Kamakura -- the Big Buddah

Last Thursday we had our field trip day in ICR. We got into groups and decided where we'd like to train. Tyler, Laura, Dave, Noel and I decided we'd train it to Kamakura, about 1.5 hours south of here. The most recognizable thing in Kamakura is the 37ft open-air Buddha statue.


Guarding the gate to the shrine. Two cats, their paws raised in a sign of welcome.



Kami (god) of Thunder, or Lightening. These two gods guard the entry to almost every temple. (The second one isn't pictured here).



The only cherry blossom in bloom at the time. So lots of people were photographing it. (Next week the blossoms will be out in full force.)



Big Buddha.




Dave, Annie and Big Buddha.

A Visit to the Squadron

We weren't able to do much exploring this past weekend as Dave was on duty and couldn't go far from base. He took me in to the the squadron on Saturday afternoon. In case you'd forgotten, he is with VFA-192, the Super Shit Hot World Famous Golden Dragons, as pictured above.


The walk up to the squadron. All of the different squadrons paint their doors, curbs, and anything else that will hold still with their colors. Ours are Blue and Gold - which also happen to be USNA colors... coincidence??


Golden Dragon Pride begins with Dave. Duh.





Inside the Ready Room. Notice the wall of coffee mugs on the left wall, the row of job-specific chairs on the right, the briefing table with white board to the back, and the all powerful Foose Ball table front and center...



Foose Ball is a big deal in the squadron. We are considering purchasing one to keep up our skills. The Hamiltons would fit in well here.



Special Chairs... Dave's is the one up front, Aircraft Operations Officer... I don't really know what that means, but Dave doesn't either (yet). He will also serve as the Public Affairs Officer (PAO).



And this is proof Japan loves the Golden Dragons: A "Combat Aviation Pilot." (Think GI Joe Action figure.) Made in Japan. Oh what's that? A VFA-192 Golden Dragons seal on it? Hmmm, definitely World Famous. And Super Shit Hot.



Additionally, over the weekend, friend from Kingsville, Laura Moore arrived on Friday afternoon. On Saturday night, we went out to eat with the Moores and the Smiths. We went to the nearest authentic sushi restaurant. It was very traditional, and super delicious. And very affordable. We finished the night with a drink at the O'Club. On Sunday, we began calling about for a car. We made an offer, and will be buying a 1997 Honda Logo with 73,000 miles for (get ready) $1,000. We will still have to pay the weight tax due in April and insurance. But it will be a good car and hopefully we can sell it for close to the same in December so we won't loose much money on it.

In other news, this week we have been attending AOB/ICR: Area Orientation Briefing/Inter-Cultural Relations. This week-long program is designed to introduce Japan to everyone. Monday we had representatives from every -- EVERY -- office on base come speak to us about what they offer. The most shocking one: The Commissary sells groceries, and the Food Court sells food - OH MY GOSH, I never would have figured that out... But there was really a lot of good information passed around. Today we talked about culture shock, and how to pronounce Japanese words... We even learned how to write our name in Kanji and traditional script. Pretty nifty!

All for now.

To the Right

You may notice to the right a new "gadget": I think Annie and Dave are cool (Followers). Are you a Follower? You are probably a follower if you can answer yes to two of the questions below:

1) I am related to Annie and/or Dave
2) I like Annie and/or Dave
3) I have looked at their blog at least once in the past 10 years of my life.

Wow how easy was that! So click the "Follow" button on your right, and make me feel like this is all for naught.

A Shopping Trip to Lalaport

Today, my friend Kelly and I went to a nearby shopping mall - Lalaport. It took us about 45 minutes to get there, even though it was moderately close - traffic is pretty backed up even at 930am. The mall was very much like Tyson's - three levels, designer stores, a movie theater. Some differences: dining court is not fast food, there were many "home" stores, which were like Bed,Bath&Beyond + furniture, everything is gift wrapped.



Yes, this is Febreez and Downy Snuggles Lavender whatnot. Ant it's about $18. Yes, EIGHTEEN DOLLARS! It's like the equivalent of buying a French designer laundry detergent. The small bottles next to it are little samples so you can smell the product before buying it.



