Happy Thanksgiving!

Well Happy Thanksgiving to all you in the US! Brian got back yesterday from his 10-day out to sea that turned into a 16-day. We are going to have Thanksgiving tomorrow with some people he knows on his ship. Yes, we will be eating Turkey! This will be my 2nd Thanksgiving celebration here in Japan. I suspect we wil have all the usual Thanksgiving dishes. Here on base our grocery store is pretty much the same as in Ca, although I am sure the fish they sell is much fresher.

Today we ate sushi for the first time since we have been here. The most "fishy" we got was shrimp. I know, I know, we're wimps. It was a cool place though. The sushi is made and it goes around the whole place on a conveyer belt and you grab a plate as it goes by. Someday when we get internet at home I will be able to post the pictures and video...

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving! Wish we could spend it with you guys! Eat a big bowl of ice cream for us! (that is definitely one thing I am thankful for... there is ice cream here in Japan!)

A Lovely Getting Lost Story

This weekend I went to the Tokyo area to stay with a friend that I know from Ca. She was throwing a Thanksgiving thing on Saturday and I stayed the night and went to church with her on Sunday. Sunday night I got off the train at about 10:05pm. Kinda late. Before I tell you how I got lost I must say that I just moved into my place on Friday. I had walked to the train station only twice and had not walked home from the train station at all yet.

So, it's after ten and I knew I would probably get lost (expecially cause it was dark) but I figured I would find my way. As I was walking I came upon the first intersection. I felt confident in the direction I chose, and then not too much later I came upon another intersection. This one I was not sure where to go. I chose one way and after five minutes knew it was wrong. I turned around and went the other way. I walked on that road for a good twenty minutes hoping to see something familiar. Then a train passes parrellel to the road I am on. I immediately knew I was going the wrong way. I turned around and at this point was getting a little worried.

There were cars and taxis going by here and there. I thought of flagging down a taxi, but I couldn't do that cause I only had 500 yen (about $5). So there I was at yet another intersection pondering how I was to get home. I was trying to read the signs and then a car pulled up to a red light. I looked at the car and thought, "Maybe I should ask for directions..." I must have stared too long, cause the next thing I heard was the guy locking his doors. Great, I thought, I am scared of them and they are scared of me. I continued walking, retracing my steps, deep in thought. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a sign with a person on it. I thought it was a real person watching me, and I just about had a heart attack. Yeah, yeah, I know very funny.

I decided at this point I was not going to make it home unless I tried to ask for directions. Luckily I remembered the name of the road I live on. So I see men walking and of course I didn't want to ask them. Then, there was a girl crossing the street. So I said, "Sumemasen, Nagae Doko des ka?" (Where is Nagae). through her broken English and my broken Japanese and a lot of chirades we decided that I would walk with her cause she was going in the same direction. At the point where we needed to part ways she said to go straight and then I would run into the intersection for Nagae. At that point I didn't know where I was, but I was VERY grateful for her help. So I walked on. Maybe five minutes later I was able to recognize my surroundings and I made it home safely. I got home at about 11:40. It took me twice as long to get home since I got lost, but it was exciting!

I am very grateful for the kindness of Japanese people. And I am also very glad that this is such a safe country! Don't worry mom, that doesn't mean that I am not going to take certain safety precautions. I am slowly but surely learning Japanese and finding my way around! That way when some of you visit we won't be getting lost!

Underway

Brian: I'm on my first underway in Japan and so far it's been ok. Underway is what we call going out to sea. We don't exactly deploy over here because we're already constantly forward deployed here in Japan. So instead of having to deploy for six months at a time we constantly go out for a few weeks here a few months there, but the most the ship is ever out for is about 4 months. We're docked right now so yesterday I went to a really cool aquarium and tomorrow I'm going to Universal Studios. I have duty today so I have to stay on the ship until tomorrow morning.
Everyone's been really nice and helpfull so far and It's a little bit better than what I was expecting. I've been asked if I'd like to be a SAR, search and reascue, swimmer and be on the VBSS, visit board search and seizure, team for the ship. I think they want me to be the offical ship photographer and we're going to have a cruise book this year which is just like a school year book, so I've been taking alot of touristy pictures for it wherever I go. We have a really cool Bible study on Wednesday nights and church on Sunday and through those I've been able to meet a small group of Christians on the ship. God has been really blessing me alot here. I just can't wait to get home to see Joy again and see the house she picked out for us which she's already living in as of today I think.
We still haven't been able to sell our truck back in San Diego so if you know anyone who wants a truck please let us know. It's a really nice 2002 red Toyota Tacoma. We'll sell it for pretty much anything we can get right now. So please pray about that, that we find someone to buy our truck.
By the way; here's a picture that I did not take of a jelly fish from the aquarium I went to the other day. When I get back I'll put some of my own stuff up. I just wanted to put some kind of visual with my post.

