My first "day":

Hey everyone!

Okay, I realize the audio on the vid I posted is a little weak, so here's an account of my "day." I passed through security without any problems; in fact, they didn't even stop me for the deodorant I had in my carry on. I met Laura there, and we waited for the plane. We boarded and after a quick 40 minute flight we landed at the Detroit Airport. Laura and I had $4 PB&J and a cookie and met with the rest of our group. We waited a little bit and then boarded the plane. Except, this was beyond a "plane." It was MASSIVE. Ten seats across, 75 rows, plus an upper deck. We were served two meals and a movie snack, and thanks to Thompson sensei's forethought, Laura and I got vegetarian everything. The food was airplane food-small portions of bland food items that look familiar- like the bow tie pasta or the eggs. They showed three movies during the flight, the only one of which I watched was Shrek 3. I read my book about kanji, tried to study Japanese, and took a couple naps. After 13 hours, and a lot of time spend convincing myself it was Japanese time and not Indianapolis time, we arrived at a rain-soaked Nagoya airport. We passed through immigration, got our bags, went through customs (no one's bags were searched,) and congregated in the lobby of the airport. I changed $400 into yen (about 44,000 yen,) went to the bathroom (not that different, although the hole in the floor vexed me,) and we loaded the bus and took off for Chubu. The bus ride took a long time, and it was hot and sticky, but we finally made it. I got my room assignment and put my stuff in there and investigated the internet situation. Long story short: Japan has used up all the internets. The computer lab has the oldest, slowest computers in the history of computers, but rumors are flying that the dorm will be able to refill some of the internets "soon." Well, after that disappointment, I went out with a lot of people from the group, Thompson sensei, and King san to a ramen restaurant. I know what you're thinking- ramen? That'll be quick and cheap-$.65 for a packet of ramen and three minutes in the microwave. No, this was a real restaurant, and I got their vegetarian ramen. It was delicious! It was a cold dish was noodles, lettuce, mung beans, and tomatoes in a brown sauce. Ahhhhh, soooooo delish. Laura, Sandra, and I walked around in the rain and found Valor the grocery stores and Hard Off! . Do you know what an -Off! is? Basically, it's just a chain of stores that sell things at low prices- Book Off! for books, Soft Off! for software, Hard Off! for hardware. Don't worry, when there is more sun and less rain, pictures of Japan's Hard Off! will be displayed all over the internet. We returned back to the dorm, I unpacked a little and then I started writing this message on an electronic post-it note. Now I'm done and I realize just how pooped I am. I have orientation in the morning, so I had better get some sleep. Ja-ma-ta!

-Jonathan