The End

July 26
I didn't have anything to do before 1, when I had to be at the city office for the last time, so I ate breakfast slow and then spent the morning packing. After lunch I rode over to the city office and met up with Will and Andrew, then the three of us were given certificates that showed our completion of the volunteer program and sent on our way. I went over to Yamazawa's to do some shopping, but didn't really find anything so I went home. Mama-chan got home a little after I did, so she took me to sell back some clothes to a recycle shop called Odin; I only got like maybe fifty cents, but it freed up space in my luggage and paid for half of a souvenir I found at the shop. We went to Yoku Benimaru to shop for dinner, then we ate, and I went to bed.

July 27
I woke up and went for a bike ride since I wasn't hungry yet, then came home and showered before eating breakfast. I went out to do some final last minute shopping, but at this point all I really wanted to buy was chocolate and snacks, and it was freaking hot out so I didn't want any of what I bought to melt on the way home. I came back for lunch; before we ate, Misato and I made some shaved ice for a snack, which was yummy and amused us since the ice flavoring turned our tongues blue and green, respectively. After lunch, I went out with Mama-chan to go exchange my yen for dollars at the bank. Once we were done there we stopped by the office where she worked to talk with some of her colleagues, which was fun, and then she was even nice enough to drive me to Yoku Benimaru and Asahi drug to buy the chocolate I wanted to get. I got home and finished the last bits of packing I had to do, and then Mama-chan, Misato and I drove over to Hana no Mai, the izakaya where me, Will and Andrew had eaten with Beecken-sensei, to meet Papa-chan for dinner. We had some really yummy food, and I drank a little (but not enough to even get me slightly buzzed), and then we walked over to the train station so Papa-chan could find an outlet to plug his phone into to charge. He was able to plug it in at the shop at the station, so we walked around the shop for a few minutes, with Mama-chan even buying me a cute little keychain and some umeboshi.
Me, Mama-chan and Misato went for a walk down the street and then came back before the shop closed so we could get some of the hand-made ice cream for dessert. After we finished our ice cream we still had an hour or so to go before everyone got to the station to get ready for the night bus, so we walked over to Zest and did purikura.
We got back just as Will arrived, and Andrew came shortly after that. Some of their previous host families had come to see them off as well; Nishida-mama and her boyfriend also came to see me off, even bringing me a photo book she and the kids had made, and some gifts from Bulldog, which barely fit in my suitcase. I was really happy to see Nishida-mama before I left. I hope we'll keep in touch so I can visit next year if I do JET.
Anyway, we left on the night bus at 9:40, waving to everyone outside the window as we pulled away from the station. I dozed on and off, mostly sleeping while we drove and waking up whenever we stopped.


July 28
We got to Tokyo at around 5:40 in the morning. We got out of the bus, and I ran into the 7-11 that we were dropped off in front of to buy some gum and chocolate. We went to the train station and bought our tickets to the airport, then rode the train there which took another hour and a half or so. We checked our baggage once we got there (the line was long but it only took about 15 minutes or so to get through, and then check-in took about ten), and then had breakfast--I ate the onigiri that Mama-chan had made me the night before. After breakfast we wandered around Narita, checking out the shops, and I spent my last 500 yen. Andrew and Will bought a parfait to split for lunch at one of the restaurants, and I had more onigiri (given to me by Kakizaki-sensei the night before) since I didn't have any more money at this point. Then we went to a bookstore and killed the last hour or so reading before we went through security and got to our gate, and then we waited around for a little bit more before we boarded our plane and took off from Japan at around 2:50.