Hayama

Soooo, I am moving into my place on Friday, which hopefully I will be able to get internet hooked up pretty quick and can get some cool pics up for you guys! Our house is in Hayama. I had no idea it was a nice area until after I signed the paperwork, but apparently it is the vacation place to be. I guess the emporer's son lives there...? Crazy. So come visit and you can stay with us in Hayama and get a nice vacation.

There is a lot going on right now. I am just trying to figure out what I am going to be doing with my time while I am here. I am going to teach English, but I am also going to do photography with the families on base, and I am thinking about getting my master's degree while I am here. And of course traveling... so lot's to plan and I will keep you updated as things progress. But for now that is all, just figured it's been a while and I needed to say something.

Fashion

So today, I went to Yokohama with a friend. It's just a special city with a big mall. And outside the mall there is a farris wheel and some other special rides. Pretty cool. The mall interestingly enough had a lot of stores that we have back in the states. You know those special expensive name brand stores that I can't even remember the name to at the moment...

All I can say is very fashionable. Everyone. Everywhere. I even noticed it on the plane ride here. I'm sure none of you would be surprised if you saw how I was dressed that day, but let me tell you I felt kinda weird standing next to a Japanese girl all decked out in her fashioness. A lot of the people on the plane were dressed quite nicely. I, on the other hand, looked like I had just rolled out of bed (which technically I did, at 6am that morning). All I wore were flip flops, work out pants, and a baseball t-shirt. For a 12 hour plane ride who wouldn't want to be comfortable? Well, apparently the Japanese. I dunno, maybe they are comfortable in those clothes... Brian was a step up from me. He at least had on jeans and a t-shirt. He looked like he had actually got dressed that day.

Honestly, I think this whole coming to Japan thing is Brian's crazy idea of turning me into a more "fashionable lady". Crazy? I think not. I asked him if that was his plan and he could only laugh. Then I asked him what he would think if I never wore jeans and a t-shirt again...? Not quite his plan. I guess he just wants me to dress up "once in a while". Well, just wait till he gets back. I now have a purse, a nice jacket, and I will have to put on some earrings and a nice outfit and take him out to celebrate his birthday. Eh. Peer pressure kids. It's tough stuff.

The Results are in

So I decided to live off-base. I went and looked at the on-base housing one last time and realized that the house they offered actually has about the same sized yard as the house off-base. So off-base it is. I am a little nervous, but who wouldn't be living in another country when you don't speak the language? I know that everything will be fine though. The thing is we only get one move. The Navy will only move our stuff once and I know some of you are thinking, who cares, right? BUT Out here NO ONE has a truck. There are very few SUV's too. So moving on our own would be difficult and expensive. With that being the case I would rather live off-base. Ha! On or off-base the housing is paid for. Off-base though, we could actually make money. They pay for our rent (the exact amount) and they they give us an extra allowance for utilities (and utilities here are very expensive) BUT since I picked a newer house we will not be spending as much on utilities and we will be able to pocket the leftovers. So off-base I think will be better and we will be able to really make the most of our time here.

Tuesday I went off-base with a friend to look at a house she might live in and then we went to look at the Navy housing for me. Well, we got a little lost trying to find the train station. Let me just say it is EXTREMELY difficult to ask for directions when the other person is speaking another language... I did listen to my Japanese lesson that morning, but I couldn't remember how to say station (and sweet Brian took our Japanese phrase book with him... I am sure he needs it more than I do). I seriously think we asked for directions from 4 different people. Most of them do speak a little English they are just reluctant to use it. But one of the guys was telling us to go through the tunnel ahead, and he did use the word tunnel, but I thought he was saying something in Japanese. Luckily my friend caught what he was saying. We did finally make it to the train station and we got where we needed to go, but it was confusing for a bit.

So it has been exciting to say the least finding our way around. Today I think I might go visit the 100 yen store (basically the dollar store back in the states). I heard it is interesting so I will have to check it out. I'll let you know how it goes.

Oh, and just so you all know, I am writing from the future. I am 17 hours ahead of Ca time. Easy way to figure it out is ad 5 hours to your time and then switch it to day (or night). So for some of you, I got your advice after I made the decision. And most of you who said to tell Brian Happy B-day, I got it on the 12th. That's ok though cause I didn't get to talk to him on the 11th so you're all in the clear!

