The End of My Trip
THE END OF MY TRIP
My Last Day in Japan
I woke up around 9:00am and got dressed. I decided to wear my engrish shirt I had bought in Osu, to show off to my family when I flew in. The shirt is this long rambling paragraph that doesn't make any sense, but I found it kind of funny.
By 10am, I was downstairs and eating my final breakfast with my host family. I was very sad thinking about it being my final time I would eat anything with them. Over breakfast, my host mom reminded me of the plans. I still couldn't understand too well, but like I said previously, I knew it involved taking a train to the airport. She said that her and Hitomi would go with me, so I assumed that meant they would go with me to the airport.
After breakfast, I watched TV with them for about an hour, but I still had a few things left to pack (my pajamas, dirty clothes from the day before, and necessities like my toothbrush and stuff). I spent about an hour finishing packing things. I also had to prepare my travel bag. I was traveling with two large rolling suitcases that I would check, and then two carry-ons- a small rolling suitcase and a small duffel bag. I intended to put the rolling suitcase in the overhead compartment on the plane, and keep the duffel bag at my feet. After I finished packing, there was about 30 minutes to spare, so I went back downstairs and hung out with my host family. I had my camera hidden in my pocket, because I wanted to take a family picture to remember them all by. My host mom brought out some kind of shrimp flavored potato chips, we all sat at the table and snacked on them. I drunk one last cup of apple juice, boy was I going to miss it.
After the snack, it was time to leave. I asked my host family if I could get a picture real fast. My host mom and I took a picture first, then my host dad came in and we took a group photo. Sayaka was napping on the couch though and said she didn't want to get up to take a picture. I felt kind of offended, but it was typical Sayaka. Hitomi was surprisingly able to navigate my camera very well and put the timer on (I didn't even know it had a timer!), so we were all able to be in the photo. I also tried to get a picture of Koyuki, but it kept coming out blurry because Koyuki was happily eating food in his kennel.
With my host family, the Otsuki family. From left to right: Hitomi, Sakae (host mom), Me, Hitohiko (host dad)
After the photos, I went upstairs and brought the smaller bags down. Then, my host dad brought the two larger luggage downstairs. I asked my host mom if she wanted my large duffel bag. It had come in my luggage set I had bought, and I brought it with me, but there wasn't any room for it at all. They were very grateful, and happily accepted it. After all the bags were downstairs, my host dad brought the mini-van around to the front, and we wheeled the luggage outside and loaded it up. Hitomi sat up front in the passenger seat, while my host mom sat in the back with me. My host dad then drove us to the train station. On the way there, they talked about my luggage. I think my host dad was worried about me having trouble transporting it all. Hitomi then told me, "lots of luggage, good luck Su-chan!" I didn't really know what she meant, but figured that maybe she thought I would have trouble moving it through the airport. I had already planned though to get one of those luggage basket things that I could put them on and wheel them around. Plus, I didn't see Raymond and Dylan packing a lot, so I figured that they would probably help me. I was more worried about my luggage being over the weight requirement and having to pay an overweight fee, because they were very heavy.
At the train station, my host dad pulled into an area meant for buses so we could unload. I shook his hand and thanked him and said goodbye. Then, we walked over to the terminals to buy train tickets. My host mom told me how much the ticket was and motioned towards the terminal. I was a little put off at first, and didn't quite get that I was having to buy the ticket. They then motioned again, and it clicked. I was very lucky I had just enough. The ticket cost about 750 yen. I had kind of wished they would have told me ahead of time I needed to buy this myself, because this wiped me clean, and I would have set back a little more money had I known. I wondered if this was the part I didn't quite understand when my host mom was describing our plans, but I never heard anything about buying a ticket, so I don't think so. It didn't matter too much though, I bought my ticket and we went through the wicket and waited at the train line. My host sister then told me that the airport was the very last stop.
When the train arrived, my host mom and host sister helped me load the bags on the train. But they didn't get on with me, instead they waved goodbye. That's when it clicked that they were only seeing me off, and why Hitomi said good luck- good luck getting all these bags off the train and into the airport on my own. The doors were still open, in my panic I asked if it was the last stop, and they said yes. Then, the doors closed, and as it took off we waved goodbye. I smiled and waved, but I felt very abandoned and scared. I wondered how I was going to get all of these bags off of the train before the train takes off on that last stop. I didn't know what stop I was getting off at other than it was the last one (but I had no idea how to tell), and the train chart was entirely in kanji so I couldn't read it.
