccer team too; they do all their workouts in the big open area between the cafeteria and the Makudo.

For dinner, Koti and I went and bought dinner at the grocery story Top World, because we decided that we couldn't afford to go to 280 two nights in a row. We went on Koti's bike. Top World is more expensive than the 99 yen store, but after 8:30, if you buy from the "deli" area (you know, the pre-made lunches section) it's cheaper. They close during the night and they don't want to have to throw the food away, so that's why. Again, I can't tell you the name of what I had, but it was like a salad only with noodles instead of lettuce. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't absolutely fantastic either. Hopefully by the end of the semester I'll be able to read all the kanji and tell you some of the names of what I've been eating. But I have a new rule of thumb with trying things... Try everything, but don't ask what it is until you've already finished it.

After dinner, Koti and I went upstairs to discover that Koti's new roommate (we're three to a room until I move into the host family's house on Sunday) had arrived while we were eating. Crissy had us introduce ourselves, tell us where we were from, told us where she was from (Alabama), and then promptly went to bed. It wasn't long after that I went to bed as well.

Today was the first official day of orientation, but having arrived early, I was able to get most of the stuff I needed done out of the way. Crissy and I attended the opening session and arrived soaking wet because it decided to rain on us. I thought I was a very thorough packer and packed everything I'd possibly need, but it seems I forgot a very important thing... An umbrella.

Opening session was boring. In fact, most everything I had to sit through today was boring. Most everything I had to sit through today was also lines. I had to sit through a line to get my traveler's insurance all lined up, another line to turn in that insurance so I could participate in the registration lottery (I get to be the 298th person to sign up out of 450 people... blech) and I had to stand in another line to pay the last of my tuition (just a small payment that they keep until the end of the semester to pay for any charges I run up (i.e. library charges) and "forget" to pay for). The highlight of the day was that I made three new friends while standing in those lines, and I found my KGU mailbox which contained a catalogue of studies for the semester and a paper telling me about my host family (more about the host family in a moment)! Heidi, Sophia, and I (both of them are from Sydney, Australia) went to the women's session because apparently the female international students who go to KGU don't know that it's not safe to walk alone at night. Everything they told us in that session was stuff that I already knew. Granted, I missed half the session because I was standing in line for the payment session, but... from everything else that I heard, I can only imagine it would be more of the same. Oh, and I completely missed the introduction of faculty (damn lines again, or so is my excuse). I did attend the homestay meeting too, but again it was boring and was spent going over the already self-explanatory contract that they'd already given us to review months before.

After we were done for the day, Heidi, Sophia, Daniel (my third new friend from Sweden), and I all went down to Hirakata-shi in search of cheap food, a hyaku-en mise (100yen store), and a place to buy a cheap bike because Heidi is living in Seminar House 4 for the semester and my information sheet about my host family says I can make it from their house to KGU in 15 minutes by bike (meaning it's not much further away from KGU than Seminar House 4 is). We found a Lawson Convini where I bought a salad with tuna and corn in it for lunch, and we sat across the street at the little itty bitty park to eat. By small, I mean this park could have easily fit inside the UA union computer lab with room to spare. After lunch, we walked down the hill to Hirakata-shi, where I found a fairly nice bike for 5000 yen (approximately 45 usd). The funny thing about the bike store was that it was more like a miniature car dealership than the bike section at Wal-Mart. So, in the tradition of naming my modes of transportation (and several other inanimate objects), I have named my bike Blueberry because she's a pretty silvery-blue color and it sounds like a cute name for a bike. I'm still deciding how I'm going to decorate her, but I'm almost positive I either find a shop full of stickers or maybe some really cheap acrylic paints--I just may have to go to Osaka to get it. Maybe with Blueberry I won't miss my car so much. I took a picture of Blueberry, myself, the dorm, and the sign in front of the dorm, but I can't upload it yet. Koti has the same camera as me and said she'd let me borrow that cord I need to transfer the pictures, but I don't want to borrow it to transfer only one, so I'll wait. Oh, and I stopped at the 99 store to buy an umbrella on the way home. No more looking like a drowned rat.

All I have left to do for Orientation (which is tomorrow and the next day) is get myself advised (meaning I'm going to look over possible classes tonight while I eat dinner), get Blueberry registered, and register myself. There are several other things for me to attend (one of them offers free food--heck yes!) but if it's at all possible, I'll try and avoid most of them. I feel like such a bad kid, but at the same time, I really just want classes to start.

