JAPAN

The Delay…. We reached Seattle just after 10 pm.  We had to get ALL of our bags since we were going on a different airline the following morning.  After trying to navigate tired kids and 2 carts full of luggage we got clear to the other end and different floor of the airport only to be told our flight for the next morning was delayed 24 hours!  It was devastating!  What were we to do with all of these kids, tons of luggage and in the middle of the night!?  We found this out at the USO which is a part of the airport for military families to come eat, sit, relax…etc.  She told us our choices that a hotel nearby would cost over $200 and might not be available.  She said we could drive 45 min and get something close to $100.  The problem was renting a car…we would have to get a HUGE van if we wanted to fit all of our stuff.  We tried different options….staying at a room at the airport….just sleeping in the airports….and calling motels. We found one with one room left..one queen bed.  So we took it and headed outside to wait.  A shuttle came a bit later and took us to our room.  By then it was 1:30am and I had kids sleeping all over the airport!  We made the room work and stayed for 2 nights.  The TV didn’t work, all of the kids slept on the floor, there was no pool, and it was in a bad part of town so we couldn’t go outside.  It was a long day there but we survived and the kids actually did really well.  It was just a lot for me to stomach $400 dollars for such a long day in a hotel!!  The one bright spot was the blackberry bush that hung over the fence so we all helped ourselves to some!  Also, when we checked in at 1:30 with all of our kids the front desk guy heard them all begging for food.  He was nice and let them all have a bowl of cereal from the breakfast part….I was so thankful.

The flight…Our flight to Seattle and to Japan went great.  Damon and Karlee slept lots so that made it really good.  On our long flight we had a row with 2 3 and 2 seats.  I held Damon so that gave us an extra seat on the row.  Is was nice so Karlee could lie down and so we could all move around and switch seats easier.  They played lots of movies…most of them not kids shows.  We got fed two full hot meals and lots of snacks and drinks.  Really it went great and didn’t seem as long and miserable as I anticipated. 

The arrival..After ten hours on the plane and being up since 3 am.  We were super excited to arrive in Misawa.  We arrived at 10 am local time.  We had to stay seated while customs came and checked the bus and then gave us some instructions.  We stepped off the plane outside and then got on a small bus to be shuttled just down the runway to customs.  I was a bit nervous because half of us made it outside the plane and John was in the plane with some of the kids and all or our passports.  I was told to still get on the bus and leave him and he would come shortly. . I was worried!  But then realized we were only going just a bit down the parking lot!  We all reunited inside the building and started filling out our custom forms and grabbing our bags.  Then we had to wait in a line to go through customs.  As we were waiting in line we could see several people from the Dental Squadron holding a big blue toothbrush with Dental Squadron written on it…we couldn’t miss what group was there for us.  We were able to join them and make introductions.  By this time Damon was crying and ready to be out of the stroller.  We made our way to several cars and split up our stuff and us and loaded in.  We were taken to the Misawa Inn where we checked in.  It was nice to have so many hands helping with the entire luggage this time!  Several people unloaded our stuff in our room and told John he could shower and then check in to work.  It was 11:30 am when we got to our room.  John was to report at 1 and then go to the driving class at 2.  He didn’t get much time to adjust!  When we walked into our Inn and the room it was so stifling…no AC at the Inn either!  John headed to work and the kids wanted to waste some energy and were begging to swim.  So I decided to be brave and venture out.  The map looked like it wasn’t too far to the pool so I said we could walk.  I also noticed the library was on the way so I wanted to stop there.  So we changed our clothes and headed to the library.  I got us library cards and we checked out some books and movies.  Then we headed to the pool. It is always free so that is nice.  It isn’t horrible but it isn’t great.  We didn’t last long since it was me and all the kids by myself.  Karlee and Damon both needed me to hold them since it was all deep water so after a bit we headed home.  Later that night after John got home.  I left all the kids and I walked a few blocks to the grocery store to get some basics to last us a bit.  When I was almost to the Inn someone stopped and helped me carry my groceries…super nice!  The store is just like the one at Eglin except for smaller!  You would think the regular store and grocery store would be bigger since it is all we have, but instead it is small.  Oh well it has what we need.  Our first night the three littlest fell asleep while I was at the store, which was 4pm.  We tried waking them up for dinner but they were dead to the world.  I decided I best get to sleep since they would probably be up early.  I followed at 6 and John, Zak and Makelle followed at 7:30.  We were all up at 4 am!  The sky is light at 4am here!  It is CRAZY!!  So we were fed, changed and at the playground outside the Inn by 5:30am!  It was nice for the kids to play with John for a bit before he went to work.   We also checked out a playroom with toys that the motel had down the hall. We hit a few other parks and then walked to the BX, which is like a mall.  We were all hungry for lunch but it was only 9:45 and nothing was open.  We found a play place to play at inside for a bit until one store opened and we bought breakfast/lunch!  We got to see the kid’s school and John’s work which are across the street from each other.  John had Newcomers training all day so we didn’t see him until after work.  We survived being stuck all day with no car! It is great that everything is within walking distance and there are multiple parks on every street!  That is enough to keep my kids happy.

