One more week...

Hello! You found the compass!


       There are only 8 days until I depart from my school at 3AM and head to the airport that will take me to Japan (with a stop in Washington D.C. just for fun).

       Our class today was very short. We mostly filled out waivers that removed M.C.L.A. from responsibility should we get injured in an earthquake or something along those lines. The teacher gave us a couple of websites to check out that are geared toward tourists and giving us places to go. I visited one of them and began furiously writing down a large list of all of the places I'd like to see while in Tokyo. Packing everything into the two free days that we get will take some careful planning, but I think it might be do-able.

       I got a nifty suitcase last weekend! That's one problem solved. Now all there is to do is let T.D. Bank know when I will be in Japan and, of course, pack.

       Since two other students and I signed up late for this trip, we are on a different plane to Newark than the rest of the group. (Luckily, we're on the same plane as everyone else from Newark to Tokyo.) Anyway, we have to leave an hour earlier than the rest of the group. Tonight we decided that the three of us could hang out in the townhouse together before leaving. It will be fun and no sleep will occur!

No.

       There isn't too much to say for this entry. I suppose I could list the places that I want to go, but hopefully you'll see them later anyway (with PICTURES).


       I think the most exciting discovery/realization I've made (and am geekishly giddy about) is that we will be in the Kanto region of Japan. Now, I watched and played Pokemon when I was younger. In fact, I still do pick up the game and I started re-watching the series during Freshman year (didn't get far). For those who don't know, Pokemon takes place in an area called Kanto. When I discovered that Kanto was in fact a real region of Japan that we would be staying in, I got very happy. But there's more! In many Pokemon games, you start off in a town called Pallet Town. WELL, it turns out that there is a mall in the Kanto region (Odaiba, to be precise) called Palette Town. Yes, the spelling is different, but for the Pokemon geek in me it is close enough.

A rough representation of my mind when in Palette Town.

     There is also a Pokemon Center in Akihabara that I will most definitely be visiting.

    Oyasuminasai!