Weird little baby things, wearing hats that make them like animals, and you can buy accessories...weird.



The up-and-coming fashion in Japan, SCRUNCHIES.



My new favorite store: Afternoon Tea. Tea time here is a big deal, and it is a long proceedure to serve a formal tea. Therefore, there are many options for tea sets, aprons, placemats, napkins, etc., not to mention all sorts of teas! All loose-leaf of course. And chocolates, for desert, of course. Lindsay, this store reminded me of you. :)

Addtionally, everythign is gift wrapped. Buy a pair of socks? Well lets wrap it in tissue paper, place it in a gift bag with draw string ribbon - to be tied in a bow with extra ends snipped - and place that bag in a handled bag. It all reminded me of the scene from Love Actually, where Alan Rickman rejects the wrapping of Rowan Atkinson. To check out the scene I'm referring to, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuhdWVe00wE&feature=related

The Dining Out in Detail

How to describe the dining out to one has never been.... Well let's start with my introduction to it, which included a 7 page email from the Commanding Officer's wife regarding the rules and regulations of the Dining out. Civilian attire is black tie (oo, so posh you say). Every officer in the company is to attend, and must obtain permission to not attend. Every officer has a responsibility and a title, and everyone is to be referred to by their title. The CO is the President, the Vice President is NOT the XO, because that would make sense. I think the Vice President - known only as Mr. Vice - is chosen arbitrarily and is in charge of making all the reservations necessary for the Dining Out to occur - hotel reservation, dinner menu, etc... Dave was Connoisseur of Cigars and Tyler was Master of Music.

Here is a taste of some of the rules to be followed:

Rules of the Mess. The following is a listing (although far from complete) of actions that are not permitted:
1. Untimely arrival at proceedings.
2. Leave or return to the table without the President's permission.
3. Reading, writing, or passing notes.
6. Use of foul language or telling "off-color" story
15. Letting the Port decanter tough the table before all have charged their glasses.
18. Singing at the table, or failing to sing when required.
20. Being at a loss for words when called upon to render intelligent speech or timely remarks.
24. Not having a good time.
25. Having too good a time.
34. Wearing a clip-on bow tie at an obvious list.
36. Maintaining too low a profile.
42. Talking with one's hands (unless you are deaf).
48. Butt snorkeling in any form.
51. Gossiping.
52. Using the words "husband" or "wife."

This is not a complete list, but it gives you an idea... Should you ignore any of these rules, you are formally accused by someone in the Mess, with the option of Defense (provided by the XO, or yourself). The President renders a verdict. Mr. Vice distributes punishment. Punishment came in the form humiliation or "the grog." Some humiliating punishments included wearing of ridiculous clothing, wigs, etc, singing a song, or, my favorite, arm wrestling. The grog is a cocktail of sorts, usually not pleasant to the taste but potent with alcohol.



There is a manditory cocktail hour before "The Mess" assembles. This was good for me because I got to meet some of the wives before spending all evening with them. As I mentioned, it is a black tie affair: Dave was in Standard Dress Blues (SDB's) - which are really black - with a bow tie. I wore a navy blue bejeweled cocktail dress with some of Grandma's rhinestones, and beautiful silver shoes. But my favorite of all was the XO's wife, Norito. She is Japanese and wore traditional formalware - a kimono! It was beautiful.



All the wives:


There is brief entertainment provide while desert is served. It was supposed to be a WW2 veteran, but that plan fell through. On Friday, Dave and Tyler were called in to the squadron and told they would be the entertainment via debate. The debate topics would be:
1) Which movie is better, Steel Magnolias or The Beaches?
2) Which is the better sport, Male Diving or Couples Figure Skating?
3) Who is the better George, Boy George or George Michael?
4) Who is your favorite O-4? (pre-scripted by the Junior Officers)
5) Who is the better New Guy?


Dave and Tyler donned ninja bandannas for the debate.

