That's All Folks!

WOW I am home!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay so for all those who care my trip home went like this: mailed clothes on Monday, dropped off luggage to a courier on Tuesday (this service is through base and for about $55 they deliver my luggage right to the airport so I didn’t have to carry it on the trains), and headed to Tokyo on Wednesday. On Wednesday I took a 20 min cab ride to the Shin station and then a 15 minute train ride to Hiroshima where I switched trains (well got off and got on the next train on same platform) and took a 4 hour train ride to Tokyo. I then took a cab to our hotel, the New Sanno. The New Sanno is awesome, it is a military hotel which means that members of the military and DOD can stay there for extremely cheap and it is beautiful with great restaurants. I did some last minute shopping by Senso-Ji Temple.

Our real travel started at 6:30 am on Thursday when we left the hotel and took an airport bus where I picked up my luggage and repacked it. This flight was weird because things worked out in weird ways. First, my luggage was over the limit and when I threw a "ugh are you kidding me, I just over packed it and I have been traveling for 2 days and have been here for 5 months" fit she asked if I was in the military. I responded no but I worked for them, well a show of the ID and guess what...........we were all good! Yeah for saving $90.

The reason why I was taking American Airlines is because my friend was trying to upgrade me, well when I checked in I was told that they couldn't upgrade me because of my ticket (government airfare) and that it was oversold (funny 9 hours earlier it wasn't full). Well I then asked for a bulk head or exit row seat, o the joys of being tall, so she put me on the waitlist. Well, at the gate I was given a bulk head seat but no business class upgrade. When I got to my seat the guy next to me asked if I wanted to sit by the window, he wanted even more leg room. Well after a few hints, I said sure. It worked out because he ended up moving to another seat and then I had any empty seat next to me.

When you order a special meal they always check with you when you sit down well they didn't check with me. So when they came around to serve drinks I asked and guess what...........no meal! My mom always said to bring snacks with me and I am glad I listened to her. They were actually nice enough to get me a salad from Business Class.

Also, I found out you have to pay for wine on AA. While this is normal on every US owned airline most of them give you free drinks when you fly to Asia but nope not AA! So right before I checked about my meal I asked how much a glass of wine was and she said $7. Seriously, the nite before at New Sanno I had a great glass of wine for $3.50! However, after chatting with the flight attendant about my meal she said "O your birthday is coming up, do you want red or white?" Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So even though I didn't sleep and there were hiccups the flight wasn't too bad.

So 45 hours after leaving Iwakuni, 23 hours after leaving Tokyo, 3 taxis, 2 trains, 1 bus, and 2 planes later..............................I am back in DC!

Thank you to all of you for reading my blog and for letting me share my adventures, I honestly think that this (and my skype phone number) also helped me not be home sick because I felt like I could share my experiences with other people and keep in contact with people. I first lived abroad in the Fall of 2000 in Belgium and had an amazing experience but the internet was not like it is today and we would have to go across campus to a computer lab and would only have a few minutes to email so it was harder to stay in touch, and blogging didn’t really exist then. When I lived in Poland the summer of 2003 the only internet and computer access I had was at internet cafes. So while with both of those experiences I was able to stay in some sort of contact this time I was able to keep a connection home and still feel loved and not like people forgot about me and also have a way to remember my trip because I am not the journaling type. For those who have lived abroad they know how important it is to feel like you have some sort of connection, no matter how small, to home. It is because of you and this blog I felt that. If it wasn’t for you my trip would not have been as amazing as it was.

I might blog about any trips I take in the future but for now this is the end. This was a great way to end my 20’s and starting on Saturday I beginning my new adventure……………my thirties!

Saynora Japan!!!

Wow Japan, I fell in love with you like I never thought I would. Though I HATE your weather I love your country and all it has to offer. In the beginning you tested my (and Bridget’s) patience with the food but I slowly figured you out; you surprisingly make some of the best Italian food I have ever eaten and hey I am from NY so that is impressive and have introduced me to some many different flavors of nan bread that I never knew existed. I fell in love with white rice and though I will still never like American rice I will had a soft spot in my heart (and my belly) for your rice, rice toppings, and rice balls.

