hi, i'm jenn

my plane was not big. it had propellors. but i’m home! for more than 24 hours!

more on the conference (and the end of japan) soon…

it wasn’t easy, but i made it back with all my luggage in tow.
amanda helped me to the train station, and i managed to get the bags onto the train which took me from Nagasaki to Hakata.
someone who worked on the train helped me off of the train and into Hakata station, leaving me near the subway.
i couldn’t find the subway elevator, so after a near tumble down the escalator a nice man helped me get my bags to the entrance and through the gate.
from there another escalator ride to the subway, and subway ride to the airport.
another nice guy helped me get my bags off the train and into the terminal.

at the check-in counter the nice woman informed me that my bag was about 9kg overweight — to check it in would cost more than 60,000 JPY (about $600). Um, I was expecting it to cost me $200, but $600 was a bit much. Anyway, I figured out that if I bought and checked in a third bag, then the cost would be much less (<$200). And so they kept my big ass bags while I shopped for a third one. I unloaded the extra weight and we were all good. They were so nice and helpful about it too... I love Japanese politeness. oh, there was a casualty. my heart pillow didn't make it home. i definitely had it on the plane from osaka to vancouver (i slept on it) but i must have dropped it somewhere in vancouver airport trying to make my quick transfer. it did serve its purpose well though and will be missed... *sigh*

today is my last day in japan. i leave for home tomorrow. which is the reason i:ve been busy and not blogging lately.
wish me and my bags luck – first we have the train ride to fukuoka, then the subway to the airport, and then the airport itself. they are big. very big. i have one too many carry-ons. i:m nervous.
i will just have to look at this as another adventure. just not a particularly fun one.
in any case, i:m excited to get off the plane in toronto and see the friends that await me!

i’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

   
   

domo arigato to christine for showing me such a great time!

The mutant has her fashion show coming up this weekend. She’s been presiding over it for the past year and it’s finally upon us! And well timed to0 – it’s saturday night when I arrive home.
Anyway, here’s a picture of her from the cover of a magazine in KTown. The other folks are her co-pres and the head choreo. If you’re in or near k-town this weekend, pick up a ticket and check it out!

I went to Tokyo.
My Tamagotchi did not.
Only one of us survived the weekend…

tokyo is great. home tomorrow. more soon.

Good luck on your exam Jeffyboy! I:m sending you whatever the Japanese version of Mazal is.

i bought these things in fun cat packages in Fukuoka and mailed them to some people at home. i didn’t keep one for myself, so i was really happy when lindsay sent me a picture of what was inside. cool!

update: she also sent me some links to sites about the nameneko cats (one, two). enjoy!

We’ve been teaching at a school called Seido. Jr. High every week, and the little kids every now and then. Monday was our last time going there. It was sad, but fun too. We (the interns) do a skit called “soup” that dates back to my camp days. We did the skit for them, and then got them to act it out instead of us. Very fun.

   

We all got our own cards from one of the classes. Chad’s is the best – I included a picture of it.



Oh, I have one of the little kids in my suitcase.