I NEED your opinions!!

So I am trying to decide where to live. Here's the deal, the main concern we have is that our dog will be out here in a few months and we need to have a decent yard for him. Also, we plan to get a second dog so he isn't lonely. That is our main concern. We know that if there isn't a large enough yard he will be bored and turn into a bad dog. There is on base housing that we could get the biggest yard possible in Japan, because off-base there just isn't much as far as yards go. So far I have only found one place that even had grass. SO here are the perks of each...

LIVING ON BASE: good yard, surrounded by Americans who speak English, dog park nearby, as much AC/heat as we want (paid for), lots of other dogs to be friends with, 30 minutes to main base, limited job opportunities on base but near big city so I could work off-base (teaching English), easier to meet people and make friends

LIVING OFF-BASE: smaller yard, actually able to fully experience Japanese culture, 30 min to main base, near private beach where I can let dogs off-leash, I was told I could make good money teaching English there cause people have more money in that area (but maybe the guy was just trying to sell me...), within 5 minutes of 2 HORSE RANCHES!!!! (which I have been told countless times that there are no horses within hours of this area), the housing is paid for by the military but we do get a set amount for utilities. Since the house is new we would be making money by having a lower utility bill.

We came here to experience the country, and that is what we want to do. I know that if we live on base we will still go off-base and experience the country, but I know that it will not be the same. I want to have Japanese neighbors, but at the same time due to the language barrier I am a little afraid of getting lonely and bored being so far from the Americans. Yet I know there are plenty of people who live off-base and love it. Some say the only way to go is living off-base, but we have heard the same things about living on-base. I am sure either way we will be happy, but either way our lives and experiences while we are here will be entirely different.

PLEASE let me know your thoughts!! I have to make some sort of decision by Wednesday! And it is Monday mid day right now! Brian is gone and I emailed him, but I don't know if he has access to internet or not. I don't know how to get ahold of him at all really so he's not going to have much say in the matter... Leave a comment!

I really need to Learn Japanese

So yeah, I really need to learn Japanese. Or at least more than what I know. Brian and I have been out and about a few times. I went today with a new friend and we got a little lost... We didn't go the wrong direction or anything, but we were quite confused and probably switched trains more than necessary. The problem is most everything is written in Kanji and Katakana and I can't read that. I can only read the stuff that is written with actual English letters. So you can imagine how difficult it might be looking at a train station map and wondering what train to get on when a) we can't read where we are, and b) we can't read where we are going.

I know a few key words like Please, Thank you, hello, and excuse me. The main phrase I know is do you understand English. Well, so far everyone says no or they say a little, but continue to speak in Japanese. I think I need to show more effort for them to show more effort. I KNOW they have to be lying though. Seriously, I was told they study English 3 years in middle school, 3 years in high school, and 3 years in a University. That's a LOT. SO when they tell me they don't understand I have a hard time believing them. But how can I complain, I am in Japan.

We have met some very helpful people. A few have actually approached us and offered to help. I am sure we obviously looked confused. But more often than not I find myself frantically saying, "Sumemasen (as I point at the train)" and then say the name of the place I am trying to go. Then they usually say yes or no and I know whether or not to get on. "Sumemasen" (I am not sure if I spelled that correctly), it means Excuse me. It is quite interesting.

I find that the most difficult thing is that I keep wanting to speak Spanish. I do not know that much Spanish, but when someone is giving direction in Japanese I catch myself saying "Si" instead of "Hai" (or however you spell that). I have also said gracias instead of Arigato. Hopefully they did not think I was being racist in some strange way. So it has been fun finding our way around a different country. A little scary at times cause we really don't know what we are doing, and not being able to read Kanji makes it quite difficult. But it is fun!

Brian is gone. He left today. Lucky us we are already experiencing how often his ship's schedule changes. He wasn't supposed to leave until tomorrow, but Friday night we got a call saying they might leave Sat. So Sat we were kinda waiting and wondering if we would get a call... by Sat evening we got a call that said he would leave Sunday (today). And they did. He is supposed to only be gone for ten days, but with how much I have heard his schedule changes I am not going to set my heart on anything. I know some of you are thinking it is crazy that he is gone so soon. We did just get here a week ago. BUT we are lucky. There are many families that the husbands (or spouse in the military) came over a month before, and then the family gets here and they are on their own for the first month. Or other families come and the husband (or father) has to leave the next day. SO not only are we lucky to have been able to travel here together, but also because he was able to be here the entire first week. It is no doubt an adjustment, but we are having fun, and making the most of this opportunity.

