I'm finally here!

I woke up this morning (technically yesterday morning) around 7am. This is after a failed attempt at an all-nighter where we pathetically decided to sleep at 3am. I laid in bed, worrying about everything for about an hour and a half until Spencer's alarm went off. Quick shower and change of clothes later it was time to hit the road!

The airport was boring. Got there two hours early so as to not have to worry about long lines, etc. I guess Korean air is not like southwest... there were no lines anywhere. I pretty much walked right up to the baggage check counter, and then right through security. I've seen longer lines at KCI (the airport in KS)! I sat waiting at the gate for like... an hour and a half. With no food. I went to buy some, but of course I didn't have cash and the vendor was cash only... *face palm*

The plane itself was amazing. I was towards the very back, in the middle of the middle (kudos to you if that makes sense). I have to give mad props to Korean Air for being down right amazing and kudos to my mom for picking them. The seats were comfortable. The two meals were delicious, the help was impeccable, I could go on and on. I got on the plane and as soon as it took off I went to sleep. I woke up about 2-3 hours in (mad that I was only 2-3 hours in) to find that I had missed the first meal. So I called for it, ate, and went back to sleep. I woke up about 5 hours after that just in time for the second meal.

After all that sleep, I was wide awake. So I decided to watch whatever lame B movies they had on the plane. To my surprise, they didn't have any. Everything was Oscar nominated and relatively new! I finally got to see The Men Who Stare at Goats and A Serious Man and I really enjoyed both of them. Watching those two movies took me right up to the end of the flight...

Oh man, the end of the flight. If you have been in a long car ride with me, you know that I get car sick pretty easily. It sucks. Well Narita airport decided that it wanted to have lots of gusty winds all around it. The plane started to make its decent only to shake (a lot) and drop several times (several hundred feet, I reckon). It was unpleasant, there was screaming (not me), the plane shot back up above the cloud line. I sat in my seat, eyes slammed shut, massaging my temples and breathing deep, willing myself to keep my stomach settled. About 20 min later they tried again. It was pretty much the same thing, but the pilots decided to push through. I on the other hand, ended up throwing up into the blanket on my lap. I knew it was coming, despite my best efforts, so I gathered the blanket there and pulled my hair back. The guy on my left did nothing, the woman on my right called for the attendants. I got water, wet wipes, napkins, and the dripping blanket was thrown away. Unfortunately I ended up getting a little on my new dress (sorry Kristen!) and my jacket. But we were on the ground and people were leaving!

I cleaned myself up best I could, and grabbed my stuff and exited the plane, fighting back tears (embarrased mostly, with a little scared peppered in). Got through customs all right, and grabbed my bags (thank god for free carts at the baggage claim) I changed my clothes at the point and then met up with my Sophia ambassador (who's name I cannot remember for the life of me right now). She helped me to get my bigger bags shipped to my apartment (they should arrive tomorrow) and get through the train station.

I was pretty much wide-eyed- staring at everything the entire time. Talk about sensory overload! Also, I don't know if I was tired, or if I was intimidated or what, but my Japanese totally flew the coop today. I was pretty much Japanese retarded. I said things that I knew were wrong, but said them anyway just to get corrected so I would know the right way. Mostly, I stuck to simplified English. Anyways, we took the train for a good 2 hours to get to Warabi City. I left the airport around 6pm, so it was coming close to 8pm when we got here.

She had never been to Warabi before (and neither had I, obviously). So we followed this little map she had through the town. We met up with another American and her ambassador on the way, so we helped each other find the place.

I am now all checked in, unpacked (of what little I have on me) and sitting pretty in my room. I am really cold though... but my jacket smells like barf, so there is no way I am putting that on... My room is small, but nice. The only problem I seem to have is that there are only two outlets in the entire room. With all my electronics that is not gonna fly. I brought an extension cord and a power strip, but of course the two outlets are 2-pronged, and the cord/strip need 3... (>_<) I will have to ask someone about it tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, I have orientation at my school at 10am. I am going to give myself about an hour and a half to get there though, so I can get lost (hopefully not), get a rail pass, and explore the campus a bit. Luckily most of the people here are Sohpia students. So I wont be on my own heading out... I still need to go out and make friends though.

So on that note, I will end my first post! I am going to go explore my new home and try and make friends. Hopefully its warmer out in the hallways?

<3 Sam