"Don't touch my mustache"

To say "you're welcome" you would say: doe-eet-ta-she-mashte. However many of the locals will also accept "don't touch my mustache" for the same meaning.

I've been learning Japanese through a beginners CD and common interactions. We still haven't been able to get our car yet, but when we do I look forward to taking the free language classes provided on the different bases! Today I also looked at the gym scheduled classes to hopefully get back in the routine of going to a yoga class. If not, I'm sure the locals would have a class or two!

Sunday we went to church with Amanda and her boys and did a little exploring. We passed by a local park that had around 200 people playing a croquet tournament. I'll definitely start practicing on our front lawn. After church we came home and I prepared dinner for our friends. We got a bit of the daily chores done but not much else that day.

Today I babysat, did a little unpacking and started to go through some of my clothes. Hopefully I will get a lot more done tomorrow. And get the pictures taken that I promised all of you!

Also, if anyone has an idea of how I could introduce myself to my neighbors that would be great. I met the guy once and he was really nice! His name was George, and he mentioned his wife is 7 months pregnant. I don't know what I should bake her or try to randomly borrow something or if I should just knock on their door and say "hello". I've honestly never done this before so anyone who had a suggestion, fire away! 

Jessica Boll, you inspired me to be healthy.

Today was a really good day. And I think most of that was because I was really healthy, and a bit cranky, but I didn't feel bad or guilty or bloated about anything that I ate. I didn't over eat or snack because I was bored and I consciously made good food decisions. We went on a run today for about 30 minutes, then did push ups, pull ups and sit ups at the park, and then ran back home. Oh! And we crossed over a bridge that cuts through a stream in our area and there were 2 feet long catfish scattered across the stream. It was amazing. I love nature and I love being able to experience it and I love that it's in a place that is entirely new to me. This place is fantastic and we've only ventured into a tiny spectrum of it! I was able to Skype with Candace today and then Rory and I went grocery shopping with Laura and Justin and bought all that we need for me to make our favorite dishes, with enough to share with our new friends! After that we came back to our house and visited with Laura and Justin until they had to go. Shortly after I set to work in the kitchen and made some FANTASTIC bean burritos that were ridiculously healthy and filling. I honestly couldn't ask for more today. Oh, and Sierra Ferrari  has been playing Draw Something with me all day and not only are her drawings skilled delightful and accurate, it's kept me entertained with all the down time I had today. For all those who have been checking regularly, I will post picture of our new place on Monday! (Since that is the day they'll pick up our empty boxes)

Home & other adventures.

Let's see, the last time I posted was on Tuesday morning. This is how the rest of that day went: babysitting & Lego Pirates, grocery shopping and dinner with Laura's family. It was really good fried chicken and mashed potatoes with broccoli. I love starchy vegetables so I was in heaven! Later that night we went to our new home and spent our first night.

Wednesday we had our home inspection and everything went well with that! Later on Laura came by and took us to the Commissary and to the Exchange on Kadena so that we could gather some of the necessary items to set up home. The first night we didn't have toilet paper so we used baby wipes. That was lucky! Rory and I were both pretty exhausted after this so we ate a light dinner and went to bed.

We slept in pretty late on Thursday and by the time I was out of bed and shuffling around the house, the delivery crew had arrived and was ready to bring in all our stuff. I hadn't even changed out of my pajamas when the first box came through the door. 78 items later they had left and we started unpacking. At this point we had both sets of our furniture and the government issued furniture that  comes with the house/you can request if you don't have any. We had thought that our furniture wouldn't be there for at least another month so we received the government furniture before we got the email saying that our own furniture would be there two days later. Oops! 

