There is Beauty in Adaptability

To my body right now, its 1:45 in the morning. Naturally, I'm thinking clearly, and can reflect on a long, tiring, generally amazing day. If you didn't catch it the first time, I am now relaxing in a comfy bed at Yokota Air Base, Japan, about 40 miles away from Tokyo. It has been a stressful journey to get here, but we're here. Last night, we weren't sure if this was even possible - we were told there were no seats available. Luckily, the C-17 we flew on wasn't packed to the brim, so there were 20 seats available this morning (yay!) Everyone that we've been seeing at the passenger terminal trying to get here did, which made it a good flight all around :)


If you didn't already know, a C-17 is humongous. I mean, you could fit 10 elephants comfortably in it, with plenty of room for acrobats on top. I've been in them before; at air shows, on base, just around, but I've never flown in one. That, let me tell you, was a new experience. We sat in jumpseats on the side of the plane, and I was surprised at how comfortable they were. It was weird to take off and land sideways, but the extra leg room made it perfectly fine! After we reached cruising altitude, I went to find free space between the cargo, spread my blanket, and was out in 5 minutes flat. I have to say, I LOVE being able to spread out and sleep on the floor! Its way better than being cramped with one inch of leg room. The one downside - it got cold! The floor was close to the bottom of the plane (naturally) so I wasn't out for very long before I needed to grab another blanket. The flight wasn't always peachy - it was REALLY loud, so I had to wear earplugs the entire time, and it was a little uncomfortable at times in the jumpseat, but hey, it was a free flight, so I'm not complaining :) Random fact - we left Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage at 10:00 AM and arrived in Yokota at 10:00 AM - I still had my whole day in front of me! (Its been a long day)


After seven and a half uneventful, sleepy hours, we were here! We had to go through customs and I had to dig through my suitcase to find Sudafed (its illegal to have it in Japan, but I have no idea why...) we were officially in Japan! We walked to the Kanto Lodge where we're staying, and took a deep breath. After refreshing, we explored base a little bit to get our bearings, going to the BX (base exchange), the bank, etc. At this point, we were all a little crabby, so much needed alone time followed our exploring. Lets just say that after that, we were all happier campers ;) 


Thats pretty much a sum of our eventful day! Its been a day of firsts - my first trans-Pacific flight, my first time flying in a cargo plane, my first time outside of North America - and its been amazing. However, I'm finding it harder and harder to stay awake, so I might give in soon (although its only 7:20 PM!) 


On deck for tomorrow's events - my Dad's coming! We were going to fly to Seoul on Sunday, but that wasn't soon enough for any of us, so he's joining us tomorrow in Tokyo, and we're going to have a little 
"side" vacation here in Japan. We're going to explore Tokyo and maybe go to Mt. Fuji, who knows - we're winging it! 


Until I have more adventures to share :)


Some pictures from today...

Look at how light it is early in the morning!

A C-17 (MASSIVE!)

Look, they even hold helicopters! (not our flight though)

How Mom, Katie, and Matt like to fly...

And how I like to fly

We made it!

And Here We Go!

I'm going to make this short and sweet - I have no idea how much time we have before we board, this is definitely not your conventional flying :)


We are on a flight to Yokota Air Base, Japan! Yes, its not Korea, but hey, its at least the same continent. From there, we'll figure out how to get to Osan, whether by train to another part of Japan then fly, fly straight there...swim...who knows! Whatever it takes :) 


So wish us luck! I have NO idea how long of a flight it is, and maybe thats a good thing! I have a computer, some food, tylenol PM, whatever it takes, right?


If you can't tell, I'm SOOOOO excited! YAY!


Next post will be soon, and I promise there will be pictures!


Remember - this is a cargo plane. If you're curious, we're on a C-17...look if up if you're curious. MASSIVE, but we'll be in jump seats :)


See you on the other side! (of the Pacific pond :p)

Another Great Alaska Day...

