Big Weekend

Our 3day weekend was filled with activity... We drove, and drove, and drove... We found beaches and parks, neighborhoods and shops and ended it all with a day trip to the aquarium.

Here are all the pictures!! Please enjoy :)

These are all from the same park.

Sierra's 1st time on a big kid swing :)

She ate a face full of sand just after this was taken :(

The coolest Jungle Gym I've ever seen!

What started out as me & Charlie at brunch at the American Village turned out to be great shots of my hair :).

On our way to the Aquarium we kept spotting these beautiful beaches to our left. Finally we pulled over, walked down a steep flight of old concrete stairs and this is what we found... The water felt great!

A local fisherman

After our detour we finally made it to the aquarium and had a great time.

The lady who took this picture of us first asked if she could take a picture with us. We let her. She was Asian but the language she spoke was not Japanese so I'm not sure where she was from. She was however very happy to be in a picture with us!! She even threw up the peace sign. It was pretty funny. I should've asked her to stay in our picture but I didn't think about it until we had already started walking away.

There was a play area.

Of course Charlie couldn't get her hands dirty.

That whale shark in the backround is much bigger than it looks!!!

End.

Our New Neighborhood

We found a house!! A 2story, 3bed/ 2.5bath located along the Sunabe Sea Wall. We were told that there aren't too many single family homes in the area, instead there are lots of mid rise and high rise apartments because of the incredible view- I actually took the above picture of what will be my neighborhood from inside one of the apartments further along the wall. If you look closely, you'll see a park... and lots of apartments. But if you can imagine driving up the road at the bottom left of the photo as it curves right, continuing toward the ocean, making a left at that last apt complex right near the water, and then driving another half a kilometer, you'll find us... nestled right in there, up a little side street, approx 30 yards from the sea wall...

Well if you went today you'd actually find Cynthia, the current owner, but she'll be out by the end of the month :).

Below are a few pictures we took the other day while getting to know our neighborhood. You'll see the sea wall (covered left to right, top to bottom, in graffiti art), the girls at the park, and my family at the beach (the same one at the bottom of the above photo).

A Dangerous Job...

Driving on the left is DANGEROUS!!! Especially when I'm behind the wheel.

They gave me a driver's license. That was their first mistake. Well, their first mistake was creating a test as easy as this one. A test consisting of 30 questions (fifteen multiple choice, fifteen where you match road signs to their meaning) which enables anyone with a valid stateside driver's license to obtain a SOFA driver's license allowing you to drive in Japan.

I prepared for the test. I looked over the test booklet and then my husband, who took the test two days before I did, came home and marked in the booklet the exact information I would need to know for the test. So I took it and passed. They gave us our licenses right away. When I signed for mine I was told that of the 20 or so test takers with me I was the only one who scored a 100%. Typically scoring 100% on a test makes you pretty qualified, or at least knowledgeable, regarding whatever the test was about. In this case I couldn't have been less qualified.

I walked to the car with Will (Marcus' co-worker who drove me to the test) and, once he started driving away, I half-joked that I should drive since I was now street legal. Will responded by pulling over and actually letting me take the wheel! I was driving maybe 45 seconds before I almost blew through the stop sign at the corner. Will's yelling was the only thing that stopped me. A side note. When you drive on the left, don't look for road signs on the right. They won't be there. The remainder of the ride was spent with Will doing 1 of 3 things. He was either reminding me which signs were coming up, telling me that I was doing okay, or telling me that I was close to hitting the curb. Another side note. When your steering wheel is on the right, you tend to straddle the line on the left.

We made it back to the temp housing quarters in one piece and Will took a few pictures of me behind the wheel to capture my inaugural trip. He never showed any signs of fear during that drive... Neither did I. Although I suspect we were silently reciting similar prayers.

In the days that followed Marcus and I bought a vehicle and I made a second attempt at driving, this time out on the island. Again, everyone made it back in one piece. Keep your fingers crossed that it stays that way!

Okinawa- my initial verdict

So I've been here for a week now... and much to my surprise I am really enjoying myself!

