Becoming International :): 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!