With the Razorback's first game of the season coming up, I demand to know who won and what you thought was the most amazing play. I, on the other hand, shall be spending that weekend packing everything back up to move into my host family's home on Sunday afternoon. And will be greatly saddened not to hear how my Razorbacks are doing this first game of the season. Though I won't miss working the during-game-shift at Kohls. I swear, those wives that don't want to watch the game? They're worse than the usual customers.

Anyway... Here's what I know about my host family (I don't have the paper right in front of me so I'm just writing what I remember). Their family name is Yuasa, and they live 15 min from KGU by bike. The father is a teacher (don't know what subject) and likes cycling. The mother has no job listed so I assume she's a stay-at-home mom and she likes cooking and gardening (hopefully she'll teach me to cook all kinds of very good Japanese food). They have two daughters. The oldest is in high school and likes music, and the youngest is in junior high school and likes piano and volleyball. They have no pets, they do not smoke, they've lived abroad in the US before, and at least one of them speaks English (I'm betting both the father and mother, and possibly the daughters). I am not required to teach anyone English (though I'll gladly help). The room I'll be staying in is the size of 6 tatami mats (which I have no idea how big that is but I'm guessing it's probably about the size of the bedroom I had in the Quads. I can't tell you how glad I was to get that information sheet! It feels so good to have a name and a little information about them. After getting that sheet, I'm really excited to meet them! I meet them Saturday when I move out.

I Don't Think We're In Kansas Anymore...

A lot has happened in the last three days (has it really been three days? wow...) and so this post is going to be very long. So grab a Dr. Pepper and drink one for me while you read this.

Early Saturday morning, I left for Tulsa International Airport at 3:00am, running on no sleep since about 8:00am on Friday morning. I tried to sleep, really I did, but it just wasn't going to happen. At Tulsa, I said my goodbyes to family and did what I told myself I would not do-cry-right before I went through security. On top of that, all morning I spent feeling sick to my stomach, I was so nervous. It didn't help that my flight was delayed by an hour. So finally, at 8:15am, I left in a small plane for Minneapolis.

And spent the entire two hour flight praying I wouldn't get sick.

Here's what I discovered about planes. During take-off, it's fun to look out the window, but be sure I have a landmark to focus on or I'll begin to feel sick. But it's worth looking out, because once you pass the first layer of clouds, it looks like the world below is under crystal clear water and the clouds are the waves. In flight, it's just like traveling in a bus and although the view is pretty, it's just as flat up in the sky as it is on the ground in West Memphis (and in case you didn't already know, I grew up in the mountains and being on flat land makes me feel nauseous). I don't mind take-off and in-flight that much though... It's the landing that I don't like. I thought it'd be fun; if nothing else, maybe like a rollercoaster. No. Not at all. Maybe like a rollercoaster with no track, but that's not a helpful analogy for a person who already feels sick, ne?

Anyway, I successfully arrived in Minneapolis to discover that I wasn't in the same concourse, as the internet was saying, but instead I was in Concourse A and my flight to Detroit was in Concourse F, and I had 45 minutes to get there. Needless to say, I ran. And took the Tram. And ran some more. But after the tram, I was at Concourse E and needing to get to F, only to discover that guess what, inside St. Paul there is a mini-mall separating Concourses E and F. With clothing stores, food shops, and even a Harley-Davidson t-shirt shop, and I wondered "Who has time for this sort of thing when you're traveling by airplane?"

The Detroit flight was on a slightly bigger airplane and on this flight, whomever was seated next to me did not show, so I was able to move over one and have a window seat (which is where I discovered I'm not fond of the in-flight phase either). And after I landed, I discovered that Detroit Airport was even bigger than St. Paul and was a city in and of itself. It wasn't just a mall. No, the gates were on one side of the hall and the shops were on the other, and the tram was one story above us, running directly over the shops. And the concourse? It looked like a hallway that never ends. And, all the signs were in both English and Japanese, and all the announcements came in English, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese too.