The purpose of the debate was to establish the pecking order. Whoever lost the debate would be #10 and whoever won the debate would be #9 in the squadron pecking order. I'm very pleased to announce that Dave won the debate, winning Steel Magnolias and The Georges round, and clinching it by defending the Chocolate Lions as a reason he's the better New Guy. Also, the Chocolate Lions are now world famous, if by reputation alone.

The Mess:


After the debates, Port was disbursed and toasts followed, including toasts to every fallen comrade from VFA-192 in it's history. The Mess was then dismissed. After a quick costume change, the Golden Dragons took over the Mado Lounge for an all around good time with a view.

Tokyo and Dining Out

On Sunday, Dave and I took the train to Tokyo to attending the squadron's Dining Out - which should just be referred to as a fraternity party... It took us about 2 hours to get to Tokyo by train. We walked around Tokyo, and then got ready. There was an after-party 60 stories up in the air... Here are some pictures.



At the train station. It only took us 1.5hrs on the way back..



The New Sanno Hotel. This is a military hotel - you have to show your id before entering every time. A typical hotel would cost about $200/night in Tokyo. We paid $52. Booya.


Cherry blossoms are a-blooming! Taken in a nearby park in downtown Tokyo.





Where the after-party was held.




Our view.


To see a more complete compilation of photos, check out: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2072737&id=31801229&l=9647f71092

Our sponsors

As we head out the door to have dinner at the Oliver's, I wanted to show you all a pic. Kristen, Andy, and Bryce have been so super helpful. Words cannot express.

Stress, but I'm in Japan, so whatever...

So Dave and I (Me) decided that I do want to live off base. After taking out name out of the on-base list, Dave and I have been worried that we won't get TLA (Temporary Living Allowance- which pays for us the live in the Navy Lodge until we get housing, on or off base). If we don't get TLA, then we have to pay out of pocket ($60/night x 21-28 days... = a lot...). We *think* we are ok, that we can decline housing on base housing 2x before losing TLA, but there is always conflicting information... I was super stressed about all this yesterday, even as i went to look at some off-base houses. My sponsor spouse was soo helpful, meeting me at 8am at the Housing office with her cute three-year old boy, Bryce. We poured over binders of off-base housing units. She helped me find them on the map - since the way address are written here doesn't make much sense to me (yet). Example: 2-3-28 (Japanese Street Name).

Here's a photo of a house I looked at.




The Realtor from Century 21 picked me up at the Navy Lodge an drove me to three houses. Unfortunately neither of them were within walking distance of a train station. And for me, that's a big deal; if i want to travel a lot - which I do - being within distance of at least one train station is a must have. But this house was the only one worth sharing. It was pretty cute - until all the other houses around it were the same bright BLUE or YELLOW (which happen to be Navy colors, and also happen to be Golden Dragon colors...) The interior was pretty dated. Weird- that the balcony looked into the courtyard (other houses) instead of the rare agricultural patch in the back....

So we are back to the drawing board. We are having dinner at the Oliver's (sponsors) tonight. The unit next to them will be available in April, and I really liked their house. And as I mentioned to my mom, real estate here is very differently run than in the US. Basically, if we tell the current occupants that we will rent after them, we are golden - the house won't even go "on the market," unless we decide to decline it. Also, there are no leases - I asked the Realtor - "until you want to leave, some 3 months some stay 3 years." Inconceivable in the US!


In other news today, Dave is wearing his Blue-Angel-Blue flight suit today. Just like a fraternity, they have special uniforms to wear on certain days of the week. Fridays are blue flight suits, mondays are a special patch. They have to have the sqadron coin on them at all times.... Just wait till I tell you about the Dining-Out rules later on.... The Navy is 100% a government endorsed Fraternity.

Off-Base Excursion

So, there were some big developments today: 1) First trip off base 2) Desire to live off base 3) Sweet-talk housing into letting us get out of our apt.

This morning I was up with Dave at 7am. After making some instant coffee and oatmeal - from the microwave - for us both, Dave scampered off to the squardon. I showered up and biked over to Medical and got my JEV part 2 shot. It was interesting because The bedical staff hadn't even gotten the JEV shots when they came over... But whatever, I'm getting it and finishing it. I have to go back in 3 weeks for part 3... felt a little dizzy and tired today, but nothing that slowed me down too much. I also made a dental appointment for cleaning...

