The Next Episode

Almost 2 months later, my ideas of being a tour planner are in the same place they were 2 months ago. But that's okay! More time for other activities to occupy my/our time! Since the last episode, we attended the St. Barbara's day ball which is a formal artillery event for the patron saint of artillery which just happens to be Jabbar's military occupation specialty (MOS). The thing about St. Bab's day is that while it is a formal event, it is not as formal as some of the others that we have been to and therefore, the guys are more free to cut loose. They do this by doing skits that explain how artillery is the best part of the Marine Corps and by poking fun at other MOSs and senior staff non-commissioned officers (NCO's). At one of the wives meetings, it was mentioned that all us wives should do a wives skit. The example was we should do a spoof like one that was seen titled "Artillery Girl" to the music of Madonna's "Material Girl." So there I was, finding myself involved in a wife skit that was not as well planned as I would have liked and therefore, left us on stage, floundering for a little bit during our skit. Ah, the joys of trying to support your husband's career. Pics of St. Bab's day and our other adventures to come in Snapfish so stay tuned!

The day after St. Bab's day, we enjoyed dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Obbligato, and a show, comedian Bill Bellamy was on island to provide a little comic relief. Though we probably wouldn't consider ourselves conniseurs of comedy, Bill Bellamy was pretty hilarious.

The next day, we hosted game day (which extended into night) at our house. It was the first time we had guests over to our house since we have been on island. We made lots of food to include veggie crudites, bruschetta, potato and vegetable soup, red chicken curry with rice, and a sweet dessert called "sweet water." We had a total of 6 adults and 4 kids over, Matt, Matilda, and their 4 kids, along with Jeremy and Mary Beth. The kids were entertained by all of Jabbar's video games and Disney movies while the adults were otherwise entertained. Good times.

One of my new hobbies since arriving on island has been photography, as you may or may not have been able to tell by the abundance of pics that I send in Snapfish. I have even started entering a photo contest or two. The first one I entered was in Islands Magazine. Winners will be published in June, I believe. So wish me luck! Jabbar has found another website where I should submit photos and now Snapfish even has a photo contest that I will be looking into just as soon as I am done with this blog. We'll see how this photography thing works out for me. =D

One weekend in January, we decided that we were going to accomplish our goal of making it all over this island - north, south, east, and west. The only direction we hadn't accomplished was north, but no longer! We have now been all over this island. We discovered cherry blossoms blooming in January, which for me, was quite weird because it was still pretty chilly and after having spent the last 8 years of my life in DC and watching the cherry blossoms bloom around the Tidal Basin in April, January seemed way too early for them to be blooming for me. But, as it turns out, cherry blossoms bloom here in Okinawa first...in January. The northernmost point of this island is called Cape Hedo and the day we were visiting, it was quite windy and brisk. It did, however, make for great wave crashing pics that will soon come to you. We also found a huge random Buddha, 2 large shisas, and several pineapple groves on our drive in the middle of nowhere.

At the end of January, we went to the Cherry Blossom Festival which included a lot of street vendors selling food (to include squid wrapped in squid), candy, and a lot of junk. The trek to see cherry blossoms included approximately 450 steps up a hill to where you could overlook the city of Nago. I expected to see more cherry blossoms, but at least now we can say we have been there, done that. After the Cherry Blossom Festival, we headed to the Churaumi Acquarium and saw lots of sharks, colorful fish, shrimp, clown fish, jelly fish, sting rays and manta rays. After sitting in lots of traffic with the rest of the island trying to go home from the Cherry Blossom Festival and making a stop at Jabbar's work because he forgot his military I.D. we finally made it back home. Talk about a long, touristy day!

On February 1, Jabbar flew to Tokyo in order to participate in a week-long Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) program. Since he was going to be in Tokyo for a week, we decided that I should also fly up to play around Tokyo while he was working. So began an interesting adventure for me. As a spouse, one of the things that I can do is fly Space A (space available) on a flight. My adventures began on the 2nd when I was getting ready to catch a flight. Jabbar calls to tell me that there had been a volcanic eruption near the base I was flying into and tells me I should confirm my flight before I go to the airport. Which I proceed to do and after having been told that the flight to Yokota was still going despite the volcanic activity, I head to the airport. I arrive at 12pm for a 12:40 flight. But somehow, between 10am when I called to confirm the flight and when I arrived in person, that flight was now cancelled. Of course. There was a flight going to another base, Atsugi, later on in the afternoon they said and asked if I would like to get on that flight. The fun thing about flying space a is that, though there was a flight, and though they could put me on the list, they couldn't guarantee that I was going to get on the flight as there were no definite seats, only seats pending. They also said there was another flight to Misawa earlier than the Atsugi flight which actually had definite seats, but that I would have to take a train from Misawa to Tokyo. They said the train ride was only 2 hours...but somehow, that would later turn into 4 hours. Funny how that works. I decided I would get on the Misawa flight.

