NEARLY TWO MONTHS NOW

So much has happened this last month.  It has been such an emotional roller coaster.  The end result is always so exciting and rewarding. 

We recently had our AOB (area orientation brief).  It was exceedingly interesting.  They told us all the crazy things some of the military has done over here and of course how not to get caught up in the foolishness.  In Japan, they can put you in jail for up to 23 days for something as simple as having an intense argument with a police officer.  The police take their jobs very seriously, so when you argue with them you are saying what they saw is a lie or that they are not honorable and character is questionable.  So they figure you might want to go to court and settle the matter there.  The only thing is…they do not have to tell anyone you are there until they figure out the charges and when you can go.  I might not have explained that right, but who wants to be in jail for 23 days for a speeding ticket.   So my favorite words are arigato and gomenasai (Thank You and I’m Sorry).

I went to the grocery store a couple weeks ago and though I know things are more expensive; I was blown away by the $8 tomato I saw.  It was not the only one thank goodness.  There were other types of tomatoes to choose from.  Otherwise, I was going to have to become a tomato-hater like Nyjai.  LOL!

We finally got moved in our new home.  I awakened to the most beautiful sunrise right outside my bedroom window the first morning.  I knew this place was special, but God did a little extra this time.  I so appreciate that.  We moved in on Monday and by Wednesday at 7am and we were a few boxes shy of being completely unpacked and put away.

Sunrise from my bedroom window

This unpacking process has taught me so much about myself and our American lifestyle.  You know, we live in abundance even with this economic struggle our country is experiencing.  I unpacked two and three of things I did not know I even had.  Japanese homes are small, but designed to maximize space.  So, you will find storage in the floors or ice makers that do not need a hose to the water to function.  Instead, there is a little container you fill with water stick in the fridge and the fridge siphons the water into the icemaker.  It makes a lot of ice too.  Maybe you have this in your home, but I did not.  We had that copper hose that ran around the kitchen to the sink.

We take up so much space because we are individualistic and they take up so little because they are collectivistic.  That means, they are always thinking of how to make things better for the whole of humanity.  We are thinking of how to get our slice of the pie.  Not wrong, just different.

Imagine taking everyone in the US and moving them to California to live for 20 years.  That is what Japan is like.   Then only allow them to inhabit about 15-20% of the country due to environmental preservation and farming.  It is so tight that you must consider your fellow man or there would be chaos.  It is a peaceful fit too. 

The blue dots... read on.

The Pusher

Standing in line for Subway

At the subway and bus stop, people stand in line to get on.  No one breaks the line trying to get to the front or have the best seat.  I don’t mean just stand in line, I mean stand in a single file line behind the blue dot.  On the trains, if it appears as though it will be a tight fit, they have higher pushers.  Now, these are not dope dealers, they are men and women who literally push all the people onto the train so everyone fits in that one stop.  No one gets left unless you want to be left.

Lunch in Kamakura

Japanese Wedding 

Baby Baptism

Budah and Me

I recently went to Kamakura to see the shrines, temples, and of course the Big Budda.  We really enjoyed ourselves.  I saw a Japanese Wedding procession, a “baptismal” and even had my fortune cookie read.   It said I have a good fortune…LOL! 

Purification

I got purified also.  It is a hand washing mouth purifying ceremony.  The funny thing is you are not supposed to drink the purifying water and a couple of us did.  Our guide laughed and told us "happy diarrhea".  So we had to redo the ceremony.  She said she was joking.  I did not get sick though.    O yeah and the shrines had a lot of sake...liquor.

Sake

One of the things I saw the other day was really cool.  Well if I had a baby it would be.  There was a chair to sit the baby in in the actual stall of the ladies room.  So if you have a little one, you can sit them down and go to the restroom in peace.  Pretty cool.

Today, they changed the light in my office and did not have to turn off the power.  They just have a standard connection in the ceiling and snap in a less than 3 minutes I had a brighter, more efficient light.  I thought that was cool too.

All in all, it has been an intense month.  All the moving, studying, and getting acclimated to the customs and language has my head spinning. There is more to come. 

Cell Phones

OMG, we just got our Japanese cell phones.  Now if you think I was confused before.  This is terrible.  Everything is written in Japanese Hiragana and Katakana (characters and symbols) and not Romaji, which look like US words. Not only that, it is so expensive.  All incoming calls are free, but call out at about .60 cents a minute.  Now I can call Franklin and Nyjai and anyone who is with the same service company we have for free.  So if you are not SoftBank, we are going back to face-to-face communication baby…. Yeah that’s right look it up in the dictionary.  That was the era when you remembered what you wanted to say and when you actually saw someone in person and spoke words to them.  So make notes about what you want to discuss when you see me… LOL!

It has the time and date on the outside. 

See the characters, they come up on the phone on a regular.  I must learn to read Japanese.

