Tokyo: freshman orientation & luggage problems

Hello from Tokyo!

I'm here at a huge fancy hotel for post-arrival orientation. Flashbacks to freshman orientation at college...long lines, paperwork, and the same conversation many times over ("Hi, where are you from? Where have you been placed? Have you been to Japan before?")

It seems like much longer ago than just 3 days that I arrived in Chicago to meet up with 260 other JETs from the midwest to fly over here. My sister Amanda & her family drove me to Madison where I caught a bus to O'hare, then an airport shuttle to our hotel. After wrestling with my 4 heavy bags I thought I may have over packed. My sisters & room mate know how much preparation went into my strategy for packing my bags...we were allowed to check 2 bags at the airport & had 2 carry-ons. When we arrived in Tokyo we were supposed to keep one suitcase with us for these few days & the other bag would be shipped to our respective apartments. Our time in Tokyo is formal so I put my dress clothes into my "Tokyo suitcase" and stuck most everything else into my "apartment suitcase." My carry-ons were mostly crammed with books (to avoid even higher charges from the airline for overweight checked luggage).

Our flights went fine, besides being slightly delayed from Chicago to Detroit, things were fairly uneventful. The 13 hours in a 747 was bearable for me, even the last 6 without water in the plane (a faulty gauge apparently blamed for the insufficient amount). But, we made it & were thrilled to finally be in Japan. My passport was stamped & I got a big cart to haul my luggage. I waited with other JETs at the baggage carousel. My purple duffel bag (my "apartment suitcase") was yanked off the belt & loaded onto my cart. I waited for my "Tokyo suitcase"...and waited...and waited. There were fewer and fewer bags circling, then only one, then none.

Somehow, after all the flights I've taken, and all the times my luggage has been lost (my sister Rachel refuses to travel with me because of my frequent bad luck with lost luggage), I still don't pack a good carry-on. I had my books, knitting, pajamas, toothbrush, and thankfully my dirty clothes I'd worn in Chicago. That's it. My bag that did arrive had odds & ends in it--not formal clothes for our days in Tokyo. So, now I sit in the hotel wearing the same business-casual outfit I wore in Chicago and my Chacos (sandals). I washed my shirt out last night in the bathroom sink & plan to do the same tonight. And maybe my "Tokyo suitcase" will arrive in Tokyo before I leave for my apartment early Wednesday morning.

For now, it's back to freshman orientation.