Funny story . . .
So the night before I had to catch my flight back home I made plans to pack away my things so that my dorm manager could check my room and I could leave right away the following morning. He was fine with this and so was I (waking up at 6 AM just to check a stupid room is convenient to no one). I hammered away at my things, throwing them into this bag or that pocket. Trouble was I only had two suitcases . . . one big one small . . . AND TOO MANY SOUVENIRS!!!
A paralyzing realization hit me that I would not be able to get home with all of my things unless I had an extra suitcase but because it was already after 8 PM there was no way any store in the area that sold suitcases would be open by the time I got to them.
Trying my best to remain calm I kept reassuring myself that I could handle this situation and tears would solve nothing. But, me being the worry-wart that I am I reached full panic mode in minutes and, surrounded by all the things that had yet to be put away, I called Kyri who was out escorting her visiting grandmother to her hotel. With no one to keep me sane I resorted to sharing my anxiety on Facebook hoping someone would reach out with much needed advice. Lo and behold, Megan graced my status with the most amazing news I had ever heard - her host mom would give me a suitcase!
At first I was shocked and was not sure how I would get the suitcase back to the woman but Megan assured me that I could in fact keep the suitcase and that I need only come the one train stop over to pick it up. I rushed out the door and down the block to the train station and hoped that the bag would be big enough to help me out. She met me outside the turnstiles and showed me to her host mom's car and there it was . . . the savior suitcase!
This suitcase was in pretty decent shaped and man had it traveled (all of the checked bag stickers were still attached to it). I immediately asked her in Japanese how much to pay her because I felt that I should compensate her for her luggage. Megan's host mom looked me dead in the eyes and said to me in pure English that I did not have to do that. She went on to tell me that the suitcase had been given to her from a friend for the exact same reason and that it was very apropos that I should need one. It was at that moment that the flood gates opened and I could not stop myself from crying as I thanked her. She laughed and hugged me and said she would tell her friend how thankful I was and that everything would be alright. Megan joined our hug fest briefly and then I went on my way. Crisis averted. Luckily the repacking process was successful (obviously), although there were a few casualties in the form of gym shoes and other miscellany but otherwise I was just happy to have the important things put away.
The following morning I arose with the intent to get out and catch the train to the bus stop no later than 6:30 AM. Unfortunately Kyri had not gotten up yet and we were seriously running out of time. Hurriedly returning my keys and giving the manager a special thank you letter that I wrote,
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| Don't judge if it is incorrect! |
we stumbled out the door and down the bumpy streets towards the train. The time for the first train soon approaching it hit me that I would not be able to manage these three suitcases on my own all the way to the bus. It just so happens that there was a taxi waiting outside the station at which time Kyri and I exchanged glances and agreed that it would be best if I hopped inside. I didn't care the cost I just didn't want to be sweaty on my journey home.
One 4,800 yen taxi ride and one 30 minute bus ride later I arrived at Narita Airport to await the welcome/goodbyes of great friends. I ended up paying an additional $150 for my over-sized bags but like I said I didn't really care at that point. My best guy friend Mak met me along with Hono, Yumi, Moe, and Hitomi (a few of the e-pals). Mak treated me to breakfast from the restaurant that he worked at called Soup Stock Tokyo (really freaking amazing soup)
and we all sat around talking, taking pictures, and then walking around trying to avoid thinking about the inevitable.
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| Hitomi, Yumi and Hono - amazing girls :) |
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| Moe - so so cute! |
When it came time for me to go through security and leave them all behind (at least for now) I did my best to suck it up and not cry (because I am a crier and its really annoying that I show emotion so readily, lol). Each one of them gave me a letter/gift, parting words, and hugs. I will never forget our big group hug and how much I knew I would miss them all (or the random celeb that showed up and was being swarmed nearby). Going down the stairs past security I got in the appropriate line for checking passports where they took my residency card, punched a hole through the date and removed me from their system forever (kinda sad and dramatic but hey, it happens).
After all of that I finally made it onto the plane and on the long flight home. I am so glad to have experienced the things that I did and met the people I met along the way because they all changed the way I look at things a little bit and I very much appreciate the marks they have all left on my life. I will do my best to stay in touch with as many of them as I can in the hopes that we grow as better friends and can make use of one another in future travels. As always じゃまた!