Five months later I am still impressed by your:

• Order and efficiency – trains are always on the exact time, people line up to get on and off the train, and for a country with so many people it runs so smoothly
• Kids – I will never get over how little ones can roam without adult supervision. In the beginning I was ready to call Child Protective Service on this whole country but now I see it is because there is really no crime.
• Safety – o how easily it is for me now to leave a bag and walk away and know that it is completely safe. I think 5 minutes back in the states will cure me of this.
• Dress and shoes – seriously, anything goes. The Japanese are always put together even though some of their clothe combinations make you go hmmmm really? Also, shoes – who knew 5 inch heels can be anywhere and everywhere. They run around them like they are slippers.
• Politeness – one of the most polite countries I have ever been in, I lie I think it is the most polite. Even when you do something wrong or can’t speak their language they apologize. I had about 10 words of Japanese in my vocabulary but you made it work!
• Taxis – white covers on the seats, sometimes gloved drivers, and the ability to open my door from the drivers seat will forever impress me. Next time I am in an awful DC cab I will remember you with a heavy heart!!
• Random English – there will be a sign, a shirt, anything with Japanese writing and then random English words
• Head nodding – a nod of the head just says so much
• Wet towels – so nice to sit down and wash your hands at your table but this only slightly makes up for their aversion to napkins in restaurants and bathrooms
• Your fun toilet features!
  
  Even though I stood out like a sore thumb I never felt like a circus freak and even when kids looked at me all it took was a smile and a hi to get giggled. Thank you Japan for letting me to get to know you, your people, and your culture. Even though the language barrier was there it was never frustrating, well I lie it was in the beginning with food. I think I traveled through Japan with as much ease maybe even more ease then all of my time in Europe. Japan………….I will be back!

Food Glorious Food!

Seriously why has it taken me so long to do this post. Unfortunately, not all the food I love is featured here but needed to show a few things. I will be honest and say that I have packed on a few pounds since I have been here; actually, every time I have lived abroad I have gained weight and I think that is because of being a vegetarian and compensating with carbs. Being a vegetarian can be hard, think about it if you aren’t eating meat what are you eating when you travel? In the states I have the lovely Whole Foods (or Whole Paycheck as my dad calls it) but I always have difficulty outside of my comfort zone. Now this is where I could get extremely frustrated because my pants just don’t fit but I recently read something in a magazine that put it all in perspective (parphrased) “Instead of worrying about those last 5 pounds think about all the fun you had and the great food you ate to gain those 5 pounds.”

In Kyoto - I had some fantastic pees that were in this crunchy dough and some fantabolous dried fruit, seriously dried kiwi and strawberries!

OMG the fruit in Japan is HUGE! This asian pear was the size of my head, their peaches are the same way. The really cool thing is that they are sold with a foam protector.

On my last day of work in Sasebo Kaori bought me this awesome mini cake (even had its own ice pack with it!)

When I was in Korea Ryan and Holly introduced me to Tom n Toms Coffee, it is a Korean chain and o.......m...........g.............. this might be better than Starbucks! I know blasphemy but they have these pretzels that are made to order and the one below was sweet potatoe and cheese - I am salivating just thinking about it!

One nite when we were going back to the hotel Ryan, Holly, and I decided to stop and get a snack. Well I saw this ice cream that was "Sweet Corn" and I just couldn't say no because I was so intrigued. It tasted just like frozen sweet corn but honestly, I could not decided if I loved it or hated it and Holly was the same way. We both kept taking a bite and going hmmmmmmmmmmm not sure let me try it again!

Saynora #2 My Marines!

