Today was essentially a lot of lazing around waiting for my turn in front of the “firing squad”. Since I wasn’t participating for credit this time, I didn’t worry much about it and think I performed just fine. The nice thing was that they held the tests in one of the meeting rooms at the I-house, so we didn’t have to walk all the way down to campus. My roommate David had also arranged to have the Post Office come to pick up his packages, so I sent two off myself—one “slow-boat” filled with books and a smaller, lighter one with my model railroad stuff and other goods that may make it home before I do. They both cost essentially the same and the total was about $130.00. It seems a bit steep, but there’s no way I could’ve packed and hauled everything for the rest of my trip. Besides, I’ve still got 10-days worth of travel, shopping and Akihabara visits to look forward to.

At 5:00, we had the farewell party. Once again, I got a bit emotional and choked-up when it came time for me to say goodbye—but it’s tough. “One life, one meeting”, as the Japanese proverb goes. I really hope that I can see some of these friends again, and I hope they all realize just how much this experience means to me.

I ended up staying in the rest of the night ‘cause I was beat from the last few days and had to start getting things ready for departure. The room already is starting to look empty with us both packing up to go home…