September 8, 2009
Lethbridge, Alberta
Well -- I never finished that last blog post, and never posted even that part of the story of our trip home. I have forgotten (blocked out?) many of the stressful details of the flight and miserable time at the Vancouver airport. But after a hard day with many tears on my part and unbelievable kindnesses from strangers at the airport, we made it home -- about an hour AFTER John and Jack arrived. Our luggage didn't make it for another 12 days, arriving in dribs and drabs... but we were all just so happy to be home together, and just in time for Christmas.
There are so many good stories still to tell -- how Jack was kind of a "movie star" at the Tokyo airport, how John "went American" (in a good, assertive, confident, speak-your-mind kind of way) and got himself and Jack through the post-storm carnage of grumpy and delayed passengers and onto a plane out of Vancouver, how much luggage John and Jack had to carry, how the girls were SO amazing during our hellish day of standby in Vancouver, how we ordered Fruit Loops and a chicken sandwich by room service at 4 a.m. at a hotel in Calgary, how we caught a Greyhound bus home with a friend's daughter and son-in-law, and how wonderful, wonderful, wonderful it felt to come home.
Many people wrote after I stopped the blog -- many to ask "DID THE GIRLS GET CHICKEN POX?!?!?!" Yes. Katie got them first -- but on Day 19 after exposure (more than 10 days after we got home). Livie didn't get them from the exposure in Japan, but about two weeks after Katie broke out in spots, Liv did too, and had a much more severe case. We think, looking back, that Jack also had a mild case of it in Japan -- he had only had one of the two vaccinations, and that last week he had a night of fever and swollen glands and two spots on his back that (at the time) we thought were strange, but which later we realized were clearly chicken pox.
We had a wonderful Christmas and then a bit of a rough time with jet lag (and a case of strep for Jack). But by the time the new year rolled around, Jack happily went back to school, only a little bit behind in his French reading and right on track with everything else. At the end of his school year, thanks to a lot of work on his part and a lot of help from teachers, his French reading was back on track, as though he never missed a day. Kate and Liv started at preschool in Lethbridge with some funny quirks. They were so accustomed to NOT speaking at Japanese preschool... and so they said very little the first few weeks at Lethbridge preschool (once their pox were gone, of course). So if one of them needed to go to the bathroom, she'd quietly walk up to a teacher, point silently to between her legs, and wait patiently. It took a bit of time but they soon found their groove (and started speaking in class).
We have had a great time sharing our stories with the other University of Lethbridge professors and their families who have had the opportunity of living in the Guest House in Sapporo -- it's a community of people who feel like they have been given the chance to do the most wonderful thing (and wonder why more people don't sign up to do the exchange). Jack's classmate, Mina, spent the spring semester there with her parents and older sister, riding his bike and sleeping on the same tatami mats our kids slept on. We had the newest professor heading out to the exchange and some former exchange profs and families for a dinner last month, a few weeks before she and her husband left for Sapporo, and the stories didn't stop all night. It's remarkable to think that so many people could have had such great experiences there in that house and as part of that exchange, but that seems to be the case. We feel very blessed, indeed.
And we have stayed in touch with Hiromi, Ayumu, and baby Fuuka as well as Tomoko, Taiki, and Keita throughout the last nine months. Birthday gifts have gone back and forth across the Pacific, and we email each other regularly with news of the kids, the weather, and our thoughts of seeing each other again. When I look back on our time there, I count their friendships as one of the best experiences of all. What would have happened if we hadn't met Hiromi in the park that day? And how wonderful that Tomoko spoke to me that first day at school. Her friendship opened the door to the mother's groups at the kids' school and both of them gave us the rare glimpse of "real" life for a family in Japan. I do hope we are able to see them all again some day... maybe their kids will come visit us later on, or maybe we will get to return to Sapporo.
And that's the most surprising thing of all. I would LOVE to return to the Sapporo. If you had told me two years ago that those words would ever come from my mouth, I would have said you were crazy. But we all fell in love with that city and space, I think. And I imagine there are still a lot of wonderful Sapporo stories to tell.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Monday, December 14, 2009
Coming home, Part 1
I want to get this all down while it is still fresh (and vivid!). We are still so incredibly grateful to be home (and not stuck in Vancouver, as thousands of other travelers are) and while we are still missing more than half of our luggage, we are just so relieved to be done with what was a very intense 48 hours.
