Happy Thanksgiving!

I wrote on my facebook that I had the strangest Thanksgiving Day ever. I did.

It was simply very strange to celebrate this very American and homy holiday so far away from the USA. I felt very foreign that day driving off base.

In the morning, instead of laboring in the kitchen making Turkey, I decided to go off base and get some things done. So I was driving even on base, it was very empty. All I could see was Japanese people doing their jobs, working construction. I guess it wasn't a day off for them, so they had to work while all Americans were eating their delicious dinners:)

Anyway. One of the things I got accomplished is scheduling an appointment at a store called Sanwado (with a big running dog logo) ((what does Sanwado mean, anyone know?)) (((triple brackets should be including in grammar rules))). That's the place I am going to get a self-starter for my van. Yay! This way I can press the button from inside my house and the car will start, heat will kick in, and defroster hopefully will help to deice my windshield. I will probably pollute Misawa air too.... but all Japanese do it, why not me? Life is not easy in this snowy area when you don't have a garage.

Another thing I got done, was selling some baby clothes to this recycle shop Waku Waku kids. Things get sold at these recycle shops (second-hand stores) for a lot cheaper than they do in the states. Therefore, I didn't realize how little money the store would give me for all my nice clean baby clothes. Seriously, I must have given them about 15 good name brand clothes, and they gave me a little over $7. They didn't care it was a fleece hooded zip up sweatshirt from Gap it was still 90 cents. Maybe I remember things wrong, but I bet I could sell it in the states for at least a dollar:) Anyway, that was probably the last time I will do that. Better to give it to someone who needs it.

Back to the original subject of this post. Our Thanksgiving dinner was very unique. Food was still the same--yummy turkey, ham, potatoes, yams....all the good stuff. But it was held at our base high school lunch room! Did not feel like home at all, but our having lots of fun friends made up for it. Some kids ran around crazy at the gym, others watched movies. I had a lot of fun chatting with people from our church and Robert played some games. Oh, and he got called in for about an hour (he is on call this whole week).

Finally, I just have to say that Black Friday is not really black here in Japan:) Yeah, the Exchange had some deals, but it's nothing like in the states. I tried shopping online but lots of websites crashed (like Kohl's!!!) right when doorbuster deals were available. Bummer.
Not having all the craziness that happens at Target and Walmart was a blessing, although I kind of miss seeing all the excitement surrounding Christmas preperations.

I am grateful for having so much love in my life. I have such an abundance of blessings every day that I don't know where to start. I am thankful for my family, for my friends, for the adventures that our life throws at us and for having the Gospel in my life. And I am not really homesick:)
Happy Thanksgiving!

Fun week

I caught myself thinking today how much I enjoy these looooong weekends with family. The problem is we try to fit in too much stuff into them. Too much fun stuff. And too many errands to get done.
Just a recap of our week:
--Monday was pretty uneventful.
--Tuesday was kind of uneventful. Except, Alex's preschool told us that we are next in line for a three day class. I was a bit hesitent. So I was supposed to tell them by Wednesday whether or not we still want Alex to transfer into a three-day preschool program. I forgot. I NEVER forget these things. And I did. Now I have to wait till Monday and hope that they didn't put someone else in his spot.

Are you wondering why I was not sure about him going to preschool three days a week? Even if you are not, here is my answers--there are 12 students in that class and only one teacher, no assistant (his current class has 8 or 9 students), he'd lose his friends whom he really likes, and finally driving to the main base three times a week in the morning is not my favorite thing to do this winter. Don't get me wrong, I am used to snow, and after Minnesota, nothing scares me. But it is very different here. A LOT more snow when it does snow and the plowing system needs a lot of improvement from what I heard (although it's a ton better than off base). My most terrifying thought is driving through the so-called CANYON every time I go from North area to main base. I'll get a picture for you, so you know what I am talking about. The sun never shines there, so snow stays there forever...... Okay, enough of snowy thoughts. It's the end of November and it hasn't snow yet.
Back to my recap...

--Wednesday--pretty uneventful.


The end.

Seriously, see? Some weeks are just -blehhh. Nothing cool happens even if you live in Japan.

Things I love about Japan (Misawa)

So I have been trying to come up with a few things that I feel like I need to share. Understand me correctly, it's not that hard to come up with some advantages of being overseas and in a foreign country. Sometimes it's just hard to think about them when you are "living life" here.
Just some random ideas to share:

1. It is very safe here. I do not lock my car. I do not lock my house. When parked off base, I sometimes even leave my wallet in the car--it is that safe. I let my kids go to the bathroom on their own (which I would never do in the states), as long as they know how to find me when they are done. Basically, I feel like everyone is trying to be a good citizen here and trusts each other.

2. The people. Japanese people are amazing. So hard-working, so honest, so polite. I have never heard anyone yell here. I have never heard anyone speak rudely to another person. I have never heard a parent discipline his/her child in public, and if he/she did, they were not speaking in harsh voices, so I didn't even notice.