We couldn't move around much with everything all over the place so Rory played video games and I explored the 100 Yen store with Amanda, Gunner & Barrette. I found lots of fun goodies for our new home and some presents for birthdays coming up soon. They have everything you could think of there; anyone who visits will definitely be taking a trip there with me. I found tons of Hello Kitty brand items, from shower caps to stationary and chair feet covers. I bought some post cards with her on it. And candy, the Japanese make really good candy. By the time we got back to my place the boys were getting hungry and it was close to dinner time so we picked up Rory and went out for sushi at a new place called "Sushi Go Round". It's a lot like Sushi Land or Blue C Sushi in that you could pick daily specials up from a conveyer belt that encircled the restaurant, however it tasted much better and you can also order off a touch screen built into each both (and yes, we took our shoes off to eat dinner). Anything that we didn't eat off of the conveyer belt was delivered to us via a space shuttle shaped tray that operated on a magnetic track. In Japan, everything is an art form. I ordered rolls with the following on it: baby squid, crab with onion and mayonnaise, creamed corn salad, mystery goo and my personal favorite, inari. Mystery goo was the only one I didn't like, it had to be something between eggs and predigested fish foods; it was incredibly slimy and a yellow brown. I only got one of those suckers down. We also had cream puffs and pineapple for dessert! Rory ordered the california roll, tempura, calamari and shrimp. He wasn't in as much of an adventurous mood as I was. But I bet his stomach felt better than mine did. Haha! Amanda dropped us off as at our home and we went to bed shortly after a round of Skyrim battles.

I got up this morning to wipe down the government furniture and make pathways through the boxes. They weren't as early as the other movers so this time I was able to put on clothes, Skype with my sister and make breakfast before they showed up at 8am. They took most the furniture that they had brought, except a few pieces we asked to keep (end tables, entertainment center, desk and chair, extra book case and an elaborate display case for Legos.) So far we've set up the living room and office and most of the kitchen. The next few weeks will be organizing and going through boxes to clear out the clutter. I'll definitely be going through some of my clothes and finding new homes for some of my stuff. I heard before that in the Japanese farmers markets American clothes go for a pretty good price, may be I'll find someone who can bargain for me!

It's 8 am here.

We have 2 more days until we get our own furniture for our home! And pick up our new car :) Everything has been so great and falls directly in line with exactly with what we need. We are so blessed!

Today will be a day of packing and settling in to our new home.

I can hear cows moo from our hotel room.

 I really like it here :)

Today, I drove. On the left side of the road, on the right side on the car, with Japanese signs telling me where I was. And I didn't crash. We went to our new home to see what furniture might go where and we met our neighbor! His name is George and he's in the Navy.

We'll be getting our own car on Thursday! It is a red Honda Fit and looks very similar to the ones from the US. I'll post pictures when I can.

This Sunday we went to church with our friend Amanda and her two sons Barrette and Gunner. I got a good feeling from it and I look forward to going again.

We saw the Lorax later on in the day. I have to say, I didn't really care for the cheesy songs in the movie, but I did like the overall movie. Afterwards I really wanted to go plant a tree.

I've been going on a lot of walks lately. Last night I went on a long one with Amanda and Laura and her dog Roxie down to the waterfront. Everything here is so jungly I forget that we're actually on an island. I always find waves to be so soothing. But we had to leave quickly because huge bats started to dive bomb our heads. At first we just thought they were birds flying low but their shrill squeaking noise gave them away as fruit bats that reside on the island. Ick.

Saturday I went to a Batman & Transformer birthday party. Even if I have little girls for children, I will still throw them super hero parties.

WE HAVE A HOME!!

Normally I would recount the week from the last point that I left off but I'm too excited to wait :) We have a home! A place to call our own and make special for ourselves. After the last two years I have moved so much, I am just thrilled to have a place to call home! Its a large two bedroom, one bathroom apartment with a spacious living room and a HUGE kitchen with lots of counter space :) There are 4 units in the building (two on the bottom and two on the top) and ours is the top! Which is what I prefer because I hate hearing people walk above me. It's newly renovated and we're the first tenants in it! I will post pictures when we pick up the keys on Monday. It's on Camp Chibana which is literally next to the Kadena AFB. Which is another great point because the Kadena base has the best and largest gym facilities and largest PX within walking distance of our next place! Ahh we are so blessed!

Alright so we got our house on Tuesday, since then we went to a newcomers orientation where we learned all about living in Okinawa. I got my license to drive here! (Rory has a waiting period before he can get his.) Then we went to the Corr's(our sponsors) for a delicious homecooked asian meal. Today we transferred our records to the hospital and dental building, talked to another guy from Rory's shop about a car we might buy and had a mongolian grill styled meal at the Tengang Castle restaurant in Courtney. It was amazing, there were over 15 different sauces to choose from and endless mixings to go with the noodles. I will definitely be going there again!