I sat on the train for about 15 minutes, not knowing how long it was until the last stop, when the last stop was, or even what it was called. I remembered that I told Raymond that I would call him when I was on my way, so I took out my phone (though I know it's rude to talk on the phone in the train- but man, this was more important than social stigma), and saw I had a missed from Dylan. I called Dylan and told him I was on my way. Dylan was already at the airport, and said that Raymond was on the train about 15 minutes ahead of me. I figured out that Ray was on the same line as me, so I called him and asked him what the last stop was. He told me some clues, like "this stop" will be a few stops before the airport, you will see a bunch of water and such. When I got closer, I called him again and he gave me some more clues. Finally I reached the airport, it was pretty obvious. Everyone was getting off the train, and there was a big sign that said the airport name and something about a terminal.
I was in a huge hurry to get my luggage off the train, before it took off. I practically threw my bags out of the train (it was clear, and hardly anyone around), and used both my hands to drag the others off. It was a struggle to grab three rolling bags and a carry-on. One really kind elderly Japanese man saw I was struggling though and grabbed the handle of one of my bags and motioned for us to go inside the airport. Then, he grabbed a luggage cart and put the bag in it. I was extremely grateful and thanked him. Then, he cheerfully went off in the opposite direction. I put the rest of my bags in the cart, and proceeded towards the airport wickets. I used my train ticket to get through where Dylan and Raymond were waiting for me.
The First Flight: Nagoya to Tokyo
Raymond, Dylan, and I proceeded to the check-in area. We had our bags run through an x-ray booth. I was told I had to open up my large bag that had all my souvenirs in it, because there was something metal that reflected the image. I used my key to open the lock. At first, I thought it was the weight bar from my shodo set, but we later figured it was the metal piggy bank that I bought for my brother. The security man was very nice though and said it was fine, and waved us through. I locked my bag again, and we proceeded to the counter.
At the counter, we checked our bags in and got tickets. I was worried my bags would be overweight, but they were about 10lbs or so below the limit, which was a relief. Raymond said we were his helpers, and asked if we could get seated with him. So they changed our seats so we would all be together, and we were labeled priority seating so we were allowed to be seated first. We were issued tickets for all flights, and with tickets in hand proceeded to our terminal. I was very relieved to not have to deal with all my luggage anymore.
As we reached the terminal, I couldn't find my ticket. Then, this kind American woman runs up and says, "Is this yours?" I was still in Japanese-mode and told her "arigatou!- I mean, thanks!" which we all found kind of funny. We had just stepped off the elevator, and I think it fell out in front of it. After that, I kept a tighter grip on my plane ticket.
When we got to the terminal, there was a snack shop. I wanted to buy something for the plane ride, but the train ticket had taken the last of my money, so I didn't have the funds for it. Dylan was in the same boat. He didn't know he had to pay for his train fare either, and was wiped clean. After Ray bought his snacks, we got in line in the priority seating area. As we waited to board, we talked about our strange experiences in Japan. Somehow we started talking about the delicious drinks. I said I was going to miss Japanese apple juice. Ray and Dylan were going to miss Calpis (which had a running joke that it sounds like Cow piss, when said fast). Soon, it was time to board.
We boarded up, and the plane took off. On the ride there, I was told about the drama from Friday's goodbye celebration. Dylan had gotten so drunk that he screamed "Fuck you!" in Momoko's face a bunch of times, and she finally had it and slapped him. Dylan admitted that he deserved it though. At the bar, after Amy and I left, lots of drinking happened. One of the Japanese girls named Ako, became so drunk that she just sat there drooling on herself for a good couple of hours. Dylan said he kept having to play white-knight because a couple of Japanese boys kept trying to take advantage of her, and lead her away to do god knows what. He would distract her and start trying to talk to her, and they would give him angry glares. Then, we get to Cailey. Around 3:00 in the morning, everyone realizes Cailey has disappeared. Dylan says that Cailey was so drunk that she probably got very confused and went the wrong direction when they were leaving one of the bars. All the Japanese students ran around Nagoya looking for her. Her host family was informed, and the police were also called. The police then ran around Nagoya looking for her, and finally found her around 4 or 5am. Dylan said that Ban-san was very pissed and chewed out Momoko for organizing an event like this that got people so drunk. I think he said that Ban-san even threatened to blacklist Momoko after she graduated over the incident. I felt very bad for Momoko and didn't think it was fair to put the blame entirely on her. Yeah, she probably shouldn't have organized an event that was so heavily alcohol centered, but at the same time people need to have personal accountability. Soon, we landed in Tokyo. After landing, we headed straight over to the next terminal and prepared to check in again.
