Taiwan!
Yes! I arrived safely in Taiwan. I kind of didn't think I would for a while there, but thanks to the incredible kindness of some strangers on my way to the airport, I made it with time to spare.
Leaving the house was... interesting. I had the definite feeling that my host mother was kicking me out. To some extent, I suppose I understand why she acted that way, since my leaving at 1:00 made her late for her Saturday Chinese class. Still, I was expecting a slightly less "good-riddance" like feeling from the goodbye -_-;;;
I went out in the morning to run some errands, and as a result didn't come back until 12:30. When I tried to vacuum the room and leave it clean for the next student, my host mother came up the stairs and said "Don't bother with cleaning, you don't have the time. Get your stuff together so you can go."
In retrospect, I suppose that sounds like the words of a concerned parent. However, since I had six hours to get to the airport, I was kind of thrown by the "you don't have the time." Also, the way that she monitored me to make sure I was packing kind of freaked me out a bit. O_o
Anyway, I got my stuff together and headed out around 1:00 with my host mother walking her bike alongside me and carrying one of my carry-on luggages.
I am so relieved I mailed my large suitcases to the airport. It was a dire mistake to choose to carry the other check-in baggage, because those 20 kg were hell on my arms. I guess it didn't help that I was carrying a heavy backpack and another carry-on piece either. My arms and back still haven't recovered from that bout of self-imposed torture. God, I'm a moron.
Anyway, I thought that with a good 6 hour cushion before my flight take-off, I would arrive at the airport with plenty of time to spare. Boy, was I wrong. I think it was mostly due to my less than prudent idea to carry that check-in duffel bag. Apparently, the trains to the airport only come about once every half-hour, if that, so if you miss one....
I missed three of them.
By the time I hit the very last changeover at Narita station where I needed to take the Narita line to the Narita Airport station, it was 4:00, and I thought I needed to be at the airport at 4:35. The next train heading for the airport didn't come until 4:27. I thought I was screwed
But, while I was freaking out internally, I saw this man looking at the time schedule. I went up to him and asked him how long he thought it would take to get to the airport from Narita station - around 20 minutes. Then he mentioned that he was also going to miss his flight if he didn't get there soon, so maybe we should split the fare of a taxi.
Now granted, climbing into a taxi with a total stranger is probably not the best of ideas. I was even aware of this. I remember thinking: I don't know this guy. It would be unwise of me to get in a taxi with him because who knows where we'd end up.
And then I said "Sure."
So... how am I still alive at my age? You'd think that social Darwinism would have killed me off a long time ago.
Thankfully, he really was just late for his plane, so we ran into this taxi and rushed off to the airport. I leaned that he was part Chinese, part Japanese, and part Philippinean (is that a word?) but he lived in America and his first language was English. At this point, I started wondering why we kept speaking in Japanese.
Ah well.
When we arrived at the airport, he handed me 3000 yen and told me the taxi driver had said it would cost about 3500 yen to make it to the airport, so all I had to do was foot the 500 yen, and the cab fare would be taken care of. I tried to split the cost evenly, but he told me not to worry about it. I felt really guilty, but he got off at the terminal before me, and I never had the chance to dig the money out of the luggage in the trunk.
So then it was just me in the taxi, and the taxi driver struck up a conversation with me. For once, I got to speak with an older generation Japanese male who actually made the effort to speak clearly and distinctly so I could understand what he was saying. He even simplified his words so we could carry on a normal conversation. I loved that taxi driver. He was awesome.
We got stuck in traffic on the way up to my terminal since there were so many people getting ready to leave for vacation. I think the fare ended up being about 3400 yen or so, but as I got out of the car, the taxi driver was like... let's make it 3000 yen. I tried to pay him more, but he wouldn't have it either. He was just like, "You have a plane to catch! Don't worry about it. Go!"
Man, those people made my day. I got the the aiport by 4:25, and thankfully even found the time to do some last-minute omiyage shopping for my relatives in Taiwan. ^_^V
The plane ride was fairly short, but interesting. I ended up sitting next to the exit seat which has a lot more leg room than other seats. Yes! And also, I discovered that I shared a mutual friend with the guy who sat next to me, Calvin. Even though the went to the University of Illinois, he knew a lot of people from Texas. He even went down to visit a few months ago. Small world.
Finally, I arrived in Taiwan. And I have not stopped eating since I arrived -_-;;; I don't think I need to worry about the flight home. With all the fat I'm going to put on over the next few weeks, I'll be able to float and roll my way back home, destroying several ecosystems in the process. Iris will be so proud.
Currently, I'm staying at my aunt's house so I really need to get off the computer soon, and I probably won't have much chance to update. For those who'd like to know though, I'll most likely be back on the 15th, so make sure you're home so I can come visit you!!
