Apologies are in order

*Edit: I wrote this a couple of days ago, but my Alaskan internet connection pooped out on me when I tried to post it, so I got mad, gave up and went to bed. So, here it is, a day late and a dollar short. Sorry, and I swear, I am still working on resizing my pictures. xoxo*

I am so sorry that I haven't posted since I've been back from Japan. I suffered greatly from jet lag for several days after I got back, and have hit the ground running with life-stuff around here, too. I just haven't had time or energy to organize and re-size all my pictures to get them up on the blog, but I will, I PROMISE!!

In short, Japan was truly an amazing, once in a lifetime experience. I don't know that I'll ever go back, but it was so worth it. Seeing Jake, of course, was the highlight. It felt so good to see him and just be able to talk with him face to face. :)

We went to Tokyo Disneyland, which was not as good as Disneyland USA. We rode the subway quite a bit, and tried to see the Imperial Palace, but apparently the Emperor didn't get the memo that we were coming. It was closed. Jenny and I did eventually see it, but not until after the ship left.

We got lost and hungry one night and asked a Policeman to point us in the direction of food (the entire conversation was in sign language, mind you). He said "Steak?" (The only english word he knew, apparently) and pointed us down the street. We walked and guess what appeared before our eyes? A TONY ROMA'S!!! It was hillarious! We didn't care at that point because we were so hungry, but it was pretty funny. The bonus was, that they spoke english in there, so we were able to get directions back to the subway station.

We did a lot of people watching, too. There seems to be two different sides to the Japanese people. The conservative/traditional/business side: Silly Americans! You talk too loud and laugh too much! Your suitcase too big and you walk wrong way up stairs in subway! (This is my perception of what they thought of me...and I didn't even laugh that much. Scout's honor.)
The other side is the side we saw at Disneyland and at the shopping mall: *giggle* I'm wearing ugg boots and thigh-high socks! *giggle* I LOVE my jean skirt and tunic shirt that's 12 sizes too baggy for me, and isn't my winter hat in his hot, humid weather so appropriate? *giggle* Well, at least the pom-pom's are cute, no? *giggle* Do you like my boyfriend's hot androgynous designer jeans and emo hair? It looks like he just got out of bed that way, but he actually spent more time on it than I did on mine! *giggle* I really wish he would stop borrowing my purse, though, and I thought he bought those Minnie Mouse ears for me, not for himself! *giggle* What a babe!

I also had a couple of epiphanies about humanity that ran the spectrum from "Wow, we're all human! It's not about being Japanese or American! It's all about just being a human being...peace, man!" to "Please can I just go back to the best country in the world, the USA!! I'm proud to be an American! It's the best, despite our problems right now, I have hope for our future!" I swear, I was not under the influence of any illicit substances during these times, either.
There are endless stories, and I could go on for hours, but I will spare you. If you want to hear more, you'll just have to call me. :P In all seriousness, though, Japan is a beautiful country and the people were hospitable and welcoming. I am so glad I went, and will remember it forever.
I'll post pictures sometime soon.

xoxo