It takes a village

Wednesday was the day that I had to go back to Camp Zama to pick up my international drivers license that I had taken the test for the day before, so that I'd be allowed to buy a car. Camp Zama is 2 hrs away. It sucks getting to Camp Zama by train. It sucks more getting to and from Camp Zama by train with two kids. It rains in Camp Zama. Camp Zama starts with a "z". I HATE Camp Zama. This was a day to be survived, not savored (I think I read that on a friend's blog somewhere - I like the alliteration of it). Good news is that I have an international driver's license. Bad news is that now the Japanese know that my children aren't very well-behaved.

It started off well-enough. Everyone was in a good mood. The weather was clear, not too hot, not too muggy. The boys were excited about the adventure, and we stopped at our local "conbini" to stock up on cool drinks and snacks. We rode for about 45 mins, catching the express trains, making good time - then I chose the wrong train. We travelled for another 45 minutes IN THE WRONG DIRECTION!! In the midst of a rousing game of "rock paper scissors" with Chris, I realized my mistake. So, off the train, back on a different train for another 45 minutes, to catch the correct train. Then, there was the 20 minute walk to get to Camp Zama - it rained. I had one umbrella, and two whiny kids. It wasn't going well. Got my license, got some lunch, David bought a new suit (see pic of suit top), it stopped raining, and we had to make the return trip. Go figure both kids, especially David were falling apart by now. David refused, just flat out refused to walk; sat down on the sidewalk and wouldn't budge. Chris tried to get him to stand up. My patience was very thin - ok, non-existent, so I just walked ahead about 200m and waited for him to decide that he could indeed walk. Fortunately this was still on base and there was only one passerby to witness the entire drama of David screaming at the top of his lungs for me to come back and pick him up, and me refusing. So in the fashion of the old "obaasan" that I've become, I carried him on my back, hunched over, sweat pouring everywhere, and walked to the train station.

I should have known it wouldn't have taken long - but less than a week? On the longest leg of our train ride, the train was quite crowded already, and there were very few seats. There were two seats available, one on each side of an older, kind of dirty Japanese man. I should have known there was a reason no one was sitting next to him. Anyway, my kids needed to sit - so sit they did - one on each side of "ojiisan". My one rice ball stomach began to have a fit as I witnessed what I can only imagine is a rare buddhist ritual. The man raised his left arm, reached over to the right side of his head, and proceeded to dig at some scab or carbuncle. The left arm would slowly flow to its rightful side, and he would examine the results of his archaeology under his 1/4 long fingernails, and flick his treasures onto the ground. The next part of this ritual was to take the same scythe like nails and excavate for more treasure in his left ear. The fruits of his labor again to be examined and flicked onto the floor. As much as I tried to avert my eyes - it was just too engrossing at how methodical and exact he was. He stopped after doing it 10 times. Then, he began to get annoyed at being surrounded by my kids. David has a few tics. His most frequent is to clear his throat and wipe his mouth with the back of each hand in succession. Well, of course, as you are wiping your mouth, your elbow comes out and sometimes bumps the person next to you. You guessed it, David's skinny little elbow bumped "digger-man's" own skinny arm one to many times, and "digger-man" started pushing back on David. A seat came open soon after this, so I sat down and had David come over to sit on my lap.

"Digger-man"

And then it happened... As David was situating himself on my lap, Chris was a little too fidgety for "digger-man" and "digger-man" reached out and SMACKED Christopher's foot!! What's a foreigner to do? I know if I yelled at him, I would have only been able to get out the equivalent of "What are you doing?"...after that, it would have been a fruitless battle of misunderstood and incorrectly pronounced words. Plus, we're the aliens. My kids don't have Japanese manners (much less well-honed American manners), so we were in the wrong. Part of me was also thinking, "Ha! I told you so, Chris. You've GOT to stop fidgeting so much!" Nothing was said, I just scooted Chris closer to me, and the three of us occupied 1 1/2 seats on the train, all the way home. Oh, right "home" is all relative. "Home station" is more like it, because from the train station to "home" is another 10 min walk at which point David again became incapable of walking.

Lessons Learned -

1. If there are empty seats on a crowded train, make sure to survey what's being avoided.

2. Avoid Camp Zama - no reason to go there

3. Wait until I get a car before taking kids anywhere in public.

JaMata!!

Things I love and hate thus far about Tokyo

Your eyes are not deceiving you - this pic is a bit blurry, but it is of a store near Harajuku on a major road way called "condomania" - great play on words don't you think? Note the friendly mascot on the right side. I had the boys with me, so chose not to peruse the merchandise - it seemed pretty crowded. This is a very safe country.

