Arrival (AKA: Droplet vs. Aerosol Precautions)

So... we've made it in Japan - and we're in one piece. Hurray!

The first thing I noticed (even before we left) was how at least a good third of the asian people getting onto the plane were wearing facemasks (think SARS all over again). It was even more fantastic once we landed. We sat for about an hour after filling out quarantine 'questionaires' while the haz-mat team fimed us using thermal cameras, collected our forms and nasal aspirated anybody they thought had a fever. They then gave us a little info sheet on what to expect and sent us on our way.

Even scarier was how easily the system didn't really work. The guy behind us was coughing and sniffling the entire flight... and then for the last half hour of the flight before we touched down, frantically rubbed his forehead with an ice pack. (That's not suspicious at all...). As a health care professional, I almost felt the need to call him out. Then kinda figured the Japanese camera guy probably had it under control - and besides - we were on vacation :).

In true nelson fashion, I neglected to read the entire photocopied piece of paper and trashed it on the way to customs. Little did I know that they required that piece of paper to exit. Furthermore, the customs guy spoke ZERO english. I spoke english slower to him, and he responded by speaking Japanese back to me, at a slightly reduced rate. Hilarity ensued, I ended up filling out the damned form again, and then walked past him without actually giving my resubmitted form to anybody. (It's still in my pack, so I'm not really sure why I spent 10 minutes of my life doing that).

Aaaaaanyhoo.

We wound up in Okinawa. Passed out completely bagged and started anew the next day for what proved to be a giant endless parade of awesome food. Things we've noticed: Okinawan people love pork, waving cats and bitter mellon.

We started off with bitter melon burgers (which were surprisingly alot better than they sounded). We then mozied off to the beach -- which if viewed from the correct angle looks beautiful for an inner-city beach. Of course, then you turn your head 90 degrees and see the rusted barge and industrial park... but I digress.

We went for a healthy lunch of ice cream parfaits. My favorite part was the little button they gave us (like a doorbell) to call them back whenever we needed anything. I tried not to abuse it, honestly! We listened to some live violin / guitar music and went to dinner.

Dinner was... unique. There was Japanese dancing, porridge made with squid ink (which I spilt on my shirt) and crepes. All in one dinner. I think I worry about my spilling habits too much. The hostess asked if I wanted our photo taken by pointing to herself... but she gestured towards her nose. I assumed this to mean I had squid ink on my nose and spent the next 10 seconds trying to frantically rub it off. Jack and her figured I was having a seizure.

Well... that's all I can think of mentioning for today. I'll add more if I remember. :)