Our Very Kadena Christmas 2009

Though it was difficult to be away from home, family, and friends, we still had a great Christmas thanks to so many.

First, let me start by saying that the weather was a nice change from the usual frigid white Christmas we always dream of. The temperature was in the 50's and 60's but rainy. The rain was a perfect excuse to stay in and relax though. I will admit that it was nice to not be in a car for hours on end either.

Two days before Christmas we got a wonderful surprise! Our furniture arrived!! We spent the day unpacking and setting up our new home. We had plenty of boxes to open for Christmas!! That night we went to Nog Fest. It was a great excuse for Mike to pull out his fun Christmas sweater. I found my fancy dress in the children's section at the BX. Can't say I shop there often, but it worked for this occasion.

Christmas Eve we continued t0 unpack and organize before we headed to Adam and Cecily's for homemade pizza and games with friends. It was a far cry from our family gift exchange and white elephant but a pleasant evening all the same.

Christmas was laid back. We slept in and then opened presents with Rusty. Just like our old family dog, Marty, he knew just what to do to open his gifts! We were also able to talk to all of our family. It was so nice to "see" everyone on Skype! I don't know what it is about seeing someone's face, but it is makes all the difference in the world!

Our night was spent with lots of new friends at Punk and Kendra's house. We shared a feast, drinks, and lots of laughter. If I couldn't be with family, that is exactly where I would want to be.

All in all, we had a fabulous Christmas! Thank you all for the cards, letters, packages, and phone calls. It means so much to us to be in touch with you. It helps us to feel included and close when we can be a part of your holiday celebrations. Thank you for thinking of us and including us! We miss you!!

Nog Fest 2009

Aren't we the pair? It's the nog talkin'!

Monica, Kendra, Me, and Kristyn are ready to celebrate!!

Our little tree came from the 100 yen store (their version of the $1 store). It looks so tiny compared the to massive pile of gifts around it thanks for our loving family! Thank you to all who sent packages. We love them and love you!!

Rusty loved his ornament with our picture on it.

How do they know how to open gifts?! It's amazing!

Checking out another ornament that looks like him.

He finally found Santa and gave him a run for his money.

Mike, Adrian, Monica, Kristyn, and Nick enjoying the spread of food on Christmas night. We ate ourselves silly.

Lisa Jones shared a family tradition with us. They open "crackers" before dinner. Crackers are small wrapped gifts that pop open when you pull on either end. Inside is always a silver crown, a little toy, and jokes. Shotgun is trying to put together his puzzle while Kristyn sports her crown.

Mike also got Miley Cyrus markers from the Gaudinski's . He is apparently very excited about them!!

We love you all and miss you very much! Thank you for your support, love and gifts!

Thank You for a GREAT Birthday

I had an awesome birthday thanks to so many. After a long walk with my puppy Rusty, I spent hours on the phone with my family. That was the first time that I had talked to most of my siblings at length since I had been here. This was the best gift I could have asked received.

For lunch, I went to Chili's to order something to-go. I started talking to another woman waiting for food and it came out that it was my birthday. Before leaving, she bought me a chocolate volcano dessert and asked the kitchen staff to sing to me. It was so embarrassing but very nice for a total stranger to do something like that.

After an afternoon of relaxing on the couch, Mike took me to dinner. We went to Yoshi's for sushi where 8 other people were there to celebrate with me! Yoshi's is a a famous place on Okinawa where any celebrity who comes to visit goes to eat. The rumor is that Yoshi even invented the California roll!

We finished the night at the seawall at a bar called Next Door with our friend Shotgun. The owner of the bar was very nice. She brought out ice cream with a sparkler in it and sang, "Happy birsday do you." She then taught us all the Japanese curse words of which I remember only one. I'm too embarrassed to even say it.