This time, my flight left early (and I wondered "can they do that?" until I realized all the seats were full). The flight from Detroit to Osaka was a very long one, and it didn't help that I still hadn't slept since 8:00am Friday morning. I slept maybe a total of 3 hours on the plane, and spent the other 10 hours either eating (when they told us to) or trying to sleep. In regards to the in-flight meal, the dinner wasn't terribly bad (I had expected something not edible) and the mid-flight snack (a mini-sandwich) was also not bad. The breakfast, however... I only ate the two strawberries and five grapes that they gave me. And when we got to Japan, I could see Fuji-san perfectly but I couldn't see Tokyo (though I knew it was right next to beautiful Fuji-san). I didn't actually fall sleep until the very end. I kinda expected this--I can never sleep in a car or on a bus, so why should a plane (which is like a bus as far as seats go) be any different? So when I finally got to Osaka, all I wanted to do was sleep.

But I couldn't go directly to bed; I had to go through customs first. Customs wasn't so bad but for one thing. There were at least 50 of us in line and there was one person at the desk. I didn't even have to say anything to them--I handed them a piece of paper that they'd had me fill out on the plane, they nodded, did something with my passport, and sent me on my way. Then it was to luggage claim, which again wasn't so bad—all of my luggage arrived in tact--and then to the second half of customs where they would check my luggage. All they did was simply look at my passport and send me on my way again. It was really weird. I thought it'd be a hassle but really it wasn't. Maybe I'm just lucky, I dunno.

Anyway, from there I left to the main part of the airport. And I thought Detroit was big... KIX is a huge airport that is painted in all sorts of interesting colors (coral for the walls and grass green for the handrails, and yellow lines on the tiles occasionally, and robin's egg blue for the walls at the other side of the room... Oh, and clear glass elevators with bright yellow and black equipment that you can see from the outside). In that sea of colors, I somehow found my way to the walkway from the airport over to Hotel Nikko, where I'd made my reservation. By "somehow," I mean that my new friend Tori (who had ridden with me since Minneapolis) and her friend Tomo led me to Hotel Nikko. Hotel Nikko, by the way, is the only hotel on-site. KIX is positioned on a man-made island that's a good distance from the city. Being on an island, the humidity in the walkway (which was covered but outdoors) was like that of Kingsport (100% but no rain all day) and the temperature was 95 degrees. The walkway was lit by paper lanterns with all sorts of different kanji and hiragana written on them. And occasionally katakana and the English alphabet would appear. I could read some of it but I couldn't understand it.

Hotel Nikko was very very pretty. I was definitely not staying at a motel 6 (and for how much I was paying, it's a good thing it was that nice). I have pictures that I hope to upload soon, but the trouble is that I forgot to bring a few computer cords. One of those cords is the cord that connects the camera to the computer, so I have many lovely photos of the hotel (yes, I acted like a complete tourist and stopped every two seconds to get photos) but I have no way to get them onto the computers in Seminar House 4 (where I am currently staying). So until that cord is shipped to me by my beloved parents-to-whom-I-owe-everything... Perhaps the computer lab at the university will have a port for me to connect the memory card to the computer. I really hope so.

After getting my room and dumping as much as I could into it, I (even though I was running on almost two days worth of no sleep) decided that I was a little hungry and should go with Tori and Tomo to go eat. And Tomo was an absolute sweetheart and bought Tori and I both something to eat. (ありがとうございます とも!!) My very first meal in Japan was tempura and rice. I also had a glass of very cold water and it made me feel much better. My meal was more like half a meal compared to the soba set that Tori and Tomo both ate, but it was more than enough food. And I will definitely have to eat tempura again--it was very very good.

After all that, I returned to my room and went to bed thirty minutes later. I barely remember my head hitting the pillow. And, having calculated the time difference and everything, it's no wonder why I fell asleep so quickly... I had been awake for 48 hours straight (I didn't know that was humanly possible, but I do know I never want to do it again).

I woke up at 6:50 this morning to a single beam of light coming through my window (I hadn't closed it as well as I thought I had when I went to bed) and because I was already awake, I chose to go ahead and get up (better to get my system on the local time than to sleep too late, besides, I can sleep after I write this). It feels weird to say that it is Monday (still feels like Sunday to me) but it is indeed and I'd better get used to it. Tori and I checked out of the hotel and for breakfast I found a vending machine (you can't walk one block and not find a vending machine in Japan) and Tori and I both bought a soft drink.