Back to the beginning of our trip, we flew in Friday night and fell asleep soon after we landed. Adjusting to the time difference wasn't very difficult since we didn't sleep long on the plane. Saturday we took a tour of Camp Courtney and got some of the essentials from the commissary. Later that night we went to dinner with our sponsors to Yoshi's and had the best sushi and teriyaki we've ever had. It was a traditional styled Japanese restaurant, we took our shoes off at the door and sat down at lowered tables. We wiped our hands with hot towels before eating and drank sweet green tea with our dinner. It was  inexpensive and delicious. I ordered the chicken teriyaki and Alaskan roll, and everything was so incredibly flavorful and fresh. Everything here tastes fresh and healthy. 

Sunday we went to American village which is a very large shopping center near to the water. The malls here are built different that most. Instead of every shop having an individual room or store, they're all kind of just meshed into one another without any kind of boundaries. Kind of as if it were all one entire store (how Macys and Nordstroms are but as an entire mall). We ate udon noodles for lunch with some delicious sides that I honestly have no idea what they were. We watched a man make balloon animals to an extent that might as well have been origami. His assistant followed me through several aisles hiding behind my height. We I finally noticed her I just thought " Seriously, this would only happen to me." After American village we went to the Kadena PX for Rory to get his hair cut for the week and we set up our contract for cell phones for the next couple of years. We both have iPhones and can now Facetime with anyone back in the US with it as well! Or so we understand..

We went to bed early Sunday and started off Monday morning with our Okinawa housing brief. The main thing about that meeting was that the closest housing to Rory's work was currently not available however there was one. Which of course is the one that we chose and I am all kinds of giddy about :) Later in the day I went to COCO Curry with my sponsor, her best friend and all their children for some chicken curry & rice. It was no Taste of India but it was good. Afterwards I went with everyone to the sea wall. It was my first taste of the Pacific ocean from the opposite side and it was fascinating. The tide was low and there were small tide pools all over. Most of them containing oceanic life. There were these small tentacles poking out of small holes, waving in the water. I don't know if they were star fish or octopus but hopefully I can go again and take a closer look. Im also not quite sure what the large shaped stones are but I think they have something to do with protecting the city from the coast waves, I'll do some research ;)

We've noticed some pretty interesting cultural differences in just the last few days, some of them positive stereotypes and some of them just unique. Outside every building there are "guardians" posted near the entrance to "ward off evil spirits from entering." These were the ones that were at American village, they were larger than the horses posted outside P.F. Changs. We learned on Wednesday that the word used for husband can be misunderstood as prisoner if not pronounced correctly (haha!). The lawns here is a mix of clovers, grass, flowers, and other greenery and must be kept at a minimum height because there is an annual threat of dangerous snakes. Also, we have pineapples growing next to our hotel. :D

I really like it here. 

We made it :)

We've only been here for 8 hours and most of that was sleeping.
However, for all those moms and travel enthusiasts, here is all about our trip:

We started off leaving Snohomish at 0315 and then checked in to SEATAC before 0430. We then went to our gate and my mom escorted us [easily the best thing so far]. We boarded the plane at 0645 and almost instantly became familiar with the back of our seats [sleeping].  By 0800 we were in the air. We saw some familiar faces from 29 Palms along the way. Hole, Davison, Kyabyab and Harvey were on the plane with us. Our first flight traveled from Seattle to Kyoto, Tokyo and was a whopping 13 hours. After that we spent 2 hours in a waiting room at the Kyoto AFB while our plane refueled. We then waited another 3 hours on board to plane, waiting for air clearance or some pilot jargon. We then flew to Iwakuni AFB and waited another 2 1/2 hours to fly into Kadena, Okinawa. At that point I fell asleep and somewhere around 4 hours later and 0600WA time/2200 Japan time we landed, collected baggage and met our sponsor.

It was a long but adventurous day and I couldn't be happier to be with my husband on this incredible adventure. Especially since he gave me his leftover airline food :)