So there I was, on the tarmac, waiting for a bunch of Air Force guys to get the plane ready so that I could board. Make no mistake, this was no commercial flight as you might know it. There were no flight attendants to direct you to your seat. An Air Force guy gave me a brief. There was no carpeting, no cushy seats. This was a cargo plane that had no center seats, but jump seats that fold up or down and are positioned along the sides of the plane. There was no temperature control. That plane was cold! And oh yeah, not only was there no food and beverage service, you couldn't even pay for it even if you wanted it. Oh, and did I mention that I sat on the tarmac for a good hour or two in order to board this plane that was supposed to be leaving at 12:40? Needless to say, this plane was late and the day was dragging on for me. Making it to Tokyo by way of Misawa was seeming like I wasn't going to get into Tokyo until late that night. The time that I sat waiting on the tarmac, I could have been on the Atsugi flight that had probably already left. The only thing was that who knows if I would have gotten on that flight since seats were only pending and not definite.

In any case, a few hours late, we finally took off to Misawa. A few hours later, 7pm, I was in Misawa. Jabbar had mentioned that Tokyo was cold so I was prepared; however, I was not prepared for snow and ice when I stepped off the plane in Misawa! I was escorted off the plane by an old man who, since the plane was loud and I had to wear ear plugs the entire flight, either said, "Oh, you took this flight? You poor soul." Or did he say, "you poor fool?" Either way, I'm not sure. So, there I was. In the terminal in Misawa with only 2 other people who work there. They asked if somebody was coming to pick me up. Ummm...no. They asked if I needed a taxi. I said...I'm not sure. All I know is I am trying to make it to Tokyo and I heard that I could take a train. The guy wasn't sure if I was going to make the train, thought that I had already missed it, but called a taxi for me anyways. The taxi showed up, but apparently, I was too slow so he left me there at the terminal. So I go back into the terminal and one of the workers, Billy, took pity on me and said that he could take me to the train station. Let's just say thank goodness for Billy! Billy took me to an ATM to make sure I had enough money to pay for a train ticket. He took me to the train station, but come to find out, I had missed the train. So there I was...stuck in Misawa. Now what was I gonna do?!? Luckily for me, I had met Billy. He took me to the Navy Lodge and got me hooked up with a room. Turns out the poor guy had been working since 4am that morning and had to pull a double shift because there was 1 OFD (officer's dependent - me) on the last flight into Misawa. In any case, after he got me hooked up with a room and found out that I hadn't had dinner yet, he couldn't let me go to bed on an empty stomach so there I was...at a random American base in the way north of Japan with a random guy who happened to take pity on me and offered to take me out to dinner (no, it was not a date) and make sure that I got to Tokyo one way or another the next day.

Did I say thank goodness for Billy already? Nice guy. Really nice. Talk about going above and beyond the call of duty. We had a nice dinner and he dropped me off at the Navy Lodge, said he would pick me up the next morning to see if I could get a flight and if not, would take me to the train station. That night, I thought, what would I have done had I not met Billy? I might have ended up at the train station trying to figure out whether I should take the last train to Sendai, which would have put me closer to Tokyo, but then, where was I going to sleep? But I just happened to meet Billy who made sure that I had my head in a bed that night. The next morning, as my luck would have it on this adventure of mine, a snow storm rolled into Misawa. Billy came to pick me up just like he said he would. We went to the Navy terminal to see if there were any flights to Yokota, but there wasn't. Just my luck. So before Billy took me to the train station, he took me to breakfast. After breakfast, he took me to the train station and sat there with me until I actually got on the train. All of this reminds me that I still need to get back in touch with him so I can say thank you once again, send him an email, and most importantly, send his boss an email to sing his praises.

I got on the bullet train to Tokyo and I was on my own to make my own transfers in a country I had never been to, in a language I don't speak. Talk about travelling by the seat of my pants! I successfully made my transfer and several hours later, I was in Tokyo station. Jabbar was working and wouldn't be done til late. After all it took me to get to Tokyo, I still had to make it to Yokota in order to make sure that I was on the list for a flight back to Okinawa 4 days later. I got to know Tokyo's train stations very well that day. I made my way from Tokyo station on numerous trains and finally made it to Yokota, 2 hours later. Good thing I went because despite filling out my paperwork online to get on the list, what do you know, they didn't have my information. I was put on the list for a flight back to Okinawa on something called the Patriot Express that left every Friday and was most likely to have lots of seats. We'll see, I thought. After another 2 hour train ride back into Tokyo and being on trains and in train stations all day, I was just so done. Jabbar wasn't done with work yet and I was in no mood to be a tourist above ground so I just sat there in the Tokyo train station waiting for further instructions on how to get to my husband.

