Sorry, campers, but I haven`t had the means nor the resources to blog until now. A combination of lack of internet, time, and sleep has required me to neglect my blogging duties. I know a lot of you are sitting, waiting on baited breath, for updates in regard to the glorious nation of Japan, and how one David Reed has managed himself in navigating it`s harsh current. To begin, we must go back to the very begining, before he even got on the boat.

Getting to the airport was hell and back, and this time it was neither the fault of my mother or I. The freaking Chicago Marathon was the day I left for Japan. If that comment leaves you puzzled, dear reader, allow me to explain. Mayor Dayley, along with his cabinet of advisors, in their infinite wisdom, decided the route of the marathon should be a giant circle around certain parts of Chicago. One of those parts was the neighborhood in which my house is located. What this amounts to is that there was literally no way for my mother`s car to leave lakeview, for multiple hours, due streets being blocked by the runner`s paths. My mother and I were in the car at 9 am in order to get to the airport by 10, to be two hours early to my noon flight. Considering the state of RST (Reed Standard Time; i.e. late), this was pretty freaking good. However, we preceded to drive around north clark and the surrounding side streets for 2 hours in an attempt to find a weak link in the marathon chain, but to no avail. Eventually (read: 11:30), the marathon was over enough to allow us onto lakeshore drive. One hour and one plane reservation change later, I was at the airport and in the clear, nevertheless stressed, anxious, and furious at the state of city affairs. I have heard that even besides the traffic situation, the marathon was alogistal nightmare, and one person died while 300 others were hospitalized due to lack of water available. Bravo Dayley, bravo.

Japan is cool. My dorm is lame, kind of. I have a sink in my room, which is good, but the room is small and the ceiling light is virtually useless. No one talks to anyone, much less to me. The school seems pretty good. I`m in sort of an easy class, which is a result of my vocabulary and that it differs from that of the school`s prescribed curriculum. The grammar is easy, probably too easy. Tokyo is fun. I haven`t explored enough to give a detailed account yet, what with orientation and that kind of stuff. I`ve only been in about three neighborhoods so far, but what I have seen is interesting.

More later, my time
here is coming to a close
like the leaves in fall