It's okay. Just keep going.
Keiko took me all the way to the gate of Kansai Airport. Before I went through security we ate udon and mini katsudon at a restaurant. As I gathered up my things after security I waved to Keiko, watched her start home and I headed for my gate. I was 40 minutes early, but they were already boarding. Good thing I went early or I might be in Osaka still. I looked for seat 9A and found it next seat 9B which was occupied by a silent, lump of a business man who didn't even help me when I was struggling to put my huge bag in the overhead bin. I was all nervous and pumped up with that adrenaline that it wasn't all that difficult...I became the Hulk for a moment. I hurred into my seat, shed all my layers and zoned out staring out the tiny window at a tiny man on the ground.
I read my book. I was sick yesterday so I laid around and almost finished the thing...I left a little for the train and plane trip, though. However, I didn't realize it would read so fast! I have one page for tonight. One page. How did that happen? And it doesn't feel at ALL like it should be the end, so I'm worried I'll be disappointed by the end...because then I might start my bad habit of reading books till there are ten pages or so left...so I wont have to read a disappointing ending. By the time I go to sleep tonight I will have read 6 books because I wanted to (Sons, House Divided, The Help, Incredibly Loud and Extremely Close, The Road, and Norwegian Wood). I read the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy this summer (becuase of Zach, THAAANKS!!!) but before that, the last time I've read so much was when we were on the Appalachian Trail. After reading books for school, I really just don't have energy, interest and ususally time to read for myself so I'm trying to get it all out of the way in Japan. I'm going to look for Water for Elephants next. I saw the movie...I think the book will be WAY better.
The clouds were fantastic. The only thing like it that I can think of are the glaciers I saw in Alaska. I have honestly never seen any clouds like that from above before...as we were descending through a few open patches in the clouds I could catch a shoreline etched below. I thought something seemed strange, like something was missing. When we broke through the clouds and crossed over the sea and over the onto the land, I realized what it was. The lack of color. It was black and white. The white of snow and black of anything else that was visible. Another thing was strange. It didn't look like Japan to me. I've heard people say especially in Kyushu that Hokkaido seems more like America...or at least not like the rest of Japan. And even from high up in the sky I could see it was off. There were huge farms. Large forrests. The farms all seemed to be for horses. In one place I saw the little black figures of horses all standing in the snow. The barns looked straight up out of Ohio itself. I even saw what I thought were silos. Rounded fence rings for horses... It was kind of confusing. My mind was going between "wow, this looks like home! I'm going home!" and "so this is what Hokkaido looks like?" I wondered to myself how I'd feel if this was Hopkins we were circling around to, that these were real Ohio farms...American soil...I have no idea how I'm going to feel going home. Probably torn...between happiness of seeing all the people I love and miss and the land that I have come to love here.
Until then.
All fantasies of home evaporated when we hit the ground. I glanced over at the lumpy business man beside me, hadn't made a single sound the entire time.
After I got off the plane at the New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, I got on a train to take me to the central station in Sapporo. Snowy scenery passed the window, the early evening sun pouring golden streams of light over the landscape and making the snow twinkle. Some people on the train near me were really excited to see the snow. A little girl asked her mom "This is snow?" I guess it was her first time to see so much of it. Even in Osaka they hardly get more than 6 inches like every ten years or something. There was at least a three feet thick layer of snow piled around everywhere around us. Winter.
After that I got onto a subway line to Hiragashi Station where I saw my Couch Surfing Host waiting for me at the gate. She is English, so she was pretty easy to spot among all the asian people...She took me to the adorable apartment that she is lending to me for the next few days. It is where she teaches English, but also lets couchsurfers stay. It's perfect with a sink and toilet and bath, internet and a place to throw down some futons. Comfy cozy. Not to mention there is a HEATER. I've basically been living without normal central heating since...yeah, like since I was in Ohio last winter. There are space heaters and things to fill up one room with a lovely cloud of warmth and also the kotatsu which is probably one of the bext inventions EVER...but other than that...cold cold cold. So, pretty sweet if you ask me. My host, Amanda, was having a family dinner tonight and promised to meet me for dinner tomorrow or Tuesday. That's fine with me. The super market was a two minute walk away from the apartment, so, hungry as I was I walked there and gathered up some food (yogurt for breakfast, bananas, one apple, chocolate (YEAH), an obento, salad and tea). I don't think I've ever been in this kind of situation ever before - where I am in complete control. Well, technically, that's not true. I'm sure people will say you are in complete control all the time! But here, these next few days, I can eat what I want when I want, sleep when I want, however much I want, DO whatever I want whenever I want...cool. I'm not going to go crazy...I'm just not that exciting:) I'm going to try and do a lot of walking, see beautiful things, take a lot of photos, eat Sapporo food, see Sapporo sites...Taking it easy (not that I haven't been taking it easy for four months now). Just me and the city. Sleep and dream and eat and walk all alone. I kind of wish someone were with me, but, hey, there's not really a better way to get to know yourself better than spending some days with only yourself for company. Delightful.
Tomorrow is my first adventure day.
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