The Second Flight: Tokyo to Los Angeles
At the check-in counter in Tokyo, we had to ask to be seated together again. Unfortunately (and secretly not so unfortunately), only two of us could sit together, but the other would be able to sit close by. We took what we could and thanked them. We then sat down in the waiting area and waited to board.
Not long after, it was time to board. Ray and Dylan had been seated together, and I was off by myself in the center row. I was kind of relieved though, because it meant I didn't have to worry about Ray being perverted or anything and I could take a nap in peace if I so desired. I ended up being seated in a row with two young guys around my age from Korea. After everyone was boarded and seated, the 12-hour flight took off. Unlike my first international flight, I spent most of the time watching movies this time. I watched a corny movie called, "I am number 12" or something. It had terrible writing. Then, I watched a really good older movie called, "Jack," with Robin Williams that I really liked. There was a Naruto movie that I really wanted to watch, but I was only given two options: Japanese audio or English audio. There were no Eng subs on the Japanese version, and I really didn't want to watch its English version (Naruto's English voice really annoys me, though I think the other cast are pretty good). They had games like Galaga and Tetris you could play, so I played those for a little bit. Listened to music. Slept. I loved the last meal that was brought out to us. It was a Mos burger!! It was kind of strange because they put napkins in between the meat that you had to take out- Raymond later complained that he couldn't see the burger too well and thought the napkins were cheese. He got a big surprise when he bit in and tasted paper. Nonetheless, the burger was very, very good. The 12 hours flew by both quickly and slowly at times. Before we knew it, we were in Los Angeles.
The Final Flight Home: Los Angeles to Austin
When we arrived in Los Angeles, we had to go through customs. The people had an LA accent, which I thought was so awesome. This may sound strange...but I was extremely excited to be in LA. I was in one of the major film making cities in the country- in the world, filled with screenwriters and actors. I've dreamed about moving to LA. I hope to one day write and direct a movie, so I was so excited and felt so close to my dreams and goals, even if I was only in the airport.
We first proceeded to a counter that I think was customs. When we got to the counter, we were told we needed to fill out a paper and directed to another area a little ways down. Unfortunately, the English customs papers were gone, so we had to ask a lady at a counter who brought some out. The lady seemed a little skeptical that we were Raymond's helpers for some reason. But, we got the papers filled out and she walked us back over to the line. I think they were worried about lawsuits or something, because they let us skip ahead of everyone and got us through customs pretty quickly. The customs lady did have me take off my glasses and double checked my picture on my passport, but it only took a couple of seconds and then she waved us through.
Next we walked over to an area and got our luggage. We all gathered our luggage in this one area, and then, I brought three carts over for us to put our luggage on. With our bags loaded up, we pushed on until we reached the check-in area. At the check in area for Japan Airlines, we checked our bags in and were told we needed to go to the American Airlines ticket area to get our seats changed. So, we were directed to these doors that led outside the airport and had to walk a little ways along the building before we reached the American Airlines check-in area. There, we asked a lady for help, and she directed us to another lady at a counter. At first, they weren't able to sit us together. The only seats they had together were seats by the bulk-head of the plane (they were more spacious, and the first seats behind first class), they would have cost about $35 bucks to upgrade to. They were really nice though, and decided to waive the fee and assigned us those seats together. With new tickets in hand, we proceeded to our terminal.
I waited at the terminal seating area while Dylan and Raymond went off to buy soda. Ray offered to buy me a drink, and I was very thirsty and broke so I accepted his offer and asked if he saw any Dr. Pepper if he could buy me a bottle. In return, I would wait with the luggage. While I was waiting, I sent Crystal and my Mom a text saying I was in LA and would likely be in Austin in a few hours. I thought it was kind of sad too, I was seated near a room for children that would be flying alone. To the side of one of the rooms was this mother and her two young kids sitting on the ground, away from everyone. One of the little girls was bald and sickly; I knew she likely had leukemia. I felt very bad for her. Her mom was reading her a story, and she was happily holding on to her and smiling.
