durf.org

So I am flying to NYC on September 21. I should get there just in time to hear Prime Minister Koizumi make his address to the United Nations (Japan is angling for a permanent seat on the Security Council) and then the next day I get to translate the content of his press conference for immediate uploading to various Japanese government websites.

Then I get on the plane with the prime minister and all the rest of the Japanese team and fly back to Tokyo. (Kind of a cool perk; this is the equivalent of Air Force One for Japan, and the seats are all business-class and the food is mighty tasty, from what I've heard.)

If I'm lucky I'll be on the ground in NYC for 24 hours . . . doesn't sound like a schedule that leaves me with time to visit any friends, or go out for dinner, or breathe, really. Argh. At least I didn't have to go along to Brazil and Mexico as well . . . the 12-day whirlwind tour thing sounds exhausting.

Next up on the schedule: Laos and Vietnam in October and Chile in November!