lauren in japan

I have arrived in Fukuoka! !! !!!!!!!!! !!!

It is 8:53 p.m. here and 5:53 a.m. at home.

And I don’t know where to begin.

Everything has been dazelike and dreamyish.

The ride to DIA was the quickest anyone has gotten to any airport ever. The last view I had of my parents was them crouched under the escalator banging on the glass and making funny faces at me and I love them. I was distracted on the flight to San Francisco by a go-getter type of a gal that reminded me greatly of my grandma and I was happy to let her talk my ear off. Connected smoother than smoothly.

The flight to Nagoya was…something. I got emotional at times. But that subsided temporarily as I witnessed an evangelical cornerning. This lady actually followed a teen (with his malleable little mind) back to his seat (presumably after meeting him in the bathroom line question mark?) whilst talking about Jay-sus and then said a prayer for him at his seat so that everyone around could hear and then RETURNED later to give him a Christ book but he was sleeping. Cuckoo crazy woman. And the 7up can that I got was in Spanish and featured that really old “cool” guy logo from the 90’s. I only zonked out for about 20 minutes the whole time.

ANYWAY as soon as I got off the plane in Nagoya I knew things were going to be fine. I’m not sure why. I would have expected myself to be freaking. Absolutely no hint of panic attacks, minor or major, whatsoever, which is most surprising and delightful. Actually, maybe I do know why.

Maybe it’s because the Japanese were like HEY Lauren we’re the Japanese airport workers and we’re the most helpful and non-intimidating and pleasant people ever and we wear cute neck bows and help you pick up your suitcase because it’s off balance and falls all the time and welcome welcome everything is clean here and the bathrooms are cool and we have Pokemon on our planes and and and…I was like THANKS, JAPAN!

A smooth connection to Fukuoka. (I can’t believe I’m here and figured everything out by my lonesome and everything was perfectly fine and now I don’t have to fly again for at least several long months even though I was barely anxious on the plane at all!) Luggage made it here.

Everything reeks of humble perfection and efficiency.