It is an amazing feeling to know that God really does look out for you. The night before my birthday I was very sad because I had no family or close friends around. I was worried I would spend the whole day alone and depressed. But even when I was hanging out at home or simply getting lunch, I was blessed with phone calls from home or desserts from strangers. Though it was a birthday like no other, I loved every minute of it. Thank you to all for the calls, emails, facebook messages, and cards in the mail. Thank you Mike for the lovely gifts and kisses. I am truly blessed.

Sushi at Yoshi's

My second dessert for the day: Firecracker ice cream at Next Door

Caleb, Mike, Me and Shotgun at Next Door.

Our language teacher for the evening

SUMO!

Last week I had the chance to go to a local sumo tournament. I went with 3 girlfriends for 5 hours of naked fat men wrestling. It was surprisingly fun, interesting, and culturally educational!

When we arrived, they handed us a plastic bag and asked us to take off our shoes (crazy Japanese!) Shuffling barefoot across what looked like a high school gymnasium, we found our seats in the "nosebleeds." We sat in the last and fourth row of the bleachers only about 30 yards from the ring! The good seats were on the floor and I mean literally on the floor.

For the first hour, the wrestlers practiced and warmed up. They were crowded around the ring or wandering through the gym. This created a great opportunity to take pictures from afar and up close! Before the official matches started, they brought out a group of kids from a local sumo club to "wrestle" against the big guys! It was really cute.

Then came time for the real deal. The history for sumo is very long and steeped with religion and tradition. Everything they do has purpose. Before they enter the ring, they throw salt to purify the space from the previous loss. Then they stomp their legs on the edge of the ring and in the middle to scare away the evil spirits. They then squat and stare at each other to psych out their opponent. Eventually, after some unknown cue, they wrestle. The first man to step out of the ring or hit the dirt with anything other than the bottom of his feet, loses.

Finally, the guy who won got a lightning belt tied around his waist by 4 other dudes. It all seems a little silly from an outsiders perspective but by the time we left, I was way into it! Let's put it this way, I'm not trading it in for football but I'd rather watch sumo than WWF or ultimate cage fighting.

Cecily, me, Kendra, and Tricia with our new friends.

This guy couldn't mess up his "do" in the rain.

These guys are waiting to warm up in the ring.

OH DEAR!!

This is the littlest sumo.

I think I might write a children's book called The Littlest Sumo.

That's it guys! Hit him in the man boobs!

This poor kid didn't stand a chance.

Before their big dance, they put on their fancy half-skirts for introductions.

Surprisingly there were several guys from Eastern Europe.

This is their version of billboards and round signs.

They stomp to scare away the evil spirits.

The guy in the fancy dress and hat on the right is the ref.

This is sumo smack talk.

This guy won so he gets the lightning belt!!

This is how it is done!!

We Have A House!!!

After being in TLF (a hotel room) for a month, we finally got a house! We moved in last week but will not be getting our furniture until some time in January. Thank goodness the base has loaned us a bed, dresser, couch, and table so we have enough to get by until our stuff does arrive. It is a multiplex with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and back patio. We are walking distance from Dunkin Donuts, Pizza Hut, Subway, the liquor store and the gym! The exterior looks a little industrial but that is only because it is typhoon proof. I guess appearance for safety is an appropriate compromise. Overall, we are very happy.

Being the holidays, we tried to make it feel as much like home as possible. So I bought a cheap tree at the 100 Yen store (their version of the $1 store) and we borrowed a strand of lights. It's a little sad, but it's ours and that's all that counts. I think it's going to be a good holiday!!

We are in Unit C, the third door on the left. Our neighbors in B are in the same squadron.

Rusty loves to look out the windows at the neighborhood.

We have a nice backyard where we hope to get a fence for Rusty.

That's our house!!

Our fancy Christmas decorations.

Merry Christmas to all!

CooCoo for Cocok's!

One of the cultural quirks that I learned about recently was a place called Cocok's. It's a nail salon that gives fantastic pedicures, an hour of massage and a paint job like you've never seen!! My friend Brittany took Monica and I for our first Cocok's pedi!