A can of coke in Japan costs 150 yen (a little over a dollar in USD) from a machine (but at the 99 yen store you can get a little more drink for a lot less yen) and is definitely an aluminum can, but instead of a tab top, it has a bottle top (which of course I thought was the coolest thing ever and took a picture to show everyone as soon as I can transfer the photos to the computer) and it definitely says on the side ko-ka-ko-ra. And Hiroko was right--coke does taste different in Japan. It has less sugar and is slightly less carbonated (meaning that it isn't as sweet and tastes a little flat). But it was a coke nonetheless and I was very very glad to have it. And in Japan, I have seen only three American labels of cola. Coke, Sprite, and Pepsi. I'll be drinking Coke.

After check-out, it was back to the airport where we were to meet the bus taking us to KGU. We had to wait an hour and a half for the bus to leave, so Tori and I went to look at the Hello Kitty phone decorations. I felt like a little kid again, looking at all the Hello Kitty stuffs (when I was very little, the Sanrio store in the mall was my favorite place to shop). But Hello Kitty wasn't the only famous person there--Snoopy was there too, dressed in kimono or his famous pilot's jacket, all for decoration on your phone.

Finally the bus took us into Osaka, which, by the way, is at least 10 times bigger than Memphis, the largest city I've ever been in (that I can remember). The bridge we crossed was very long and I wondered how it was supported. I suppose it's best not to ask those questions when you're driving over it. Anyway, to get through Osaka, we drove on what I can only assume is the Japanese equivalent to the interstate. It was a toll road with approximately three lanes on either side. It is also built at least two stories above ground so that when you look out, most of what you see is roof-tops and the sides of buildings, but no streets, cars, or people. Osaka is definitely the industrial center of Japan. We drove by office buildings and industrial buildings, and warehouses, but very few homes. I saw every brand name, American, European, Chinese, and Japanese. You name it, they had at least one building dedicated to it with a big neon sign telling you what it was in kanji, kana, and English (the more prosperous of businesses had more than one big neon sign--one for every side of the building). The most amusing to me was a large clump of buildings called "Jaguar Town." You guess what's inside.

Another thing I noticed while driving on that... well, for lack of a better word, interstate... was that in Osaka, people must like to play golf because there were at least five places dedicated to the sport visible from the road. But the thing about Osaka is that everything is packed in as tightly as is possible. So, how then, you might ask, do you have a golf course? Well... They fence the things in with huge nets. There is no outside "rough" to a Japanese golf course (that I could see), and instead they have these huge bright green nets that keep a wayward golf ball from careening into the house next door. Completely practical but utterly strange-looking. Now maybe you're interested in just improving your driving and not playing a full-blown game. In that case, head over to the driving range, tightly enclosed by those same tall green nets and built on top of what looks to be a small pond (and probably was naturally there). Floating squares house the hole that you're aiming for, and wayward golf balls land in the water, presumably to be somehow retrieved after closing time. I wanted to take pictures of this because I found it to be so strange, but the bus was moving and I hate the glare that a window leaves on a photo, so I decided that I'd have to make a special trip sometime. Maybe my host otou-san will like to play golf and will gladly take me to one.

Finally we got off the "interstate" and had to drive a little further to reach Hirakata-shi where I am currently residing. This is the point where I finally got to see what Japanese streets look like. First off, they drive on the opposite side of the road. Second, their streets have the same basic laws as ours (stop at a stop sign or a red light, etc) but their streets are incredibly narrow. Each lane is maybe half a foot wider than the average car. Maybe. Next, their stop lights don't hang vertically like ours, instead they go horizontally across the section, with red to the right and green to the left. And everywhere are flags like the ones you see outside car dealerships in the US, telling you about the stores they represent. And, most importantly of all, gasoline in Japan is very misleading because the sign says 140 yen which sounds really good to the American ear (considering our 3 dollar a gallon this summer) except when you actually READ the sign and realize that it's 140 per liter, not per gallon. In fact, everything is in the metric system after you leave the KIX island. Which doesn't help when you have no reference for about how much is a liter and about how much is a meter or a kilometer. Thankfully, though, I have a workable reference in my mind for degrees Celsius.

We arrived at Seminar House 4 (so I didn't have to switch busses to ride to a different house--I consider myself very lucky) and I was promptly taken to my room, which I am to share with two other people until I move into the home-stay program either the 1st or the 2nd (but probably the 2nd if I had to guess). The room has tatami mats for floors and futons for beds. I occupy a very small corner of the room for now and am living out of my luggage. I don't intend to unpack anything.

