Living Abroad

I need to back track a little here and tell you about an event here on base a few weeks ago. There are two pools on base; an outdoor and an indoor. At the end of the season they drain the outdoor pool and the weekend before they have a dog days of summer party and all the dogs on base can go swimming. So of course, we had to bring our little prince Ethan to partake in the action.

There are a lot of things to do on base. They have tours every weekend to see different things in Japan. There is an outdoor recreation department that has outdoor tours including white water rafting, camping and the like. There are gyms, pools, work out classes, an auto hobby shop to work on your car. There is an arts and crafts center that has every thing you could want to buy or make and classes to teach you how to make things you didn't know existed. They offer a bunch of classes in traditional Japanese arts. There are language and cultural courses and tons more. The officers club has something going on just about every night and on Fridays they have "heavy" hors de vours with tons of food. So, there is not excuse to get bored around here. Not to mention we are in JAPAN. It is kind of like living on a college campus with tons to do except that we are in an awesome country and there is not enough time to see it and take advantage of all the things on base as well.

We are enjoying the outdoors here in Japan. Two weekends ago we went hiking up in the mountains somewhere around Oku-Tama but I am not really sure since we didn't drive. We have become friends with a guy who works at the outdoor recreation department and his wife (Chris and Jodi) so they have been showing us all the outdoor things to do. It was a pretty tough hike and we were very sore the next day. The mountains here are no joke and everything is very steep. Apparently they are not very big into making switchbacks on their trails. Everything is very well maintained and clean. The Japanese love to get decked out in all the latest gear for whatever sport suits their fancy so you can see well equipped hikers on trails and the best gear around. We went up into the cloud line and ran into some fog which made for a spooky hike. The scenery changed quite significantly throughout. Very beautiful.

We saw three really pretty waterfalls and forests full of spider webs. You can only see a few spider webs in these photos but there were loads of them.

Ethan and I were a little tired after the hike so we had to take a nap. Quinn of course is super strong and did not need a nap.

Last weekend we went on a camping/rock climbing trip. After all of our rock climbing indoors we finally have climbed outside. It was much more difficult. We were not prepared for the weekend in that the temperature dropped and we went in higher elevation and we did not have the proper clothing. So the first day I hunkered down in the tent trying to stay warm after I got chilled and the second day I borrowed some more clothing from Jodi and Chris so that I could climb too. It was a really cool experience getting to the top and looking down over the climbing area and seeing all the trees and rivers and rock formations. The scenery in this area is just gorgeous. Lots of water and exposed rock faces. Much different than Arizona scenery. I do miss the desert scenery though. Brown can be just as beautiful as green. Here are some pictures of us climbing. I am wearing orange and Quinn is wearing red.

Here are pictures of Quinn, Ethan and me trying to stay warm.

There were many climbers in their 50s and 60s flying up the rock past us! From what I am told, many Japanese people work so much when they are young that they don't have time to recreate. Most Japanese work 6 days per week and only have off on Sundays. So once Japanese people retire they recreat with the zeal of working. Therefore, there are many retired people out rock climbing and hiking and whatever. I don't know if this stereotype is true but this is what I have been told by many Americans here on base. We haven't made any Japanese friends yet so I can't confirm the veracity of the above generalizations.

Another interesting tidbit: there are loads of flowers everywhere in Japan. Here is a close up of a seven eleven parking lot. And another one further away to prove that it really is a seven eleven parking lot. Gasp! yes, they have 7-11 here. That is where you pay your bills for your utilities and phone and whatnot. They are on every corner. Circle K is here too. But no big gulps! They do have many other foods/candies/magazines/ and whatnot that you have never seen.

Well, now that I am back from my whirlwind tour back to the United States I am resettled in Japan. For those who didn't get the update, our condo in Phoenix flooded, and I flew home to repair the damages. I am an avid installer of laminate flooring at this point.

Anyway, I returned home to Japan to find that Kristen was sort of moved in to our new place and was kind enough to leave most of the unpacking to me. She figures that I really like the work. After allowing myself one night of rest, I was greeted at 8 am by the guys from the moving company to unload the additional boxes of our belongings. I have been puting stuff away for days now.

Yesterday I went to help out Kristen at school. She is a little overwhelmed by the amount of speech materials that are in her room and I did my best to help her sort through some of it. I am so glad that Kristen also shipped over about two bookshelves worth of her own material because after seeing everything that is here I don't know if she would have been able to provide therapy to any of her kids (insert sarcastic gesture here).