So, I've been thinking about the things that I love and hate thus far about Tokyo, and I'd like to list a few:

LOVE the "conbinis" (convenience stores) and vending machines - they pretty much sell everything - great for light lunches - actually healthy noodles, rice and veggie dishes. So unlike the grease laden super burritos found in U.S. 7-11s.

HATE skinny Japanese chicks. Haven't taken any pics of them, yet. They're beautiful, well-dressed, graceful, and skinny as all get out. Seriously, 90 percent of the female poplulation look like candidates for Dr. Phil's upcoming "you need to eat to survive" episode. They should all be hospitalized, and be fed intravenously. They've got to be super light, though, in order to wear the fabulous high heels that they hike around in for miles and miles every day. So, I guess the fashion requirement outweighs potential health risks. I've started my one-rice-ball-a-day diet (which I can get at ANY conbini), and bought some new shoes.

LOVE the hustle and bustle, sights and sounds, and being a foreigner here. Just sitting on a park bench is an adventure in eye candy. Forgot to mention that although I HATE the skinny chicks, I'm pretty much a fan of the thin, tall, and hip Japanese men. I haven't bumped into Abe Hiroshi yet, but I've seen (or imagined) several look alikes. Every street corner has a mix of high fashion, expensive restaurant, and mom and pop soba noodle bar. There's the constant din of neon lights, wafting familiar yet unknown smells, and the unconscious ebb and flow of understanding what's being said around me. Being a foreigner here hasn't been that bad thus far. Everyone that I've asked for help from has been more than accommodating, and gone out of their way to patiently explain to me what I need to know. I am always greeted and sent off with a genuine smile.

HATE sweating. It's August in Tokyo - monsoon season, lots of heat and humidity. I started using an enzyme, non-aluminum something or other, anti-perspirant and deodorant. I don't think it's working very well. May have to go back to the cancer-causing brands. Not very polite in crowded trains, but it does give me a bit more room around me. I'll have to consider the pros and cons. I don't have a car yet, and have been on several 2 plus hour evolutions to get someplace the past few days, and have just absolutely wilted with the commute. I don't know how the daggone skinny chicks also have long hair!! Oh yeah, they're so skinny they are constantly cold, even in this weather. Hmm, they fell into my HATE category again...

All right, not too bad - 2 points in each column, and a lot more time and ground to cover...

Ja Matta... (later)

From the U.S. to Foreign Lands

David enjoying a ride on the Super Ferry!

Chris is Merman in Maui!!

Copied from a mass e-mail sent to family and friends on 9 August 2008

Dear Friends and Friends - sorry about the mass e-mail, but I'm still foggy from jet lag, and wanted to let you all know that the boys and I arrived safely in Tokyo yesterday afternoon (August 8th).

We had a fabulous week on our "Hawaii layover", and am so glad that we did so. We spent 4 days on Oahu and 2 days in Maui. Wish we would have stayed in Maui longer, I'm hooked. We packed in a lot of tourist traps - luau, magic show, "surfing", superferry ride, pineapple plantation, sea life park, hilo hatties runby, etc. The adventure I'm most proud of is our climb to the top of the Diamond Head Crater observatory! It's 1.5 miles up, a fairly steep walk. I didn't think we'd get much further than the first half, so didn't even bother to bring the camera - sadly :-( Both boys wanted to continue on, and although I carried David the last 1/2 mile, we all made it to the top and were rewarded with a most amazing view of an extremely clear and beautiful day in Waikiki. Christopher had a few slips on the way down, scraped up his back, legs, and arms a bit. After a few drama filled screams, Chris proclaimed, "Ohhhh, this is the WORST thing that has EVER happened to me!" I told the boys we'd have to do it again on one of our trips back to the states, just so I can get some pictures!

The flight from Honolulu to Tokyo was 7 plus hours, the drive from the airport to where we're staying was 2 hours! Traffic was horrible, and the boys were at their "good behavior" break point. Fortunately, we were met at the airport gate by the asst Army attache, and the current Marine attache. They got us through customs and immigration quickly, tolerated the painful 2 hr car ride, and got us settled in to the furnished embassy temporary quarters where we'll be staying until I can get us moved in to our "condo" out in town - probably around 16 August. We had beer, juice and pizza for dinner, and I couldn't have been happier - except for the $60 price tag on the equivalent of three personal size pizzas!!

Out of the three of us, Chris has tolerated the jet lag the best - he fell asleep around 8pm and woke up at 6am. David crashed at 7pm, but has been up since 1am. I got up with him for a bit, and tried to got back to sleep unsuccessfully. It's going to be a long day -

The next few days will be filled with all of the things to help us truly get settled - meeting with the realtor, checking in to Camp Fuji, getting a cell phone, bank account, international driver's license, register the car, grocery shopping, etc. Our realtor has hooked us up already, though - cable tv, internet service, utilities, parking spot, etc are all included in my monthly rent, and are already set up in the new place! Joseph, our "manny" gets here toward the end of the month - I'll definitely need the extra set of eyes and hands!