And it is as big as my face.  That is what I get for basic... LOL!

That is not all; to get data service is about $120 per month… per phone plus the cost of the phone and those per minute calling fees.  So I want to say to Sprint, I am sorry for all the fussing that you are overcharging me.  I am sorry that I called and complained about the data service, the charge for 411, the roaming charges even thought I called and told you I was going to South America and asked you to turn off the phone until I returned, the charge for fixing or giving me a new phone, but not giving me a battery.  I apologize Sprint. Japanese basic phone charges make you look like a small time PIMP!

Whew... I am loving this change of perspective... Bring it on Japan!

New Home and 70's Party...

Nyjai successfully finished her first week of school, we found the perfect home and I met a few new people. 

Nyjai is taking a heavy load of honors classes.  I am hoping that she will soon get involved in a few sports.  She is making friends slowly but surely.  Right now, she is focused on catching up on 5 weeks of missed assignments.  Nyjai is a trooper though she has been hitting the books hard everyday this week.  Even though she took time off to hang with her dad.

I went to a hot spring with a group of women called Covenant Sisters.  It was supposed to be a day of relaxation and pampering, but there were kids everywhere.  You know that is not how I see relaxation time.  I can show these ladies how to pamper themselves for sure.  I must however find a spa with an incredible masseuse, esthetician, and nail technician.  Then I will be able to relax.  All in all, I had a good time. 

We have had a number of people make restaurant and food recommendations.  They were all excited about this thing call “nan bread”.  I tried it!  Uhh…it is just some backed dough with cheese, not very exciting or tasty.  I have to find some people with more discriminating taste buds…LOL!

Our New Home Video... 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjtyuXNBBp8

Nyjai and I celebrated the finding of a new home with some curry from a restaurant called CoCo’s.  It was really good.  We have been back a couple times already.  Since we are in the Navy Lodge, it is challenging to eat as healthy as I normally do.  We do buy a lot of fruit and whole grain products but I want some fresh vegetables.  Nothing has been that appealing to me and they go bad so quickly.  

Franklin, Nyjai and I went biking and stopped at a couple of furniture stores.  I haven’t worked out in a while, but I get great exercise walking the city and biking.  You know I take the stairs as often as possible.  I have to be able to fit in that tub in the video.  Ooo and at the furniture stores, I saw so many wonderful authentic Japanese pieces.  I am glad I did not bring a lot of furniture with me.  I can start all other again…LOL! 

Nyjai is so funny she saw this stand and hollered “ooo incense.”   I laughed and said, “No silly chopsticks.”  We both laughed because it was an easy mistake.

We went to a 40^th Birthday Party with a 70’s theme for one of Franklin’s co-workers.  It was fun.  I was Gloria Gaynor- she sung “I Will Survive.”  Franklin was Disco King.  It was a lot of fun!

We also had a mini-earthquake.  It wasn’t bad, just a little shake that you had to pay attention to feel. 

Week two, hear we come! 

Keeping It Real...

I am so frustrated today.  I should not be.  I am living in a beautiful country with so much to see and do.  Yet, I do not feel I can take care of the things I need to do.  Franklin checked in to his command and they put him in an orientation brief immediately.  Of course the word “brief” is an oxymoron because there is nothing brief about this 8 hours a day- 5 days a week “brief”.  Which means the 10 days of house hunting leave we should have is delayed.  Then we have to go to another “brief” the whole week of October 17. We only have 30 days to find a place.  I do not think it will be that difficult, which is why I’m mad at myself for being frustrated.  Plus, if I spoke the language more fluently, I would not be waiting for him.  I will fix that so language will not be an issue in the near, very near future.

Top that off with the fact that we have not been intimate for more than a week because we have been preparing for this move and are now sharing a room with a 15 year old. I could burst.  If that is too much for ya, I make no apologies!  Those of you, who know me, know I only made it through deployment because of Skype, Video mail, shopping and the fact that I could not touch this fine specimen called my husband.  Now I have to look at him everyday and still not touch.  Nyjai needs an over night field trip for real!  Uggghhh!  We have got to find a place to live sooner than later. 

On a better note, I bought a car yesterday.  She is a 1998 328i BMW with only 38,000 miles.  You know I could not resist.  Obviously God wanted me to have her or she would not have been on the lot.  She is stunning; silver with black leather interior and in excellent condition.  Her name is “baby girl” which is Akachan Onnanoko in Japanese.  I think…LOL!  I got a great deal on her too.  She is small enough to navigate these tiny streets and get into any parking space.  Not to mention, she is sleek, sexy and sassy like me. But, I cannot legally drive her until I finish the “brief” on October 21^st.  So that will give me time to tell Delila (my X5 back home) so she will not be jealous.  