I started painting our place today. We are trying to brighten the place up a bit since all of the walls are exactly the same color. They are currently something a little to the yellow side of eggshell white. We decided that orange was a good place to start. I thought that I was going to get some time to relax since I am not working and all, but I have become quite the domestic. Not only am I organizing the house, and painting, but I am taking care of the laundry and dishes. Now if only I could cook I would be the full package. There has been a lot to do, and we are thinking about installing a fence so Ethan can go outside, but he has made a few dog friends in the neighborhood, so we may not do the fence after all.

The reality of what a small world the base can be is really starting to sink in. It is a lot like living in a small town, and since in this case there is only one grocery store, we often run into people we know when we are shopping. I will have to make sure I don't get into any trouble around here, or need to go to the doctor for anything embarassing (we have four doctors living right around us). In all reality though the people in our area are good people and the president of the Striders running club lives across the parking lot, and the track coach lives next door. I took advantage of the kindness of others yesterday and used a random lawnmower to cut our grass. We were told that they are community lawnmowers. Good for us not to have to buy one.

When I was away Kristen got some info about a planning job that opened up on base, and I am in the process of hunting down what department exactly is hiring. I think it will be a bit tougher than what I am used to since many of the jobs can only be filled by enlisted personel.

I think I will finish my post with some photos that we have been unable to post previously or did not have a reason to post them. I realize people like to see photos, and we like to share them. I know we have been a bit lax lately on the posts, but between everything with the condo, and moving into our new place, this last month has been quite the time for us.

Sorry it has taken so long to write. Unfortunately we have had some technical difficulties with getting the pictures onto this website so I might have to make some changes to the program I am using. This entry will be photoless until I fix the root of the problem.

Two weekends ago we went to Roppongi which is another area of downtown Tokyo. We took the train and made it there without any major difficulties. The area is full of shopping and restaurants and is known for its night life. I guess it is sort of like old town Scottsdale but about 200x the size. The restaurants, bars, and clubs are in highrises. As we were walking around I saw a sign for Blue Man group. We tried to see them when they came to Phoenix but it sold out in about 15 minutes and we couldn't get tickets. Needless to say I was very excited and I was determined to find the ticket office so we could buy some tickets for an upcoming show. Using a lot of pointing and gesturing with random Japanese people on the street we finally found the building. Turns out they were 3 shows that day and if we waited in line we could get tickets that were cancellations and what not. We ended up with 9th row seats! It was awesome. THey have these little symbols every where in Japan and you can scan them with your cell phone and get information sent to you about the restaurant, show, or whatever it is they are advertisin

Then we ate at the most amazing Chinese restaurant ever.

We also saw the most amazing flower shops with orchids. The orchids here are unbelievable.

Quinn also went back to his roots during this trip and milked some cows. This fake cow was outside of an icecream shop and you could actually "milk" it and get water out. The Japense are so clever!

Alright, so I guess it is time that I join the technology boom and embrace blogging. I attempt to avoid all such activities, and no, I am not going to start a facebook page.

Well, after what feels like an eternity of waiting and planning, and going away parties, I am finally in Japan. It was a strange feeling stepping off the plane and knowing that i would not be getting back on for the states any time soon. I guess the oddest feeling was the fact that usually on vacation you hit the ground running and are off to the first destination. In our case, we quickly found out that just getting out of customs with Ethan was a larger hurdle than we expected.

Whenever I travel I always have to overcome the feeling of embarassment I feel for not being able to speak the language. I realize I am not necessarily expected to know Japanese (or any other language for that matter) in the United States, but it is always tough getting through the initial uneasiness of pointing and nodding and then realizing that you just ordered a chocolate covered banana rather than the Pad Thai Noodles you intended to order.

Overall, I am really excited to be here, but I know it is going to be a while until I feel at home here in the land of the rising sun. Well, I miss all of our friends and family and want you all to know that we are safe and getting situated. We would love to hear from any or all of you and will try to keep everyone abreast of our trials and tribulations. I found a running group on base called the striders and I am going to give it a shot tomorrow morning at 5 am. I will let you know how that goes.

Sorry for the pointless rant and if you managed to read all the way through this I am impressed. Maybe I will try again later. We all know I am not as entertaining as Kristen.

Quinn