An addendum

This isn't really "ha ha" funny. It's more like, "Oh, ouch" funny, but please read on.

When I came to Ojika back in July, many of the teachers told me living on the island was "inconvenient". Well, I suppose in some ways it is inconvenient. There really isn't anywhere to get a quick, cheap meal. The grocery store usually runs out of bread by 12pm on any given day -- if they had any to begin with. And, if you're without a car, it might take you a couple of hours to run some errands instead of a half an hour.

I like Ojika. I really do. Even with it's slight inconveniences, I enjoy living here. The people are nice. I'm somewhat of a local celebrity, to my own chagrin. And, generally people go out of their way to be nice to me. And often they spoil me with gifts of varying size. It's common for me to get a bag of potatoes, diakon or cabbage. And in one special case, a wonderful woman from the high school office has actually given me an electronic dictionary and traveling money when I embark on a great adventure.

All that being said, my only complaint about Ojika is the truly inconvenient aspect of getting off and on the island.

Because I do live on an island, I am captive to the whims of the ferry companies and their time schedules. It isn't all that uncommon for a ferry to be cancelled for some reason. These reasons can range from anything like a seasonal time change to nasty weather. There's a whole gamete of problems in between.

Once I traveled two hours on a bus from Fukuoka back to Sasebo just to find that the last ferry heading to my island was cancelled due to inclement weather. I then had to travel back to Fukuoka to take the overnight ferry from Fukuoka to my island. I arrived at 5am and had to be at work at 8:15. Inconvenient. I vowed that I would never do that again.

Keeping that in mind....

I've been really excited this week. My friend Amelia is coming to the land of the rising sun to pay me a visit. I realize that she is truly going out of her way (a 14 hour flight, jet lag that could defeat any world-weary traveler, and vacationing in one of the most expensive countries in the world) to experience my life over the last eight months. I appreciate this a great deal. I spoke to her this morning and gave her wishes of a safe and happy travel and hoped that things would go smoothly for her.

My original plan was to hop on the last ferry leaving Ojika today. I would hit the mainland around 9pm and would then travel to Fukuoka where I would stay for the night. I would catch the early morning flight to Tokyo. I would check into our guesthouse and make my move to Narita airport where I would pick her up.

inconvenient got in the way.

Around 3:3pm this afternoon, I went to the office to have them stamp a discount ferry ticket for me. That's when they informed me that the last ferry off the island was cancelled.

SHOCK. HORROR. HELPLESS FRIGHT.

All of that sank in right then and there. Did it matter to anyone that I had been talking about this trip for an entire week? Didn't anyone care to tell me that the ferry had been cancelled the DAY BEFORE? (I didn't realize because the announcements are made in Japanese, and are usually muddled on the town PA system.) I know it was negligent on my part, but I didn't call to make sure the ferry was functioning because the weather was peachy. (The ferry was cancelled for maintenance.)

I really thought the office people were playing a joke on me. They like to do that sometimes. They like to say that some sort of problem arises just to see the look on my face. They like to determine how far I will follow their tall tale down the path. This time they were not joking.

My mind began to race. What would I do? I had a ticket in my wallet for the 7:2am flight to Tokyo. There was no way that I would make that flight. This event sent a series of events in action. I emailed the friend in Fukuoka who I said I would stay with.

"Sorry, but the last ferry was cancelled. I will not be able to make it to Fukuoka tonight."

I called my travel agent. I explained my dilemma. The mediocre effort to accommodate me in my time of need wasn't one I'll forget.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to cancel your ticket. You'll have to buy a ticket tomorrow at the airport. By the way, we have a cancellation fee. You can pick up your refund at the office. We open at 10am. Oh, you'll have to be on a bus by 9am to make the afternoon flight? Well yes, we can transfer the money to your account, but you'll have to pay a transfer fee. No, I'm sorry, we can't waive any of the fees. I'm sorry. Yes, I can book a ticket for you, but it will cost you more. You should just buy one directly from the ticket counter tomorrow."

Yeah, you evil, horrible by-the-books-Japanese wench! I'm sure you can't just forget any of the fees.

OK, yes... There's no othe option but to buy a ticket at the airport tomorrow when I arrive. She quoted me a price of a little over 2 man. That translates to around 200 US dollars. Well, if I have to.... I'm basically paying an extra hundred dollars due to the ferry cancellation. Ok. I can live with that. What choice do I have?

It's only now that I realize that when the woman at the travel agency encouraged me to buy the ticket directly at the airport, and not make a reservation, she didn't tell me what airline it was with. All I know is the price she quoted me. I tried to call back but the offices are closed, opening again tomorrow at 10am. What other choice do I have but to board the fast boat in the morning and hold my breath.

The first obstacle is getting off of Ojika. Once I get to Sasebo, I'll have no trouble getting on a bus to the airport. After that, I'm counting on define intervention and a "get out of jail free" card I stole from a monopoly game when I was 14 years old.

Although an extra 100 clams is a hard thing to cough over, I'm still ok with it. My salary affords me personal blunders and rural inconveniences. However, nothing is 100 percent sure. So, I'll hold my breath until I reach Narita and see the smiling (yet exhausted) face of my pal.

When I called my friend, Laura -- a fellow island dweller, this evening to drum up some sympathy, she gave me some good advice. She told me to not let this discouraging beginning get the way of a really wonderful week with Mel. I shall not let that happen.

I will recount the RAD time in Tokyo soon. Stay tuned.

And THAT is the end of the story.