Curry in a Hurry

Brad with curry and local beer Orion - label says "For your Happy Time"

If you know anything about Brad and I, you know that one of our favorite hobbies is eating. We will try (especially him) just about anything and like all sorts of things. One of the great things about this fantastic international move is the plethora of incredible eats we are on the horizon of!

Tonight we visited a local favorite (and something all people who have been to Okinawa are familier with) COCO Curry. We had heard about this WELL before coming here from the McNamara's (at OSU) as well as Brad's successor Nathanial (he and his family were here for 2 tours, so they know a little about Okinawa).

How we ended up here:

Today was a quiet day. We went to the grand PX (shopping plaza on base) here at Camp Foster. Checked out the good things on sale and bought some new sippy cups (nothing but the best for Alessandra). Pretty fun happenings I tell you.

SO, since this morning was so exciting, we decided to add some thrilling stuff to the day and go for a drive. YES, WE DROVE OFF BASE. Now this may seem silly and miniscule, but for us, the fact that we have a legal right to drive in this country was a little funny to believe, but getting behind the wheel of a loaner car and actually driving on the road... well, that was quite surreal.

First we decided to try and find our new house. We did so with only 1 small wrong turn (and since it is literally a few blocks from base, the room for error and displacement was small). We found it and also noted that the building is actually 5 floors high. It looks like we have some American neighbors - as noted by the same van that we bought with the "Y" plates (license plates that denote SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) Professional Driver) (boy, that makes us sound important doesn't it?)

After finding our house and then realizing that the Japanese streets are, for certain, quite narrow, we headed up to Kadena Air Base. This is the largest Air Force Base in the world (at least that is what we were told). We went to the "Lemon Lot" to look for car #2 and then found ourselves driving out another gate and checking out "the back way". So, in the process, both Brad and I drove on city streets, alley ways and bases and we made it safe and sound! This driving thing won't be so bad after all.

SO, onto CoCo. As we found our house, we also found that we live about 4 blocks from CoCo Curry. You go in, they shoult a welcome to you, sit down, warm towel (wrapped in plastic - it is a "faster" food restarant) and then you order. Brad got Summer Vegatables and Chicken, I got Soy Bean Croquette and the kids shared a kids meal (complete with hamburger and mini hot dog cut up), all of these yummies drowned in a perfect curry sauce and steamed rice. It was by far one of my most favorite things ever. AND, they even had a simple mango lassi.

And, to top it all off, as we watched the cabs pour into the parking lot. We came to the realization this place is really a favorite - it is close to base, so the sheer number of Marines that entered and exited the restarant while we were there, blew us away. Brad has determined this is going to be his dinner spot when I am out of town or busy.

On that note - it is bedtime, but I wanted to say hello. Tomorrow we are off to Naha and the festival of 10000 dancers (I think that is the name of it). Eisa drummers/dancers number 10,000 in the streets. It will likely be a memorable experience!

Arigato Gozaimasu!

Thank you to all of you for the responses on our new blog. It was a decent first try and I hope to get better as time goes on!

Today is Friday (ALREADY - where did the week go?) Yesterday was the roughest day that I have had yet. It was a combination of many emotions and just so many things to be done, that I think I hit the limit of my patience. I am happy to report though, that with every tough day, comes a better day, the day after. So today, things seem to bemore even-kealed. (and thank you Jen for the long skype session - that helped!)

We did a lot of necessary business yesterday.
First of which: Brad went and signed the lease for our new home! I will send photos once we pick up the keys and get over there again, but a synopsis (some of you asked more about it): 3 bedroom, 2 full bathrooms, American Style Apartment (meaning that the kitchen has an oven and stove - the Japanese don't use ovens), American Washer and Dryer (again, they don't use dryers), huge wrap around balcony (the length of the apartment) and if I didn't note it enough in my last post - on the beach and walking trails. We will be on the third floor, we have stairs and an elevator - and I think we are the only people on the 3rd floor. The elevator is right outside our door. We also have 2 parking spaces (parking is prime here on Okinawa) and 1 of them is covered. I think we get to pick up the keys on Monday (after we pay everything in YEN - which has been an intersting process in itself... Brad stayed up late and called our bank in the states to have money wired to our new account at one of the banks here that deals in Yen and in Dollars... fun, fun, fun.