Next was a campus and nearby area tour. It's a good 10 minute walk from SH4 to KGU, and it doesn't help that it's hot and humid outside again. Not quite as bad as 105 in AR, but not exactly pleasant either. They showed us the CIE building (where the on-campus computer lab and most of our classes will be) and the cafeteria/student union were. The student union had a McDonalds (マクド-Makudo) so if I get homesick I can order a big mac there and take comfort in the fact that it will be almost just like the big mac at home. It also has a convenience store (コンビキ-Konbini) on the second level. But for today, I ate in the cafeteria. I'm not sure what they called what I ate but it was basically chicken with a bowl of rice and something that looked a salad made of a miniature version of lettuce, with a dressing that was similar but not the same as ranch. Well, what I mean is they called it a "クラブ ランチ" (club lunch) but that still doesn't tell me what it was that I ate. Not that I'm complaining because it was fairly good. Different, but good.

Afterwards was a walk to the 99 yen store. Along the way were many different shops, such as a 7 eleven. One thing I and a few other people noticed was that at another konbini, directly under the title it read (in kana) トバコ(tobacco) and (in kanji) sake. Which, as we all know, could never happen in the United States because of our laws, and so I was greatly amused. This also means I now know the kanji for sake, which again amuses me. But that's only because I'm easily amused.

I bought dinner and breakfast at the 99 yen konbini because they do not feed you at the seminar houses and the cafeterias at KGU are closed (plus it's still a 10 minute walk away). Then began the long walk back to SH4. Which was long, hot, and a little uncomfortable, and here's why: remember what I said about narrow streets? Well, if there is a sidewalk, it's a good yard wide but made entirely of asphalt, which doesn't help in the heat. If there's not a sidewalk, you have a foot or less shoulder to walk on. So that means a foot or less plus the half a foot provided by the street for you to walk on. Meaning that if a car passes you, it's RIGHT there, instead of a mile away like in the US. It made me realize how much I took those wide streets and sidewalks at home for granted. It also might take a while for me to get used to Japanese streets.

Anyway, I am now safely back in the dorm, reflecting upon my past three days and thinking that I should seriously consider investing in a bicycle while I'm over here. Depending on where my host family lives, I just might. I'm going to spend the rest of the evening brushing up on my Japanese skills because I've unfortunately lost half my vocabulary and sentence patterns over the summer due to lack of use and have since then had a little trouble understanding what is being said to me. I will say, however, that I've made a significant improvement on my comprehension today from last night. I can now understand the total amount and the change when it is said to me (as opposed to last night when anything Japanese just sounded like noise rather than actual words). I am also resolved to spend the rest of the night in the air-conditioning.

Goodnight everyone!

A Week of Lasts...

I'd really like to say thank you to my friends who showed up for my good-bye dinner. You all made me feel very well loved. I thank God that I was able to meet and know all of you and I'll miss you greatly while I am gone.

This is truly a week of lasts--last day of teaching sunday school, last day of working, last time to eat lunch in the union, last time to hang out with friends, last dinner out, last time to eat mom's wonderful cooking, and soon to be last time I'll be in Fayetteville, last time I'll be in the states, last time I'll see my family, and last time I'll have a Dr. Pepper....

For at least three months.

I've made it through the week so far without crying, though there's been several times I've been close. I'll probably cry before this is all over. I just hope I don't cry on the plane--I'll already be frazzled enough as it is (this being my first time on an airplane) and red eyes and nose and tears streaking down probably won't help my situation.

But at the same time, I'm leaving for Japan. I mean, I'll be in freaking Japan in two days. Hello, life-time dream coming true (study abroad in a country way different from my own; and Japan has always been a special interest). It's the experience of a life-time and I'd be foolish not to take it. There aren't enough words in the English language to describe my excitement about this opportunity. After all, I'll be living in Japan!!!

But the fact remains, I miss everyone already. Please don't forget about me! I want to hear from everyone while I'm away. Okay? Good.

Packing for Japan

At the last minute (as usual), I've created a blog for everyone to read while I am in Japan. Since the time difference may prevent me from being able to talk with friends and family, this is my way of keeping everyone in touch and up to date with my travels.

The layout image is a computer-edited photograph I took of the Castle in Wilson Park. Words are lyrics from the song Glittering Cloud by Imogen Heap (my all-time favorite musician).

I leave Saturday, August 25 at 7:00am. This is my first time on an airplane and I am very excited and very nervous at the same time. I really hope the trip goes smoothly (i.e. no delays) for the sake of my sanity.