In the Beginning

So where to begin on the topic of my great journey to the East.... On my second attempt at boarding a functional plain, I was once again submitted to the “additional screening.” A note to all those considering the teaching route, one-way tickets will probably mean a similar search so give yourself about 10 spare minutes of time to make up for it. While the process involved was neither painful nor all that inconvenient, I was still a bit annoyed of having to suffer it a second time. Had I known what was laid in store for me during the rest of the trip, I may have been less irritated. Atlanta airport was reached easily enough and, with a bit of confusion, I found my terminal. It wasn’t long before I boarded a ginormous passenger plane. I won’t go into two many details about the flight, so shall just hit the two key points of the experience. First of all, planes have finally figured out how to deal with long international flights. It’s taken technology over five decades to catch up, but now they’ve got it. It may not be standard yet, but on my plane, every seat had it’s own 7inch touch screen with it’s own On Demand. I was able to watch The Kingdom, Hot Fuzz, listen to new albums by The Killers and Foo Fighters, and play Solitaire along with many other ways to occupy the time. I didn’t even have to reach for a handheld the entire time. Now, the bad. I was unaware, but apparently they allow toddlers on planes. A toddler who cried, screamed, and kicked the back of my seat for 12 of the 14 hours. Needless to say, by the end of the flight my thoughts on mandatory sterilization changed drastically. Well, maybe not that drastically... Anyways, that hardship endured, I was able to slip through customs fairly quickly, though I’m told it’s usually a long and agonizing process.
From there it was pretty smooth sailing. There was someone waiting for me at the terminal and we hoped a quick bus after I did some currency exchange. Had I done this any other time within the past few decades, I would have enjoyed it. However, with the dollar being as weak as it is, I only got about 98 Yen for each. So I actually lost money on that deal, not a fun start. Anywho, got to the hotel, went up to my hotel room, met my roommate, filled out some paperwork, and was finally allowed to crash. A rather uneventful ending to a rather to the trip, but one I preferred at the time. So here’s a few tips for travel to sum it all up:

- Even if you can choose your seat on the plane, you WILL end up in the worst one possible.
- Planes get canceled and people who re-book flights couldn’t give a damn about your circumstances
- Smiley face stickers make for easily-spotted luggage during pick-up.
- Delta sucks, the end.

And thus is the end of the beginning of my great journey. Stay tuned for a series of entries very soon while I get caught up. Peace.

Shameless movie title plug

Strangely enough as I was about to sit down and write out my first "Coming to Japan" arrival post, I had my first "lost in translation" situation. Alone in my room, I hear a rapid flutter of knocks on the door and answer it not sure who expect on the other side. It didn't take much to make out the identity of two cleaning ladies even with their addition of surgical masks to the traditional housemaid uniform. So it wasn't too difficult to figure out what it was they wanted. However, as I share room with a roommate who had stepped out for the duration of the night and had the ONLY key to the room, I couldn't exactly just step off for a snack for a few minutes and let them lock up when they were done. Neither could I sit here on the bed while they bustled about. However, between my very basic Japanese and their basic understanding of English and with a fairly universal situation on our hands, we were able to strike a deal and everyone won out in the end. Not a particularly interesting story and I guess you certainly had to be there, but there it is. I'll try to get a grand opening post up soon.