So if you were curious, we didn't get on a flight again today...its very frustrating! There was only one flight, and a family of five got there before us with only seven seat left...but hey, thats how it works. We'll keep trying, eventually we have to get there, right? Ok, well I HAVE to get to Korea by June 14, otherwise I can't get to Spain, and that would be a problem...haha. On the bright side, it was gorgeous here today, and we went canoeing! Because it was so beautiful, I figured I'd share some pictures with you, for some variety. Enjoy! :)

Katie Playing Soccer...

the gorgeous view!

Canoeing...

a float plane landed while we were canoeing :)

If at First You Don't Succeed, Try Try Again

Obviously, I'm not on a flight to Japan right now, bummer! My hectic night last night turned into a great nights sleep, and I was finally ready to go - emotionally, psychologically, just everything was right...until this morning. Two flights turned into one flight to Yokota, and instead of 108 seats, there were only 5. On the plus side, the flight left later, so I got to sleep in :) However, when we (my mom, brother, and sister) got to the base terminal, only one seat was left, and none of us wanted to be stranded in Japan alone, waiting for everyone else to get there...


So this means that we're going to try again tomorrow, hopefully with better luck. There are three flights to Yokota tomorrow; the first is at 7:40 am. Yes, that means we'll be up early, but hey, at least we can sleep on the plane! I bought a comfy eye mask with ear plugs just in case, AND a very comfy compressible pillow :) Aahhh sweet dreams tomorrow, hopefully!


Hasta luego (haha I'm getting a little practice in!)

And here we go!

So its midnight on Friday night (Alaska time) and I'm still packing...oops. I guess thats what you get when you get notice 24 hours in advance that you have a flight option to Asia. Thats how the military works, and thats what we've got to work with, so I'm not complaining. Ok, I should probably have started by explaining how this all works, because we're not flying on a regular flight to Korea, but those lovely cargo military planes! Flying on these cargo planes is fun (I think) but a little hectic. You only get a 24 hour notice as to when/where flights are departing, and then you show up when they tell you to, and then MAYBE you get on a flight - kind of like standby flying on any airline. The other day, we could've flown to Hickam AFB in Hawaii (darn)! Well, my mom called this morning and low and behold, TWO flights are departing from Elmendorf Air Force Base right here in Anchorage to Yokota Air Base, Japan! Odds are, we'll get on, seeing as there are 54 seats open on each flight. However, you never know when flights need to get diverted, so we won't know until we get there if flying to Korea is an actuality - one of the first tests of my adaptability! 


Heres the cool thing about this, even though we aren't going directly to South Korea - Yokota Air Base is right outside of Tokyo. So even though we won't be seeing my dad right away, we'll still be in a different country and possibly get the chance to explore (depending on the flight availability to Osan Air Base in Korea). Now, we all want to get to Korea as fast as possible, but I don't mind having a few extra "field trips" along the way!


So now that my summer adventure is here - I mean, in less than 24 hours I could be on an airplane over the Pacific, I'm actually starting to get a little nervous. I've never been anywhere outside of North America, so this is a brand new experience for me. I love planes, but have never flown on one for 8ish hours (at one time). I love the ocean, but have never flown over it...all of these things that keep running through my mind! I'm going to miss having friends and family just a phone call away (or cheap phone calls), and I'm definitely going to miss being able to effectively communicate with people all the time. However, at the same time I'm sooo excited. I can't wait to be able to experience a whole new culture (or multiple!), sample the local food, and see all of the amazing sights! I can't wait to break out of my shell a little bit and expose myself to so many new experiences - I can't wait to see how much I grow from this experience. Now, that means leaving everything comfortable behind, and its a little hard for a homebody like me, but I can't wait...even though I'm nervous. So I guess thats how I'm feeling - a jumbled up mess of emotions ranging from scared out of my mind to what the hell were you thinking to being so excited I probably won't be able to sleep tonight. Not that I mind - I do need to finish the book I'm reading before the flight so I don't have to lug it around! 