The plane ride to LA went quick enough; I watched How to Train Your Dragon and the Bounty Hunter, then we had dinner, and then I tried to nap for a bit, and then I woke up and watched more random things on the screen, and then they gave us breakfast about an hour or so before we landed in LA (so I guess it was about 8 California time).
We landed on time (9ish) to LA and got through immigration fine, but it took a freaking hour or so for our bags to come off the flight, then another twenty minutes in line for customs (they didn't even open our passports when we gave it to them, just looked to make sure we had the claims form and then waved us on), and then we had to nearly run clear across to the other side of the airport to get to the  Frontier counter to re-check our bags for our connecting flight, which left at 11:05. There were three people ahead of us in the line when we got there and it took them forever and a day to get through, and by the time we got to the counter we only had about 25 minutes till our flight left so there was no way our baggage was making it onto the plane. We asked the lady at the counter if we could just run through security and get on the flight and have her put our luggage on another flight, but she fed us some bullshit about everyone already being boarded and how it was "restricted" so they weren't letting anyone else on the plane. She was really freaking slow, too; it took her probably twenty minutes to pull our information up on her computer.
Needless to say we missed our original connecting fight, which pissed me the hell off and made me start sobbing and bitching (in Japanese so she couldn't understand, of course). She could only confirm us on an 8:15 flight, but put us on stand-by for a 3:11, and put our luggage on that flight as well. We went through security after she finally checked our bags (it took her another I don't know how long to do that), and bitched to some more travelers about how much LAX sucks, then wandered around and finally just sat by our gate.
It was freaking cold in that airport, but I somehow managed to take a little bit of a nap. When it came time for the 3:11 flight to start boarding, the three of us kind of huddled by the front where they called the passengers to wait to see if we were getting on. By some sort of miracle there were five seats open at the end, and that was how many people were waiting on stand-by for that flight, so we all got on. I started sobbing again when I found out we were getting on, because I was tired and hungry (we hadn't eaten lunch), travel-worn and I freaking  missed my mommy, and so to know that we didn't have to wait another five hours to board the next flight home was the biggest relief ever.
I sat by this couple who were coming back from China as a trip for their fifteen-year-old son's birthday. They were really nice and we talked a lot about the different cultures. I did some sudoku and watched some TV and napped, then had some cookies because Frontier flights bake cookies in-flight to give to passengers instead of peanuts (they were really good, too).
We landed in Denver at exactly 6:30 PM on Wednesday, July 28. I had to put my hands over my mouth because I was so happy to be back I almost started giggling like an insane person. I got off the plane and met up with Will and Andrew, and Andrew's dad who met us at the gate since he works at the airport. We went to the baggage claim to get our luggage, and then Will and Andrew left with their families and I waited around for a little bit more for Mom and Sam, since they had gotten stuck in traffic coming to get me (I had been calling Mom to update her with flight info since the whole fiasco at LAX). They finally got there at a little after 7, and I bawled my eyes out when they picked me up. We got back to Fort Collins a little after 8 and grabbed some dinner from Whole Foods, and then went home and I showed them everything I had gotten from Japan and then eventually calmed down enough to be able to eat.


Carpet felt odd under my feet, since I hadn't been on carpet the whole summer and never realized it. It also felt slightly off to be driving on the right-hand side of the road. We had salsa and chips and guacamole for dinner along with some salad and treats I brought from Japan, and the salsa was freaking amazing.
Japan feels like some distant, vivid dream. It's hard to believe I was there, never mind the fact I was there for two whole months. The days went by slow at times, but the summer as a whole slipped past me with me barely noticing. I am glad (understatement) to be home, because I feel like I can finally pick up my life and start moving somewhere again. Japan was amazing and one of the most precious experiences I've ever had, but life there felt so stagnant, if only because complete independence was impossible. This isn't a bad thing, but I was getting antsy towards the end, since I could only think of all the things I had to get done once I got back and really wanted to start working on them.
Now I'm back though, and have an amazing year to look forward to.
I've started work again and love it (though these next two weeks will be dreadful, as they always are during training), I've moved into my new apartment (though I haven't unpacked all the way by far), and my optimism is at an all-time high.
I still have pictures to upload and edit, but I don't know when I'll get around to that since I'm so busy. Keep checking that site though, since until my next overseas adventure this blog is taking a well-deserved rest, and so am I.