The other news of note: We called TMO yesterday (did I mention this already?) and both of our shipments are here, so we are planning to have those delivered first and our government furniture second (really, selfishly, I can't wait to sleep in my own bed!) SO, by this time next week, we should be in our new home, surrounded by boxes, happy mismatched government furniture, and a great view. WE CAN'T WAIT!

What else - oh yes. More big news. We bought our first car yesterday too! (I told you it was a big day!). The used car lots here are so funny. You basically go there, find one (or more) that you like, you talk to the lot manager, he gives you the keys and you can turn on the car (but you don't drive anywhere). SO basically, you are running it to see if it sounds okay and if the a/c runs cold. We found a few vans (a big car of choice here for families) and decided on a 1999 Toyota Enima (yes, like Enema). It is white (which was not my first choice) but clean and had double moon roof's (the girls liked that). The middle row of seats you can turn completely around facing backwards. It should be fun, fun, fun. (I'll send photos of this too next week). And for those who were wondering - definitely no where near as nice as our Honda Odyssey - we were so spoiled!

SO, after you pick the one you like, you try and get him to go lower (we got it down from $4500 to $3800 which included a 90 day warantee and a year of free labor). We has basically heard from others that most of the lots offer similar things for similar prices. YOu can definitely find good deals, but most things happen at a median price anyway. SO, we will shop and bargain more for Brad's car in the upcoming weeks, but for now we are happy to say we have a family car. We have a loaner car until Monday when our title and insurance stuff should come though. Then we will be all set. Yippee. The other thing of note: Our sales guy Hiroshi had yen coins stuck in his ears. I am going to try and get his photo next week too.

To do all of this stuff, our sponsor Sken let us borrow his car, which meant we had to drive it! We did successfully pick up our driver's license's and now we are legally able to drive! So far so good I suppose - Brad and I both had to help the other (while driving) when turning at times or missing a stop sign (it looks like a yeild sign here - red and triangle shaped). I think we will get the hang of it soon enough.

OH YES, I almost forgot. We also got our new cell phones. Unlike the states where almost every cell phone company offers you free phones. We had to buy our phones (the lowest price being $160) along with our plan. SO, it has been a BIG money week. (Note to those who may come here: Plan on spending some good dough out of pocket for set up costs: car, cell phone, rent and deposits). I am sure there are ways to get around some of it, but we didn't realize how useful a cell phone woudl have been say - last week.. until this week. We opted on the cheapest most basic version of cell phone (they have some crazy ones available here). Brad got mat silver and I got an obnoxious purple/pink, so I can find it wherever it may be. The girls love the color of course).

We still can't figure out how to change our voicemail message, so as of now, it is answered in Japanese and we have no idea what she is saying probably "okay this silly American can't figure this phone out, so leave a message!" We will likely be using these as our main phones (since once we are in our house, we will use our vonage phone and internet connection for phoning and skyping home!

We hope that all is well with you. If you have a few minutes please drop us a line and say hello. We LOVE to hear from you and makes us feel just a little bit closer to home!

Sayonara!

We finally had sushi!

Happy Day to everyone!

SO, this is my first post. Much to Brad's chagrin, I have started a blog about our little adventure over here. Mostly because I have a huge need to be chattering with people and at this time, most of my chatter is in my head. So, since I can't call everyone on the phone just yet (due to technical difficulties and time difference). I figured this was a good way to let people know what was going on in our lives. (Not to mention that I think my friend's blogs are cool, and I want to be just like them!) (hi Sara, Laurie and Tiesha)

(note also: I will be adding more info about our summer trip in the near future!)

