By the way, I apologize for any sloppy writing or deviation from the main point of the story. You see, Timmy hasn't slept for about twenty-nine hours now. Everything is getting kind of blurry and funny.
So, after arriving in O'hare at 9 or so, I decided to leave the group and kind of wander around on my own. Low and behold, a Goose Island mini bar/restaurant appeared before my eyes, and I decided to walk in and not be a stranger. Besides, what says study abroad better other than getting tipsy at 9 in the morning at an international airport?
Sippin' on some drink, I'm talking to a gentleman from Alabama, who I must mention introduced himself to me first. Apparently, he just returned from Afghanistan. After asking him if he is in the military, he replied, "No, I was contracted at the NATO base there, the one that was just attacked by the Taliban." He said that the attack occurred thirty minutes after he left. He told me he was a telecommunications engineer, working with Bell South in Alabama and Verizon in Hawaii. Mysteriously enough, someone mentioned his name to Lockheed Martin, was asked to interview, and eventually hired. He was sent to Afghanistan to look into building communications infrastructure or something like that (remember, we were both sippin' and chillin'). "I told them it wouldn't work. I told them that it would be unbelievably expensive and that in the end, it would be destroyed. So, I quit and got the hell out of there." As he was telling me this story, Prez Obama is in the background of the bar addressing the UN about stuff, evening mentioning that attack. The dude gave me his email address, was talking to the bar-tender in another language, then said to me, "Hey kid, nice to meet ya, my flight leaves in five minutes so take it easy." He took another swig of his drink and left.
Then, I asked the bar-tender where he was from (it seemed like they were speaking Farsi or something, and he appeared to be middle-eastern enough). He told me he was from Palestine, and after a little silence, I mentioned that Palestine was on the track to being recognized as a nation by the world. He shrugged his shoulders, said "eh, Obama won't though." Then, he was talking about his home, Palestine, and Israel. Never in my life have I heard "Goddamn Jews" used so densely in a five-minute conversation. I decided not to interject, but to listen, because how often do I get to hear the perspective from a Palestinian? Finished my drink, shook hands, then wandered around some more.
Met with the group at Chili's, drank more there, wandered around more, derp'd at the foodcourt, and boarded the plane. Ladies and Gentlemen, 13 hour flights suck. They suck a lot. I mean, there are things you can do to make it easier. First, introduce yourself to whoever you are sitting by. Dennis and Doyle, eh, cool dudes. Dennis was an older guy going to Korea because his son is getting married to a Korean chick. Doyle, this 21 year old from Minnesota, was going to Bangkok to sub as an English teacher at an English institute his cousins started. Why get to know them, you ask? Overall, it just helps ease the stress, and now you have two new friends that you can bitch with. On the lighter side, I watched three and 1/4 movies: X-men: First Class, Bridesmaids, The Tree of Life, and the first twenty minutes of Mary Poppins.
Let's fast-forward through the torture. I couldn't sleep at all, no matter how hard I tried. There were about two hours straight where I just sat, not listening to music or anything, and just let time pass by. It was hard to listen to music because my headphones are so crappy you can't hear anything over the engines, unless you crank the volume up too high.
Coolest part about arriving in Japan? When we were descending in altitude, you know, you see buildings, roads and cars and stuff. But every once in awhile you would see a Japanese-esque building-hut. Then it dawns on you that you are in Asia. (>'.')>
Narita airport, to say the least, was a little warm compared to the other airports. The reason for that is because Japan is conserving all the electricity they can during this time. In fact, I hear it was worse about a week ago, such as trains not being on a full-schedule and stuff like that. Eventually, we get on a bus to head to Senshu, and the ride is about two and a half hours. It was like another plane ride, except you can't use the bathroom. The sight-seeing at first was OK, but I got bored (did I mention sleepy) and took a nap for about forty minutes or so.
Let me stress that my mind is playing funny games with me right now, and has started doing so about half-way through the 13 hour flight. For instance, I would close my eyes, recant a situation that happened, and then all of a sudden reality slowly turns into a dream of fictional events that never happened. The weirdest part is that I am aware that I am dreaming, and then open I open my eyes and try to read some more Shin Chan (gracias Miles). On the bus ride, I closed my eyes for about 40 minutes, and when I woke up/opened my eyes (not really sure if was sleeping or not), I totally forgot my surroundings for two minutes. I just remembered that I was on a bus, couldn't remember why, and hey, I was content with that. Shit, I just experienced Stockholm's Syndrome I think.
Then I looked out the window, and observed the skyline and tall, lit-up buildings of Tokyo. DAMN I'M IN JAPAN I TOTALLY FORGOT.
Sorry for the caps-attack. Got to the dorm, and up until now I was surprised with how much Japanese I could understand and speak. At the airport, I was talking to my new friend Nakano and was able to exchange a tiny conversation about my Kamekaze Hachimaki. Anyways, at the dorm (and this is all about a couple of hours ago now), I have met people from Oregon, Dublin, Canada, France, and Singapore. But, that might be a misleading sentence, because honestly, there are about twenty of us, not the shit-show I was making it out to be. I'm like COOL NICE TO MEET YOU GUYS but hey, we've been up for twenty-seven hours now, soooo...
Noooo...it's orientation time! And introduction time! But, it was fun, and even went to the local kombini and bought a fanta/fresca hybrid (pretty aweful). But, I am approaching the thirty-hour stay awake limit, and my computer screen is kind of spinning right now. Very slowly, but spinning in the tiniest bit none the less. It is 11:42 PM here, and 9:42AM in stinkin' lincoln as I write this. I'll take pics and stuff tomorrow, so ima shower and peace out.
*bartender
ReplyDeletei'm happy you're safe, buddy. :D
What the Bosnian said. It sounds like it's been a rough ride. I can recall my flight to Europe. When we finally arrived at the hotel in Denver all I could say was "fuck" over and over and over. No sentences, just curses. It sounds as though you're already allowing as much of your experience to be as adventurous and open as you can, so keep at it! I look forward to your next post.
ReplyDeleteYour flight sounded fine, and I'm glad you can understand a good amount of Japanese! I was also surprised by how prepared my language skills were. Have you picked up a Japanese cell phone yet?
ReplyDeleteGreat writing and a fun read...Now try doing that 13-hour flight with a six-month-old...or with a 2- and 4-year-old! Such were our Japanese crossings ... with you and your brother!!! Yeah, the 2 1/2 hr cross-Tokyo commute to wherever was a real hoot after that flight. But loved every minute of it, truly.
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