Nyjai is now in school.  That was an interesting two hours.  You know how I roll.  I got all the paperwork back in July, filled it out, asked Tuscarora send her transcripts ahead of time (which they did), got all the shot records together.  Yet…. When I get to the school, they found shots she still needs.  Okay, I can deal with that- different country, different requirement.  What I do not understand is, why it took 45 minutes to place her in 8 classes for the year.  You had her transcripts for an entire month.  All you have to do is push a few buttons. It was not the number of buttons, but the speed at which they were pushed.  I am going to have to slow down a bit because no one is moving quickly around these parts.  Some even walk slower.  It is funny to watch.

Ooo yeah… did I mention that before I left the states, I was self-diagnosed with an OCD- hypersensitivity to sound.  I heard about it on Regis and Kelly.  Kelly has it too.  So for example, I can hear bugs crawling across the carpet, or butterflies wings flapping.  I especially cannot stand smacking or crunching when people eat.  And God forbid people from eating popcorn in a movie theater.  A couple of weeks ago I actually asked a man to close his mouth before crunching his popcorn.  Franklin could not believe it, but he was ridiculously loud and we were the only people in the theater.  You know he could hear it too.  Instead of those “Turn off your cell phone” commercials, they should have “Close your mouth when chewing and no slurping your pop – AIN’T NONE LEFT!!” commercials. 

Sorry, I digress….my point…

If these people in Japan do not pick up their feet when they walk; I am going to push someone over.

Is anyone feeling my pain? 

The Greatest Gift through the Generations!

My aunt is a gift whose worth cannot be measured except by the heart.  My aunt is a joy to remember my whole life through. I not only call her aunt, I call her friend!

Aunts like her are precious and few!

Our relationship grows more treasured as time goes by!

Aunt Mary you are someone special 
to remember with warmth, think of with pride, and cherish with love.

Today I received the most wonderful gift from my Aunt Mary.  It is the first package we have received in our new home and I made me remember my roots.  It made me cry happy tears. 

When I went away to college, the first package I received was from Granma Collins. My first tea pot in my new home in Frederick, Maryland from Granma Collins. It makes perfect sense that my first Japan package and teapot would be received from her daughter, yes my Aunt Mary. 

Thank you Aunt Mary.  This gift really made my day!

Jetlag, Eating, Public Restrooms and More...

The Jetlag has been fairly intense.  I went to bed on Friday at 8pm and woke up at 3am.  I was told it was 5am because Franklin could not sleep any longer.  Once his eyes open, he has difficulty staying in bed.  So I called as many people as I could think of to let them know we were safe and sound.  I could not remember everyone -as my mind was not completely intact yet.  We began to unpack necessary clothing.  We are in a hotel room, so it is a struggle. Getting my two roommates to keep it straight is also challenging.  We have a maid, so they do not have to clean so it should be easier….hmmm.

Last night, I could not stay up beyond 7pm.  I was up at 2am this morning.  I made Franklin go back to sleep.  We were in and out of sleep, but we did okay.  Tonight I hope to do better.

This is actually a bedroom connected to the
living room, dining room and kitchen... hmmm.

We have only seen a small amount of Yokosuka thus far.  The three of us have walked for what seems like miles, long walks, but fun walks.  Since I have not been able to get to the gym, I admit I am grateful.  We went to see a number of homes for rent; some are nice, some not so much.  The homes are very small compared to the US.  So I am hoping to find a 5 bedroom in our price range.  The bathrooms are small, closets are sometimes non-existent, and parking requires a very small car.  My X5 would not work here.  Anything bigger than a Mini-Cooper or Volkswagen Bug is scratched and beat up.  I think I will find a place by the end of the month if not sooner.

Kitchen, Living Room and Dining Room 

Of course we are looking for a car as well.  I do not mind the walk and train, but Franklin and Nyjai will want to travel to the base by car each morning.  You know I want a BMW.  I have seen a couple of small ones (318i) I like, but did I not just say cars get scratched.  I would be to upset if my “big money woman” got beat up on these small streets.  It really does not matter that much.  I will take what Franklin says we should have.

Franklin is so funny.  I told him he had six (6) weeks to get rid of the ooo -ooo’s and come back to earth- LOL!  So he took us to get some Ramen noodles and a rice bowl.  He got the opportunity to use his fluent Japanese and I my choppy Japanese.  You know that means I was shopping and he was eating.  I never saw him glow like he does here in Japan.  He is really in his element.  I am loving every minute of it. 

Franklin's favorite romen shop.

Yum!

Beef Bowls!

Many of you said people came to you and said that the public restrooms are a whole in the ground, much like an outhouse.  I recall arguing with some to say that this is not a third world country and surely they have modern public restrooms.  I am happy to report that we are both right.

What do you think about that?! LOL.  They say they are the cleanest bathrooms in the world, no toilet seats.