The trip for me and the girls started at 10:30 on a snowy Sapporo Monday morning (6:30 p.m. Sunday night in Lethbridg), when we filled a small bus with six large pieces of luggage, five carry-ons and our stroller. John and Jack came with us on the hour drive to the airport (risking Jack's carsickness... but we did a test run with the Gravol, a Canadian anti-nausea medicine, and he was fine). The bus came 15 minutes early, so there wasn't a lot of time to take a last look around the Guest House that had been home or the neighborhood where we had so many good times.
We had no trouble checking in, and it was nice to have all the help from John, Jack and an HGU person who was able to translate everything. We said quick goodbyes and the girls and I headed off for lunch (one last Japanese meal the girls merely picked at) and through security. There was a play area outside of our gate where two young women entertained little kids (for free), speaking flawless English and amazing me yet again -- every aspect of "service" was incredible in Japan. Stores had enough employees, the airlines were well-staffed (in stark contrast to our experiences later in the trip on Air Canada), everything was on time when it could be, and efficiency and ability seemed to be the rule and not the exception.
We left at 2 p.m. Japan time (10 p.m. in Lethbridge). The girls were great on the two+ hour flight from Sapporo to Narita (Toyko), but the flight was awful. We encountered "unusual" air streams for that area, according to the pilot, and were flying into a headwind, while also enduring windshear from the side. It was the kind of turbulence where they tell you to make sure NOTHING is loose in the cabin. I went into "Hail-Mary-full-of-grace-the-Lord-is-with-three" mode, clutching the armrests and thinking about all the plane crashes I covered at different newspapers in my life. Kate and Liv LOVED it. "Ooooh, it made my tummy tickle again," they laughed, as I zipped through my prayers.
Finally we landed, and were about 30 minutes late because of the bad weather (with extensive apologies from the flight crew). We had to go through immigration and didn't have a lot of time to make our connection, and when we got to the area, there were about 300 people in the waiting area and a long line. I tried to make my way to the front to ask about the stroller and couldn't. I saw a couple holding Canadian passports and asked if I could leave the girls there while I ran up to check about the stroller. I asked if I could gate check it there and was told yes, so went back to the girls and got in line. When I got to the front, it appeared that I needed a different tag and there was a lot of last minute rushing around. My eyes welled with tears (the first of many times during the trip) as I explained how overwhelmed I was to be traveling with two little girls alone. I asked if there was any way we could have help when we landed in Vancouver getting through customs and baggage, etc. They said they'd call ahead.
Once we were on the plane (about 6 p.m. in Japan, 2 a.m. in Lethbridge), it was great. Again, Katie and Olivia were stars -- they LOVED the little TVs and movies, playing with the special toys I had, and reading the letters from friends we had carried with us the whole time. The girls slept a few hours each, but usually not at the same time. I probably only got about an hour or so of sleep.
We landed a bit early in Vancouver, 8:30 a.m. Monday local time (1:30 a.m. Tuesday in Japan, 9:30 a.m. in Lethbridge). It was beautiful -- and snowy. It looked like there was exactly one snow plow working on all the runways. When we got off the plane, our stroller wasn't there... they didn't know where it was... but they did have the golf cart to take us to get our luggage and go through customs. That was a LIFESAVER. All of our luggage made it, and I paid the skycap to carry all 10 bags, using all of my Canadian cash but figuring it was worth every penny (it was).
We had no problem going through customs (the agent said my paperwork was "perfect" -- including a letter from John saying I had his permission to be traveling alone across international borders with our children, and copies of everyone's birth certificates and marriage license) -- and they didn't even ask how many wonderful goodies we brought home with us.
The JAL people were great, too, despite it looking like they lost our stroller. As I started filling out the paperwork, though, they found it, brought it over, and sent us on our way with many apologies. The skycap followed me down to the Air Canada gate where I met kind person #2 (the person who called ahead was #1) of the trip. He said the flights were a mess. All 13 Vancouver-Calgary flights the day before had been canceled because of the snow, and my 2 p.m. flight was the first one scheduled to leave that day (at the time, it was scheduled for a 4 p.m. departure). He took the luggage (the last I have seen of it!), suggested a lounge where if you pay $25, you can stay for three hours with a buffet, leather chairs, and internet access, and wished us well, saying we would be home in no time at all.
When we left that checkin gate and security at about 10:30 a.m. (3:30 a.m. Tuesday in Japan), we entered chaos. There were hundreds of stranded people and dozens of canceled flights. We found the lounge at 11 and settled in for a bit. I got my one and only email sent to John, letting him know we made it, that lots of flights were canceled, but that I should be leaving at 4:30. We hung out there until 1 p.m., (6 a.m. Tuesday in Japan) when we left. I figured I'd make sure the flight was still going to be late and not leave on time.
