Food!

Taco Rice
Taco Rice is an Okinawan phenomenon, and while I was initially wary of rice topped with taco accoutrements, I have since become a huge fan of the Taco Rice. It’s basically rice with taco meat, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and salsa, the last two being my favorite parts. I’ve made it several times at home with fresh(ish) guacamole and highly suggest you all make it at home, too.

Sushi/ Sushi go round
Matt loves sushi. Loves it enough for the both of us… and Molly. I could go on (but I won’t). We go out for sushi probably every other weekend. Sushi places are relatively common Stateside, but something new we’ve found is the Sushi-go-round. The idea of a sushi-go-round is simple: The sushi chef continuously creates lovely little sushi yummies and puts each piece or pair on a colored plate corresponding to the price of the sushi. The plates go on a conveyor belt around the sushi center and as the sushi passes you, you are free to grab whatever your heart desires. Matt loves sushi-go-rounds and often over-indulges in the sushi goodness.

Macdonald’s/Mos Burger
While we do have several McDonald’s on-island, there is also the Japanese equivalent: Mos Burger. I had Mos for the first time last week and it was great. The staff was amazingly polite and helped me count out my yen. We engaged in a bow-off when she handed me my to-go bag. This embarrassed Matt greatly. Haha. My teriyaki burger was sufficient and the French fries were pretty good. This is probably where Angel and I will eat when my family comes to visit and Matt finally has sushi buddies.

More to come…

My First Coffee.

In The Basic School, we spouses are scared straight with a little pamphlet known as The Parade Rest Book. It is handed out to the new Officer’s wives as a resource on the etiquette expected of us, often with the terrifyingly deficient caveat: “Some of the stuff in here is really outdated.” Thanks.

Coffees are a part of Officer’s spouse culture, and up until last night, I had avoided these “networking” functions. You all know that the mere thought of schmoozing makes me feel terribly nauseated. Spending two to three hours with wives I’ve never met? Doesn’t sound like a good time to me, even without the advice I received during TBS. “Dress appropriately -- only wear dress slacks as a last resort!” “Whatever you do, DO NOT arrive early!” Hostess gifts, calling cards, proper conversation… It’s enough to make your head spin.

Last night was my first coffee and lucky for me, I didn’t have to go alone. Another wife from across the street carpooled with me and we were both able to avoid any of those awkward standing alone moments. I was able to introduce her to a few women I’ve met and we got to know one another a little better.

In the end, all of the anxiety was unwarranted. I met a new friend and learned a little about the options available to wives here. Painless, for the most part.

Small update.

I haven't put up an update in a while. Oops. Not much is going on around here. My job search continues, as does the quest to furnish and decorate our house. You would be shocked at how hard it is to find a card table on this island.

I am preparing a blog about the food here. So there's something for you to look forward to. In the meantime, check out this fabulous blog dedicated to everyone's favorite Olympic hero: Michael Phelps

Shisa dogs.

Taken from All About Okinawa:

Shisa lions (also known as shiisa) can be seen on top of roofs or at the gates of Okinawan homes and businesses, and even on street corners. From small to large, old and new, shisa lion statues help ward off evil.

Long ago on the Japanese island of Okinawa lived a young boy named Chiga-san. The small village that Chiga-san lived in was terrorized by an angry dragon. The dragon would suddenly appear from the sea to attack the village and its unlucky villagers. One day, after another attack, the king of Okinawa came to the village and approached Chiga-san.

"I saw the dragon and the troubles it is causing you," the king said and pulled out a piece of rope with a small statue attached to it. "Here, take this shisa lion and place it in front of the village. It will protect all of you from now on."

Chiga-san took the small statue and looked at it. It was a boring brown color. The face of the shisa looked like a lion, except much fiercer, with a snarl on its lips. Chiga-san bowed to the king and placed the shisa on the beach in front of the village, then went back to playing with his friends.

The next day the villagers heard huge waves crash on the beach -- the dragon was approaching. They ran out of their homes, their eyes on the beach where the shisa statue sat. The dragon leaped out of the ocean and swung its head from side to side, then stopped. The small statue of the shisa lion began to tremble. A loud sound came from it, like a muffled lion's roar, and suddenly the statue cracked open. A huge shisa lion sprang out and attacked the dragon. They disappeared under the ocean and the villagers feared the shisa lion was dead.

Suddenly, far out in the ocean, what looked like a fountain of water rose into the air. The villagers and Chiga-san held their breath. They heard the roars of the shisa lion and the bellows of the dragon, then all was quiet and the water slowly fell back to the ocean. The villagers gasped in surprise. A small island was now where there had been none.

Chiga-san frantically looked and looked at the ocean for the shisa lion, but it didn't reappear. Then, when he looked down at the sand, Chiga-san jumped back -- the shisa statue was there, all in one piece and not a crack on it.

The village was never bothered by the dragon again. Word soon spread around Okinawa of the shisa lion's bravery and protection of the village. Soon, other villages made their own shisa lions, and the shisa became known as the protector of the islands.

Homes and businesses will usually display two shisa lions -- one with its mouth open to scare off the evil spirits and the other with its mouth closed to keep the good spirits in.

And that is the story of these little guys.

From here to there.

Driving. Definitely not my most favorite thing to do. In all honesty, I enjoy my visits to the Dentist more than I enjoy a long drive (no offense, Crystal!). For the entire three years I’ve been driving, I would often (not too often) have minor panic attacks when driving on a two lane road alone at night. “Am I on the correct driving side??!! Ack! I don’t know. Oh, whew, there’s a car coming towards me on the other side of the road. Whew.” The dread of having to learn to drive on the left side of the road ate away at me for months before the big move. Fortunately, getting adjusted to left-side driving has been a whole lot easier than I thought it would be. Seeing drivers on American TV and in movies is still a little mind bending though and sends me into minor panic. Good thing I don’t drive and watch TV at the same time.

