I'm here! I'm safe and I'm finally showered...

... except that the shower is on the guys floor and I had to pass some guy brushing his teeth when I came out of it in my towel. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

What a long, long, long trip that was. As someone who doesn't like to fly, I had a really hard time motivating myself to get on that plane. Luckily, my dad was with me to and gave me a healthy shove in the right direction. Thankfully, the flight to Chicago went smoothly and then I had a 5-hour layover in O'Hare. It wasn't so bad at first because I had a book with me, but I finished that within a half hour of being there. That's the problem with good books, they never last long enough. So after that, I tried to study but I'm sure everyone can guess how well that went.

I took the time to call my mom, who was really worried about me, and a couple of friends, one of whom I woke up (oops :-/). My mom's main concern was a) that I wouldn't be safe, not out of any fault of my own mind you, or so I'd like to think, and b) that the person I was sitting next to would manhandle me on the plane. On the flight to Chicago, I sat by a guy and my mom wasn't pleased about the fact. Our conversation on this topic went something like this:

Mom: I just don't want anyone to...
Me: Manhandle me on the plane.
Mom: Yes.
Me: I think you underestimate me; I have a really good elbow jab.
Luckily for me, and my mom's blood pressure, my flight to Narita wasn't full. The guy I was supposed to sit next to moved behind me and had two seats to myself and I had the same luxury. Not that it made sleeping on the plane any more comfortable, but it could have been worse.

By the time we arrived at Narita, it was a little bit after 4. I was told that a rep from Sophia University was supposed to meet me before 5. But it wasn't until 5:30 that I was able to pass the foreign passport check-in station and customs. I was sure that I'd missed my person but she was still there after I left customs. Keito, or Kate, is a second-year student at Sophia studying English Lit. and she's learning German too. Clearly, she's really good at languages. She and her friend Hanoko, helped me and Hanoko's charge Mike (I think that's his name...) get to the DK House where I'm staying. We took the Japan Railway train to get here and it was quite the adventure, what with all my luggage (one suitcase, carry-on and my "purse") and the commuter traffic. But we finally got here. The DK House is an international guesthouse that partners with Sophia. I have to be honest, because they weren't, and the place looks nothing like it did in the pictures. It almost makes me wish I was in a homestay or had an apartment mate. It's not that it's not nice, but I lived in a really great international residency at U.Va. and this place pales in comparison.

Unlike my room at the IRC at U.Va., this one is a single and I have a great view of some cherry blossoms from my balcony. It's a pretty sweet view. There are a couple of issues I have with the DK House and my room. First, I can't reach the outlet closest to my desk, which means that I can't plug in the power cord for my computer. I have to plug it in on the other side of the room and it doesn't even reach. So my comps running on its battery now but I charge it whenever I'm not on it. Second, there's no soap in the bathroom. Are people just not washing their hands?! And now every time I go I have to bring my soap with me. No fun. Third, this shower situation is absurd. They should have just divided the halls down the middle and not by floor level because now I have to walk past a bunch of guys in my towel. C'mon, a girl needs a little privacy.

So that's everything so far. I don't think I missed any exciting stories. Most everything is still a blur anyways. I'm still really tired and I got up at 5:20 this morning as my body clock was off. I'm going to try to nap now before I have to leave for my Orientation and what not. The only problem with that is that I saw a spider on my wall not too long ago. We had a small showdown where he jumped, several times, out of my reach. I'm not sure whether I'm the victor or if it was a draw so I have a few reservations about sleeping on that bed. Oh well, they do say the average human ingests around 8 spiders in their lifetime. I guess this spider, if he's still alive and I'm hoping no, might get added to my quota.