Silly me. My flight was canceled. I looked around for an Air Canada person to ask what to do -- and found NO ONE. The lines at the gates were incredibly......
The trip for me and the girls started at 10:30 on a snowy Sapporo Monday morning (6:30 p.m. Sunday night in Lethbridg), when we filled a small bus with six large pieces of luggage, five carry-ons and our stroller. John and Jack came with us on the hour drive to the airport (risking Jack's carsickness... but we did a test run with the Gravol, a Canadian anti-nausea medicine, and he was fine). The bus came 15 minutes early, so there wasn't a lot of time to take a last look around the Guest House that had been home or the neighborhood where we had so many good times.
We had no trouble checking in, and it was nice to have all the help from John, Jack and an HGU person who was able to translate everything. We said quick goodbyes and the girls and I headed off for lunch (one last Japanese meal the girls merely picked at) and through security. There was a play area outside of our gate where two young women entertained little kids (for free), speaking flawless English and amazing me yet again -- every aspect of "service" was incredible in Japan. Stores had enough employees, the airlines were well-staffed (in stark contrast to our experiences later in the trip on Air Canada), everything was on time when it could be, and efficiency and ability seemed to be the rule and not the exception.
We left at 2 p.m. Japan time (10 p.m. in Lethbridge). The girls were great on the two+ hour flight from Sapporo to Narita (Toyko), but the flight was awful. We encountered "unusual" air streams for that area, according to the pilot, and were flying into a headwind, while also enduring windshear from the side. It was the kind of turbulence where they tell you to make sure NOTHING is loose in the cabin. I went into "Hail-Mary-full-of-grace-the-Lord-is-with-three" mode, clutching the armrests and thinking about all the plane crashes I covered at different newspapers in my life. Kate and Liv LOVED it. "Ooooh, it made my tummy tickle again," they laughed, as I zipped through my prayers.
Finally we landed, and were about 30 minutes late because of the bad weather (with extensive apologies from the flight crew). We had to go through immigration and didn't have a lot of time to make our connection, and when we got to the area, there were about 300 people in the waiting area and a long line. I tried to make my way to the front to ask about the stroller and couldn't. I saw a couple holding Canadian passports and asked if I could leave the girls there while I ran up to check about the stroller. I asked if I could gate check it there and was told yes, so went back to the girls and got in line. When I got to the front, it appeared that I needed a different tag and there was a lot of last minute rushing around. My eyes welled with tears (the first of many times during the trip) as I explained how overwhelmed I was to be traveling with two little girls alone. I asked if there was any way we could have help when we landed in Vancouver getting through customs and baggage, etc. They said they'd call ahead.
Once we were on the plane (about 6 p.m. in Japan, 2 a.m. in Lethbridge), it was great. Again, Katie and Olivia were stars -- they LOVED the little TVs and movies, playing with the special toys I had, and reading the letters from friends we had carried with us the whole time. The girls slept a few hours each, but usually not at the same time. I probably only got about an hour or so of sleep.
We landed a bit early in Vancouver, 8:30 a.m. Monday local time (1:30 a.m. Tuesday in Japan, 9:30 a.m. in Lethbridge). It was beautiful -- and snowy. It looked like there was exactly one snow plow working on all the runways. When we got off the plane, our stroller wasn't there... they didn't know where it was... but they did have the golf cart to take us to get our luggage and go through customs. That was a LIFESAVER. All of our luggage made it, and I paid the skycap to carry all 10 bags, using all of my Canadian cash but figuring it was worth every penny (it was).
We had no problem going through customs (the agent said my paperwork was "perfect" -- including a letter from John saying I had his permission to be traveling alone across international borders with our children, and copies of everyone's birth certificates and marriage license) -- and they didn't even ask how many wonderful goodies we brought home with us.
The JAL people were great, too, despite it looking like they lost our stroller. As I started filling out the paperwork, though, they found it, brought it over, and sent us on our way with many apologies. The skycap followed me down to the Air Canada gate where I met kind person #2 (the person who called ahead was #1) of the trip. He said the flights were a mess. All 13 Vancouver-Calgary flights the day before had been canceled because of the snow, and my 2 p.m. flight was the first one scheduled to leave that day (at the time, it was scheduled for a 4 p.m. departure). He took the luggage (the last I have seen of it!), suggested a lounge where if you pay $25, you can stay for three hours with a buffet, leather chairs, and internet access, and wished us well, saying we would be home in no time at all.
