From Ghana to Japan

I can’t believe I’m halfway around the world from where I was 2 days ago…all the way in Japan. The past few days have been beyond hectic, and its finally starting to catch up with me. I am not yet sick, but feel as though I will be if I don’t get some serious R&R these next few days. I’ve been taking my vitamins and Emergen-C, and slept a full night last night, so I’m well on my way…

Just to update on my disaster, I was supposed to leave Ghana on Friday night, arrive in SFO on Saturday, and leave SFO on Sunday to arrive in Japan on Monday. Since KLM (officially the worst airline ever—I highly recommend you never fly them) overbooked my flight, I couldn’t get out of Accra until Saturday, which pushed everything back a day. Though they gave me a voucher to make up for it, I still had to pay JAL $150 to change my ticket to Japan to Monday, and I missed the first day of my seminar and free dinner with the group. It really sucks. Lesson: Don’t ever fly KLM, especially to Africa. The difference in the flights to/from Amsterdam and to/from Accra is really ridiculous. I have never seen such a pitiful operation run by an airline before…in Accra we sat on the runway for an hour while about 12 KLM attendants counted who was on the plane and tried to figure out seats because apparently one person had checked in and hadn’t shown up. Anyway, enough with my rants about KLM.

So now that I’m here in Japan, the difference in the “developed” and “developing” world is really so staggering. I’ve gone from maybe having hot water to having a hot water heater under my bathroom sink in my dorm room that I can switch on and off as I please. Instead of riding a taxi for ~ $2 USD to get anywhere in the city, I’m now paying about $2USD per subway/train ride on what is probably the worlds’ most efficient transportation system. I miss Ghanaian Red-Red (plantains and bean stew) already, but I especially miss the prices. Last night I ate at a tempura fast food shop for about $6USD. That would have bought a feast of tilapia and kelewele in Ghana.

Anyway, I am super exhausted, but really happy to be here. It feels good to be back in Japan, and I’m pretty comfortable here by myself. I went shopping for a towel and stuff at the dollar store and ate alone and everything when I first got in yesterday (it was almost a 3 hour trip from the airport to the dorm—I barely slept on the plane, so I was awake for like 23 straight hours!) and once everyone came back from dinner I was able to connect with them and say hello.

Today will be my first day of class, as we will commence our walking tours of the various neighborhoods of Tokyo. Should be fun, and I’m looking forward to it. Send me an email and I’ll send you my phone # here. I’ll be getting a cell phone today hopefully as well.

Signing off…