First let me say this place is BEAUTIFUL. It's a small island (~65mi long and anywhere from 5 to 13miles wide), you can see the ocean from practically anywhere you stand and where you don't see the water you see lush, green mountainsides. The weather is warm and a bit humid, and despite the threat the humidity alone posed to my hair (and therefore to my overall experience here, okay not really... well kind of), I am pleased to report that even with the humidity my hair is not only holding up, it's looking great! YAY for me!

We've taken a few trips with the housing agents and the homes on the island are nice. They've been showing us what they call "American Classic" homes, which I'm guessing is their interpretation of American suburban architecture. My only complaint is that none of the homes have carpeting, and with a 1yr old that falls down a lot that means some serious rug shopping (on the other hand even rug shopping is still shopping so maybe that's not such a bad thing). A big plus though is that they all either have an ocean view or they are a short walk to a beach. Some even have a Starbucks right around the corner (you hear that Brianna?).

I also think that the support that we've had from Marcus' co-workers and their families have played a huge role in the ease of our transition. Everyone has offered themselves up as a resource for us. They have driven us around the island, introduced us to their families, given us more information than we could possibly take in and have just been wonderful.

The most exciting thing though is that Marcus somehow found an R&B radio station - and not just any station but "the station for today's r&b and oldschool". So as I've typed this I've listened to Anita Baker, Gerald Levert, Karen White, Jill Scott, Vivian Green, Troop (what!), Lyfe Jennings, Earth Wind & Fire, Mary J & Billy Ocean.

With that said, today Okinawa gets a thumbs up from me. I'm looking out the window at an awesome view, listening to my favorite music and I'm with the loves of my life.

Things are pretty good :).

BLOG PHOTOS

Okay so I know I need to put photos on this blog. Please bear with me!! The computers in the temp housing unit won't let me upload anything and I haven't been able to find any wireless signals anywhere that will allow me to use my laptop. Hopefully I can get to an Internet cafe- I haven't seen any yet but I'm sure they're out there- and I'll update all my old blog posts with pictures as soon as possible.

Friendship (this is what it looks like)

I have four friends. Well, that's untrue. I actually have tons of friends. Childhood friends, high school friends, college friends, work friends, friends of friends, guy friends, friends I live through vicariously, neighbors, acquaintances, etc. There are many people that I love and care about and would do anything for, but this post isn't about them. This post is about Bri, Kia, Morgan (TK) and Debbie. My girls.

These women have been a part of my entire adult life. Kia was my hostess during my recruiting trip at the University of Arizona (ix-ne on the eik-shes). TK and I met in fall of 97 and quickly became inseparable- We were so close we'd say the same random things at the exact same time (Retreat! Retreat! Get your troops outta there!). I was Bri's hostess on her recruiting trip to U0fA in 98 and she's been my housemate for the past couple months. Debbie, who I developed a friendship with mainly because she had been Bri's roommate since their freshman year, cemented her place in my life after a series of road trips to PHX my Sr- and her soph- Year. Three of them were my teammates. Two of them are god-mothers to Charlie & Sierra. Of these four ladies, at least one has been present for every important, and unimportant, adult decision I've made. They aren't all best friends with each other, but they are with me, and they have seen me at my best and my worst and have loved me through all of it. They were the ones I called when I was happy, sad, excited or pissed off, and they still are. They were the ones whose approval Marcus, now my husband, had to get if he was gonna get me (and the ones who gave him a second chance after he didn't do too well that first get together). I would do everything with them. Laugh- check. Cry-check. Win- check. Fail- check. Party- check. Fight- check. Tattoos- check. Piercings- check. Face fears- check. Look like an idiot- check. Break (minor) laws- check. I would do anything for them. Fly to Chicago last minute while pregnant after getting a worrisome phone call- check. Offer to have my brothers and cousins f*** up their little sister's ex-boyfriend because he put his hands on her- check. Plan a last minute vacation filled summer to help heal a broken heart- check. Give them my clothes, my home, my money and anything else they could ever want or need- check, check, check and check. Since 1996 at least one of them has always been around, aside from my husband they are the best things that have ever happened to me and this move has been so hard, in part, because I won't be close to them.