When we left that checkin gate and security at about 10:30 a.m. (3:30 a.m. Tuesday in Japan), we entered chaos. There were hundreds of stranded people and dozens of canceled flights. We found the lounge at 11 and settled in for a bit. I got my one and only email sent to John, letting him know we made it, that lots of flights were canceled, but that I should be leaving at 4:30. We hung out there until 1 p.m., (6 a.m. Tuesday in Japan) when we left. I figured I'd make sure the flight was still going to be late and not leave on time.
Silly me. My flight was canceled. I looked around for an Air Canada person to ask what to do -- and found NO ONE. The lines at the gates were incredibly......
Friday, December 26, 2008
Jetlag...again
I am working on the story of our return, but wanted to write a quick update to say jetlag is awful this way too.
We thought we were moving in the right direction. Monday night when the girls and I stayed in Calgary, they went to bed at 5 a.m., I woke them at 11. The night all of us were home, all three kids went to bed at 3 a.m., and we woke them at 11. On Christmas eve, the kids napped from 3-6, went to bed at midnight, and we woke them at 11. So last night should have been great, right?
Oh no. We had a great and happy Christmas, a wonderful dinner with friends (where Olivia fell asleep and had a two hour late night nap), and came home. Jack, Kate and I went to bed at 9 p.m. Olivia and John played with new toys. Such an almost normal bedtime! Jack and Kate woke up at midnight, and all of them were WIDE AWAKE until 5 a.m. We're talking light-sabre fights at 2 a.m., board games at 3 a.m., cartoons at 4 a.m. kind of awake. Jack just woke up at noon, and the girls are still sleeping. This is not good.
John and I are *so* tired. Somehow I feel like I've written that before!
We thought we were moving in the right direction. Monday night when the girls and I stayed in Calgary, they went to bed at 5 a.m., I woke them at 11. The night all of us were home, all three kids went to bed at 3 a.m., and we woke them at 11. On Christmas eve, the kids napped from 3-6, went to bed at midnight, and we woke them at 11. So last night should have been great, right?
Oh no. We had a great and happy Christmas, a wonderful dinner with friends (where Olivia fell asleep and had a two hour late night nap), and came home. Jack, Kate and I went to bed at 9 p.m. Olivia and John played with new toys. Such an almost normal bedtime! Jack and Kate woke up at midnight, and all of them were WIDE AWAKE until 5 a.m. We're talking light-sabre fights at 2 a.m., board games at 3 a.m., cartoons at 4 a.m. kind of awake. Jack just woke up at noon, and the girls are still sleeping. This is not good.
John and I are *so* tired. Somehow I feel like I've written that before!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Safe and sound
Just a quick message with the full story to come to let you know we all made it home tonight. John and Jack had narrow misses but made all of their connections. The girls and I faced canceled flights in Vancouver and had a crazy day that ended with the last standby seats on the last flight to Calgary, and staying in an expensive downtown hotel because there were no rooms in the (airport) inns (as we heard 1,500 passengers were stranded). The girls and I took the bus home today and John and Jack even beat us home on the original flight. None of our luggage is here, but I am sure it will be eventually (and we know it made it to Vancouver, so that's a start).
And... no spots! No coughs or sneezes or anything to indicate they infected planes full of people. Hooray!
All three kids were AMAZING. They are such good travelers. And I am in awe of the kindness of strangers (we had a LOT Of help along the way). We are all so happy to be home and see Kaia and our house, which feels so huge.
More to come. Thanks for all the good wishes that helped us through the longest night, and day, and night, and day...
And... no spots! No coughs or sneezes or anything to indicate they infected planes full of people. Hooray!
All three kids were AMAZING. They are such good travelers. And I am in awe of the kindness of strangers (we had a LOT Of help along the way). We are all so happy to be home and see Kaia and our house, which feels so huge.
More to come. Thanks for all the good wishes that helped us through the longest night, and day, and night, and day...
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Heading home
Katie, Olivia and I are heading home today, a day early -- we leave in 90 minutes for the airport!
They were exposed to chicken pox at school (and from our friend) and we hope that by leaving early, we'll be traveling in the incubation time, and not the contagious, spotty time. I have been googling like crazy (thank you CDC website!) and it seems we should be OK. Jack had the vaccination, but the girls are on a delayed vaccination schedule after Liv had a bad reaction to her four month shots. This is a disease I had hoped they would get naturally -- just not in the days before a trans-Pacific flight.