Right now I am on the shinkasen, bullet train, to Tokyo. This train is so fast that my computer is shaking; it is pretty incredible that I can get to Tokyo in 4 ½ hours by train but it would take about 13 hours to drive. One of my co-workers’ son is on the cross country team and they have a meet in the Tokyo area this weekend but because it is so far they leave on Tuesday nite and take a bus up with the tennis team and the volleyball team; seriously my heart goes out to those 4 chaperones who have to be on a bus for over 13 hours with 36 highschool kids – there is a special place in heaven for you. Though they leave on Tuesday nite the cross country team doesn’t race until Saturday but they go up and go to all of the other sports matches because it is so far and too expensive to keep sending them on the train. The train costs about $250 EACH way.

Leaving Iwakuni is sad because I consider Iwakuni my “home.” In the beginning I said it was the place where my clothes lived but slowly over time it became home. Once I became busier at work, got to know more people, and spent some time there it became a comfortable place to be. One of the big differences between Iwakuni and Sasebo is that there isn’t much to do right outside the gates but the base is so welcoming that you really find yourself not wanting to leave; it really does feel like a tiny community. Here is to you Iwakuni! I will miss:

• The order - it is a Marine base and it is run with Marine efficiency and standards. That means you have to show your id to get into the commissary and the exchange and you have to pass dress code to get in there. Until last summer you couldn’t wear flip flops into the exchange and commissary, thank the dear lord that changed because I live in my rainbows. If you are showing too much shoulder (i.e. spaghetti tank tops, halter tops etc) you are not allowed into the commissary, I did see someone in a smock once that was given to them so they could shop.



• Nail Appts – yes it takes over a month to get a pedcicure but boy is it worth it!



• The People – this is not as simple as that………..come on people it is me, if I can say it in 5 words why should I when I can say it in 50!



• The Marines – so polite! Even after getting used to be called m’am all the time they are true gentleman. They hold the door open for you, they acknowledge you when you walk by; it is sad that these little things make such an impression for me and are not the norm in society but on the Marine base they are. I loved meeting each and every Marine and hearing their stories and their passions. I met Marines who: were getting full scholarships to schools like Stanford after struggling with the thoughts of college after high school and that is why joined the military, excited with the thoughts that they were going to Afghanistan soon, those who have been deployed to the Middle East as many as 8 times, those whose marriages have ended because of the military, those who were taking advantage of every benefit the military has to offer (they will pay for school while you are active duty and that is on top of their education benefits they get through the VA), and Marines who have health issues because of their service but still want to serve every day. I truly am thankful to them (and to the Navy) for their service and for the sacrifices that their families have made in order to protect our country.

• People in general – I did not have a car on base but I always had offers of rides. If it was too hot out or I had packages or groceries my coworkers, Marines, and random people would just pull up to me and offer me a ride. That tiny gesture is just so touching and shows that we can all do little things every day just to make people lives a tiny bit easier.

• ITT – these wonderful people are our travel people. I love this group of Japanese workers who helped me plan every trip to Sasebo and all of my fun trips as well. They just made my life so much easier and did it with that politeness of the Japanese.

• My co-workers- I worked with an AMAZING group of people. The majority of them were military spouses. This amazing group of people were extremely welcoming and included me in everything in the office and made me feel like one of them. When I left I thought they were throwing a surprise breakfast for Tako, a Japanese coworker who is leaving to go to another department, but instead they tricked both of us! They told her that the breakfast was for me and they told me it was for her but in reality it was for both of us. In addition to the delicious breakfast they got me balloons, chopsticks with my name engraved on them, a chopstick rest, and a beautiful framed picture of Kintai Bridge and they all signed the mat. The thoughtfulness put into everything just exemplifies what wonderful people they are. I truly hope my path crosses with each one of them. Some of my fond memories of my co-workers include:
  