When he finally got done for the evening, my adventure continued in trying to make it from Tokyo station to the station that was nearest his hotel. Turns out Tokyo has no less than 5 different train companies running trains throughout Tokyo. He was telling me which train station, but when I asked in my broken Japanese about this train station, the Japanese attendants just looked at me like I was a crazy American. Eventually, I figured out I wasn't at the right line. Of course not. I finally figured out which line I needed to be on and after asking, again in my broken Japanese, a guy about which train I should be getting on in order to make it to my station and him pointing to the other side of the train tracks, I'm standing there, still looking at the signs to make sure that I really am going the right way. I had to have had that lost look on my face because this little Japanese man asked me in English where I was going. He ensured me that I was on the right side and when the train came and it got to my stop, he made sure I got off. My adventures on the train in Tokyo were interesting. Sometimes, I would say sumimasen - excuse me - and they would immediately start speaking to me in English. But then other times, I would say sumimasen, ask a question in my broken Japanese, and somehow, they answered me all in Japanese. To which I would have to say wakarimasen - I don't understand and eigo o hanashimaska? Do you speak English?

After 33 hours of planes, trains, and automobiles, I finally made it to the right train station and Jabbar came to find me. Turns out Jabbar had gotten into trouble for having me come to Tokyo as they were supposed to have roommates. Jabbar asked for an additional room for us and that was apparently very rude. Whoops. It all turned out though. We stayed in a traditional Japanese hotel that was more like a hostel. You got a room, a very small room, with 2 traditional Japanese style mattreses on the floor, but the bathrooms and showers were communal. At the entrance to the hotel you had to take off your shoes and wear the slippers that they provided. Very traditionally Japanese.

The next day, the only day that I could really be a tourist in Tokyo, I met up with another wife that had ironically taken the Atsugi flight and arrived the same day she started flying. Come to find out there were 60 seats on that flight! But that's the fun of space A, you just never know if I had waited, whether I would have gotten on that flight because at the time I asked about seats on that flight, they were not definite, just pending. In any case, the other wife, Heather, an Air Force wife, and I spent the day visiting the Imperial Palace, the Harajuku (shopping) District, and the Meiji Shrine.

The next day, I was back on trains by myself, trying to make my way to see an old friend of mine that I had met about 11 years ago as a study abroad student in France, Yukari. Funny thing is that she's Japanese, we met in France, and the best way we can communicate is in French, though now, we throw in a little more Japanese and English in order to communicate with each other. It was an hour long train ride out to the station closest to Yukari and she and her daughter met me there. We spent the next 7 hours together talking, having lunch, and talking some more about the past, the present, the future, and the fact that I would have never said 11 years ago, that I would have met her 11 years later at her home in Tokyo. Funny how life goes.

And then it was Friday. Though I knew it should have taken me only 2 hours to get to Yokota, I decided to leave an an extra hour to get up just to be safe. Though Japanese trains seem to run constantly, it's a good thing I took an extra hour that day. It took me 3 hours to get to Yokota instead of 2. I made it to the terminal 2 minutes before roll call. A little too close in timing if you ask me. My flight back to Okinawa was much less dramatic than my flight to Yokota. Turns out the Patriot Express is actually a Northwest Airlines commercial flight, complete with flight attendants, actual cushy chairs, food and beverage service, and temperature controls! We even flew directly over Mt. Fuji.

After recovering from my adventures in Tokyo, we went on a tour on Jabbar's birthday to Shuri Castle, which was the traditional seat of power of the king of the Ryukyu kingdom. The castle was completely demolished in WWII and then reconstructed to 2/5 of its original size in the 70's. We got to see the king's throne and traditional Japanese dancing. We then made our way to Kokosai (international) Street for lunch (we chose Indian), sightseeing, and more traditional Japanese Eisa drum dancing. Afterwards, our next stop was the Chinese Gardens. Our last stop on the tour was a shrine whose name I have since forgotten, but translated into English, it was Shrine Above the Waves.

Last weekend, we went to Okinawa World with Mary Beth. Okinawa World is advertised as an amusement park, but if you're imagining Six Flags, you would be sorely disappointed. Instead, it is an educational walking park of all things Okinawa to include glass blowing, pottery, traditional buildings, a large cave, a traditional brown sugar making display, a fruit orchard (where we spent approximately $18USD for imported mangosteen), buka buka tea, Eisa drum dancers (which included a huge drum on wheels), a brewery, sea snakes, Habu snakes, pythons, mongooses, and tortoises.

I started to say that last week was pretty mellow compared with everything else I have written in this novel of a blog post; however, that's only because I had blocked out our 8.63 mile run earlier in the week. Compared to that, the rest of the week was pretty mellow. I saw a military wife motivational speaker that was quite good and spent yesterday with Matilda having lunch and shopping. We, along with Mary Beth, then attended an ice cream and coffee social. After which, we also had dinner. After a late night last night, and the craziness of the last few weeks, this weekend, we are content to be home and do nothing, except write this blog to keep you all informed and post pictures so you can see all our newest adventures. Stay tuned for our upcoming adventures and keep your eyes open for more pics!