Ok, enough blabbing from me. Thanks for hanging in this long. We're all happy and healthy - David has already heard about Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo Thomas and Friends, and apparently a BIG Toys R Us, and has been asking non-stop when we're going to visit each of those places - I'm pretty sure Toys R Us is first.

D minus four

Four days until the boys and I depart on our latest adventure! My 41st B-day is on Wed - to be spent with the boys and my mom. It can't be any worse than the huge letdown of my 40th b-day! I'll save that for another blog when I decide to completely blast a so-called friend.

Thursday is our depart for Hawaii day - looking forward to some unfettered access to the sun and tropics. We're even spending a few days in Maui - taking the superferry! It should be a good time for me and the boys. We'll be in Tokyo on 8 August, and I've just finished lining up our transportation and accommodations. The boys start school on 1 Sept - the exact same day that I start school - that's going to take some serious magic to pull off. Still not sure when we'll actually move in to our new home, but hoping that it will be within two weeks of us arriving. I'll let you know.

Fan mail and bills can be sent to:
Unit 45002 Box 345
APO AP 96338

Cheers, Ja Mata!

Prepping for Japan

I lost my previous blogs - we'll have to see where they disappeared to - more likely that I forgot my username and password...oh well, a new start in blogging matches a new start in my life.

The second set of movers are on the way over to pack up 1000 lbs of those items that I absolutely need to have in Japan when I get there. The items include my new fax/scanner, miscellaneous cold medicines, ironing board, iron, and most importantly 2.5 cases of newly purchased wine!! Ok, I guess I could have lived without most of those items (excluding the wine) directly upon our Tokyo arrival. I should have called this move the items-I-forgot-to-pack-up-in-the-first-move- move.

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. After graduating from language school on 26 June (thanks Uncle John and Aunt Taihee for making the trek down here!), I prep'd the house for the BIG move - it took the movers two days to pack and move EVERYTHING. Mike and crew were amazing!

I headed to Washington, DC for a few days of vacation and work over the 4th of July weekend. I stayed with dear friends Susan and Henri, and we literally had some sort of social engagement every night for 6 nights straight! I was really making up for lost time having been secluded for the past year and a half in a tiny classroom with only 4 other students to pass the time with. The work portion of the trip was equally satisfying as I developed more contacts both in the intelligence field and the Japanese self-defense force. I had lunch with MG Nodomi - the Japanese Defense and Military attache. He was a gracious host, although a little taken aback that I was going to be the only female attending the Japanese War College. Yeah, it's going to be a psychologically tough year. Not only am I female, I'm half Korean - that's going to go over like a fart in church. "shi katta ga nai" - loose translation - "C'est la vie"

After DC, I had one night of restless sleep on my makeshift bed in my empty house. The next day a fabulous high school friend flew down from Washington state (leaving behind a hunky husband and 3 gorgeous kids) for a girls weekend! We literally haven't seen each other in nearly 15 years - although I feel like she's always with me since we talk frequently. We soon discovered there was a reason why God kept us apart during our potentially naughty girl years. Men were tripping over themselves to bask in our sunlight. We got free drinks and desserts wherever we went. I had wanted to take us down to Los Olivos for winetasting - we made it to Paso Robles and were having such fun with a hunky young Egyptian god (the other female server was equally charming and fun, just can't remember her name!) that we ended up spending 3 hours chit chatting, eating and drinking. Ok, so the next stop was Solvang - the place where a large portion of the movie "Sideways" was filmed. I had made reservations to stay in Solvang since it is very close to Los Olivos (remember my entire goal was to get to Los Olivos). Because our stay in Paso Robles was so lengthy, we missed all of the wine bars in Los Olivos. We, therefore, wisely chose to find a spot near the hotel for a bit of winetasting and dinner. Within 2 minutes of us sitting at the wine bar at "Wines of the Valley", men were coming out of the woodwork! It was a super fun evening, and we met the most wonderfully funny, interesting, and engaging people. The wives of these googling men were so incredibly gracious as well to allow their husbands to behave in such a manner!

We then met Jacques and Diane (sounds like a John Cougar-Mellencamp song) at "Cabernet Bistro". They are the owners of this fabulously decadent restaurant tucked away in Frederick Square - please go there if you get the chance. The food, the wine, the servers are all fabulous. Jacques came out and gave us the recipe to a delicious carrot/potato puree he served with some fresh off the boat sand dabs!

Thank you for making it to the end of this blog. I felt the need to catch up. I hear the moving truck and need to start directing!! Ja matta...