• Akia, a Japanese worker who is always cold. In the middle of the disgusting hot summer she would walk into our morning meeting with leggings, leg warmers, a sweat shirt, a HUGE blanket and wrap a heating pad around her stomach because she was freezing. She would then sit down next to me and I would be wearing a thick tank dress and sweating because it was hot in there. For the past few weeks our air conditioning doesn’t work in the morning and it is like a sauna in there, I believe Akia found the temperature just right.
• Cassandra – she was our hysterical administrative assistant. Unfortunately, she was out the first few weeks I was there but fortunately, she came back. I really can’t describe Cassandra and do her justice. She doesn’t swear so instead she says apple strudel, she is the one who came searching for me when I got lost with my friends, she drove me around base and even got lost on the Japanese side of the base with me, makes faces at me during our morning meeting, and makes me laugh every day.
• All the girls downstairs – I only saw them at morning meetings but that was always the highlight of the meeting, well that and Cassandra’s faces.
• Tony……….hmm what can I say. He tested my patience but means well and was sooooo extremely helpful when I first got to base. I think one thing I learned from Tony is it all works out and just to relax.
• Mr. Welcome – he was my boss and is such a sweet man. He loved to talk and that is why our 10 min meetings were usually an hour. Cassandra used to call him Mr. Douitashimashite (means welcome in Japanese) or my Mr. Doy.
• Hiroe – she helped me do so much for my friends’ trip.
• Bonnie – ugh godsent for so many reasons. Bonnie is an amazing financial planner who just loves finance and tries to help everyone she can, including Marines, their spouses, and even the young kids. If it wasn’t for Bonnie I would have been twiddling my thumbs all summer, she sent out a mass email telling everyone I was there and it was because of this I got clients and was able to get into the commands. Bonnie is extremely fashionable and rocks the wear 4 inch heels, she also is a marathon runner and gets up at 4:30 am to run every day because she doesn’t want to take time away from her kids. She also rocks because besides allowing me to harass her every day she also brought me into her home for dinner and made me feel extemly welcomed on base. She also told me details about the gym since I couldn’t find the cardio room the first few times.
  
• The Lewis Family – look above at Bonnie, this is her family. Bonnie had me over for dinner when I first got to Iwakuni and introduced me to her husband, her amazing kids Zack and Breana, and adorable shitzu’s Daisy and Duke (I have a soft spot for shitzus since they are like lhasa apsos and I had one for 12 years and my parents had a lhasa/shitzu mix for one year). This is the Lewis family’s second time living in Japan, they lived in Iwakuni for 4 years went back to the states for 6 years and have now been in Iwakuni for 6 years. Her husband Dave is retiring in December after 20 years in the Marines and they are staying in Iwakuni for 3 more years. Zack,a sophomore, and Breana, a 7th grader, are amazing kids. They made an impression on me from the first day I met them, they sat there the entire 3 hours I was over for dinner without asking to leave and turning their friends away when they came over. They are both super smart, athletic (they recently began running and I think Bonnie is already secretly planning the first family marathon), polite, interesting, and funny kids. I love spending time with them; Zack came to my rescue this summer and killed a bug for me. On my last nite in Iwakuni they took me out to dinner to Ganesh, great Indian food, and gave me a birthday present. This present was extremely thoughtful because it was Coach wristlet and I semi-joke that in order to live on base you need to own something Coach because everyone does (they sell it at the exchange). I believe that part of the reason why I was never really homesick is because of this family.
  
  There are more things I am going to miss about Iwakuni but I cannot remember them right now and I think that is the beauty of Iwakuni, you just feel comfortable and at home there and you cannot just put your finger on the reason why. Thank you Iwakuni for a wonderful experience.
  

Fishies!!!!

On my last weekend in Iwakuni, well Japan, I decided I was going to pack one day and hit the cheap movies up, ugh seriously you mean I am going to have pay more than $3 for a movie….o and I bet I will stand for the National Anthem the first time or so at the movies, do you think I will get weird looks at the movie theater in Georgetown? So I needed a game plane for Sunday so after chatting with the fantabolous Hiroe I realized I did all the must do’s in Iwakuni so I decided to rent a car and have an adventure. After realizing no one could go with me I decided to head down to the aquarium. One of the great things about living on a military base is that there are so many resources to help you plan a trip so I printed off the directions and headed down to Shimnoseki. When I went to the car rental place the lady was surprised that I was going by myself, well she was also taken back that I was going at all since it is about a 3 hour drive. I love to drive, it is in my blood, I think both of my parents live in their cars. So for me doing a 3 hour drive is no big deal, hello we did it almost every weekend in the winter heading up to the Lake. In the States I am a fast driver, only one ticket though and that was in North Carolina with NY license plates and a retired NYPD father so of course I was going to get a ticket but in Japan I happily get passed. The speed limit is pretty low here, it is usually 60kmh but was 80 kmh on this highway which translates to 49 mph and so I was speeding a little bit. So 2 ½ hours later I was there. To get there I had to go back to the scene of the crime, the exit (or interchange as they call them here), that made me super lost when I picked up my friends. What took me over 2 ½ hours from Iwakuni Interchange took me maybe 15 or 20 minutes to get to on Sunday, o directions how nice it is to have you.