Ray and Dylan returned, but there wasn't any Dr. Pepper- so Ray got me Pepsi instead. I was still very thankful, and gulped it down. Not long after they returned, we got up and boarded the plane. The whole plane ride there we talked about all sorts of things. We spent a good time talking about video games. I learned of some classics that I really want to play. There is this one SNES game called Earthbound that I would love to get my hands on. We talked about the Final Fantasy series. Dylan likes the early renditions, but thought VII and VIII were terrible. His favorite was IX. I said that I liked VII, VIII was too boring for me to get past the beginning, but my favorite was X. I also said that XIII was a huge disappointment, and cited very poor/stereotypical characters, terrible cliche storytelling, and a ridiculously linear gameplay. We also started talking about writing things. Dylan wrote an entire script for a video game and was shopping around for a concept artist. He asked me if I drew, and I said yes (but at the time I wasn't thinking, and didn't know that concept art was very detailed CGI type work). So, he asked if I would draw his characters, and I said I wouldn't mind...this later bit me in the butt, and I had to embarrassingly admit when he asked on Facebook that I wasn't that good of an artist and probably wouldn't have the skills to do it.
Anyway, I talked about my story Chaos World, which has been in development since high school. I've written about 20 pages in story form, but I really would rather write it into a screenplay form and eventually develop it into an animated series. I have the entire plot (at least 200 episodes worth) already planned in my head, and all characters fully developed. It really just needs to be written down. Raymond talked about wanting to write a screenplay of his adventures in Japan, and make it into like an American Pie version.
We were about 30 minutes from Austin, and Ray got up to use the restroom. The lady behind us tapped on our shoulder and asked what the thing was around Ray's waist. I think she was nervous it was a weapon or something. Dylan then explained that Ray was mostly blind, and it was his walking cane- much to her relief. The guy next to her then asked if we all knew each other because we seemed like good friends the way we were talking. The guy then revealed that he was a screenwriter and was moving to Austin from LA for Austin's film industry. I think we may have caught his attention when we had been talking about our own stories. When Ray got back, we got into a long conversation with the woman and man about Austin and our trip to Japan. The guy was very fascinated with us. Soon, the plane landed and we all unloaded from the plane.
When we got inside the airport, the guy asked to take a picture of us. Ray, Dylan, and I stood against a large Texas-centered picture, and the guy took our photo. Maybe he thought one of us would make it big someday the way we had been talking. The guy wished us luck in our endeavors and waved goodbye as he walked away in the opposite direction. The three of us- tired and ready for home- then proceeded down the hallway, until we reached a set of escalators. As we got on the escalators, I saw Crystal, my Mom, and Paula waiting for me nearby. Crystal had her camera ready and took a photo of us as we came down. I greeted them, and told them I needed to get my luggage. I left my carry-on's with my Mom, and Crystal came with me to help. We waited a while for the luggage to come out. My mom kept trying to call me on my cell to tell me that we might be in the wrong area, but I told her I knew what I was doing. I introduced Crystal to Dylan and Raymond. Dylan's Dad, little brother, and I think another family member came and greeted him. Dylan introduced us to them. Eventually our baggage came. We said our goodbyes, and promised to get together again for a karaoke.
Waiting for our luggage at the airport in Austin.
Ray needed help getting to the curb of the airport though. So, after Dylan left I offered to help him. Crystal took my luggage back to my Mom, and I helped him to the curb. We said our goodbyes. He said that he would be going to the Asian market, and would let me know through Facebook if he saw any apple juice. I thanked him, said I had a blast with him and everyone in Japan, and said goodbye. I then waved and walked away.
I returned to my Mom, Crystal, and Paula. They wanted to take me to Chili's to celebrate. We walked the luggage out to the car and loaded up. While we drove away from the airport, I looked in my wallet's coin purse area, and laughed because I had a million 1-yen coins. I had to secretly look in my wallet though, because I had bought Crystal one just like it. My wallet was a black cat wallet- similar to Zeke. Crystal's was a light grey wallet- similar to Siberia. I missed my kitty very much and wondered how he would react when I got home.
We had a nice dinner at Chili's. Brandy, my nephews, and Andrea met us there. I was very surprised because my nephew, Adam had cut his hair. He has had long hair for the last couple of years, and has refused to cut it short. I guess the summer months got too hot for him haha. After my delicious flame-grilled rib-eye steak, we headed home.
I tried to keep a very quiet profile, once I got in the house- I wanted to surprise Zeke, who was quietly napping in my room. We silently brought the bags inside. Our dogs were ecstatic to see me and running around happily. Crystal got her camera ready because she wanted to film Zeke's reaction. I entered my room. Zeke looks up, and his eyes widened. He ran over to me and looked very confused. I crouched down and told him "Hi, Zekey!" He was purring and meowing and kept walking in circles- turning around trying to see if I was really there. It finally sunk in and he was so happy I was back. I gave my kitty a big hug. I was back; I was home.
