Make the Heat Go Away

Japan.
Land of the Rising Sun.
That's not because of where the date starts internationally though, because Russia wins beginning of day prize.
And it's not that Japan has forgotten to tell us foreigners that term is no longer accurate.
It's because the sun rises, and then stays up in the sky burning the earth like a giant spotlight.
IT IS HOT.
Yesterday I arrived at Kansai International Airport (KIX) at two in the morning our time and three in the afternoon Osaka time. I spent more than half the flight studying and didn't manage to get any sleep. Eleven hours sitting still kinda has that effect on your rest. I got to the dorm where I'll be staying for orientation at 6:00, spent one hour trying to get the internet to work, failed, and spent one more hour reading through the orientation manual before going on the neighborhood tour. Now, this was about 27 hours from the time I woke up, so all I wanted was to collapse on the futon and pass out. But it was either go on the tour now or at seven the next morning, and I sure as hell wasn't going to wake up again that soon. So I trekked along, almost lost consciousness once or twice(not exaggerating) , got back, and THEN passed out.
Today was not catch up on sleep day, though. It was Let's Try and Find Something to Eat Before Starving to Death day. The university food services do not operate on Sundays, so I had to venture out to test my luck with my first taste of Japanese food.
Japan Rule #1- if someone gives you a map with directions to a place they say is close by, leave an hour ahead of time. Because it isn't.
After walking a couple of miles, I was sufficiently lost. All the signs around the shops had combinations of kanji I couldn't read, or katakana, which is even harder and could be loan words from any language on earth or just made up. Search me. Also, It is impossible to comprehend a Japanese map because the only streets on it are ones that have places you want and ones that get you to those first streets. Japanese streets don't have names. Or numbers. Also, main streets don't have to be big. I got halfway to where I was trying to get (I only found this out hours later after careful consultation of the map) before giving up and getting lost looking for anything, ANYTHING else to eat. I couldn't find any restaurants but did find an out of the way Takoyaki (octopus ball) shop. I have always wanted to try this, because in anime it always looks so good....to put it mildly, takoyaki has a stronger taste than snot, and less consistency. So much for lunch.
After another hour of walking (no wonder there's a vending machine on every corner, they need them just to keep going, I mean, New Orleans isn't this hot) I managed to un-lose myself and get back to the dorm. I was hot, sweaty, and hadn't eaten in 24 hours. AC on, snacks out, wallowing in self-pity start. After an hour and a half of this (the AC with food bit, mind you) I tried once again, but went in the other direction, where I knew that even if I failed to find a restaurant, there were still the stores I had gone to see the night before. Well, again I couldn't find anything, but in the process of getting lost again wound up at a supermarket. Trust me, in Japan any building wider than two car lengths is a big deal. I bought a bunch of fruit, some toriniku (chicken :)) and a giant bottle of water (did I mention the dorms only have water in vending machines?), hussled back to my room while munching and apple, and haven't left since. I've finished looking through all the paperwork and understand how to do it when they tell me to do so, and know all the rules and regulations. I have food, water, and AC (as southern car salesmen say, 'Darlin, ya gotta have air"). Now I just rest until tomorrow, when I know I shall once again feel insignificant and alone.

Rule(Law) #2(1)- food is directly proportional to the quality of one's mood.

This is it, my last night in the U.S. We've checked into a Homewood Suites five minutes away from the Charlotte N.C. airport. I've got an early day ahead of me; I wake up at 4:45 and check in at the airport at around 5:30 tomorrow. First, I fly to San Francisco, layover for two hours, then fly strait to Osaka. By the time I get there, it will be 3:00 pm Saturday their time, and 2:00 am Saturday our time. Then I've still got to stay awake for at least five more hours, re-adjust my eating schedule, and check into the university (sigh).
Today has been something that I just can't describe properly as a 'day'. I woke up, packed, and then just wasted time doing whatever non-committal activities I could (I didn't want to start anything that would take too much involvement. That's basically what I did until dinner, and then we piled into the car and drove over here. See? Not really a full day of activities.
Assuming that neither plane crashes tomorrow, there will be more posts once I land in Japan (and maybe one in San Fran if I can manage). But for now, it's good night, because I'll need all the sleep I can get.