The journey begins. Well. Kinda...

A lot of people have been asking when I'm actually leaving.  And it's confusing.  As with most good programs, one must get oriented and meet a cohort before spending two weeks together.  Unlike things like the Real World or TV competitions.

Because I said, this is a good program.

So let's talk for a quick minute about... airline regulations and baggage and culture.

What, Monkee?  Yes.  Walk with me.

So, one of those fun things about airlines are regulations.  Traveling domestically, the maximum weight of checked baggage is 50 lbs.  That's true for traveling to Japan.  Easy enough, right?  

Well, the rub here is that we're traveling throughout Japan as well, where the regulations are mostly the same, except the maximum weight is slightly lower than ours at 44 lbs.  Easy enough again, right?  

I suppose.  Except that luggage alone, if you're not willing to spend a fortune, is fairly heavy.  One of my suitcases is 13.4 lbs empty.  This explains why it felt like I was lugging a dead body across LA that day I arrived for the AFSCME Convention during the LA Kings parade and had to lug my 50 pound suitcase around 15 blocks of cheering fans, with the sun blazing over 85 degrees.  And I was a Rangers fan.  But I digress.

So I opted to take the lightest luggage I had.  6.5 lbs empty.  Seems like a deal.  Except that when I go to Asia, I tend to go straight to the weight limit (bringing gifts to the Philippines means stuffing every bag until it's literally, exactly 75 lbs).  And this time, I'm packing for a more professional setting, so lighter clothes and flip flops aren't exactly the norm.

Which brings me to culture.

We had some suggestions of what to bring ahead of time.  Knowing we'd be doing more business meetings, we were told to bring 2 suits, a smattering of shirts, skirts, a few sweaters, business casual clothing and some casual clothing.

This is a two week trip.  You'd think I'd have figured out a balance.  Except, you have to be somewhat more savvy when packing, knowing you'll be mostly wearing the same thing for the most part, with a few parts interchangeable here and there.  You'd think with all of the travel that I do, this would be easier.

Well, Japan is a bit more formal than a place like... Billings, Montana.  At some point during our correspondence before leaving, there was a sentence that pretty much read, "for women, flat shoes are acceptable if they are of appropriate design and color."  This seems easy enough.  Except for me, who has had back surgery, so flats were really my only option since heels are a no-no for the most part. 

Then there's the shoes themselves.  Because as some may or may not know, in some instances in Japan, shoes are removed in places, so having easily removable shoes and sneakers is the way to go.  So now I'm also looking at all of my sneakers, realizing the only pair I have that fit the bill are the ones I use to mow the lawn, leaving them a really superb hue of green and brown.  Suddenly, I start to get anxiety over my options.

And being the crazy that I am, I, of course, have left the packing to the last minute.  So here I am, scrambling for 3 days in Albany, running around and getting a newer, lighter (and smaller) carry on bag.  I had read in many places that many suggest suitcases with wheels.  I pick up a really lightweight and very packable backpack for days we explore (so much easier to move around that way and LL Bean had a sale), new slip on sneakers, travel toiletries (2 weeks is longer than some of the trips I usually take, we were told to bring what we needed since we were traveling overseas and might have some trouble finding the stuff we need there).

And on top of it, I'm somehow more nervous of committing some cultural mistake, so I make sure I have new socks (for those tatami mat moments where I need to take shoes off) and everything so far I've read about Japan is that it is quite formal.  All of which has mostly been certified by my friends who are Japanese or who have traveled there.  Which means I also am pulling suits out for the first time since June because I haven't really had to wear them since.  And realizing I hadn't quite gotten around to fixing that seam or button and that this should be cleaned, etc.  Three days.  Two of which were work days.  That's what I gave myself.  GRR.

Then, of course, there is the language.  I've always kind of wanted to learn Japanese.  Thanks to the Founder, I happen to know a few things in Japanese.  Those important words would be taxi, gasoline station and a counting song that involves slapping a biscuit in your pocket.  Which is totally clutch.  

I learned how to say my special phrase at a Coro party of all things - There's a party in my pants - mostly because I find it absolutely hilarious and it is a statement, not an invitation.  And so far, it really engages people in a hilarious conversation.  But of course, even that translation is "loose", I am assured there's no good way to say that.  And of course, let's be honest, I won't be saying that unless there's sake bombs involved and I'm in a safe place.  (For the record, this is one of many different languages I know this phrase in.  I'm persistent.)

From Michael, I learned how to say a more useful phrase, "how are you?" and "I am good, thanks for asking".  And in Sodus Bay, I learned that one says, "itadakimasu" before eating.

Needless to say, I was doing the best I could to cram as much stuff in my brain culturally in as short an amount of time that I could to cram as much stuff in my suitcases.  And I spent hours packing, trying to decide if I had brought too much or if I had brought too little.  

In fact, I had even decided on the perfect moleskin notebook that I had decided was the perfect size for the amount of time and notes and journal I would keep while there.  Only to find out just an hour and a half ago that I had grabbed one that had already been mostly used.  So I went on a fun chase around DC to find any notebook, only to end up at a still open bookstore in Dupont Circle to get the only moleskin I could find (thanks to the start of school, CVS and even a FedEx office had been cleaned out).  My new notebook is easily five times larger than I anticipated and heavier.  Or how I didn't figure out until tonight is beyond me that the new sneakers I bought, while awesome, need to be broken in more, so I even found a CVS in my travels to get some insoles so I could be gellin' in Tokyo.  Neat.

In the end, not much I can do about it.  I'm in DC and at this point, unless I mail something back home, it's pretty much coming with me.  But I think I did pretty well.  My suitcase sits at 40 lbs even and my rolling carry on is 12 lbs.  I have some leeway, regardless.  

Maybe it's nerves.  Maybe it's just anxiety over the trip and the program.  Because the other thing I know is that when this thing starts tomorrow, I'll just approach it with an open mind, eager to soak up some history and culture.

And more comfortable shoes.

Tomorrow, the briefings begin, along with a trip to the State Department.  It will be fascinating to go there, especially this week. 

So it really begins.  As promised, I will attempt to blog every day of this trip and journey.  So check back here, same bat time, same bat channel.  I'm sure it's gonna be awesome.