Day 1 (or perhaps Day 0.5)

Well, there were a few complications with the flight to Japan. Syntheia made sure I got to JFK successfully. We arrived at the airport around 9:15 AM, and the flight was scheduled to leave JFK at 11:33 AM. Now, more than 2 hours is usually plenty of time to make an international flight. But, not this day. First of all, there were some bad thunderstorms in NY the night before, so several Northwest flights had been cancelled and postponed until the following morning. Secondly, there were a couple of hundred people that showed up about the same time to make the flight to Minneapolis. How did Northwest deal with the situation? They put 2 - yes, 2 - Check-In attendants on the job. Way to go Northwest! So I stood in line for over 2 and half hours just to check in. Of course, they were kind enough to hold the plane for me and the last few JET participants that were checking in last. Oh yeah, even though I was there 2:20 minutes before the flight, I was the last person on the plane.

Now, we didn't have it as bad as the people that left from LaGuardia, like Shina. Her plane took off but had to land again. Apparently, someone checked there bags but forgot to get on the plane. By federal law, the plane had to land and remove the offending baggage or find the person. So, the connecting flight had to wait in Minneapolis for an additional hour and half until the other 90 JET participants arrived and boarded.

So, even though they held the planes for all these people and made sure that we got to Tokyo, they didn't have the same consideration for our luggage. About 30 of us were missing some luggage. I, along with about 10 others are missing ALL of our luggage! Way to go Northwest! So, I'm in Tokyo, in the heat, without any changes of socks/underwear/undershirts, etc. Also, I have no deodorant, shaving kit, toothbrush, or anything else that might aid in making me presentable to the general public. Just so you know, we arrived so late to the hotel because of the whole baggage debacle that the currency exchange ran out of money. I was planning on changing money at one of the airports, but there was no time between delayed flights and lost bags. Everything was closed and I found myself running between meeting places just to stay on top of things. Rumor has it that the exchange got more money later in the night, but I was out getting dinner and when I returned, they were closed. Even the front desk closed! Of course, this being Japan, we do have super-high-speed FREE Internet access in the hotel. Unfortunately, since everything I own is still in New York, and I have no Yen, I am working off of what little battery life I have left (the adapter is in the other bag).

Luckily, Signe, who is a JET in the neighboring town to Tonbara, is here at the orientation. She didn't have a lot of money, but I was able to borrow enough to buy a pair of boxers at the local convenience store (weird, but lucky!)

For tonight, I am done writing. Tomorrow will be better because I will change my money to Yen, buy a power adapter, maybe buy a razor, and hopefully receive my bags at the end of the day. All in all, though, today was a good day. I met lots of great people and I just took all of these obstacles in stride. I'm not stressed out, nor am I upset. It's just one of those things that can happen when you travel. Actually, it makes things a little bit more interesting.

Sayonara and Good Night,
Michael-san
:-)