Here!

Hello, everyone!
We're finally here! I was sooooooo happy to scrub off the Indian dust and dirt. Tokyo is quite a change after Guwahati and Delhi, and, no offense Deepa, I think I much prefer it.
I had my orientation with the office staff from the ITO Foundation this afternoon. They're all very sweet and unbelievably helpful, and we're all so self-conscious about our language skills. I find it all very cute.
Dad and I wandered about the few blocks near our hotel in Shinjuku after the meeting. We got a little lost, but not *that* lost. Found this very cool little area with ramen and curry shops and arcades. Not touristy at all, and surprisingly lively for a business area (if you ask me, not that I have much experience with big cities).
Language hasn't been too big a problem yet. I can get the important points across in restaurants, and Dad and I even managed to get passport photos and make copies at a little kinko's type shop down the street. Lucky for us that everyone gestures so much.
The excitement is beginning to overwhelm the queasiness, but I think it still hasn't really hit that I am sitting here in Tokyo and will be for the next two years (if all goes well).
More later!

Half a world away

I wasn't planning to post from India, but it was pointed out to me that some people might like to know that my dad and I arrived safely (on the 26th). Besides, I don't know how soon I'll have internet access in Japan.

We leave tomorrow for Tokyo. It's 2-3 hours from here to Delhi, then another 6-7 hours to Tokyo. We'll arrive in Tokyo the morning of the 31st. So strange the way time flies (pun intended) while traveling. My blog is still on New York time, but once I'm settled in Tokyo, that will have to change. Just a warning.

Guwahati has been interesting. Glad we got to stop by. I've been taking lots of pictures, so hopefully I can post them here when I get a chance. I guess I'll have to find a place to host them if blogspot doesn't. I haven't looked into it yet.

Family calls.

Ikoo

Just a few hours in this country left. The packing is mostly done. The cd burning is not done. I'm terribly terribly nervous.

A week at least, but the next time I write, I'll be in Tokyo.

Back in Texas

My last week in the city was great. Okay, all my time in the city was great. Strange for a misanthropic, antisocial hermit like me, but I really love the place. We ate out every night that last week, and the final night Ryan and Julia came up to join us for dinner at Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse, a Jewish steakhouse on Chrystie that I've been raving about since our first visit I-don't-remember-when. I'm dying to take my sister and Jonathan there, but I suppose that will have to wait another two years now. Hopefully Ryan and Julia liked it. I thought the food was even better this time than the last. The latkes thick and flavourful, the half-sour pickles crunchy and satisfying, the steak beautifully tender, and the chopped liver not too intense. Brother Love even served us again, and we had rugallach for dessert. *sigh of contentment*

After returning Julia's belongings to her and seeing them off at the subway, Brett and I headed to Palais(e) Royal(e), the existence of whose 'e's I cannot recall. We hung out there with Jordan & Co. then, after Laura met us, we headed to Pianos for one last dance. She wasn't really into it, but it was nice of her to come. Most importantly, beginning wth Julia, every hug that night seemed extraordinarily heavy. I guess the reality of my departure finally began to set in. I headed back to the apartment in a really pissed off mood, though I had no recollection why when I woke up in the morning (just a hangover, which I suppose is better than being angry, but made traveling rather painful). Luckily the departure was so quick, and I was so out of it, that I had no chance to get sentimental. (I don't normally, but why risk it?)

Just to catch up on a few other things:
Ritu Ba's wedding in San Francisco (Santa Rosa, to be exact) was very sweet. It was a personalized ceremony, which is how I believe things should be, set on a verandah overlooking a Sonoma Valley vineyard, and her new husband is a juggler. Their daughter, Natalie, a lovely blonde child, also took part in the ceremony and is quite a ham. I guess people do find their complements. The outgoing Andy and Natalie seem a good match for Ritu Ba's quiet, sweet ways. Meanwhile Hera, Devi Ba's two-year-old (?), was terribly shy most of the time and ran from me, but afterward, just before we parted, she started warming up to me (which is merely to say she stood and stared at me instead of hiding behind her parents). Well, perhaps she'll be friendlier next time we meet. If nothing else, I had the pleasure of hearing myself referred to as Indu Mahi. It has a pretty nice ring to it, doesn't it?
In my last couple weeks, I also spent a little time in Long Island. I got to see an *amazing* video of Brett, age four(?), dancing to the Nutcracker Suite. In all seriousness, I was astounded. He hasn't changed much since those days. It was all there to begin with. I've never seen anything like it. In other news, I painted the tele he'd stripped. Hopefully it will look cool once the finish is applied. I'm not too happy with my work. It's looking terribly childish to me these days. I don't feel I've progressed much since high school (whereas those four years of work show growth in leaps and bounds), likely because I don't draw as much as I should anymore. Maybe one day I'll actually apply myself and study art. Ah, well. If he can fix it up and fetch a decent price... well I still won't be satisfied with my work, but at least he'll be compensated somewhat for his patience.