3. Customer service. They want to please you. They work hard to make you come back. I've got two examples. After my cell phone took an extra couple days to arrive to the cell phone office, the manager himself, gave me a call and asked me if he could drop the cell phone off at my house in person. He simply wanted to apologize for taking such a long time. I kept asking him "But why?" when he was talking on the phone with me. I am sure I sounded kind of suspicious.

And then there is our Japanese auto mechanic--Datesan. Great guy! But what makes him really great--he speaks decent English!-hehehehe. The best part is that he tries his best to actually pick up your car when he needs to work on it and then drop it off. Don't know about you, but I have never had that done in the US:)

4. I stand out. I have to admit, I like it. I like being blonde and "taller". I love being able to be spotted easily:)

5. Being able to buy fresh fruits and vegetables anytime. Anywhere I go in Misawa, I can find small shops that have a ton of produce for sale. We have an "Apple Lady" who has lots of good apples and pears, sits rain or shine in her small shop. Speaks only words like "SWEET" "SOFTO" "HARDO", but that's enough for me. She always gives kids samples of apples and knows their names.

6. Bakeries. Ooooh, just thinking about them makes me want to go out and get some of the yummy Japanese bread. It looks and tastes a lot like European pastries. You just have to try them to appreciate them. My favorite is bread with chocolate swirls in it.

7. It is beautiful here. I did not expect to see so many mountains here! I mean, I knew there is Mt. Fuji in Japan, but I didn't realize there are so many hills and forests where we are--northern Japan. Breataking views. Every time I drive down from main base, by the beach of lake Ogawarako (or something that sounds like that:)), I am amazed at how beautiful the landscape is. Of course, half of the time, I can only see the first layer of mountains because of the clouds.

8. Japanese have thought of every little thing. They love to invent these tiny contraptions/containers/ equipment to ease your life. No, I don't really need a nose massager, but just in case....they've got it. Storage containers of all shapes and sizes are plentiful at the 100Yen store (dollar store but better). In small spaces that they live, they have to use every inch of their house. And that's exactly what all those organizational tools do. My personal favorite that I still have to go and try is this one:

Any ideas what it is?

Amazon description: Baby Nasal Aspirator Vacuum Suction

This nasal cleaner is with a tube for mother to vacuum out baby's mucus. You can feel and control vacuum suction. When the nose is clear, you will feel the free air go in your mouth. The mucus will be collected in the container. All parts are detachable for cleaning (the large white part can be separate into two parts as well). Just rinse with warm or hot water right after each use. It can also be sterilized in boiling water (except the clear container and carry case). I personally like to hold the baby upright when vacuuming the mucus, so I can control the directions as well. It's a very handy tool when baby got running or stuffy nose.

If you are interested in buying one, let me know, I can get it here for around $9-haha. (A regular American pediatrician here actually recommended it to me).

9. Yaki-soba. What can I say, I love Yakisoba. To find out what I am talking about, you just going to have to come visit us.

I am sure the list is not full. But this is just the beginning...

Halloween

Happy Halloween!!   Yes, I know Halloween was over 2 weeks ago, but it never hurts to look back.  This year we had lots of fun, with all the parties and trick-or-treating.  There was always an opportunity to dress up in costume. 

This year Alex decided over a month in advance that he wanted to be a policeman.  Good thing too, because then we had enough time to order his costume online and have it shipped here.  He wore it (and still wears it) almost every day.  If you look closely, you'll see that the original buttons are missing (Alex tore them off) and the remnants are colored in with permanent marker.  Also, the badge clip broke, so you can tell we had to tape it to his shirt.  Alex's silly pose is his attempt at imitiating Katya, who is always a diva for the camera (as you can tell in her photo).  Speaking of Katya, her costume changed for each party or trick-or-treating event.  This is what she wore to the first party.  You'll have to tell me what you think she's dressed as becasue I'm not exactly sure.

And of course, who could forget little Mark.  Yes, he's a frog. 

We had a blast trick-or-treating.  I pulled Alex and Katya in the wagon (so spoiled, I know) and went to as many homes as humanly possible.  And now we have way too much candy in the house.  The Japanese people really get in to the holiday too, even selling pumpkins and costumes in local shops.  On Halloween, droves of Japanese children dress up and come on base to take advantage of all that free candy, because as you know, Halloween is not normally celebrated here in Japan.  It's only because of us Americans and our strange tradtions that Halloween is so big here.   Gotta go now, Mark just woke up and Lyana and the older kids are out.

Robert

Hot Dogs Roasting on an Open Fire

Sung to the tune of "Chestnuts Roasting"

Hot dogs roasting on an open fire, down on Momoishi Beach. 

Tiny tots stuffed with marshmallow S'mores, tonight will find it hard to sleep.

Half the Branch arrived today, just to sit around the campfire and to play.

And while some folks forgot their suppers, the Law of Consecration was enacted by the others.

 

There's nothing better than a bonfire, when shared with friends and family.

Good memories made; more to come I am sure . . .

So how about next time,

I'll bring the ketchup,

(with no high fructose) for all.

