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.