a history of me

So I made it. Feit...In. Guess I'll try to recap how I got here although I'm not sure where I am right now or what's going on.

Dad and I made it Newark in record time on Monday morning. I had no difficulties checking in and we even had time for a shitty breakfast in the airport. Since no one is allowed to even approach the gate without a ticket (so much for all those emotional greetings/partings we grew up with) Dad and I parted at the security checkpoint. Thankfully I didn't have much trouble getting through there although the stapler in my backpack caught somebody's attention. It seems I'm the first passenger to ever have a need to collate on vacation?

The flight sucked balls. We sat on the runway in Newark for well over a half hour despite no inclement weather at all. The pilot offered this explanation: "That's Newark, I guess." Thanks, Ace! I was seated in the last row in the corner and I found the entire flight to be very warm. We didn't get a meal, just a mysterious bag which was labeled "biscuits." I declined to investigate. I really fucking miss peanuts on planes. We landed in Chicago about a half hour late which means my connecting flight was already boarding when I checked in at the gate. Imagine my chagrin when I discovered I was sitting in 23F. That's in between 23E and 23G in case you haven't figured it out.

Naturally, the two passengers I was squeezed between all the way to Osaka were grown men of no conversational interest. In fact, the man on my right (the one between me and the aisle) was very large. Not especially tall or fat, just significantly both such that I couldn't help but bump into him a lot. Like the first flight, we sat on the runway for an eternity without explanation.

Once in the air I found myself unable to fall asleep for any worthwhile amount of time. The in-flight meals were tolerable but I've had much better. The entertainment was dreadful save for a lone highlight: Masquerade. Apparently this is a long-running Japanese television show which features a variety of costumed acts. I've seen clips of the show anonymously floating around the Internet, such as this talented woman or these ping pong players. Anyway, the show is completely engrossing and I would watch it religiously if it ever aired in the States. Unfortunately, on a thirteen hour flight the same half hour clip ran at least four or five times, so I was kind of sick of it by the time we landed.

When we did land at Kansai I was completely exhausted and ached all over. I went through immigration with ease (thank God) and I was met promptly by representatives from Kansai Gaidai. I was shuffled onto a bus with an assortment of other youths from the same flight. Nearly all of them were from the midwest, particularly Ohio, and very few of them had ever been to Japan before. I did my best to talk to some of them but eventually I just passed out.


Riding the bus. Walls around the highway restricted our view of the city.


Don't look at me. I have no idea what that is.

We ended up riding the bus for well over two hours before disembarking in a strange, dark parking lot that didn't appear to be near anything of interest. We all marched off the bus and blindly followed some KG volunteers who led us to the "Seminar Houses" for temporary accommodations during the orientation. I hadn't been to Japan in four years and I had forgotten what the streets were like. They are narrow, very narrow, and for some reason drivers don't seem to give a shit if you are in their way. Indeed, it seemed like the drivers were accelerating whenever we crossed in front of them.

After this mercifully short walk we made it to the Seminar Houses. The bus drivers helped deliver our suitcases and I spent a good deal of time fumbling about to get them inside. Funny how the young ladies in our group had to beat eager young men who wanted to help them away with a stick but I found no assistance at all getting all my bags into the lobby and then to the elevator.



You can see that the accommodations are very small and I seem to be sharing the space with two other people! That's not what bothers me though. I don't have a key to the room. I have no way of locking up anything yet I received a notice to "secure my belongings" because KG is not responsible for any thefts. My ass they're not!

In any case I didn't have any time to discuss it because a "shopping trip" was leaving in five minutes. We walked down a long, dark street guided by two volunteers. I'm not sure what we were shopping for exactly (since we were told that we couldn't cook in the Seminar Houses) so I just grabbed a tea and a seaweed salad at some nearby stores.


It's a 99 Yen store. Kind of like a 99 cent store only a little cheaper.


Hirakata city sewers have a touch of artistry on their manholes.

So when I came back I got into this computer lab and I figured I'd let everyone know I'm still alive. I should get to sleep though; I think I have a few hundred things to do tomorrow including register for classes and take a language placement exam! Here's hoping I don't get jetlagged and wake up too early or late. Naturally, I forgot to bring an alarm clock.