So... we're in Japan! We really did make it and the trip itself wasn't as bad as we thought (most likely due to this...

yes, you are seeing that right - we got seated in World Business Class on the top floor of the 747 we flew on. We aren't sure how it happened, but we certainly didn't complain! Right behing Olivia was another 5 year old girl (Marissa) and Olivia's newest friend. Funny enough, she had just come out of 2 years in a Montessori school too, to the communication and playing were really similar! Alessandra enjoyed her big seat too!

We had about a 9.5 hour flight to mainland Japan (a stop at Yokuma Air Base) and then about a 2 hour layover and then another 2 hours to Okinawa.

On the way into Okinawa it was BEAUTIFUL! Clear with little puffy clouds and we got to see the whole island. It was really amazing (sorry no photos, I had just woken up and we were getting ready to land).

We got picked up by our sponsor (Sken) and whisked off to the WestPac Lodge on Camp Foster. The next couple of days were a bit blurry with jet lag, strange naptimes and waking up WAY too early to do anything.

Over the weekend we visited the American Village in Chatan-Cho and walked around. There was a festival going on at the beach (pictures of local "fair food" for Ron below) and just people everywhere. We definitely felt a little overwhelmed that first day with lack of communication skills, but it has since gotten better. We had Thai food that night (it was yummy) and took a cab back to base.

Since then we have been so crazy there hasn't been much time to think! We had a Base Housing Brief on Monday morning on Tuesday we had looked at some houses out in town as well as we got our housing offers here on base, we also took our driver's license test. Tuesday was one of those days that really wears you out! Thankfully Sara was available to Chat on Skype (she is in Cairo, thus only 6 hours behind me and when all of you are peacefully sleeping, she and I can chat away), so she helped me work through the base vs. non-base living ideas and then as I entered yesterday morning (Wednesday) and the ALL DAY Newcomer's Brief, I felt a little more together.

So, we were in this brief all day yesterday. Olivia got to go to the Child Development Center, but they didn't have enough room for Alessandra, so the little crazy one was with us all day. Thankfully she was on her best behavior (we aren't sure how, but we think she does better in public places).

Last night we again felt fried and exhausted. Another dinner at Macaroni Grill (although this time we picked it up) and an evening at the park. Through our night, we decided that we would tkae the plunge and live off base. We figure, the place we decided on is really close to base and better yet... it is on the beach. YES, YOU READ THAT RIGHT - ON THE BEACH! We will be on the 3rd floor, and right in front of our apartment is a walkway/running path that leads right down to a swimming beach and a kid's park. There are Japanese shops and restaurants right near by. SO, if we wanted culture... here it comes!

So, Today Brad went and figured out all of the lease information and jazz. We take possession of our new digs next Wednesday (although they will probably give us the keys on Monday). We called TMO today and it looks like not only our Express shipment arrived, but our other shipment as well! SO, once we get confirmed when all of the fancy government furniture is going to get delivered, our own personal things will come right in tow! We should be in our home with OUR stuff by the end of next week! As hard as a lot of things are - this definitely made me smile!

(thanks Jen for the skype - I needed to vent!)

Today we also get to pick up our driver's license's and then we actually get to drive around! We have yet to go look at cars, but found from others that it is easy to come by a decent van for about $4000 and a decent little roller skate car for about $1000. SO, that adventure will happen soon.

On a food note: we finally did have Sushi in Japan. We went to our first "sushi-go-round" the other night. Olivia was especially excited about it as she got to pick things off of the conveyer belt. We enjoyed the experience (and the sushi).

There are so many things to say and my time is limited for posting (the girls woke up from their naps and we have errands to run). But I wanted to make sure and say hello to you all and THANK YOU for all of the kind emails that you have sent. It has been a tough week and in a lot of ways, it has been getting the better of me, but your kind thoughts have helped out. I will write more and post more photos as soon as I get the opportunity.