Our first outing, Just outside the main gate of base.

The flight...

Food

So since we have been here I have eaten a plethora of crap! Pleas do not misunderstand... there is great food here in Japan. But we can't afford to eat out everyday. So for the last 5 almost 6 weeks I have mostly been living on frozen dinners and quesadillas. It's a good thing I love quesadillas. Our stuff has finally arrived here. It all was delivered yesterday. Yay! However, I have not felt like cooking 1) because I have no one to eat with (Brian is still gone) and 2) There is just too much crap everywhere right now for me to feel like making even more of a mess just to cook a meal. Seriously, who cooks a meal when they haven't even unpacked yet? 

So as I am eating my crappy frozen dinner, I felt like I might vomit. Surprisingly this is the first time I have felt this way. But I just could not finish it. I look in the fridge and there wasn't much there. No tortillas left. My bread has gone bad, and everything else would just not be good alone. The bread actually was an unfortunate event. I thought the last two times I had it it tasted funny. Almost like a banana, which is really weird I know. So when I pulled some out of the bag and took a whiff to make sure it was still good... it wasn't and I realized that the weird banana like taste from before was probably mold... I think my friend may have also eaten it while it was slightly moldy... sorry Melody! So after sadly taking inventory, I realized my only option at having a happy stomach would be to eat some ice cream and cookies! And it was quite fantastic!

It has been getting cold at night...

The FUNNIEST thing I have seen in Japan

So this morning I witnessed an event that I will cherish for life. Every time I think about it I laugh! Ha! So I am on my way to base to deal with some paperwork stuff. I am getting off the train, it's about 8:30am and there are tons of people everywhere. Luckily I was going in the same direction as the crowd. 

As I am walking I look down and see a girl in some crazy pointy healed boots. Not unusual at all. I begin to ponder what life is like as a Japanese woman. Everyone is so fashionable. They look great, fantastic right? Not quite. Is fashion really so important that you must give up your own comfort. We aren't even just talking about comfort here, we're talking about real life feet problems, back problems, leg problems, all the crap that happens to your body when you where the oh so cute shoes. Don't get me wrong, I like heals as much as the next girl (well, maybe not as much), but there comes a point when you must stop and think, "Hmm, I am going to be walking an awful lot today, maybe I should be practical and where comfy shoes". Right? Shouldn't women think that? Don't they? Apparently not. Cause every woman I see (well, at least most) is wearing some kind of heal. And a lot of them are high ones, with the skinny end that you could probably use as a weapon... 

So as I am pondering all these thoughts and just truly wondering how they can do it day after day so painlessly graceful... BAM!! The girl who's shoes I am staring at all of a sudden crashes to the ground (almost to the ground)! We were going down some stairs and she must have sensed what I was thinking, cause all of a sudden she trips, arms flail out to the side like she is preparing to take flight. Hits the next step, falling faster as she goes. Her arms reaching out to those around her to hold her up. She practically had both her arms around two men that were walking beside her, used them as support and somehow never made it to the ground, but finished the staircase still standing. She frantically apologized and said excuse me and the men just looked at her weird. Just imagine the staircase was packed. People everywhere. It's no wonder this girl never hit the ground, and it was good that she didn't cause she could've been trampled by the herd of Japanese people.

I couldn't help but laugh the whole way to base. It was really the funniest thing I have every seen. And what perfect timing as I was wondering why it is that they wear such impractical shoes... So graceful and yet not. Wish someone could've been there with me cause it was freaking hilarious!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Treeee...

Yes! We got a Christmas tree! Yay hurray! They were selling some on base and I had a friend give me and the tree a ride home. There is no way I would be able to take that thing on the train…. Or the bus…. Or walk it aaalllll the way home. Soooo good news… I met with the internet people today and signed the paperwork. They will be coming out on Monday to set it up! Yay! I will finally have internet at home and then I can actually post pics and video! Oh the long awaited pictures! I think I will need to start taking more now… Another good piece of news is that our stuff will be getting here next week! That is if it arrives on time. Hopefully we will have it all by next Thursday! Hope so! Finally I will feel settled! Can’t wait! And Brian is underway again and he will also get back next week! Woohoo!

Funny story… the other day I was meeting Brian at the train station. He had just got off work and we were going to go explore. Well, right as I called him to say I was there, this Japanese man walks up to me and starts talking to me. I don’t know what he was saying, but it is very rare for them to approach you without you first saying something. Very rare. Not to mention that this guy was invading my space! He was saying something in Japanese and then he says, “English?” I said yes. But then he would just say a few words in English and some in Japanese. NONE of it made any sense at all. Not one bit. He had a creepy smile on his face and he pet me, and ugh! It was too much. I said “Arigato” and quickly walked away to find brian laughing wondering what was going on. I think he was complimenting me on my hair, but I have no idea. I really think “his cheese slid of his cracker”. Definitely not a full deck of cards in that stack. Had a few tools missing in the shed. A few ingredients short for Thanksgiving dinner…? Ok that’s enough. Anyway, that was definitely a first. Though I do get some stares, I have never had someone approach me like that. Creepy.

After One Month in Japan...

I have learned this:

-Japanese people are very kind and helpful when you ask for help
-If the first thing you ask someone in Japanese is if they understand English most of the time they will not help you much.
-The train systems are a bit intimidating at first, but very useful (and not dirty!)
-There is a reason why all Japanese people wear shoes that are easy to slip on and off
-The garbage trucks, when they stop to pick up trash instead of making a horrid beeping noise they play Fur Elise (Beethoven)
-Nobody shakes hands... just bow
-Japanese have an amazing ability to fall asleep on the train and magically wake up when they need to get off (doesn't work for American's, I tried and missed my stop by about four stops one time)
-Everyone loves a redhead, or at least they love to stare (even people on base, which is weird cause you know they have seen a redhead before)
-Everyone here is petite, and I don't just mean short cause some are tall. I used to blame it on the fact that they eat with chop sticks and it slows down the whole eating process, but they are pretty darn good with their chop sticks so maybe it's just genetics
-I have yet to fully experience this, but they are apparently all great artists, and from the few I have seen draw it is true.

Anyway, that is all I can think of for now, but it has been a good month. I still don't have internet at home, but hopefully by next week. I have an appointment to fill out paperwork on it on Thurs. Brian is back out to sea which stinks cause he just got back, but he will be here for Christmas so that will be great!