Like this:

To celebrate my last night in good ole’ America, my parents and myself headed down to a local BBQ joint, where I, like a proud American, gorged in what can only be described as ambrosia. Well, not actually, but close enough. I ordered the “Star Spangled Banner” platter which is half a chicken, a rack of ribs, several pounds of brisket and of course potatoes (fries and potato salad). On top of this, BBQ sauce is generously slathered over each morsel and a basket of biscuits sits right next to ya, in case you have any extra cravings . A true treat to celebrate my departure.

This was until about 15 minutes later when I could feel my stomach tearing at its seams, and it seemed as though I might die before even leaving the country.

A little Pepto later, it was finally time to begin my last minute packing. After running through my list several times, I concluded that I was set to go. I checked my cellphone, only 10:13PM….6 more hours to go. I spent the remainder of the night watching reruns of COPS, drinking diet Coke, and trying to recall if I was forgetting anything of uber importance.

My first flight went off without any hitches. I boarded the plane and next thing I knew, I was in Dulles watching the crowd build at the gate of my next flight. The second flight (Dulles to Narita), on the other hand, seemed as though it was never going to get off the ground. The flight was scheduled to depart at 12:20, but due to maintenance problems was pushed back twenty minutes, then another twenty, and yet again another twenty minutes. Next thing I knew it was 2:30PM and we still were sitting on the tarmac waiting to depart.

On the plus side, it seems my luck slightly turned around and no other passengers were assigned to my row, so I had three seats all to my self. Due to the fact that I hadn’t slept in +24 hrs and the magic of nyquil, I slept the first 6 hrs of the flight, immediately following lunch of course. With all the extra space, legroom and pillows, I was in my own little heaven.

After my little cat nap, I spent my time watching a mix of “Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia (thanks Betty!)”, “Star Trek (the movie),” and some BBC documentaries I downloaded prior to my flight.

The moment the plane landed, I darted off of it. I was supposed to arrive around 3 and meet with a japanese student from Sophia University. It was now 6PM. Thankfully, the person also happened to be running late and only had waited an hour. We quickly made our way to the subway and headed off to Musashi Koganei, my new home.

After she dropped me off, I met some of my neighboors and learned all about the dorm. More about the dorm later, but now it is time for bed.