Goodbye Japan! Thanks for a great time!!
My Last Day in Japan
I woke up around 9:00am and got dressed. I decided to wear my engrish shirt I had bought in Osu, to show off to my family when I flew in. The shirt is this long rambling paragraph that doesn't make any sense, but I found it kind of funny.
By 10am, I was downstairs and eating my final breakfast with my host family. I was very sad thinking about it being my final time I would eat anything with them. Over breakfast, my host mom reminded me of the plans. I still couldn't understand too well, but like I said previously, I knew it involved taking a train to the airport. She said that her and Hitomi would go with me, so I assumed that meant they would go with me to the airport.
After breakfast, I watched TV with them for about an hour, but I still had a few things left to pack (my pajamas, dirty clothes from the day before, and necessities like my toothbrush and stuff). I spent about an hour finishing packing things. I also had to prepare my travel bag. I was traveling with two large rolling suitcases that I would check, and then two carry-ons- a small rolling suitcase and a small duffel bag. I intended to put the rolling suitcase in the overhead compartment on the plane, and keep the duffel bag at my feet. After I finished packing, there was about 30 minutes to spare, so I went back downstairs and hung out with my host family. I had my camera hidden in my pocket, because I wanted to take a family picture to remember them all by. My host mom brought out some kind of shrimp flavored potato chips, we all sat at the table and snacked on them. I drunk one last cup of apple juice, boy was I going to miss it.
After the snack, it was time to leave. I asked my host family if I could get a picture real fast. My host mom and I took a picture first, then my host dad came in and we took a group photo. Sayaka was napping on the couch though and said she didn't want to get up to take a picture. I felt kind of offended, but it was typical Sayaka. Hitomi was surprisingly able to navigate my camera very well and put the timer on (I didn't even know it had a timer!), so we were all able to be in the photo. I also tried to get a picture of Koyuki, but it kept coming out blurry because Koyuki was happily eating food in his kennel.
With my host family, the Otsuki family. From left to right: Hitomi, Sakae (host mom), Me, Hitohiko (host dad)
After the photos, I went upstairs and brought the smaller bags down. Then, my host dad brought the two larger luggage downstairs. I asked my host mom if she wanted my large duffel bag. It had come in my luggage set I had bought, and I brought it with me, but there wasn't any room for it at all. They were very grateful, and happily accepted it. After all the bags were downstairs, my host dad brought the mini-van around to the front, and we wheeled the luggage outside and loaded it up. Hitomi sat up front in the passenger seat, while my host mom sat in the back with me. My host dad then drove us to the train station. On the way there, they talked about my luggage. I think my host dad was worried about me having trouble transporting it all. Hitomi then told me, "lots of luggage, good luck Su-chan!" I didn't really know what she meant, but figured that maybe she thought I would have trouble moving it through the airport. I had already planned though to get one of those luggage basket things that I could put them on and wheel them around. Plus, I didn't see Raymond and Dylan packing a lot, so I figured that they would probably help me. I was more worried about my luggage being over the weight requirement and having to pay an overweight fee, because they were very heavy.
At the train station, my host dad pulled into an area meant for buses so we could unload. I shook his hand and thanked him and said goodbye. Then, we walked over to the terminals to buy train tickets. My host mom told me how much the ticket was and motioned towards the terminal. I was a little put off at first, and didn't quite get that I was having to buy the ticket. They then motioned again, and it clicked. I was very lucky I had just enough. The ticket cost about 750 yen. I had kind of wished they would have told me ahead of time I needed to buy this myself, because this wiped me clean, and I would have set back a little more money had I known. I wondered if this was the part I didn't quite understand when my host mom was describing our plans, but I never heard anything about buying a ticket, so I don't think so. It didn't matter too much though, I bought my ticket and we went through the wicket and waited at the train line. My host sister then told me that the airport was the very last stop.
When the train arrived, my host mom and host sister helped me load the bags on the train. But they didn't get on with me, instead they waved goodbye. That's when it clicked that they were only seeing me off, and why Hitomi said good luck- good luck getting all these bags off the train and into the airport on my own. The doors were still open, in my panic I asked if it was the last stop, and they said yes. Then, the doors closed, and as it took off we waved goodbye. I smiled and waved, but I felt very abandoned and scared. I wondered how I was going to get all of these bags off of the train before the train takes off on that last stop. I didn't know what stop I was getting off at other than it was the last one (but I had no idea how to tell), and the train chart was entirely in kanji so I couldn't read it.
