Hotel Nikko Narita

Since our flight to Seoul has come and long gone, we've been put up int he Hotel Nikko Narita (http://www.nikko-narita.com/english/index.html).  A shuttle brought us to the hotel from the airport.  I must say, I'm kinda digging it.  The layout of the room is so interesting and certain things are different than at home.

For instance, instead of a coffee maker, I have an electric tea kettle:

The room itself is much more compact than a tradtional American hotel room and this room only has a single bed:

The nightstand has a lot of controls built into it and it took me a while to realize it operates the lamp and clock:

And, finally, the bathroom.  I was kind of scared to use the toilet because I didn't want things spraying at me.  Fortunately, there is a "stop" button:

 The bathroom is also very compact and there is a sign in the bathtub reminding us to conserve water:

Anywho, I'm beat.  I'm going to slip into my Nikko Hotel International nightshirt and hit the hay. ;)

The Flight...From Hell..

Greetings from Tokyo!  We have arrived in Japan after a SIGNIFICANT delay at Chicago O'Hare.  I believe we were supposed to leave some time around 1PM and we didn't end up taxi'ing down the runway until after 9PM (after a while I gave up and stopped looking at my watch).

Here are some highlights:

• We realize that our plane is being "serviced" and won't take off until 5PM
• We get a call telling us that the plane will depart at 5:30PM
• "..." at 5:50PM

None of this is inspiring confidence in me...I don't want to ride on a jalopy plane for 13 hours.  During our wait we find out that we're getting a new plane that has to be brought form another terminal.  FINALLY we begin boarding

but wait

there's more

"Ladies and gentlemen, there appears to be a problem with our lavatories.  We're bringing the mechanic back on board to fix it"

oh...

you thought they were done?

"Ladies and gentlmen, it appears that a lot of people are making their way to the west coast...we'll have to sit here for another 20-30 minutes.  I've been advised to turn off the jets to preserve fuel"

Might I add, the mention of "preserving fuel" is not inspiring confidence in me.

30 minutes later:  "Ladies and gentlemen it's going to be another 15-20 minutes"

By the time we got in the air, we should have been halfway through our flight.

As all of you know, I've been freaking a bit about how long this flight was going to be.  I'd like to report that I hit a point of delirium similar to when I reached mile 10 during the half marathon.  None of my thoughts were making any sense.  When I put on my eye mask to completely block out the light and thought to myself, "this must be what Stevie Wonder feels like", I knew that I was no longer in my right frame of mine.

I ordered a rum and Coke to get me through...only to spill it on myself and have soggy pants.  I was immediately reminded of the time my pants fell in the toliet on my 25th birthday and I had to wear them because I had nothing else.  I looked around sadly at everyone else with dry pants.  I also realized, as I walked to the bathroom in pants that looked like they'd been pissed in, that I do have one thing that will embarrass me - perceived incontinence.

Flying for that long was like being in suspended animation.  Nothing's going on but you're completely aware of it.  My hands started to swell and in my groggy mind I wondered if I was allergic to something on the plane or if I was getting blood clots.  I distinctly remember thinking, "I don't know anything any more" before drifting back into a half sleep.

Chicago, we meet again

We have arrived safely in Chicago and have no idea when our plane will be ready. As such, we may very well miss our Tokyo connection and arrive in Korea a day later! Our team leader is currently standing in a massive customer service line to get this straightened out.

Speaking of massive,  Chicago O'Hare is an effing monster.  It's HUGE and yet very old looking.  I saw pay phones...and a phone book.  And, in the spirit of keeping it classy, the signs don't say "restroom" or "bathroom", they say "toilet".

So, we're flying by the seat of our pants. I'm remarkably calm at this point and the team leader has commented on "how calm I am for a person with ADD". ;)

At some point between the flight and our yet to be determined layover in Tokyo, I'll be off the grid.

In the mean time, I'll sit here and contemplate whether to buy more e-books...

I'll post more later!!

PS- I found out there is a blogger app so I can post from any smartphone.  It's the sniggety bomb diggety.

Update: It looks like we'll be spending the night in Tokyo.

Here I gooooooooooooo....

Sitting on the plane heading to Chicago (followed by Tokyo, then Seoul).  Apparently our Tokyo flight was delayed which means we may miss our Seoul connection....

Check out this ugly picture of me on a plane! Also note the awesome cross my mom gave me.

And then there was one...

By this time tomorrow I wil know once and for all if the doctor was right to suspect I have ADD...I'll be entering hour infinity on the jumbo jet to the future and I hope my animal crackers keep me sane.

Things have been a bit hectic in the final week.  I got my final set of shots yesterday and picked up a "just in case" prescription.  Everything I ordered came with time to spare and I managed to pack EVERYTHING (including gifts for host families) in one checked bag, and two carryons.  Nothing's oversized, nothing's overweight.  It is indeed a miracle.

I've like to digress and talk about how wonderful my Nook Color is.  I've loaded up a TON of books on that thing that would just take up too much space.  I was so against e-readers but I suppose they have their place.  Plus mine is rooted so it will serve as a tablet as well.

Anyway, I had a nice work sendoff yesterday that involved ice cream cake. =D  I was able to get pretty far ahead at work, so that's wonderful.

So yeah, this trip is happening.  It's all over but the crying.  Just kidding...sorta...

Lucky 13

So, thirteen days from now I'll be on a plane heading into the future.  The future being what I refer to as the 13 hour time difference between Virginia and South Korea.  And so, in true Eboni fashion, I am ordering things at the last minute and hoping that corporations and varying delivery companies do not fail me.

I decided to bite the bullet and buy a new camera because, hey, why not?  This is a remarkable opportunity and I want have great pictures when I come home.  I've got travel adapters and other jazz on the way as well.  I think I've ordered everything but if not, Amazon has wonderful two-day shipping and it's saved me (and Christmas 2010) before. :)

Today, I went back for series two in a three part saga that is travel vaccinations.

This past weekend we finalized both our casual and formal uniforms for the trip.  Can I just say that I had no idea there were so many variations of men's pants?! For as shoddy as most men look most (all) of the time, I figured they just grabbed whatever was nearest them and kept it moving...apparently not.  Oh well.

Off the top of my head I can think of a few things I need to do:

• Figure out what to do with my hair (yikes)
• Finish up some work assignments
• Learn to speak Korean (hahahahhah...*cries*).  I'm going to take it back old school and make flashcards and have Mom quiz me on them...and try to avoid her eyes as I fail and she silently chides me for not starting this process four months ago.
• Pack
• Figure out how I'm getting to/from the airport
• Take a deep breath.

Okay, I don't want to think about anything else right now...so this post is done. I'm going to bed. :)

ACK! Twenty Days and Counting

We all reach a point where denial does us more harm than good.  I have reached that point.  I'm leaving the country in 20 days and it's time to get cracking! HAHA! Just kidding...sorta.  I mean..I've done some stuff...*shifts eyes*

Anyway, time to stop living in the past and get ready for this adventure.  We had our final team meeting over the weekend and yesterday I picked up some trip essentials.  Today, I received the first series of vaccinations that will hopefully keep me disease free during my escapades.  By week's end (preferably by tomorrow) I need to order all the travel adapters/chargers/etc. that I'll need from Amazon.  And I need to decided whether it's worth shelling out big bucks for a new camera. I also need to figure out the best way to communicate while abroad (Skype, Google Voice, etc.) and get all that in place before I go.  I'd like to be done with everything by the end of the week but I'll settle for March 22nd (this includes a complete idea of clothing/packing requirements).

Time to get cracking!