I promise that if I'm allowed to take pictures inside the plane (I hope!) I'll post them, because its a first for me! Well, not flying standby, but taking one of these military hops. I promise to post Facebook pictures and pictures on this blog as often as I can, so there is something else to distract you amazing readers from my boring thoughts and memories ;) 


So I guess its off to Elmendorf AFB tomorrow, and we'll see how it all goes...


Hopefully I'll be in Japan next blog post! Cross your fingers!

I should spend my time doing better things...

Because I have finals coming up, naturally I'm attempting my first blog posting. Logical, right? I guess I can count this as a "study break" even though I've probably taken way to many today. Oh well, life goes on. I think some of my distractions have been caused by my wandering thinking, about my fabulous, fantastic summer. If you don't know, in T minus 4 days I will be flying home to picturesque Alaska, where I will be dropping some stuff off and picking up three other travelers (on a little part of the journey anyway). After Katie and Matt get done with school, my Mom and the three of us will be off to Seoul, South Korea to visit my handsome Dad stationed over there. How are we going to get there??? No idea. Thanks to the military, we can fly for free! Not that we ever know when we're leaving, or how we're going to get there. This will be my first practice with "rolling with the punches" - not one of my strongest qualities. We could fly direct, we could fly to Japan, and then wait to go to Korea...and the list goes on. Oh, and to top it all off - we'll be flying in a C-17 most likely. So not your typical trans-Pacific jet, but an actual, green, cargo carrying plane. No flight attendants, no in-flight movies, just you, your metal seat, and the precious cargo that actually needs to get to your destination. Hey, at least its a cool story! 

I have no idea what we're going to do once we get to Seoul. Again, a "rolling with the punches" exercise. All I know is I want FRESH sushi and a knockoff Gucci purse...or two. There are grandiose palaces and picturesque parks, malls, and museums! Of course, I'm the only one that wants to go there :( My Dad also has some ideas of what he wants to do, so I'm sure we'll be able to stay busy. After all, Seoul has over 12 MILLION people in it! Needless to say, this girl has never been much for a sprawling metropolis such as that. I think the Cities only have what, like 3.5 million? And I thought that was big. To top it off, I have NO idea how to speak Korean! This, of course, will be interesting.

After my mom and siblings leave to get back to the real world, I get to enjoy some more Dad time before my next destination - Spain! I am officially enrolled at La Fundación Ortega y Gasset in Toledo, Spain. I will be studying there for about six weeks, finishing my spanish minor and immersing myself in the culture. What fun classes will I be taking? Spanish Linguistics, Spanish Art and Architecture, and Master Painters of Spain...way better than organic chemistry, let me tell you! Toledo is a walled city, with Muslim, Christian, and Jewish influences, making it a rich and diverse culture. A cool fact? The phrase "Holy Toledo" is a reference to Toledo, Spain, and all of the mosques, Cathedrals, and synagogues there. Toledo is about 89 kilometers, or 55 miles away from Madrid, which provides for plenty sightseeing trips! Oh, and the cool thing about taking art classes in Spain? You go to the painter's houses, or the museums dedicated to their work. El Greco was from Toledo, and our class goes to his house! How cool :) The only thing I'm nervous about is actually using the spanish I know. I mean, its one thing to speak it in class, but its something totally different when you have to speak it 24/7. I'll be staying with a host family, so I hope that I'll at least be able to chit chat! Oh, and I'm definitely excited for authentic spanish cuisine. Maybe I'll bring a few recipes back! 

After studying, I'm planning on spending a week traveling around to Barcelona, Seville, Málaga, wherever the wind take me. Then, its back to Korea for a little while, back to Anchorage for a little while, and then finally back to Minneapolis, where I will again delay studying for exams...ahh such is the life!

If you can't tell, I'm SOOOOOO excited for this summer! Besides going to Canada on a great family roadtrip (haha you know the stories) I really haven't had much experience abroad, so this summer I'll "become international" so to speak, and I'm excited to share my experiences!

Here's a link to my program information: http://www.umabroad.umn.edu/programs/EUROPE/toledo/index.html