Sorry that we have no pictures or video. It will be coming soon, I just can't access the internet through my computer right now. Hopefully we will have our own house soon and then I will have wireless internet and can show you plenty of pics and video! But for now you can make do with some really long posts!

Am I being transformed already?

So today we are going on a "field trip" outside the base. We have been off base, but today we will actually have time to get on the train and go somewhere. We call it a field trip because the area orientation class that we are in scheduled time for our little "field trip". I am really excited cause this time we got some yen and we finally will be able to eat this tasty looking food. The transforming part is this. I have a lot of things to carry. A camera, wallet, Japanese phrase book, map, and who knows what I might find along the way.

For those of you who may not know, I am not a purse person. I don't use a purse, I have never used a purse and I don't even own a purse. BUT today, I am sort of wishing I had one. So for all you friends that have tried to get me to get a purse (Nichole, Kristan, Liz, Amber, Danae...and whoever else I may be forgetting) please know that it was not your influence, but Japan's. Not saying that I am going to buy one. But if ever I was going to buy one I am closest to doing so now. Ew.

Day 2

So day one went well. Brian checked into his command. I went with him and got to see his ship. Smaller than I thought it would be. Brian said the guys on it are "weird". Not quite sure how he meant it, but I am sure part of the reason is they spend all their time on a little ship. Hopefully Brian won't turn into a weirdo. He has never been on a ship before and I think it is quite a different life. Nothing he has ever been interested in, but oh well.

We went off base and walked around. The food looked great! But we had no yen. I was starving too so it wasn't helping. Seriously, yesterday morning when we walked out of the hotel it literally smelled like rice. I guess that means we are in Japan. I still can't sleep past 4am. I was super tired last night, and it took all I had to stay awake until 8:30. I was trying best I could to force myself to adjust to this time. Even though I woke up super early at least I got in enough sleep and slowly I am sure I will be on the right time.

This whole week we have "area orientation" stuff. Hopefully by the end of the week we will have an idea of where we will live and hopefully have a car too. Apparently this is the time of year that cars are expensive cause not many people are moving here. A lot of people (I am talking about military not regular civilians) move here during the summer time so they don't have to yank their kids out of school. So cars are expensive and by that I mean they are $2-3,000 (the ones on base anyway). The cheapest we found was $1,000 so we will probably call on it and try to talk them down. We do drive on the opposite side of the road and the steering wheel is also on the opposite side. We will be taking a test to get our drivers license on Friday! Apparently pedestrians have a ridiculous amount of right of way. They sometimes just jump in front of cars practically. I was told that one woman was here for only two weeks and she hit a person! Yikes! I will be driving EXTRA careful here! That is the last thing I want to happen.

Japan!

Wow! We finally made it! That was just about the longest day of my life. We are here though safe and sound. So stop worrying mom. As far as the flight goes, all I have to say is next time I am taking sleeping pills. I couldn't sleep! Thank God they had movies to watch! I watched Swing Vote, Devil Wears Prada, WALL-E, Kit Kittredge (The American Girl), Batman (the new one), a few episodes of The Office, and I think that is it. Needless to say my eyes were burning by the time we got to Japan. Once at the airport we had to wait for a bus to take us to base (a 2 hr drive). They took us straight to the Navy Lodge and we were in our room by 8pm (4am CA time). Needless to say it was a long day. I passed out on the bed and Brian went to get food. He, of course is still sleeping. It's about 4am here, making it about noon in CA and I just can't sleep when my body thinks it's noon even if I was up late the night before.

So let's see... what else... We have internet in our room, but it's not wireless and the little du-hickey on my laptop that connects the ethernet cord is busted soooo I am sitting in a computer room that smells like someone was secretly smoking in... and this means I won't be posting any video or pics for a while.

Brian is going to check into his command today. He doesn't have to until Thurs, but his LCPO (dude in charge) suggested he check in early so as not to waste anymore leave. And he said they would give him the week to go through all the orientation stuff we need to do. That starts Monday morning. So still not sure what to expect. It was dark by the time we got on the bus, so I haven't even got to see the country yet. Today I guess we will be going grocery shopping, but we don't have a car... There are taxi's on base, but I don't know how much that costs. We'll figure it out. Maybe we will find our way to the beach at some point.

Well, this is definitely the beginning of some adventure so hope you all stick with us!