Travel log

In the string of backlogged updates, here's the first, chronologically - the trip over.

I got into Logan at about 7am, and immediately regretted packing such a heavy duffel bag. My rolly, square-shaped bag was manageable, but the shape of the duffel bag made sure that the weight was as unevenly distributed as possible. Awesome. I was sure I was going to pay, like, $500 in oversize baggage fees.

Luckily, my check-in attendant was awesome. She checked Elsa's papers first, weighed the bags, figured a few pounds' difference was negligible, slapped destination stickers on them and waved me on my way.

Elsa wasn't liking the airport, but a chunk of breakfast sandwich was an adequate bribe.

The first flight was fairly uneventful, aside from me worrying about how she'd do. But there was no whining, no crying, no nothing. I did have the good luck of sitting next to a young Japanese math teacher who was on his way home from a conference at Harvard. He was extremely friendly and kind enough to help with my reading (I had a textbook open in front of me 90% of the time), commending me for my study.

I don't think I'll ever forget what he said to me. "Most foreigners go to Japan because it's Japan, not because they want to talk to the Japanese. You are different; you will do well."

Then the furball got to take a pee break in Dulles (they have super cute dog bathrooms in the terminals!) and we hopped on to the main leg of our journey.

I got bumped up to economy plus in order to balance out the plane. I didn't complain.

Elsa did get stressed out, but more in heartbeat and breathing irregularities rather than whining and crying, and mostly on takeoff/landing/turbulence. Again, small chunks of my in-flight meals helped, as well as when they darkened the cabin. I got to catch up on my movies, watching the new Pirates of the Caribbean and X-men: First Class before passing out for a few hours.

I also met my guardian angel on this flight: a marine assigned to Okinawa, V*. He was a few years older than me, and talked nonstop about his wife and two kids back home, and how he couldn't wait to finish his assignment and get back to them in the States. He also offered to guide me through customs, as our connecting flight was the same and he'd made this trip five times in the past year.

"Grateful" doesn't even come close to covering it.

We landed and I was like a baby chick following its mother. We grabbed our bags and headed to the Animal Quarantine section of customs, where Elsa was descended upon by vet techs cooing in Japanese about how cute she was. Her paperwork went through quickly, and she was in and out in less than half an hour. They commended me on my organization, and I thanked them for all their help.

Then was actual customs. About two minutes spent there.

Then the ticket counter to pick up our connecting boarding passes. That was an adventure, as Elsa needed to be put in the animal cargo section in a big, plastic kennel. Again, done quickly, and we ended up at our gate with an hour to spare.

I slept through to Okinawa, where by the time I walked off the plane and into baggage claim, our flight's bags were already on the carousel. The animals were in their own section off to the side, and a very tired, but no-worse-for-the-wear Elsa bounced back into her soft-sided carrier. Two bags later (they check your claim tags before you're allowed to leave, which is awesome!) I got to see HP waiting with two of his aunts, Midori-obasan and Kiyomi-obasan, who both gave hugs and greeted me in a broken mix of English and Japanese. Then one of the english teachers from his base school came by with the school van ("Party van!" is apparently a running joke at their school) and drove us to Okinawa-shi.

By now, it's 10pm local time. I get the grand tour, feed the pup, put her in her kennel, and pass out, enjoying the air conditioning.

All in all, my travel here was pretty spectacular. Not only was I surrounded by super friendly, helpful people, but it was like the world saying "We know this sucks. Let's make this a little better."

Total time in transit: 24 hours
Time, adjusted: ~36 hours (9:23am depart Boston, 8:45pm arrive Okinawa)

Not bad for flying to the other friggin' side of the planet.

Thus ends the obligatory oh-god-flight post.

Now we can get on to the good stuff.