We have had so many funny things happen to us.  I cannot even begin to remember them all.  I try so hard though.  I am challenged with mixing up Spanish and Japanese.  One of our house guides offered us some Japanese candy.  We all accepted.  Franklin and Nyjai ate first and as soon as I placed the candy in my mouth, my jaws got stuck almost together.  The two of them thought it would be funny not to tell me it was sour.  They and the guide were doubled over laughing at me.  I literally had to spit it out.  Of course my face and body were already rejecting it before it was back in the package.  Those of you who know I cannot do sour know exactly what that looked like.  I felt so bad about it.  I thought it was so rude to spit it out but I could not hold on to it at all.  The guide was not offended.  She was apologetic.  My two buddies however laughed for a long time.   

Nyjai has school tomorrow and it is Franklin's first day at work.  I have to go to an Area Orientation Brief- a week long class, housing brief and get my license.  I will get some homework completed in there somewhere.  I can not wait to report back on all that.... more adventure.

OMG- Two Days, No Three Days of Travel!

September 28th

It only took me a few minutes after boarding the plane to let the waterworks flow.  While I will miss dearly extended friends and family, it is my oldest daughter who I will miss the most.  She has been with me for more than half my life and we know each other like the freckles on the back of our hands.   She is me and I am her.  We encourage, joke, defend and battle.  Yes, she is a young woman, but she is my baby.

I am not completely in touch with these feelings.  I question if I am a good mom to leave her.  I question if I have done enough to get her ready for our leaving.  I question if we should send for her immediately. No matter the question, Franklin assures me that I have done well and what ever I want to do, he will support.  That always makes me feel better.

Ooo, I did not get to tell you guys about the fight Franklin and I had over dog support vs. car insurance for Quortney.  Naturally the car insurance won.  It was funny when we talked about it later.  That's what I love about us.  We battle like crazy, come to a decision and laugh about it later.  That might be called a good marriage and lasting friendship.  LOL!

After we arrived in Seattle, we rented a car, checked into the hotel and headed to Mt. Rainier.  This place was spectacular.  The forest was so lush and green, the water crystal clear in some areas and yet greenish blue in others.  We had to take pictures constantly and especially with Agreyni, the stuffed bright yellow duck Nyjai's friends gave her.  Franklin and I enjoyed the drive immensely.  We have always liked a good road trip.  Nyjai slept in the back and at each stop informed us that it was cold.  I agree. We just left 80-degree weather, so 54-degrees nipped at our noses and Nyjai’s toes.

Later that evening, we went to the Space Needle for dinner.  It was absolutely amazing.  The view, food and drinks left nothing to the imagination.  If you wanted it, they had it. We did not hold back.  I even had dessert!

I admit, that I cried, as during each thing we did, there was a spot for Quortney.  On the flight, an empty seat next to Franklin, her usual seat in the car, and at dinner next to Nyjai.  I am trying to hold it together, but at times, I just don’t care.

September 29th

Okay, this morning was rough.  My husband took off his listening ears and stored them in his carry on.  I made him put them back on as I gave him a what for.  In the end, he fixed it as usual, but I hate going through it to begin with….uggg!  Then, when we got to our gate, the first thing I saw was a gang of 2-5 year olds jumping up and down.  I wanted to start selling Benadryl or vodka shots.  Somebody somewhere needed to settle all that down. 

10 hours on a plane with at least 75 kids.  I am so glad they had movies and I had music and a good book.  Ya’ll know I did homework too! LOL!

It was hard to sleep though.  I am not sure if it was the excitement or the fact that technically I am supposed to be awake.  Franklin keeps looking back at me (O yeah we aren’t sitting together- part of the morning problem) telling me how much longer we have.  He is so funny. 

He came back earlier to give me a smooch.  I love that man.

We have a lot to do when we hit the ground.  We will see how the rest of the day goes…

September 30th

O Yeah! We are finally here.  Getting off the plane, getting our luggage and catching the shuttle was fairly easy.  I tried with all my might to see this country side on this 3 hour ride from Yokota to Yokosuka.  I haven't slept in so long, everything is a little hazy.

Franklin was so excited.  He started telling us where we were going, where we needed to go, how to get there.  He is as giddy as a kid in a candy store with money to spend.  Money to spend is key...LOL!

We checked into the lodge.  This will be our home until we find a place to live.  I am excited about the hunt for the perfect home.  The base is huge and he keeps trying to tell me what everything is.  I am not going to remember, so I just smile and say, "ooo okay.  Just tell me how to get to the gym in the morning
:-)."  

The shower and toilet are in Japanese.  Nyjai freaked out because she thought she would have to take a cold shower.  Then she realized the water it is 40 degrees Celsius not Fahrenheit.  That was funny.  I could not figure out how to flush the toilet or turn on the water.  Everything is turned around, pull rather than push.

This is going to take some getting use too.  We are up for the challenge.