I sat on the train for about 15 minutes, not knowing how long it was until the last stop, when the last stop was, or even what it was called. I remembered that I told Raymond that I would call him when I was on my way, so I took out my phone (though I know it's rude to talk on the phone in the train- but man, this was more important than social stigma), and saw I had a missed from Dylan. I called Dylan and told him I was on my way. Dylan was already at the airport, and said that Raymond was on the train about 15 minutes ahead of me. I figured out that Ray was on the same line as me, so I called him and asked him what the last stop was. He told me some clues, like "this stop" will be a few stops before the airport, you will see a bunch of water and such. When I got closer, I called him again and he gave me some more clues. Finally I reached the airport, it was pretty obvious. Everyone was getting off the train, and there was a big sign that said the airport name and something about a terminal.
I was in a huge hurry to get my luggage off the train, before it took off. I practically threw my bags out of the train (it was clear, and hardly anyone around), and used both my hands to drag the others off. It was a struggle to grab three rolling bags and a carry-on. One really kind elderly Japanese man saw I was struggling though and grabbed the handle of one of my bags and motioned for us to go inside the airport. Then, he grabbed a luggage cart and put the bag in it. I was extremely grateful and thanked him. Then, he cheerfully went off in the opposite direction. I put the rest of my bags in the cart, and proceeded towards the airport wickets. I used my train ticket to get through where Dylan and Raymond were waiting for me.
The First Flight: Nagoya to Tokyo
Raymond, Dylan, and I proceeded to the check-in area. We had our bags run through an x-ray booth. I was told I had to open up my large bag that had all my souvenirs in it, because there was something metal that reflected the image. I used my key to open the lock. At first, I thought it was the weight bar from my shodo set, but we later figured it was the metal piggy bank that I bought for my brother. The security man was very nice though and said it was fine, and waved us through. I locked my bag again, and we proceeded to the counter.
At the counter, we checked our bags in and got tickets. I was worried my bags would be overweight, but they were about 10lbs or so below the limit, which was a relief. Raymond said we were his helpers, and asked if we could get seated with him. So they changed our seats so we would all be together, and we were labeled priority seating so we were allowed to be seated first. We were issued tickets for all flights, and with tickets in hand proceeded to our terminal. I was very relieved to not have to deal with all my luggage anymore.
As we reached the terminal, I couldn't find my ticket. Then, this kind American woman runs up and says, "Is this yours?" I was still in Japanese-mode and told her "arigatou!- I mean, thanks!" which we all found kind of funny. We had just stepped off the elevator, and I think it fell out in front of it. After that, I kept a tighter grip on my plane ticket.
When we got to the terminal, there was a snack shop. I wanted to buy something for the plane ride, but the train ticket had taken the last of my money, so I didn't have the funds for it. Dylan was in the same boat. He didn't know he had to pay for his train fare either, and was wiped clean. After Ray bought his snacks, we got in line in the priority seating area. As we waited to board, we talked about our strange experiences in Japan. Somehow we started talking about the delicious drinks. I said I was going to miss Japanese apple juice. Ray and Dylan were going to miss Calpis (which had a running joke that it sounds like Cow piss, when said fast). Soon, it was time to board.
We boarded up, and the plane took off. On the ride there, I was told about the drama from Friday's goodbye celebration. Dylan had gotten so drunk that he screamed "Fuck you!" in Momoko's face a bunch of times, and she finally had it and slapped him. Dylan admitted that he deserved it though. At the bar, after Amy and I left, lots of drinking happened. One of the Japanese girls named Ako, became so drunk that she just sat there drooling on herself for a good couple of hours. Dylan said he kept having to play white-knight because a couple of Japanese boys kept trying to take advantage of her, and lead her away to do god knows what. He would distract her and start trying to talk to her, and they would give him angry glares. Then, we get to Cailey. Around 3:00 in the morning, everyone realizes Cailey has disappeared. Dylan says that Cailey was so drunk that she probably got very confused and went the wrong direction when they were leaving one of the bars. All the Japanese students ran around Nagoya looking for her. Her host family was informed, and the police were also called. The police then ran around Nagoya looking for her, and finally found her around 4 or 5am. Dylan said that Ban-san was very pissed and chewed out Momoko for organizing an event like this that got people so drunk. I think he said that Ban-san even threatened to blacklist Momoko after she graduated over the incident. I felt very bad for Momoko and didn't think it was fair to put the blame entirely on her. Yeah, she probably shouldn't have organized an event that was so heavily alcohol centered, but at the same time people need to have personal accountability. Soon, we landed in Tokyo. After landing, we headed straight over to the next terminal and prepared to check in again.
