An home now, this was written from Narita Airport and the plane:

At my gate at Narita Airport waiting for the flight. Today we were the first at Naha Airport, so I checked in and then helped translate for the other YFU students. The translation was very fun; in fact some students thought I was a YFU helper/volunteer as oppose to an exchange student. A group of high school students who had come to see off their friends asked me of I was a resident of Okinawa! It was very fun. However, while I was doing that I realized how many exchange students had no idea how to travel, have everything in various places, have the wrong priorities in terms of baggage safety and other stuff such as shopping, etc. I am really glad I have travelled so much and with such experienced travelers, and I am pretty sure the airport people were happy too!

BTW after arriving in Narita today I noticed for the first time complete silence in a transportation vehicle (my roommate and I were talking and suddenly we realized we were the only ones talking; now that I think of it maybe the monorail was also silent and Otousan and I were the only ones talking, but I didn’t notice it then.). Also I noticed for the first time everyone standing on one side of the escalator, I mean they have that in America also but they had told us about it in our orientation, so…BTW in Tokyo they allow you to and it is normal to take a cart on an escalator (like stair escalator.). I don’t have wifi here so I will probably upload this at Dallas or SFO.

BTW I ate the Obento Okaasan has very kindly made for me on the flight to Tokyo and it was delicious. The flight to Dallas (about 45 minutes from landing) actually had decent vegetarian food dinner was Indian, rice with a paneer sabzi (though I am pretty sure it was tofu) and a tomato sabzi, naan, salad, and a sweet. The second meal was so-so, sandwitches, and the last meal was actually quite good, cold pesto/cheese/vegetable pasta.