The house…. We were given two options for housing.  Two people in the ward were nice enough to let us look at their houses so we would get a better feel for them.  The first option was a townhouse.  It had 2 bathrooms and 4 bedrooms.  It is on North base, which is about 10 minutes away from everything.  It is out by a lake, a pretty drive, the house is nicer, a little bit of a yard, and it doesn’t look like you are living on base, plus lots of the other dentists live there.  Our next option was on main base just a couple of blocks from John’s work, the school, the stores, and everything we would need.  Plus just close the entrance so we can walk to the Japanese stuff too.  It is tower housing, which is an apartment.  It is 2 3-bedroom apartments with a wall knocked out to make it 6 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms with 2 kitchens and 2 front rooms on the 2^nd floor.  We loved the idea of being close to things…didn’t necessarily love the apartment part…but they are HUGE!  So it seemed like a no brainer.  We decide on the 6-bedroom apartment.  We took the kids to tour both of them empty and they all agreed the townhouse was so TINY.  They were all so excited to get their own rooms and decided they would each take a year and get the extra master bedroom and bath.  So the next morning we checked out of the Inn and went to our new home.  Then John went to the post office to get all of the boxes we mailed to ourselves.  Luckily they were all there…I thought I messed up and that some of my school clothes and winter clothes wouldn’t get here until October.  I was relived to see that everything arrived.  It was like Christmas!  We started organizing our package contents and suitcase stuff and then our loaner furniture arrived.  I was super excited!  I thought our stuff would be junk but it is super nice!  Every kid gets to have a bed, headboard, and nightstand.  We also got several lamps, a couch, coffee table, end tables, crib, high chair, dining table and 7 chairs…(no buckets) and all of the basic Kitchen necessities. I am super sad to have to give back the nice furniture!

Today I talked John into taking us off base.  We chose to go to the 100 yen stores so the kids could get something.  It was barely off the gate and looked pretty easy…Well…our map had the street names in English and the roads didn’t!  We turned a bit early but were able to find it.  We ended up going to one that was in a grocery store and a little strip mall.  It turned out being kind of crazy instead of just a dollar store.  I was proud of myself for finding the section inside of the grocery store that had the 100-yen sign.  I motioned to the cahier asking if I was t the 100-yen store.  Then you have to be carful you stay in that section because there are only signs and no barriers so you aren’t sure if you have wondered out of the cheap sections!  We chose a few things that were cheap and then the kids all got some candy.  It was like a surprised because you have no idea what is really inside.  Luckily everything we got was DELISH except for Lantz…he ended up with coffee candy!  The candy is all a lot sweeter and more creamy and yummy!  We are hooked!  After wandering the streets some more we were happy to find our way back to the gate.  Then we headed to base beach for a Dental party.  We met Johns Commander and his wife…they just moved here a couple of months ago from Panama City, Florida.  They have a few kids just older than ours and they seem very nice.  We met another ward dentist family and then really got to know our sponsors family who’s is in the ward.  We ate then needed to leave because it was naptime!  The beach view was pretty.  It was actually a lake view. Very pretty kind of like being in the mountain.  (It is more of what our view would have been if we chose the other house…instead our view is the crappy Japanese houses over the fence!)The sand was crap…like muddy dirt.  We are SO spoiled after our Florida beach…kind of snobs now when it comes to beaches!  It was actually cold today.  It rained the day before and was overcast all day.  We almost needed to wear pants or have a jacket.  It felt more like an Alaskan summer day. 

For dinner tonight we went out with the Nelsons.  They are our sponsers.  They have a daughter who could babyist and she invited a friend to help.  So we dropped all of the kids except Damon off at their house to play.  Then we jumped in with them and they took us downtown.  It was nice because we had just been there so we were able to know where they were going and things were familiar. We got to have a REAL JAPANESE experience.  They chose well!  We had to take our shoes of at the entrance.  Then at our table we sat on the floor but it didn’t hurt our knees because they have a hole in the floor for the table so your legs go under the table.  It was cool.  Then they put cushions and blankets on the floor next to us for Damon to sit.  It was great for him!  They taught us some chopstick etiquette…I was super nervous to eat with them because I usually can’t do it. I DID it and ate my WHOLE meal with chopsticks…I didn’t have any other choice and I was hungry!  I was super proud of myself!  We trusted them and they did all of the ordering…knowing to choose something to ease us into it.  It was a type of place that you cook your own food.  So there is a little whole in the table with a flame and a rack over it to set your food.  We had cabbage, onions, zucchini, eggplant, bacon, chicken, beef, shrimp with the skins on, and scallops.  I tried all of it and loved it.  I was super proud of myself for popping a whole scallop in…it wasn’t bad at all.  I am still not a fan of shrimp…the texture is weird.  We ate then ordered a whole other batch and ate again!  After dinner we went to the strip mall John and I had been in earlier that day and had dessert.  There were lots of little food shops so we stopped for some bakery items, some cheesecakes, cupcakes, and then to an ice cream and crepe place.  I didn’t love any of them but they were ok. The vanilla soft serve was extra creamy. John loved that he got to have tons of desserts.  Then we headed home to pick up the kids.  They had a great time and now have some friends for church today.  They loved having other kids to play with and having toys.  I should have sent toys in the mail…whoops.  Hopefully they come in a shipment soon enough.

We are all super excited to go to church today and start that adventure!