I wish I took a picture of my car because it was a little black ghetto pimp mobile, my coworker commented on it and said that it was my gangsta mobile so it wasn’t just my thought. I noticed that other cars were noticing me, not just because of my car but because my license plates tell everyone “HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!! FOREIGNER ON THE ROAD WATCH OUT.” Well not really but in a way yes, my license plates say MCAS Iwakuni on them but in general foreigners license plates are different then Japanese. Japanese license plates have Kanji symbol on them and foreigners have a Y or E in the beginning. I kind of like this but don’t you think if we did that in the US there would be lawsuits, marches, and who knows what else saying we were profiling.

Kaikyokan Aquarium was pretty cool and surprisingly had a lot packed into it. I haven’t been to an aquarium in a few years and the last one I went to was the National Aquarium in DC, it is so small I mean did you even know we had one in downtown DC. The aquarium in DC felt like you were at a glorified pet store but this one felt like you were in the ocean. They had huge tanks that would go a floor or so down and so you were always surrounded by fish. There were also passages with fish swimming over you and underneat your feet. They had some very talented dolphins and seal.

When you are about to leave, feeling a little bit like “hmmm what else” you walk down the steps to an incredible penguin habitat. Not only can you see the penguins swimming next to you but then you walk around the corner and they have the huge tanks where you can see them swim deep under the water and then underneath your feet as you walk in between the tanks. Then you go outside to a whole outdoor habitat.

I was very impressed with the aquarium and it was totally worth the 2 ½ hour drive. I mentioned before that tolls in Japan are ridiculous if you do not have an ETC pass and this was another great example. If it was not for my free passes through the rental car it would have cost me 37,500 yen EACH way that is roughly $45 each way or $90. Could you imagine having to pay that in the states!!

Japan's Best Dance Crew Competition!

12One of my favorite things about Japan is their love of festivals. Also, when I was asked what my favorite sight in Japan was I always go to the things that I run across. I think the top of the list are my geishas and my 4th of July Parade.

When I was in Fukuoka I was looking for a little something extra and just then I ran across a dance competition. Seriously, is this what the groups I saw in Tokyo and Kyoto were practicing for?? It really was the perfect ending to all of my trips; it tied up all of the pieces of Japan. It was so much fun just to watch them dance. Also, it was interesting to see the respect that they have in their daily lives translates to this; each performance was started off with a bow before they walked on the "stage", a hello and some chit chat, and it concluded with a thank you from the entire troupe. This was the highlight of my trip to Fukuoka!

Um, seriously who couldn't love something that had drag geishas!

Look at the little kid, way too cute! Every dance group had all ages represented. Look at the kid on the side, he just sat there with his mom.

I also loved the fact that not only American kids harrass people in the costumes; seriously, have you ever been to a Nats game I always feel bad for the presidents. These poor people were being picked on by Japanese kids but took it in stride! Also, in true Japanese polite fashion their handlers made sure I got a picture of them.

He was so intent on making sure that flag waved right!

We all know that I have fallen in love with baseball here so I loved the fact that I came across a press conference of old Lions players at the bus station. Also, lions were the team that Bridget and I saw in Tokyo - see Fukuoka is bringing together the circle of life, okay the circle of my Japan!

Um, Hello! This is genious and why do we not have this on the esclators in DC.......it would be so much easier instead of yelling "Stand Right Walk Left" over and over and over again!