Heading to Tokyo

I must admit there is a VERY strong feeing of helplessness settling in this morning.

It's one thing to send #1 to Utah for six weeks, but it's a whole different thing to send her halfway around the world.

image:
elderkylelane.blogspot.com

In Utah, I could send a letter (via dearelder.com), and it would arrive in a day or less. Now, I can send a letter (again via dearelder.com), and it will arrive within a week. Emails are great, but she will get them on P-Day--one day a week, which I understand is Monday; it was one day a week in the MTC as well, but that day was Saturday there.

I do have a phone number for the mission home if I need to call her, but it had better be a dire need. So, I'm hoping for no dire needs for the next year and half.

Who knows how long it will take for packages to get to her? I've heard that if you want a package to get there successfully and undisturbed by others, you are to affix an image of the Virgin Mother. I also heard, just today, that you should wrap the entire package in tape to protect it from rodents.

Many have asked, and I don't think I've ever covered this here, but other than today, when she called from the airport, we will get to speak to her via phone (or in the future, Skype) twice while she's gone--Christmas and Mother's Day. We can write letters or emails to her any time we want to. But, as I said earlier, missionaries only check their email on their preparation day (P-Day).

At this point, #1's in the airport in San Francisco. That flight was delayed by about a half hour and the next flight (to Tokyo) is delayed by a half hour as well. The Tokyo layover was supposed to be two hours long. #1 is very much looking forward to that layover. She has planned all of her food purchases. I'm just now realizing that this is not the airport that she's expecting. When we took our trip, we landed in the Haneda Airport. She will be landing at Narita. No matter. The same food should be there.

We had a tradition when we were in Japan. Every night after we were done working, we stopped at a 7-11 and bought an ice cream that was called a "Jumbo." She LOVED them. That is one thing she plans to buy and eat for old time's sake. I hope with flight delays she has time to do these things. Japanese transportation is known for being on time.

The other food she plans to buy is a simple Meiji chocolate bar. She
has carried around a wrapper in a notebook since our trip.

I wonder if she'll go looking for a peapod keychain.....I hope, more than anything, that she can get some sleep on her flight. Jet lag was SUCH a TERRIBLE thing when I got there all those years ago. I couldn't even stay awake during a conversation. It's the only time in my life when I honestly couldn't stay awake no matter what I did. I hope she remembers how much I emphasized the need for sleep on our flight to Tokyo. We lucked out to have an extremely empty flight and a bank of seats all to ourselves to sleep on. I'm hoping for a similar circumstance for her this time. Regardless, I hope she'll take advantage of a few hours of sleep before she gets to Manila.

image: thetravelword.com

From what I understand, she will catch public transportation from Manila to Olongapo. So? Bus? That's my guess. She arrives in Manila at 9:55pm, so I'm curious about that ride. This really should be some adventure.

Oh, how I hope she rides on a bus like this! That would ROCK! That might just be worth being awake for.

They moved her flight back again, the delay was removed. She is taxiing out of San Francisco right now.

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