I rolled out of bed this morning, my hair was a mess but there was no time to improve my image. We, my mother and I, had to go catch a plane heading all the way to Japan. My name is Naiko. I'm in the 6th grade, tall, bushy brown hair and deep green eyes. I live- used to live in the United States, but my mother got transfered to Japan. I'm in serious trouble. I have no clue ho to speak japanese, except for saying konichiwa. I'm pretty scared about the move... but there's nothing left for us in the States, we have no choice. My mother's screaming broke my concentration. She was yelling at me to grab my luggage and get into the car asap. With a sigh, i sluggishly moved down the stairs, much to my mother's dismay. I put my suitcase in the back seat and slowly sat down into the passenger seat up front. I leaned against the closed window and saw what was outside. It was raining. Busy people with umbrellas scurrying from place to place, all of them looking down. Some how, this had to be an omen of some kind... that my years in japan are going to SUCK.

During the car ride, I was enveloped in thoughts about my new school and my new friends... if I could make friends. No one will like me because I can't speak japanese, I'll be an outcast. Such thoughts were running through my head, I saw all the compact appartments outside the window, and I almost started to cry. I could never return to the only place I knew. I would be alone in japan with only my mother to talk to. I cried out: "NO! DON'T MAKE ME LEAVE!". My mom whisked her head around and saw tears gushing down my red cheecks. I blush easily. She frowned, and patted my shoulder. "It's ok Naiko... you'll get used to Japan in no time. You're a good kid, you'll make friends". My mom spoke in a soft, calm tone that made me feel more at ease, but also made it feel like it was ok to cry more. Thats exactly what i did, I cried. Hard. After a painful hour drive to the airport, we boarded our one-way flight to Japan. Oh joy.

There wasn't much to do on the plane. It was big, there was enough room to roam in the cabin seats. I simply did laps around middle section of seats, thinking. I was ready to cry again, but I locked that emotion away for a minute or two so I could think clearly. I started thinking about everything that would happen in Japan. Maybe it would be fun. I read books about japan before, and saw movies. The japanese people were always showed as nice and helpful people. If I used this idea to have some optomism about moving to Japan, then why not? So I did just that. I forgot about my worries and just relaxed about the trip. I think it will be a good thing for me, and it will be like an adventure! I'll get to see new things, meet new people, and do new interesting stuff. Of course, me and my old friends will always be connected by the internet. All these reasons made the rest of the day enjoyable, and around 9 pm, I dozed off.

I woke up with quite a suprise though, two simply designed eggs were resting on my lap!