Saturday time warp

What a long day! I woke up around 8:30 on Saturday morning, Japan time, and finished up with packing. Auntie Leslie and I talked on Skype to Doug and the kids, and then to my mom. Tim came to pick up my luggage and we ate breakfast while chatting with mom. Auntie Leslie walked me to the station and I made my way to ASIJ. It was HOT out and lugging around my backpack was tough work! When I got to the school, everyone was already on the bus ready to go (and it was still 10 minutes before we were supposed to leave). Julie and Leila were crying saying their goodbyes and Tim and Jo were there to say their goodbyes to us as well.

The bus ride was pretty cramped and crowded, but we all talked a lot about our summers, relived some fun times, and also talked about what we want to do next year! Leila, one of the English teachers who lives in Japan, is pregnant and due in a couple of months. We are thinking of having a baby shower/birthday party for her baby boy next summer since people in Japan don't really do things like that. People were already discussing who was going to bring cake mix and other goodies. :)

We unloaded the bus at the Narita airport and said goodbyes at both Terminal 1 and 2. I checked in my bag and needed to drop off the rented cell phone but was having trouble locating it. I finally found it and feel like I got it right this year- I put my Verizon on hold for a month (for a $15 fee) so that is a savings of about $60. The cell phone rental was about $85 for the month. Not too bad...much better than paying for both for the month! I was regretting my choice in a sleeveless top while walking around because my arms were getting chafed from the heavy backpack. I changed my yen into US dollars and guarded my purse very carefully after that!!! We were all checking in on different airlines and some met up to eat lunch while I continued on to my gate and wandered around the duty-free shops. I ended up getting snacks/onigiris (last chance) at a duty free shop and then just relaxed. Jen and her cousin were on the direct flight to SFO (to continue on to Vegas after that) and wished I was on that flight for the time factor and the fun factor! When I first saw Jen at her gate 3 away from mine, she suggested we try out the massage chairs. Oh my goodness- that might be the best spent money all trip! It was 200 yen for ten minutes in the chair- not bad. It wasn't a Sharper Image/Homedics kind of massage chair. This one was intense and felt SO nice! Jen's flight was boarding so I said goodbye to her and then went back to the chair for 20 more minutes. Ah...30 minute massage for about $6.

The 4:50 PM flight itself wasn't bad. I was so excited to drink a "real" Diet Coke again (instead of Coke Zero- hey! It's the little things!) I was sitting next to a chatty girl who was coming off of her 9 months studying abroad across Asia. Her parents moved to Japan 2 months ago so she helped them get settled in. She's a college student in Washington State and her little brother is starting at ASIJ this year. What a small world. We were both sneezing a lot in the flight and I thought my sneeze attacks were brought on by her use of heavily scented hand sanitizer every hour or so. I watched the Soloist on the plane, read about 200 pages, and kept my eyes closed because they were burning. Can't say that I actually slept, but the rested eyes helped. They told us in the beginning there might be turbulence, but it was minimal. I was pleasantly surprised that the flight back was only 8.5 hours (compared to the almost 12 to get out there!), but I still had my layover in Seattle to factor in.

I arrived in Seattle on time and got my checked bag no problem. I called Mariko when I landed at 9 AM and she was already at the airport ready to meet with me! I went through customs, transferred my bag, and then met up with her near baggage claim. We ate breakfast together and caught up some. It was good to see her, if only for a little bit. I left to go back through security at 11 AM and made it to my gate just as they were boarding. The flight was full and the actual flight was pretty uneventful. I was a little annoyed that, when we were going to exit the plane, a man plopped down his two large rolling suitcases in the aisle and blocked it right when I was standing up. I was kind of twisted funny in my seat trying to keep out of the way of those. I got my bag, called Rona and Tom and found out they were close, and then waited outside. My backpack was feeling quite heavy at that point, and my hand was feeling blistery from carrying around a shopping bag for my carry-on second item. I placed the shopping bag on top of my big rolling suitcase with the handle up, and perched myself on the edge of a bench outside, figuring I could enjoy the non-humidity! Well, a rude woman, who happened to be the wife of the man who annoyed me when we exited the plane, said, "excuse me- move over- we'd like to sit down!" And, before I could even get up, she started pushing my luggage over to the side and my shopping bag toppled forward and crashed on the sidewalk. I was so angry I wanted to cry- I had hand-carried the bag because there was breakable pottery/serving pieces in there! I picked it up and heard rattling and looked back at the horrible woman. Another woman at the other end of the bench stared at me and her mouth dropped open at the gall of the other woman. I got up quickly before I said something I was going to regret. Poor Rona and Tom got an earful as soon as I got in the car! Thankfully, only one of the pieces broke, and the set in a box (for Rona and Tom) made it through okay.

I got home a little after 3 PM and went through my mail a bit. I was pretty tired so went to take a nap at 4:30- I set an alarm for 2 hours later but slept for 3. I got up because I was hungry and went through the rest of my mail. I'm feeling pretty good about sleeping at a "normal" time tonight and getting back on track with CA time. So, I left Japan on a 4:50 PM flight on Saturday the 15th, and because of the 16 hour time difference, I arrived home in Oakland on Saturday the 15th before my departure time from Japan!

It feels so good to be home, and I really loved sleeping in my bed! The house still feels great, and I'm trying to ignore the dead grass and weeds in the yard. I'll have some time to deal with that later! Thanks again for those of you who were reading along with me in my every day life in Japan. I look forward to seeing you all in person soon! :)