If you didn't know already, I'm making this site primarily to avoid sending tons of pics and repetitive explanatory details back home, so I won't go back as far as my birth, or the time I lost one of my eyes in a tragically freak submarine-and-shark accident.
Also, I died in the accident.
So, I'll go back as far as the Kansas City airport.
That's me in my suit, with my KU homey Alex who's now keeping cool in Hokkaido (northern Japan). The combination of sleepiness, after sleeping 2 hours at most the night before, and unadulterated excitement explain my choice to flash the Japanese V-for-victory... maybe.I also ran into my old Japanese senseis in the airport, but I think I lost the pic. Sorry Naito-sensei... Akaba-sensei... Samu-sama...
Oh, nope; it's here.
The flight to Chicago was warm... in my suit... I was overdressed for days. The hotel in Chicago was a hub of anticipation. Everyone was cool and we all got along, and the community just kept growing bigger and tighter as we got closer to Japan, despite the absence of usable stairs in the crowded hotels. Friggin' long lines, Japanese formality, and not much sleep made things less than ideal, but no one said anything about it not being worth it.
That's the bus in Chicago, and here's the lovely Charity and Andrea to accentuate the feminine appeal of said bus...
That's the bus in Chicago, and here's the lovely Charity and Andrea to accentuate the feminine appeal of said bus...
Our plane stopped in... Minneapolois? ...let's say before we began the 13 hour flight to Narita International Airport, Tokyo, Japan in the biggest plane I've ever been in... but I haven't been in that many planes... so that's not so impressive... Just look at the picture, yeah?
It was a big plane, but it was tight, especially for 13 hours. Surprisingly, though, it wasn't that bad. Again, the excitement... first time going overseas, to the coolest non-American country in the world, on my first real-world job... and they did a great job of keeping us all busy either with the two main meals or the many snacks or drinks in between, along with the sheer hilarity of the choice of terrible movies. Amazingly, in showing 3 American movies, they managed to hit upon 3 that would make me want to vomit if seeing individually, and, with their powers combined, theye evoked my latent desire to shoot myself. Even so, I found myself identifying with the man in the yellow hat in Will Farrell's Curious George.
If you think about it, I'm sure you'll have no clue about what it means either. That's what a 13 hour plane ride will do to you. I really wanted a window seat, but I'm pretty satisfied with having got an aisle seat. It was a very small luxury getting to stretch out one foot with relative ease and stand up without falling over a few people, but it worked, especially since the plane ride didn't seem to be so scenic when we got nearer to Japan, and I was caring less and less after the 2 hours tacked on to our flight because we were low on fuel and had to fill up in northern Japan... though I'm sure Alex was glad that he got to see Hokkaido a little sooner, if only through his cramped window. Either Japan is just too full of happy animated joy and light to register on film, or the reflection off the plane's wing made for a bad picture.
After being completely thrown off by the stop at the Sapporo airport, I wasn't expecting a romantic view of Tokyo while coming in for a landing, and I didn't get one, but I knew I was in the cultural center of Japan, and that particular awesomeness and a good dose of pure willpower helped me get my 2 pieces of 50-pound baggage up and down stairs, through customs and toward the bus. Once I got out in the open air, I saw a lot of the Tokyo I was expecting: hospitable, shiny, clean, efficient, polite, and ever so slightly futuristic.
More on that later.
If you think about it, I'm sure you'll have no clue about what it means either. That's what a 13 hour plane ride will do to you. I really wanted a window seat, but I'm pretty satisfied with having got an aisle seat. It was a very small luxury getting to stretch out one foot with relative ease and stand up without falling over a few people, but it worked, especially since the plane ride didn't seem to be so scenic when we got nearer to Japan, and I was caring less and less after the 2 hours tacked on to our flight because we were low on fuel and had to fill up in northern Japan... though I'm sure Alex was glad that he got to see Hokkaido a little sooner, if only through his cramped window. Either Japan is just too full of happy animated joy and light to register on film, or the reflection off the plane's wing made for a bad picture.
More on that later.
2 comments:
It's Kyle! I'll bet you're not surprised when I say that you're right when you say that I have no idea what you're talking about when you talk about how you felt like the man in the yellow hat. But maybe you'd also not be surprised when I say I never saw it. Though I did entertain the idea, of going down to the movie theater and watching Curious George by myself just because I like the music so much. Anyways, my point is it's good to hear from you. Stay in touch.
Wow, of all the pics in the world of me...
My arm is bigger than my head! Then again, the whole green/red glasses thing is pretty trippy. Go Torch and Thing (she is the Thing, right? Sarah's Mr. Fantastic, right? So...confusing...)!
I like the way you write. It also makes me want to post some of my Fukuoka-or-Bust pics too... Perhaps in a future blog!
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