The Second Flight: Tokyo to Los Angeles
At the check-in counter in Tokyo, we had to ask to be seated together again. Unfortunately (and secretly not so unfortunately), only two of us could sit together, but the other would be able to sit close by. We took what we could and thanked them. We then sat down in the waiting area and waited to board.
Not long after, it was time to board. Ray and Dylan had been seated together, and I was off by myself in the center row. I was kind of relieved though, because it meant I didn't have to worry about Ray being perverted or anything and I could take a nap in peace if I so desired. I ended up being seated in a row with two young guys around my age from Korea. After everyone was boarded and seated, the 12-hour flight took off. Unlike my first international flight, I spent most of the time watching movies this time. I watched a corny movie called, "I am number 12" or something. It had terrible writing. Then, I watched a really good older movie called, "Jack," with Robin Williams that I really liked. There was a Naruto movie that I really wanted to watch, but I was only given two options: Japanese audio or English audio. There were no Eng subs on the Japanese version, and I really didn't want to watch its English version (Naruto's English voice really annoys me, though I think the other cast are pretty good). They had games like Galaga and Tetris you could play, so I played those for a little bit. Listened to music. Slept. I loved the last meal that was brought out to us. It was a Mos burger!! It was kind of strange because they put napkins in between the meat that you had to take out- Raymond later complained that he couldn't see the burger too well and thought the napkins were cheese. He got a big surprise when he bit in and tasted paper. Nonetheless, the burger was very, very good. The 12 hours flew by both quickly and slowly at times. Before we knew it, we were in Los Angeles.
The Final Flight Home: Los Angeles to Austin
When we arrived in Los Angeles, we had to go through customs. The people had an LA accent, which I thought was so awesome. This may sound strange...but I was extremely excited to be in LA. I was in one of the major film making cities in the country- in the world, filled with screenwriters and actors. I've dreamed about moving to LA. I hope to one day write and direct a movie, so I was so excited and felt so close to my dreams and goals, even if I was only in the airport.
We first proceeded to a counter that I think was customs. When we got to the counter, we were told we needed to fill out a paper and directed to another area a little ways down. Unfortunately, the English customs papers were gone, so we had to ask a lady at a counter who brought some out. The lady seemed a little skeptical that we were Raymond's helpers for some reason. But, we got the papers filled out and she walked us back over to the line. I think they were worried about lawsuits or something, because they let us skip ahead of everyone and got us through customs pretty quickly. The customs lady did have me take off my glasses and double checked my picture on my passport, but it only took a couple of seconds and then she waved us through.
Next we walked over to an area and got our luggage. We all gathered our luggage in this one area, and then, I brought three carts over for us to put our luggage on. With our bags loaded up, we pushed on until we reached the check-in area. At the check in area for Japan Airlines, we checked our bags in and were told we needed to go to the American Airlines ticket area to get our seats changed. So, we were directed to these doors that led outside the airport and had to walk a little ways along the building before we reached the American Airlines check-in area. There, we asked a lady for help, and she directed us to another lady at a counter. At first, they weren't able to sit us together. The only seats they had together were seats by the bulk-head of the plane (they were more spacious, and the first seats behind first class), they would have cost about $35 bucks to upgrade to. They were really nice though, and decided to waive the fee and assigned us those seats together. With new tickets in hand, we proceeded to our terminal.
I waited at the terminal seating area while Dylan and Raymond went off to buy soda. Ray offered to buy me a drink, and I was very thirsty and broke so I accepted his offer and asked if he saw any Dr. Pepper if he could buy me a bottle. In return, I would wait with the luggage. While I was waiting, I sent Crystal and my Mom a text saying I was in LA and would likely be in Austin in a few hours. I thought it was kind of sad too, I was seated near a room for children that would be flying alone. To the side of one of the rooms was this mother and her two young kids sitting on the ground, away from everyone. One of the little girls was bald and sickly; I knew she likely had leukemia. I felt very bad for her. Her mom was reading her a story, and she was happily holding on to her and smiling.
