;Phew, I made it

---

Alrighty well first things first... these last couple of weeks have been, well exciting to say the least. Had a great last couple of nights in the states, thanks guys. It definitely helped me sleep a little more on the plane. Oh- that was a b#tch. In Minn. we got stuck on the airplane for over 3 hours on the runway because something was BROKE with our plane. yeah, that’s real comforting. But after we finally got in the air i started to read *the notebook* omg - the saddest book ever! i was surrounded by these poor Koreans, and here i was this little American girl on a flight to Tokyo, balling my eyes out for the last 200 pages. lol - it was real bad. im sure they were like, crazy American... who are we sitting by? But the rest of the 14 hour flight went well, and actually talked to the Koreans a bit and made them think that i wasn’t as crazy as i started off looking. haha.

Then there was tokyo with 100 people to direct us and fly us through customs. they didnt even look twice at us. it was amazing. 150 + people got out of the airport and onto our buses within 30 minutes of landing. it was the most impressive thing i think i:ve ever seen. The 5 star tokyo hotel we stayed at was extremely nice for a couple of nights. Yep, met some aussies and we went out to karaoke. Its not like in the states where you go to a bar and have to sing in front of everyone. You rent out a room for an hour or so and sing with your friends. Its actually a much more intimate scene and absolutely hilarious! 　Tokyo, is an interesting city. It look and feels a lot like New York. Having the large towers, people EVERYWHERE, but the streets you could eat off of. That really is the most surprising thing. I think I have seen three or four pieces of trash lying around. I don’t know why we have to take off our shoes before we come in side, because really inside is as clean as outside.

So, Ill to cut the story down so I don’t get fired for sitting in front of the computer all day long. I somehow have made it to Tamano, Japan, which happens to be this beautiful little port town. I think it’s about 40,000 people or so. So much bigger than what Im used to. There is a beach here which is about 30 minutes away on our bikes (the school gives you bikes), and there is a ferry that runs 24/7 to the island not too far away that keeps hopping till the break of dawn. So really, Im a lucky bastard who’s got this huge apartment minutes away from the beach and 24 hour transportation. If only I could speak the language. But Im working on it. I can now write my name. Say hello, goodbye, can ask directions (which is a must, I found out a little too late), and can order food. I’ve got one of the scripts down (hiragana)　just three more to go. Wahoo… Soon i:ll buy a camara and will be posting pictures of my adventures. Can:t wait to hear from all of you. Love - Ashley

---

Comments

[michael z]

wow
hey ashley! it all sounds so beautiful and amazing. have you seen any kodamas? any totoros? totoro!!!

[Maliho]

genki desuka?
Hey dude, how's everything going? Just wanted to drop a line and say, awesome stories! Write when you have time.