So -- it's been a flurry of phone calls, packing, planning, and a bit of panicking (at least on my part). I have not had the time I expected for thoughtful pondering of what this time in Japan has meant, and what we will remember. The goodbyes have been so rushed, unfortunately -- a tearful hug at the door to Hiromi (thankfully one of John's colleagues was here and could explain why we didn't want them to come in the house, or get close to the kids), and a quick goodbye this morning to Tomoko (whose younger son Keita already has the pox) when we pass off our sleds, extra food and toys that didn't fit in our luggage.
There weren't enough open seats for all five of us to travel, so John and Jack will be coming Tuesday as planned. I am slightly worried about customs/immigration in Vancouver, handling six pieces of luggage and tired girls... but I figured I'll just ask for help. We'll look so pathetic, someone will surely come to our rescue!
So keep us in your thoughts from 6 p.m. mountain time on Sunday night until 11:56 p.m. Monday night, when a good friend will pick us up in Lethbridge (thanks Phil!). We'll need all your good wishes and good vibes and love!
Thanks to everyone who has read this while we've been away -- and hopefully I'll be writing you from Vancouver during our long layover, with healthy girls and all our luggage!
They were exposed to chicken pox at school (and from our friend) and we hope that by leaving early, we'll be traveling in the incubation time, and not the contagious, spotty time. I have been googling like crazy (thank you CDC website!) and it seems we should be OK. Jack had the vaccination, but the girls are on a delayed vaccination schedule after Liv had a bad reaction to her four month shots. This is a disease I had hoped they would get naturally -- just not in the days before a trans-Pacific flight.
So -- it's been a flurry of phone calls, packing, planning, and a bit of panicking (at least on my part). I have not had the time I expected for thoughtful pondering of what this time in Japan has meant, and what we will remember. The goodbyes have been so rushed, unfortunately -- a tearful hug at the door to Hiromi (thankfully one of John's colleagues was here and could explain why we didn't want them to come in the house, or get close to the kids), and a quick goodbye this morning to Tomoko (whose younger son Keita already has the pox) when we pass off our sleds, extra food and toys that didn't fit in our luggage.
There weren't enough open seats for all five of us to travel, so John and Jack will be coming Tuesday as planned. I am slightly worried about customs/immigration in Vancouver, handling six pieces of luggage and tired girls... but I figured I'll just ask for help. We'll look so pathetic, someone will surely come to our rescue!
So keep us in your thoughts from 6 p.m. mountain time on Sunday night until 11:56 p.m. Monday night, when a good friend will pick us up in Lethbridge (thanks Phil!). We'll need all your good wishes and good vibes and love!
Thanks to everyone who has read this while we've been away -- and hopefully I'll be writing you from Vancouver during our long layover, with healthy girls and all our luggage!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
So far so good
Everyone is looking healthy! Yay! We`re packing like crazy and excited to be heading home. More photos to come soon from our fun day yesterday...
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Starting to pack
I am starting to pack to head home -- lots of sorting and organizing and remembering. We ended up buying two more suitcases so that we don't have any risk of going over the 50 pound Air Canada limit (after exchanging many letters this fall, Air Canada said that they were very sorry, but we had to pay the fine for the overweight bags on our flight here, even the three 53-pounders, and even though Japan Air said they could be up to 70 pounds.) So we will come home with 10 bags and a lot of great finds.
John and I had a LOT of fun yesterday shopping for the kids (and friends and family) while they were at school. He had gotten his last paycheck on Tuesday, as well as the second half of our travel reimbursement (which we had paid for in April... so it felt like "extra" money). We love how people get paid in Japan. Employees sign something, and are handed a thick envelope. OF CASH. John got two big envelopes this time and we quickly put most of the money in the safe (this whole cash-based society thing really explains the safe in every house and hotel room). So we got the kids their Christmas gifts and trip gifts for friends and family, paying cash everywhere and trying to find things that would remind us (and the recipients) of this wonderful time in Japan.
I should get back to that packing, I suppose... more soon!
John and I had a LOT of fun yesterday shopping for the kids (and friends and family) while they were at school. He had gotten his last paycheck on Tuesday, as well as the second half of our travel reimbursement (which we had paid for in April... so it felt like "extra" money). We love how people get paid in Japan. Employees sign something, and are handed a thick envelope. OF CASH. John got two big envelopes this time and we quickly put most of the money in the safe (this whole cash-based society thing really explains the safe in every house and hotel room). So we got the kids their Christmas gifts and trip gifts for friends and family, paying cash everywhere and trying to find things that would remind us (and the recipients) of this wonderful time in Japan.
I should get back to that packing, I suppose... more soon!
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