At 11am, Kristen, our sponsor spouse, came and picked me up for my first off base adventure. First we went to two used car lots. Cars here are soooooo cheap!!! Everything was saw was under $4,000, most were about $2,000. I also saw a Toyota dealership, except Toyota is Toyope over here. Dave and I are hoping to find something for under $900. The two used car lots are within walking distance from the front gate. Kristen also pointed out where the Vehicle Registration Office (VRO) is; cars have to pass Japanese inspection and on base inspection, plus on and off base taxes..

Then we drove past the two train stations near us. There is even a parking lot near one for military only. (Parking in Japan is extremely difficult to find, which is why most people take public transportation - that and the traffic gets really bad.) She also pointed two Japanese grocery stores and 100Yen stores.

Then she took me to see her apartment, and then I fell in love.

Her apartment is wonderous! It is sooo spacious! And Kristen had it just perfectly decorated... one of those "Oh, my child left toys everywhere, sorry it's a mess..." And I see no mess, only perfectly coordinated everything!! She has the same style sofa as we just bought (gotta love Ikea), except as an "L" sectional. The apartment is more like a condo or a townhouse, three units together with a shared driveway. It is two levels, the first having an entry way (where you must leave you shoes and put on your house shoes), living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom and two closets. The second floor has 3 bedrooms, washer-dryer-bathroom combo, and large closets in the master bedroom. The floors are all wood, along with the trim, closets, and doors. Additionally, there is a small balcony off the master bedroom, perfect for a morning cup of Trader Joe's coffee.

There were a couple of features that make this Japanese home super unique: the washette and the shower room. The washette: There is a faucet is directly over the back of the toilet, with a hole in the top of the toilet tower. When you flush the toilet, it automatically turns on the faucet so you can wash your hands (cold water only), and I believe the water is recycled into the bowl/tower. This is in addition to a sink in the room! Also, most toilet seats can be heated! Women understand the value of this feature. The shower room: It's like a small sauna. The toilet adn washer-dryer (with sink and washette) are through the main door to the bathroom. There is another door that within the room that leads to the shower room; it's as if there were 4 feet of open space before the tub (which is slight sunken into the floor space), but it's not just open space - it's the shower! Kristen said it's like a spa in the winter because it's so relaxing. How cool is that!? Don't you want to live here now!

The creme-de-la-creme: The unit next door is available in the middle of April.


I went to the housing office this afternoon (since Dave has already signed for the 3114 apartment) to see what we can do. The man said it shouldn't be a problem at all to get out of the apartment, but just to know we'd be moved the end of the housing list - which is currently two people long. Kristen's coming by tomorrow and we're gonna look at what's available for off base rental.

The only down side to renting off base is that it requires a lot of money upfront. 2 months rent upfront, plus a landlord fee. Two months rent can be $4,000..plus another $1,000. See why this is a downside? Upside: Navy will front it all, and you get most of it back (like $4k).


So what do you think? Want to move in yet? I'm totally sold. About half the wives from the squadron live off base, and do things together all the time. I think it's very easy to a) go crazy and b) be lulled into complacency by living on base.

When Dave gets home we shall discuss.

Some Pictures of Atsugi!

Finally, from my new camera, come pictures of atsugi! I warn you, base is very much like a mini USA... except they drive on the left...



My view from the BOQ window monday morning.





Our future apartment on the 2nd floor. Go figure, it is a pet approved apartment. I'm toying with the idea of have Mav come over. The concept of being alone completely for 4 months is not appealing. Apparently, the interior paint color of the apartment is a painful beige.





Something blooming...





Chruch!

Base is relatively small - I'm not used to having so many houses on base. In Oceana no one lived on base. The commissary here is about 1/3 the size of Oceana. And of course, I was used to Oceana, which is one of the largest. So the downsizing is different. On base, it's about 50-50 split between people who drive and people who bike. Dave bought a bike two weeks ago; I went to Outdoor Recreation and rented a bike for the next two weeks. Another change here is that there are a lot more other air crafts here - not just jets. It's weird to hear helicopters and large big planes buzzing about.