A couple days ago Bri dedicated a blog post to me. It was sweet and moving and reminded me how lucky I am to have her in my life and if you want to know what friendship looks like you can read it here (http://www.mysocalledfabulouslife.com/).

A person would hit the cosmic lottery if they had even one friend like her. I have four. So here's to Bri, Kia, Morgan (TK) & Debbie! I suggest everybody go out and find friends like these... but not these exact ones, they're mine.

The Day (Oct 1st)

It started with tears at the airport. Damn, I almost made it, I thought to myself right before I cried like a baby on my Mom and Dad's shoulders. What followed was an annoying check-in and a 12hour flight to Tokyo. The flight wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. The girls did great and I probably couldn't have asked for a smoother trip... to Tokyo. Once we got to Tokyo however we were exhausted! We made it through immigration were surprised to learn we had to pick up all of our luggage and take everything- which included 5 checked bags, 4 carry-ons, 2 car seats, 1 stroller and 2 sleeping babies- to a different area to check-in for our connecting flight to Okinawa. But, one hour and a half layover and one hour long delay for airplane maintenance later we were in the air. This flight lasted 2 hours and Sierra and I were out for pretty much all of it. Once that plane landed we made what could best be described as a zombie walk to- you guessed it!- pick up our bags, which btw I had come to despise during our trip.
What happened next was the most pleasant surprise- and if it's any indication of what's to come then we'll do just fine here in Japan. We had an entire welcome committee waiting for us. Well, they weren't an official welcome committee but they might as well have been. There was Dave, John and Ed, affectionately known as the three stooges. There was Will who would be driving us. And there was Chris and Stacy, and their 5yr old twin girls Victoria and Carolina. For those of you not counting that's eight! Eight people, comprised of Marcus' coworkers and one of their families who didn't have to be there. Not only were they there at 10:30pm but they were waiving and smiling and seemed genuinely happy to meet us. The twins held up hand made cards written in that adorable, crooked writing that only kids (and my husband) can master. They even had a stuffed elephant for Sierra and a Spongebob doll for Charlie. They took us to our temp housing and informed us that when we woke up it would be Friday, not Thursday, and to expect them bright and early to show us around. For Marcus, that would mean work stuff with Will. For me it means a day with Stacy and all our girls, which will include a driving lesson- here they drive on the other side of the road & car- and a housing search because Stacy even scouted a few available properties in her neighborhood that she thought we would like.
So far, Japan isn't so bad :).

Waterworks (Sep 30th)

My little brother cried today. Those of you who know us know my little brother Jason as the handsome, six foot- four and a half inch, former football/ basketball all-star and current juvenile probation officer. Guys want to be his friend and girls want to be his girlfriend. I know people say that a lot but in this instance it couldn't be more true. So, it's not that just any little brother cried today... My little brother cried today. And when I hung up the phone and told my Mom and Dad that Jason had to compose himself and call back, my Dad cried too. Yes you read it right. My Dad- who kind of looks like a cross between Jim Brown and George Foreman and is every bit as intimidating and disarming as they are, respectively- cried today as well. Before today I only ever saw my Dad cry twice. The first was when I was 7 or 8 and I ran in the house to tell him that Jason just got hit by a car. He fell apart for a nano-second (which makes sense considering the fact that my older sister died at 4 years old by getting hit by a car in front of our house) and then he was out the door before I knew it. The second was the Summer of 2003 when my Mom's older brother passed. My Dad and my Mom have been together since 1959 so Uncle Jesse had been my Dad's big brother for several decades... also understandable. But I wasn't expecting tears over this. My Dad is Superman. My little brother, a Superman in training. Their tears don't make them any less Superheros to me though. They just showed a bit of what I already knew, that our families love and closeness is real and deep and something that I will never take for granted.