Heading Home

So, as you all have probably heard at this point, our classes here at JCMU have been suspended and they're forcing us to leave. Yesterday people started opting to leave, including a few of my friends. But today, we all have to go. In case you're wondering, the situation has not suddenly worsened or anything...in fact, since the nuclear plants up north have restored power, life is now a lot better than it was. WE ARE FINE. But, because parents are freaking out and other universities are pulling their students out, JCMU had no choice to follow suit. I don't blame the staff here; it's not their doing and they didn't want us to leave. I am furious, though. Furious at the American media for making it sound like we're being irradiated and suffering terribly, regardless of where we are. Furious at the MSU office for informing our parents of everything before telling us a thing, and for also not providing any monetary assistance to change flights. And furious that my semester in Japan must be cut short. There were lots of things I still wanted to do before leaving this country, and now I won't get to do them. Among others, I won't make it to Tokyo or get to see the cherry blossoms in bloom or see my homestay family (or, more than likely, my conversation partner) again. It's very sad.

My flight is scheduled for the 24th. I will be flying to Singapore and spending 4 days with my friend Katie, and I will arrive home in Dallas on the 29th around 8. Thankfully, my flight was not hard to change - I basically shifted up my flights a few weeks. So, here's my connection scheme:
Nagoya->Narita (Tokyo) -> Singapore
Singapore -> Narita -> Minneapolis -> Dallas
My trip to the airport won't be too lonely...Brad and I are going to Nagoya for flights on the same day and the 2 of us and my roommate Amanda will all be laying over in Narita at the same time, so we can hang out while waiting for our flights. And then, I get to see Katie for a while. So there are a few bright spots to this frustrating, frustrating week.

What am I doing until Thursday? Well, since we have no classes, we're going traveling. It's basically a whirlwind tour of the area - we're hitting Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara, as well as Nagoya on our way out of the country. Because why the heck not? I might as well enjoy my last week here.

I hope your weekend goes well. Most likely, it's much better than mine.