Tonight, Dave and I are going to sushi restaurant in town with Tyler. It will be my first time off base.

Day One

My flight to Japan was very uneventful, aside from the fact i realized at 545am that i'd forgotten my military ID, at which point I called Katie crying because i can't get through immigration in tokyo without it... But she's a hero and got it to me in 25 minutes, which is an insane feat considering she drove 30 miles and had to wake and strap in a 3 year old.

But after that, there were no delays, no annoying people I got stuck sitting next to, no mechanical failures, no lost baggage, nothing! Smoothing sailing- or flying.

Dave met me at the airport and guided me to the train at 5pm. We took a fast train for about 90 minutes, and then a local train for about 30, and then a cab ride fro about 5 min - and then ended up at the front gate, walked about 10 minutes to the BOQ, whereupon I was snuck in. (The BOQ - Bachelor Office Quarters - is meant for singles, not for married couples or children etc, so I'm not supposed to be there.) Dave kept me up until about 9 and fed me pizza and water and made me shower (I just wanted to sleep).

I didn't get to see much of Tokyo - which we cruised passed in the train - because it was dark by the time we got through it. But this weekend I will see it when we go there for Dave's Dining-Out. (Dining Out is when all the officers from the squadron - usually about 20-30 persons - and their wives/fiance/girlfriends all have a big night out.)On Wednesday, our sponsor's wife, Kristen, is going to take me around town: show me where to buy a car, where to shop for fresh produce and meat, how to get to the train station, etc.

I'll bring my spiffy camera along for your visual stimulation

Virginia to Japan

A review of my trip to Japan in numbers.

1000bazillion - number of hours of stress to get to Japan
13.5 - number of hours on the plan from Dallas to Tokyo
5 - number of hours slept on said plane
1.5 - number of hours it takes to pack Daves belongs in the BOQ
2 - number of hours it takes to move 300lbs+ of luggage form 4th floor of BOQ to 2nd floor of Navy Lodge
60 - number of seconds it takes to get through immigration
60 - number of seconds it takes to get through customs
120 - number of seconds it takes to get both of my bags
150 - number of pounds of luggage I brought myself to Japan
1/2 - number of amount of in-flight meals I ate
1 - number of movies watched on plane
0 - number of movies enjoyed on plane
27 - number of hours traveled before sleeping in a bed
7.5 - number of hours slept last night
12 - number of waking hours today
2 - number of stray cats seen today
100000 - number of crows who's cawwing woke me up this morning
10 - number of minutes until Dave gets home
90 - number of minutes until we eat at Kelly and Glenn's apartment
24 - number of hours I've been in Japan
3 - number of attempts made to answer my cellphone before I finally answered a call
4 - number of trips it took to get all our stuff out of the BOQ
5 - number of trips on a bicycle today
0 - number of trips on a bicycle today that was fitted for me and not too tall
0 - number of naps today
1 - the number of tired Annie's in this room

Still Waiting...

Well, it has officially been 7 weeks since we found out we were moving to Japan. Dave left on week 6. I'm still waiting around for paperwork to be processed. I have *finially* completed the overseas medical screening, with much help from Portsmouth, and very little from Oceana. I dropped the animals off in Arlington last weekend. I've completely vacated our apartment. I'm now crashing at my friend, Katie's, house until I leave. It's hard being someone's house guest for an undetermined amount of time, but Katie is so very gracious. I should find out Friday-ish when I'll be leaving the country...

Until then, I'm just waiting.

Dave has made it over fine; he really likes his new squadron-mates. He will soon find out what his job will be for the squadron (in addition to flying, he will have a specific job to preform and have regular work ours of 730am-5pm, with flying in there somewhere). He has secured us an apartment on base and that will be ready to move in to on March 12. We will attend a squadron Dining-Out on March 14 - think cocktail party. He calls me about twice a day, but only for 5mintues at a time. He has a pay-as-you-go cell phone and calls to the US are $1/minute.

All for now, I'm off to Norfolk to have dinner with some friends before(if?) I ship out!