Thursday, July 2, 2009

Because apparently the only way I can travel is in a whirlwind

I went to America last month for two weeks. It was one of the greatest three week vacations ever.
First, I visited Seattle. The guy next to me flirted during nearly the whole flight even with my constant coughing and Japanese-style mask. Sarah and her boyfriend Evan picked me up at the airport, then we had some Thai food for lunch (Pad Thai!), and saw Wolverine (Hugh Jackman!!!) before heading back to her apartment. They have the most amazing couches ever. I woke up early the next morning and went to church with Reid. Jen picked me up from church and we drove down to Tacoma. It's weird because exactly one year previously, she was visiting me in Japan. Anyway, I saw the school from 10 Things I Hate About You, and we walked down to the waterfront for pizza and beer (which were both twice the size and half as expensive as in Japan). Then we saw Sunshine Cleaners at a locally-owned theater, had another drink at the Ram, watched Slumdog Millionaire, and went to bed.
The next morning, Jen dropped me off at the AmTrak station, and I took a train south to Portland, then a bus to Salem. It's amazing that one hour in a bus used to feel like a long time. Of course, it was raining when I hit Salem, so I walked to the house in the rain. I spent essentially the rest of Monday in the house. It was amazing to spend time with everyone. I met the new members and felt really old, and had a chance to walk around to see the new furniture and decorations. Adam remembered me as "cherry muffin girl" because those were my favorite. Luckily, it was the last night of formal dinner, so I got to eat one of his amazing meals. Then, Erica, Kelsey, and I hung out in the lounge during formal chapter. Of course, we hit the Ram after the meeting (just like before), except now everyone's old enough to get a drink.
I spent most of the next day wandering around campus and visiting with professors and staff people, and had lunch with Cliff. That night, Alyssa and Kelsey T. hosted a party at their place. We had Cool Ranch Doritos and Black Cherry Vodka (not together, of course). The night ended amazingly with group spooning, and finally, grilled cheese and nachos at the house (yes, I felt sick the next morning from too much cheese).
On Wednesday, I visited one more professor and got some recommendations for books to read (Octavia Butler, highly recommended) before Kelsey and I drove up to Portland. She indulged me in some noodles (more Pad Thai!) and coffee at Powells before parting ways. Jeff met me at the book store and we had a drink with Chris and Liz before going back to his house. We had Thai food for dinner (Pad Thai for the third time and still wanted more), then drove over to Shane and Jessi's place (I thought she was in Hawaii, oops). We had delicious crepes, then went back to Jeff's. Josh shared some cider and we played darts before bed. Everyone left for work the next morning before me, and I locked the door behind me before realizing that I had forgotten my cell phone. Oops. Anyway, caught the bus then the MET to the airport and flew to Chicago.
Dan and Sabrina picked me up at the Chicago Airport. We had some issues getting out of the parking lot, but made it safely back to Dan's apartment. We ordered pizza and I met Dan's brother/roommate. Dan had to work the next day, so Sabrina showed me around the city. We visited the bean (a huge mirrored sculpture that looks like a bean), saw the Sears Tower and the Trump Tower, and walked on the beach (sand and waves, but a freshwater lake, not the ocean). We did some shopping and enjoyed a Reese's cupcake at the Hershey store before meeting Dan at work. Then Dan and I went to a birthday party at his friend's house on Shakespeare Street (I totally want to live there!). The next day, Dan and I visited his mom's apartment, and I played with his kitty. We had yummy gyros for lunch, and drove back to the city with a new bookshelf for Dan. That night, we went to a hipster party for his brother's birthday, which may have been the strangest party I've ever been to. A Chinese movie was projected onto a wall while the DJ (who was wearing a khaki Member's Only jacket) played 80s music. Fashion was interesting, hairstyles were interesting, and there was a dog. We ended the night/morning with breakfast at a 24-hour diner before napping for a few hours before my 9am flight.
Dan graciously escorted me to the airport the next morning, and I flew to New York via D.C. (land of delicious Five Brothers burgers). I arrived at 7, and we had Shabu Shabu at the same place we ate last time I visited. I met my sister's dog, Pickles, and mom and I drove back to our swanky cheap hotel in Manhattan. The next day, we drove out to pick up Evelyn (my sister), Collin (my sister's boyfriend) and Erica (my cousin). For some strange reason, I can't remember what we did on Monday, but we had steak for dinner and I spent that night at Erica's place in Brooklyn. On our way back to her apartment, we accidentally entered the Hudson Tunnel and ended up in New Jersey. Oops. We made it back, I did some laundry, and finally slept. The next morning, Erica and I went to Target before picking up mom, Evelyn, and Collin. We did a little shopping before seeing Shrek the Musical with Sutton Foster, John Tartaglia, and Chris Sieber. It was a lot of fun, and I had a really good time (of course, I got the soundtrack). Erica spent the night with us in the hotel, but Evelyn and Collin went back to their apartment. The next morning, we headed out to Yankee Stadium for Eva's graduation. 15,000 other people graduated, and Hillary Clinton gave a speech. We left before the chaos and went back to Manhattan. Everyone went to see a movie, but I spent two hours in Strand bookstore instead. For dinner, we went to Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. Everything on the menu was spicy, but the wine was good. I met up with Laura after dinner and we went out while Mom spent the night at Evelyn's (they live near the airport and she had an early flight the next day). I checked out of the hotel the next morning, wandered around the city on my own, and met Steve at Penn Station. We went to a bar and met Melissa, then headed back to New Jersey. The next morning, I visited one of Steve's schools, then he dropped me off at the airport. I flew back to D.C., then had a 14 hour flight straight back to Narita. We had to wait an extra 30 minutes after landing so health officials could check us all for a fever before we were cleared to leave the plane. I promptly called my boss and he gave me a week off work (so I wouldn't infect the children with a disease that I didn't have). So, that's the story of how I received three weeks of vacation for a two week trip to America. The End.

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