Since being in Humble, I've spent most of my time in my room (not surprisingly). I unpacked all the boxes from Princeton and finally "moved in." There's still nothing on the walls, but it's finally starting to feel like "my room." Yesterday I spent the day rereading a novel from my bookshelf. It's not a great book, I don't think I'll finish it, but it's interesting how we (I) slip so easily into comfortable, old roles. I should be spending time with my parents in my last weeks here, but this is as I've always been. *shrugs*

Update

I'm way behind and have forgotten lots of stuff, so I'm just going to try to get through this quickly.

Sunday, after the Siren Music Festival, Brett and I went out to Long Island. His sister Jodi (author of the only other blog I read, sugar and spice), brother-in-law Owen, and brand new niece Arden Miriam, had flown in, so we joined the family for dinner and some cooing over the baby. It was my first time to meet Arden, and though I still wasn't comfortable baby-talking to her, my biological clock still seems to be ticking full speed ahead, because I found her absolutely adorable (granted, she *is* "remarkably adorable," as someone from my Japanese class said) and didn't really want to put her down. The first time I held her, she fell asleep in my arms. That was *almost* as amazing as that time on the Pine Forest playground when the little blond toddler I'd never seen before ran straight into my arms with his little arms outstretched and a great big smile on his face. Anyway, Arden is an incredibly well-behaved and happy child and quite a performer too. Though she'd apparently exerted herself a lot by rolling over for the grandparents earlier that day, she outdid herself and continued to strut her stuff for the rest of the family all evening. Jodi and Owen kept referring to Brett as "Uncle Boom," when pointing him out to Arden, which I think is a fantastic name, even if it did originate in hypothetical jest. And as people to turns walking Arden around the table during dinner, I became "Auntie Indu." *laughs* After the other family members left, Brett's parents begged us to stay the night, though I had my first Japanese class at 9am the next morning, so we did. We woke up at 6:40am and rushed out to catch the LIRR back to the city, then had a time navigating down to my class on Barclay in the Woolworth Building (also had to purchase pens and a notebook on the way, since I'd taken nothing to Long Island). Class was fine. I'm way ahead of everyone else, but it's useful to practice conversing. After just the first day, I returned to the apartment in Japanese-mode, automatically forming simple questions and everyday speech in Japanese, so I think I'm getting my money's worth.

Tuesday the 19th I woke up bright and early to go to class, showered, dressed, gathered my stuff, then bent down to pick up my bag and *ouch* somehow sprained my neck. I, with some pain, managed to climb back into bed and whimper myself to sleep for a few hours. Needless to say, I never made it to class. I sat all day long, reading Harry Potter (my copy hadn't arrived yet, but Eliza lent me hers as she'd just finished) with sporadic breaks for application of ice and/or Bayer to the neck and shoulder area. I finished Harry Potter just after midnight (took me 12 hours), emailed Kishimoto-sensei to let him know why I'd missed class, then struggled back into bed. The night was difficult. Every few hours, I'd want to turn and change positions, but couldn't do it by myself. I felt just a little ridiculous. The next morning I was still in pain, so I ignored the alarm and skipped class again. I did some work on the PlanetLab bibliography, but nothing really exciteen. I finally went vack to class the next day, feeling somewhat better, but I had to sit sideways in my chair so that I didn't have to turn my head too much to look at people.
As for Harry Potter, it was amazing, to say the least. The books have really matured over time, just like the characters, just like the audience. I am so impressed by J.K. Rowling's skills. I won't give anything away except to say that I wasn't too surprised (about who died), but I still hope that [enter betrayer's name here] redeems him/herself somehow. In fact, I expect it, if not redemption, some sort of decisive action.

That weekend, July 22-24, was Sasha Trip 2005. Darren and I took the train together down to Princeton, and we rode with Lev (terrifying ^_~) to Baltimore. It was a pretty pleasant and relaxing trip. Nothing too eventful, nothing incredibly powerful. My last time to see most, if not all, of those people for at least two years. Perhaps the gravity of that fact just hasn't hit me yet.

*whew* Almost caught up.