When you arrive, they sit you in a Lazy-boy and with cozy blanket and cup of iced tea. While they primp and massage, you look through books or plaques of 1,000's of potential paint patterns for your toes. Once you choose a design, they start to paint. They use tiny brushes and paint the most intricate pictures on your toe nails!! It was such a wild experience, I took pictures of the whole thing!! Anyone who visits is required to make a visit to Cocok's!

Monica is looking through the holiday designs.

Those two rows are fake nails with example patterns on them.

Brittany is so happy to take us for our first Cocok's experience.

She started to paint the poinsettias on my little toes!

The final product. Poinsettias and snow flakes.

Brit got all snow flakes with jewels.

Let's Go to the Rolly Park!

I will admit that when moving to Japan I expected to do, say, hear, and eat a few weird things. But I never expected to hear, "Hey! You want to go to the rolly park!? We have some extra boxes." A few Saturdays ago, our friend Kendra called on a sunny Saturday afternoon and asked that very same question. Because we are new to the area, are dying for any excuse to get off base, and are desperate for friends, we said, "Hell yeah!! What's a rolly park?" "Don't worry about it. We'll be over in a minute," was her response.

Kendra and Punk picked us up and headed to a neighborhood park just off base. After a quick walk through the woods we came upon a 5 story slide of mini-rollers incased in a cage for "safety." After watching a few kids go down, Mike jumped right in! He put his beer box down, crossed his legs, and pushed off!! Of course, the slide wasn't designed with 6'4" 215 lbs. men in mind. There were a few spots where momentum wasn't enough, but the kids were very patient during the slow spots. After Mike made it through, we all gave it go. It was a blast!!

Afterwards, we couldn't help but think that something like this would never last in The States. The City Parks Department would be sued within hours for injuries and mental hardship if some stupid, unsupervised kid hurt himself. Here, personal responsibility is so highly valued that if your child gets hurt, it is seen as the parent's fault for not supervising the child or the child's fault for doing something they weren't supposed to be doing. It is interesting how cultural values can alter not only the way people behave but also the parks they play in!

Can you tell that this wasn't made for man his size?

Ready! Set! Go!

Mike fits right in.

The kids were really patient with the big kid in front. He just had to get over that hump before....

The grand finale!

These are just a few funny signs in the park. This one is warning of the poisonous Habu snakes on the island. I don't know what it says but I am sure it is something like, "Don't pet or feed the snakes" or "It's gone hurt!"

Engrish at it's best!

Meet Some of Our New Friends

We have only been here for month but have made many new friends already! These are some faces you will be seeing more of in the future. Meet some of the new crew:

Jason and Kristina Bianchi are in the 67th fighter squadron. Michael and Jason flew together at Columbus AFB. They were our tour guides for our first adventure around the island and continue to be great sources of info!

Right below:

Michael and Adam "Axe" Gaudinski go way back! They went to the Academy together and then went on to Columbus to train and become FAIPed. Michael followed him to Tyndall AFB where they went through the B-course. Now at Kadena, Adam and his wife are our sponsors. They have made our transition go as smooth as possible and have been great friends!!

Left above: Cecily Gaudinski has worked very hard, with her husband, to be the best sponsors and friends a girl could ask for! She drove me around when I had no car. She gives me directions when I am lost. She even lets me sit on her couch, use her internet, watch her TV, and even eat her food while our hubbies are at work. Thanks to Cecily my transition has gone a well as it has!

Andrew "Punk" and Kendra Stolee have also been great friends to us. Punk is also Mike's flight commander. Not only does he offer great social advice but he is there for Mike when it comes to the J-O-B. Kendra, well, Kendra is just all around Wonder Woman! She is an endless fountain of info, advice, and social energy. Because of Kendra, I have something to do with most of my days.

Brandon " Per" Bert is one of the best amateur restaurant critics in the squadron. Not only does he try out tons of new places but he usually orders one of everything on the menu. He is the reason we have had as much sushi as we have!!