Flight

Flight to Japan: start time 3:45 Eastern Time zone

6:48pm ETZ: IT has been three hours. I am surprised and pleased for I thought it much less. Only 10 hours to go. The flight is pleasantly smooth as of yet (knock on wood). I am sitting next to a girl, my age, from the Philippines. Her name is Milky. She is an exchange student and is returning home after a year in America. She is very friendly and very tired. She has been up and flying since 4 this morning, and will continue on until tomorrow. Dinner is about to be served. I’ve spent my time thus far filling out custom forms and reading Atlas shrugged. All things considered (long legs meet short space) I’m in very good spirits. My mom took me to the airport this morning and they let her go through security and see me off at the gate. She waved me off with a smile. I kept looking back afraid to see her crying but she was always smiling like she couldn’t be more excited for me. I know how hard that must have been for her; the thought nearly made me cry.
7:10pm ETZ: I have heard the stories about airline food, we all have, I think, and after eating the dinner provided on Northwestern I have to say that the stories are bull. I was served a very tasty (not to mention tender) oriental chicken on a bed of rice with carrots, a small salad with creamy Italian dressing, a side of cocktail shrimp, a very soft wheat roll and for desert four oreos. It was both extremely tasty and filling and I am now looking forward to breakfast nearly as much as I am to landing (nearly being a bit of an exaggeration). Against my earlier warnings I am finishing off the meal with a steamy cup of green tea. I am very well contented.

1:57am ETZ: 9 hours down, 4 to go. At this point I’m getting antsy. The lights in the cabin have all been shut off and the windows closed so people can sleep and watch the in flight movies. It’s been this way for hours. We’ve gone through 3 movies since the darkness started! It is light outside. We are chasing the sun westward and haven’t lost its rays yet. I can’t figure out how to turn my overhead light on so I’m writing this by the sliver of sunshine coming through my cracked blind. I stress the word sliver! I’ve used the lot of my computer battery, so Battlestar Galactica is out, and I can’t read, work on my puzzle book or work on my possible novel! There will be no more forth coming movies according to the television guide, and instead we are watching television shows, not the good ones though, shows like “The New Adventures of Old Christine” and “Everybody Loves Raymond”. I almost wish that I could fall asleep! As it were I adjusted to Japan time two days ago and so as far as my body is concerned its 3 in the afternoon. Note for return flight: leave Battlestar Galactica for after the airline movies finish. Milky is sleeping, as is most of the rest of the passengers. I have to close my sliver now so as not to disturb her any longer. Caution, Madness may ensue.

4:32 am ETZ: Japan, from above, is amazing! The whole Island consists of large green slabs of stone that look like crinkled paper with little tuffs of cloud resting on their peaks. There are no people on these mountains, just green, uninterrupted but for the occasional lake resting in the basin of a summit. The civilization of this island falls like water into the lowest creases in the paper; running like small rivers, weaving its way through the valleys. Other times they gather in one place as a lake of rippling gray. The sight of it was mesmerizing.

10:42 am ETZ: it is now nearly midnight in Japan. I am in my new room, where I will live for the better part of the rest of the summer. I’ve made a potential new friend already, her name is Jessica and she reminds me of a less nerdy (and thus less awesome) Malice-alike. I’ve given her the name roomysan (short but relatively uninteresting story). My true roommate is also named Jessica, which may lead to amusing confusion. We are to get up and be ready at 8:45 tomorrow for our first day so I need to get some sleep.