Life with MK: Step 1 DONE and Off to Japan!

I have finally completed the long and awful test that is the USMLE Step 1. Thankfully I have a few weeks before I have to know how I did on the exam, but it is over, and for that I am thankful.

Now that my endless studying days are behind me I am officially on VACATION!! This morning (or yesterday morning since I crossed the date line, it's confusing) I got up and went to SFO to begin my week trip in Japan. I traveled alone since my parents left the day before me, but everything went smoothly. The plane had a ton of extra seats, so I ended up moving to an empty row where I got to lay down across all three seats! That is an international flight dream come true! Besides sleeping I ate, watched last weeks episode of Glee, and watched four movies (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Cars 2, The Lego Movie, and Cool Runnings. The flight went by quickly and was not bad at all. I got through immigration and customs without any delays or problems at all and met my shuttle from Osaka to Kyoto. The shuttle ride was about two hours and there was plenty of space, but I started getting antsy from sitting so long. I eventually arrived at the Seikoro Ryokan in Kyoto around 5:45pm and met my parents.

Our room at the Ryokan is very traditional and quite adorable. There are no beds, but they set the room up for sleeping at night. We also eat meals in the room on cushions on the floor. It is the full Japanese experience. After arriving we sat for a bit and then my mom and I walked by the river for a few minutes to just get moving after the long flight. We then had Sukiyaki in the room (Japanese hot pot) with miso soup, rice, some various appetizers, and a small dessert of melon and macha green tea and red bean jelly. The jelly wasn't my favorite, but the rest was delicious, especially the hot pot! We are now getting ready to sleep and we have our walking tour of Kyoto tomorrow, most likely in the rain. Hopefully the weather isn't too awful!