Pre-Japan Thoughts:

1. I expect to survive to the long flights. The longest one I’ve ever had so far was 6 hours and I was about to lose my mind at 5.5 hours. The one tomorrow is 12 hours and I can’t sleep on flights. I might pick up some benadryl to self-medicate. I have Jiro Dreams of Sushi, one season from Anthony Bourdain, one Masterpiece Theatre season, a lot of music… etc. All downloaded. The iPad is crammed.
2. I want to experience what it’s like to be the foreigner. I’ve always been the local. Even visiting places in the US, you can feel like a stranger but not like an alien, and this will be the first time that I will look, feel, and sound completely different than almost everyone else around me. I won’t know the language. I won’t be able to even guess at the language. This is a little scary but also awesome. There are so many people who deal with this every. single. day. and not for the purpose of vacation or marathons. They do it because they have no choice, because it was the best option out there, because the place where they looked like everyone else and where they knew the language was too dangerous. I get the luxury of experiencing it without worrying about money, food, or companionship — but I hope I’ll get a peek into the daily lives of others, and I hope that raises my awareness and sensitivity to them.
3. I’m excited/terrified to let go and try things. But I just tried skiing, and that was awesome. So maybe I’ll try pickled vegetables.
4. I wonder if I’ll be able to watch the Olympics in English.
5. I will have to navigate the Tokyo trains myself. I’ll know where I’m going, and I’ll have a map. My guy and I will have taken the exact same route several days earlier. It won’t be completely out of the blue, but those trains are BUSY and it’s entirely possible that I get lost. Part of me finds this just scary enough to say no way, but the bigger part of me says damn straight, bring it on. I’ve done the NYC subway, I’ve mastered the BART. Tokyo will be a challenge but I can do this.
6. I’m really looking forward to seeing Tokyo and taking a ton of pictures. My guy was stationed there for awhile so he has a lot to show me, and that’s really exciting. Having him as a travel companion is fantastic. We travel well together, and he knows where we’re going. We’re staying on American military bases while we’re there, and this is another huge psychological comfort — it won’t be like home, but it’ll be more like home than everything else.
7. My hope for every trip: I really. really. really. hope I don’t get sick.
8. Ocha, onegashimasu — Arigato! (Tea, please — thank you!)