Leaving the house was... interesting. I had the definite feeling that my host mother was kicking me out. To some extent, I suppose I understand why she acted that way, since my leaving at 1:00 made her late for her Saturday Chinese class. Still, I was expecting a slightly less "good-riddance" like feeling from the goodbye -_-;;;
I went out in the morning to run some errands, and as a result didn't come back until 12:30. When I tried to vacuum the room and leave it clean for the next student, my host mother came up the stairs and said "Don't bother with cleaning, you don't have the time. Get your stuff together so you can go."
In retrospect, I suppose that sounds like the words of a concerned parent. However, since I had six hours to get to the airport, I was kind of thrown by the "you don't have the time." Also, the way that she monitored me to make sure I was packing kind of freaked me out a bit. O_o
Anyway, I got my stuff together and headed out around 1:00 with my host mother walking her bike alongside me and carrying one of my carry-on luggages.
I am so relieved I mailed my large suitcases to the airport. It was a dire mistake to choose to carry the other check-in baggage, because those 20 kg were hell on my arms. I guess it didn't help that I was carrying a heavy backpack and another carry-on piece either. My arms and back still haven't recovered from that bout of self-imposed torture. God, I'm a moron.
Anyway, I thought that with a good 6 hour cushion before my flight take-off, I would arrive at the airport with plenty of time to spare. Boy, was I wrong. I think it was mostly due to my less than prudent idea to carry that check-in duffel bag. Apparently, the trains to the airport only come about once every half-hour, if that, so if you miss one....
I missed three of them.
By the time I hit the very last changeover at Narita station where I needed to take the Narita line to the Narita Airport station, it was 4:00, and I thought I needed to be at the airport at 4:35. The next train heading for the airport didn't come until 4:27. I thought I was screwed
But, while I was freaking out internally, I saw this man looking at the time schedule. I went up to him and asked him how long he thought it would take to get to the airport from Narita station - around 20 minutes. Then he mentioned that he was also going to miss his flight if he didn't get there soon, so maybe we should split the fare of a taxi.
Now granted, climbing into a taxi with a total stranger is probably not the best of ideas. I was even aware of this. I remember thinking: I don't know this guy. It would be unwise of me to get in a taxi with him because who knows where we'd end up.
And then I said "Sure."
So... how am I still alive at my age? You'd think that social Darwinism would have killed me off a long time ago.
Thankfully, he really was just late for his plane, so we ran into this taxi and rushed off to the airport. I leaned that he was part Chinese, part Japanese, and part Philippinean (is that a word?) but he lived in America and his first language was English. At this point, I started wondering why we kept speaking in Japanese.
Ah well.
When we arrived at the airport, he handed me 3000 yen and told me the taxi driver had said it would cost about 3500 yen to make it to the airport, so all I had to do was foot the 500 yen, and the cab fare would be taken care of. I tried to split the cost evenly, but he told me not to worry about it. I felt really guilty, but he got off at the terminal before me, and I never had the chance to dig the money out of the luggage in the trunk.
So then it was just me in the taxi, and the taxi driver struck up a conversation with me. For once, I got to speak with an older generation Japanese male who actually made the effort to speak clearly and distinctly so I could understand what he was saying. He even simplified his words so we could carry on a normal conversation. I loved that taxi driver. He was awesome.
We got stuck in traffic on the way up to my terminal since there were so many people getting ready to leave for vacation. I think the fare ended up being about 3400 yen or so, but as I got out of the car, the taxi driver was like... let's make it 3000 yen. I tried to pay him more, but he wouldn't have it either. He was just like, "You have a plane to catch! Don't worry about it. Go!"
Man, those people made my day. I got the the aiport by 4:25, and thankfully even found the time to do some last-minute omiyage shopping for my relatives in Taiwan. ^_^V
The plane ride was fairly short, but interesting. I ended up sitting next to the exit seat which has a lot more leg room than other seats. Yes! And also, I discovered that I shared a mutual friend with the guy who sat next to me, Calvin. Even though the went to the University of Illinois, he knew a lot of people from Texas. He even went down to visit a few months ago. Small world.
Finally, I arrived in Taiwan. And I have not stopped eating since I arrived -_-;;; I don't think I need to worry about the flight home. With all the fat I'm going to put on over the next few weeks, I'll be able to float and roll my way back home, destroying several ecosystems in the process. Iris will be so proud.
Currently, I'm staying at my aunt's house so I really need to get off the computer soon, and I probably won't have much chance to update. For those who'd like to know though, I'll most likely be back on the 15th, so make sure you're home so I can come visit you!!