Musings from Japan

So I obviously haven't had much internet access before now or it has been expensive and I was hoping to have been able to make some posts before this but thankfully airport internet in Japan is free :)

It is currently 7:00 AM on the east coast, and 8:00 PM here in Japan. We are waiting for our plane to refuel and get cleaned before we board again for the Philippines. I really hoped to have some sushi for my breakfast / dinner here in Japan but we don't have enough time and there isn't much open in the terminal right now. Interesting note, I used the restroom here and it was a new experience... no seat, just a toilet opening on the floor and some handles to hold on to, at least there was toilet paper! My limited interaction with the people here has been very friendly. We had to go through security again and one of the security officers was nice enough to go around and collect our water bottles and empty them before we went through the check.

A brief recap...
Staging in Detroit was good. I have met a lot of people and made some good friends already. It is really great to be around all these people when what we all have in common is that something made us decide to actually apply and stick with the application process of peace corps. I feel so privileged to be part of such a dynamic and elite group!

Staging consisted of a lot of bonding exercises of us talking about the challenges that we are going to be facing. It is a touch of reality to think about the road we have ahead of us, filled with amazing times but also difficult times. It is comforting to know that we are all going through it together and making connections with each other now so we can go to each other in the future during those difficult times.

After staging we got some time to go out on the town if we wanted. A group of us decided to go to Ann Arbor for dinner and drinks. It was a really great time for us to continue to get to know each other.

Our flight to the Philippines was scheduled to depart at 3:30 PM, unfortunately it was delayed due to mechanical problems, which was kind of scary but we made it to Japan! Which took 12 hours by the way! I really don't want to get back on the plane but we have another 6 hours of travel ahead of us to get to the Philippines. It was weird on the plane since we were kind of following the sun. At one point we had to close all of the windows and they turned off the lights to sort of simulate a "night time". Then we got to Japan and it was night time again. I was hoping to be able to see some of Japan from the plane but it was already dark when we arrived. Perhaps I will be able to see it in two years on my return trip!

Well I am feeling really out of it right now and am all screwed up timewise already. I apologize if this post is a little random or weird, I don't think my brain is fully functioning right now!

I will try to post later once I have recovered from the time change and will also try to post some pics!

Leaving for Japan for Manila soon!