Ray and Dylan returned, but there wasn't any Dr. Pepper- so Ray got me Pepsi instead. I was still very thankful, and gulped it down. Not long after they returned, we got up and boarded the plane. The whole plane ride there we talked about all sorts of things. We spent a good time talking about video games. I learned of some classics that I really want to play. There is this one SNES game called Earthbound that I would love to get my hands on. We talked about the Final Fantasy series. Dylan likes the early renditions, but thought VII and VIII were terrible. His favorite was IX. I said that I liked VII, VIII was too boring for me to get past the beginning, but my favorite was X. I also said that XIII was a huge disappointment, and cited very poor/stereotypical characters, terrible cliche storytelling, and a ridiculously linear gameplay. We also started talking about writing things. Dylan wrote an entire script for a video game and was shopping around for a concept artist. He asked me if I drew, and I said yes (but at the time I wasn't thinking, and didn't know that concept art was very detailed CGI type work). So, he asked if I would draw his characters, and I said I wouldn't mind...this later bit me in the butt, and I had to embarrassingly admit when he asked on Facebook that I wasn't that good of an artist and probably wouldn't have the skills to do it.
Anyway, I talked about my story Chaos World, which has been in development since high school. I've written about 20 pages in story form, but I really would rather write it into a screenplay form and eventually develop it into an animated series. I have the entire plot (at least 200 episodes worth) already planned in my head, and all characters fully developed. It really just needs to be written down. Raymond talked about wanting to write a screenplay of his adventures in Japan, and make it into like an American Pie version.
We were about 30 minutes from Austin, and Ray got up to use the restroom. The lady behind us tapped on our shoulder and asked what the thing was around Ray's waist. I think she was nervous it was a weapon or something. Dylan then explained that Ray was mostly blind, and it was his walking cane- much to her relief. The guy next to her then asked if we all knew each other because we seemed like good friends the way we were talking. The guy then revealed that he was a screenwriter and was moving to Austin from LA for Austin's film industry. I think we may have caught his attention when we had been talking about our own stories. When Ray got back, we got into a long conversation with the woman and man about Austin and our trip to Japan. The guy was very fascinated with us. Soon, the plane landed and we all unloaded from the plane.
When we got inside the airport, the guy asked to take a picture of us. Ray, Dylan, and I stood against a large Texas-centered picture, and the guy took our photo. Maybe he thought one of us would make it big someday the way we had been talking. The guy wished us luck in our endeavors and waved goodbye as he walked away in the opposite direction. The three of us- tired and ready for home- then proceeded down the hallway, until we reached a set of escalators. As we got on the escalators, I saw Crystal, my Mom, and Paula waiting for me nearby. Crystal had her camera ready and took a photo of us as we came down. I greeted them, and told them I needed to get my luggage. I left my carry-on's with my Mom, and Crystal came with me to help. We waited a while for the luggage to come out. My mom kept trying to call me on my cell to tell me that we might be in the wrong area, but I told her I knew what I was doing. I introduced Crystal to Dylan and Raymond. Dylan's Dad, little brother, and I think another family member came and greeted him. Dylan introduced us to them. Eventually our baggage came. We said our goodbyes, and promised to get together again for a karaoke.
Waiting for our luggage at the airport in Austin.
Ray needed help getting to the curb of the airport though. So, after Dylan left I offered to help him. Crystal took my luggage back to my Mom, and I helped him to the curb. We said our goodbyes. He said that he would be going to the Asian market, and would let me know through Facebook if he saw any apple juice. I thanked him, said I had a blast with him and everyone in Japan, and said goodbye. I then waved and walked away.
I returned to my Mom, Crystal, and Paula. They wanted to take me to Chili's to celebrate. We walked the luggage out to the car and loaded up. While we drove away from the airport, I looked in my wallet's coin purse area, and laughed because I had a million 1-yen coins. I had to secretly look in my wallet though, because I had bought Crystal one just like it. My wallet was a black cat wallet- similar to Zeke. Crystal's was a light grey wallet- similar to Siberia. I missed my kitty very much and wondered how he would react when I got home.
We had a nice dinner at Chili's. Brandy, my nephews, and Andrea met us there. I was very surprised because my nephew, Adam had cut his hair. He has had long hair for the last couple of years, and has refused to cut it short. I guess the summer months got too hot for him haha. After my delicious flame-grilled rib-eye steak, we headed home.
I tried to keep a very quiet profile, once I got in the house- I wanted to surprise Zeke, who was quietly napping in my room. We silently brought the bags inside. Our dogs were ecstatic to see me and running around happily. Crystal got her camera ready because she wanted to film Zeke's reaction. I entered my room. Zeke looks up, and his eyes widened. He ran over to me and looked very confused. I crouched down and told him "Hi, Zekey!" He was purring and meowing and kept walking in circles- turning around trying to see if I was really there. It finally sunk in and he was so happy I was back. I gave my kitty a big hug. I was back; I was home.
Goodbye Japan! Thanks for a great time!!