Robert

Regular days

Alex, Mark and I get to go exploring a lot more around Misawa. Unfortunately, Katya misses all the action. When she gets home she has to practice her piano, do her homework and play outside. We rarely go on any "excursions" or to the park in the late afternoon because it gets dark so quickly during these autumn months. I think around 4:30 it's already dark nowadays. Japan doesn't turn the clocks back in the fall either, which is a good thing, I think.

Here are some pictures of our fun days:


John (his friend from our street and church) are trying to figure out what those ropes are for. Because John's mom speaks Japanese (she served her mission in Japan), she found out from a lady who was passing by that you are supposed to pull on the rope and the bell in the ceiling would ring. Then you should start your prayers.


Again, John and Alex (and Rebecca) are posing by this funny Buddha next to the shrine.

Mark is always making friends. He doesn't really need to speak Japanese. This boy's mom was very excited to take pictures with an American baby:)

When we go to the off-base parks, it's always fun...and really messy if it had been raining. Reminds me of my native Ukrainian playgrounds:) They are not paved or anything, just muddy and grassy. Alex fell into a huge mud puddle when he was attempting to go down a zipline. Drama...


And this is our sweet big little Alex. Loves anything outdoors. I am thinking of buying him one of those plastic playhouses and having him live there when it doesn't snow. Seriously, he would ride his bike all day on our street and play with his cars in the dirt.


Doesn't it look like so much fun? This is a playground by the Shimoda Mall, about 30 min drive from our area. By the way, everything is 10 minutes further away from our house than from regular main base people. That is one of the most annoying parts for me, but I am sure I'll get over it.

Air Show 2009

Ahhhhhhh!  It has been way too long since the last post.  So now time to catch up.  A lot going on here.  Very busy, all the time.  Never slows down.  Can't take a break.  Only able to talk in short phrases.  No time for complete sentences.

Okay . . . deeeeeeeep breath.

October 18th was the annual air show.  Even though it was on Sunday, I still had to work (something about being a member of the triage team and I would need to be nearby in case of an air show disaster).  So I took advantage of the fact that I had to be at the airshow and took Alex for the morning (the rest of the fam joined later). 

The base opened up the area near the runway and it was flooded with 250,000 or more Japanese visitors.  The base brought in dozens of aircraft for static displays as well as a few aerial performance teams. One particular pilot with his aircraft caught my eye.  He told me he was from Minnesota.  He wouldn't give me an autograph (although I got a hug later).

I think Alex was more impressed with these big machines than with the planes and shows.

If this is any indication of the amount of snow we get here, we're definitely in for a treat.

The two main aerial teams were the Blue Impulse (Japan) and the Thunderbirds (US Air Force).  Stuck to one of the Japanese fighter copters was a welcome sign for one of the lesser known aerial stunt teams.

Even the famous Japanese Bullet Train made an appearance.

Things did get out of hand after a while, so much so that security forces ended up rounding up some of the more troublesome folks, as you can see by this photo. Despite the extreme danger to myself, I nevertheless felt it my duty to risk my life in order to document the raw savagry of such an event so that others might understand what horrors exist in this cruel world.

On a lighter note, one of the more enjoyable parts of the show was 'people watching'.  (That's where I go around and take pictures of people watching the air show, without them spotting me.)  This shot is entitled "Family Reunion on a Tarp."

I decided that there was an unspoken competition between photographers to see who had the biggest telphoto lens on their camera.  The guy giving me the weird stare wasn't the winner, but he was close.  Some people had 2 or 3 different sizes of cameras strapped around their necks, just to make sure they got that perfect shot.  After I took this picture I walked away very quickly.

I was mingling in the crowd only during the morning of the airshow.  My post for the afternoon was at the fire station at one end of the runway (essentially on the runway).  Unfortunately I forgot my camera at home during lunch, so I didn't get any photos of them in flight.  Although here's one on the ground.  I know, not as fast and impressive this way, but hey, it's a Thunderbird.  Still very cool.  I wish I could describe what it was like sitting at the end of the runway watching the Thunderbirds fly.  I could literally look straight up in the sky and stare directly into the burner (you know, that big round thing at the backside of the jet where the fire shoots out) as the planes flew straight up.  I could have used another set of earplugs too.   I'll remember that for next year (and maybe get some action shots of the Thunderbirds too).

Robert

Autumn Colors

I love days like this. You know? It's Friday and your husband gets that day off...just because. We had such a fun relaxing day and the weather cooperated really well. I have to say that this year, Misawa weather has been better than in any state we've ever lived. It is gorgeous here!

So to enjoy this weather, Robert and I took the boys to the Tateno Park in Rakunohe. Rokunohe means "6th Gate", just like Hachinohe means "Eighth Gate". By the way, Hachinohe, is probably the nearest big town around Misawa (about 40 min drive).
The park had a gorgeous lake with lots of wild birds. Alex loved feeding the ducks. I think it was actually his first time to ever feed the ducks that he remembers (there weren't many ducks in FL:)).

We had picnic by the waterfall and then walked along one of the trails around the lake. We'll have to come back there in the spring when all the cherry trees blossom.

For those who are wondering where Katya was--at school. Sorry, Katrusia, maybe next time:)