Last Iwaki party pics

I went out for the last time in Iwaki Saturday night (*tear*) & luckily ran into loads of people I wanted to see so I could say goodbye... here are a few choice pics...

Mmmm...crab-filled jello...

Group shot

 

My favorite local DJ: Takuteck!

 

Kristin & I with Chappie

 

Party organizer Hiro

 

Neel

 

Nagisa & Yama

 

The long way home...

The Big Trip (not to be confused with the Big Dig) will commence on Tuesday, July 25. I've got roughly 42 hours until I leave, most of which will be spent trying to pack one large backpack & one small backpack for a 3 month trip (whilst mailing the rest of my stuff home in boxes) & cleaning my apt (arrrrgh).

Here's my itinerary:

July 25: Fly Tokyo --> Beijing with Kristin
July 30: Start our Trans-Siberian trip with Intrepid Travel
Aug 3: Enter Mongolia
Aug 7: Enter Russia
Aug 14-16: Moscow
Aug 17-20: St. Petersburg / Intrepid trip finishes
Aug 21: Fly St. Petersburg --> Milan (see Elaine & Marco, yay)
Aug 30: Fly Milan --> Dublin (see Mark & Emma, sweet)
Sept 6: Fly Dublin --> Amsterdam with Mark
Sept 11: Fly Amsterdam --> Naples (see Harry, hell yeah!)
Oct 18: Fly London --> NYC (see Mamta & Neha, nice)
Oct 20: Fly NYC --> the ATL (whew, done)

After I get back to the States I'll be lookin' up all my Atlanta & Rhodes peeps (you know who you are) for some long-overdue catching up over beverages at various drinking establishments around the ATL and the SE. Can't wait!! (^o^)

Have you ever wondered what I'd look like as a geisha?

So, as my title suggests, during my last trip to Tokyo when my Mom was here we went to a place where you can dress up like a geisha/maiko/samurai & take pictures. These pics are definitely a little freaky as they look nothing like me! I look like a very strange geisha indeed... [my Mom played around with these pics in Photoshop which is why they have the watercolor & charcoal effects]

They didn't paint my hands white so it looks odd...

 

 

 

 

Go Sam!

One of my classmates from Rhodes, Sam Thompson, is crazy. He's attempting to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days (www.50in50in50.com) to raise awareness about the lingering disastrous effects of Hurricane Katrina. You're both insane and amazing, Sam. Good luck!

it hit me

There I was, sitting in a toddler-sized chair, surrounded by five 6 year old boys who were explaining to me all the different kinds of bugs & which ones they liked best (in Japanese), when it hit me: You mean I'm getting paid to do this?