Day 1: And so it begins

Wednesday February 23rd, 2011 by Rick van Kemenade

At noon today our group, consisting of 30 students and two supervisors, gathered at Eindhoven Station. The train rolled away as friends, parents and staff waved us out. After a lengthy train ride with the NS we arrived at the well-known Schiphol airport, where everyone was quick to check in their bagage. At the time of writing the group is scattered all over Schiphol. Some have discovered the Irish pub, while others prefer to chill in one of the many lounges.

At 16:25 the group will gather at gate F8 to board KLM flight 0861. At 17:45 we will take off on an eleven-hour flight to Tokyo Narita airport, where we will arrive early tomorrow afternoon (GMT + 9:00).

Today marks the start of the Satori Study Tour. The committee and participants alike have worked extremely hard to make this all happen. The fact that we are about to board an airliner and embark on our journey makes for an almost surreal moment. We have passed the point of no return. We are going to Japan… finally!