After the whole “other side of the road” thing, the biggest difference is that Okinawa is metric and slow. It’s island life, right? The fastest you will ever go (legally) on the island is 80 km/h (about 50 mph) and that is only on the Expressway. Most roads are between 40 and 50 km/h (about 25 and 30 mph). Pulling off to the side of the road (whether there is ample space or not) is also a common Okinawan practice. That is great for us Americans because we can sit on the side and scour a map to figure out where we are. Due to the hilly nature of the island, there is no semblance of a road grid here. Happily for Japanese non-readers, the roads all have numbers for names.

Shortly after arrival on Okinawa, we had to take a driving class to learn the differences driving here. First off, the signs are all the International road signs. They are super-easy to understand and this knowledge should come in handy if ever we are somewhere else overseas. There is no cellular phone use allowed while driving here. The strangest rule, to me, is no left turns (think right turns) are allowed at a red light! I sometimes cheat on this one when I’m turning onto the Base… Don’t tell!

Overall, learning to drive here hasn’t been too scary. I’ve always been a cautious driver, so I’m sure that helps. I might actually enjoy driving here more than driving in the States. It will be interesting to see how it goes readjusting to driving in the USA in three years.

Katsuren Castle Ruins.

We stumbled upon some castle ruins Saturday afternoon.

Click here for photos.

Like the deserts miss the rains...

Things I miss (possibly just because I know I can’t have them):

-Panera Wild Blueberry Muffins and Cinnamon Crunch Bagels. And the Frontega Chicken Sandwich. And the Baked Potato soup. And chips. So, Panera Bread in general.

-Target. Not a single Target on this Island. And so far, nothing even resembling a Target. Since moving into the dorms my freshman year, I have relied on Target for everything. Mascara? They’ve got it. Something to wear to a wedding? Check. Neato one dollar thingamajigs? In excess.

-Pizza Chain Restaurants, furthermore good pizza places. My dear friend Stacee has brought it to my attention that it may be possible that my husband and I are pizza snobs. Fair enough, but I think we earned that title the day our dear friend David Letterman gave us a pie on our honeymoon. Ah, digression. Pizza here is terrible. Or at least the one place we ate was terrible. Think of the worst pizza you’ve EVER had and subtract about ninety taste points. Thank goodness for the Secret Family Recipe.

-Dry heat. Self explanatory.

-Coldstone Ice Cream and Frost Gelato. It was both good fortune and a curse to discover the beauty that is Tucson’s Frost Gelato Shoppe. Good fortune to have experiences something so very delicious and not a curse because I crave it. And there is really never a time that I am not craving Coldstone.

-Wendy’s. Something about Wendy’s just conjures up great feelings of nostalgia. Maybe it’s because Theatre History class was never over until our crew was done with their Frosty’s. Maybe it’s the late night drive-thru runs. The “good-good” commercials do not help this craving.

-Non-tempura fried shrimp. Beer battered shrimp is my seafood restaurant stand by. Tempura shrimp generally tastes like shrimp dipped in oil. Fried shrimp here = Tempura shrimp. ‘Nuff said.

-InTouch Weekly. My guiltiest of guilty pleasures. The Island is not without InTouch, it’s just that the issues you can find are at least three weeks old. At least. By then, the news is proven, disproven, or just plain no one cares any more. And although I can get all my celeb gossip online, there is something cathartic about flipping through my favorite glossy at my own leisure. Oh, and I definitely miss “Who wore it better?”

Things I will probably miss when we leave the Island:

-Vending Machines EVERYWHERE. I never fear about having low blood sugar while driving here thanks to the plethora of vending machines. You literally cannot drive a kilometer on this Island without driving by an inexpensive drink machine. And it’s not just soda – it’s tea and about a million other types of drink that I’m not quite sure of but just can’t help but try.

-Cutesy-ness. Everything here is cute. Signs all have cute cartoons here. I saw one for a hospice that had a very happy old man in a tub with his family/caretakers all around him, equally happy. You can find all sorts of items emblazoned with the cutest things you could ever think of. And, it’s the home of Hello Kitty. You don’t get cuter than Hello Kitty.

More to come, I'm sure.

Five Point Eight.

I had my meeting with the Internal Medicine doc today and there is some good news and some bad news. Bad news first.

It really doesn't look like I'll be getting a pump here in Okinawa. There is no Endocrinologist here, and that would be the guy who would get that taken care of. But, on my next visit to the States, I can go to an Endo and get it all started. We'll see.

The good news?

Not only were all of my tests super spectacular, my HbA1C test came back at 5.8%. To put it in perspective for my non-Diebos: The American Diabetes Association suggests that diabetics keep their A1C around 7%. Non-diabetics would have an A1C of between 3.5% and 5.5%. I'm not sure I've ever been so proud of myself. Even more of a reason to have a real blow out of a party this year at my 5th DiaBirthday. I'm pretty ecstatic, even with the non-pump news. Wooo!

Auction!

Today we went to an auction. It was amazing. I guess Phai's House of Jade has an auction every two months (maybe more frequently, maybe less) and sells great stuff for dirt cheap. Ridiculously dirt cheap. Our friends got a $1500 dresser for $15. It had some minor scratches on it, but still! That's a penny on the dollar (right? Am I doing my math right?) Craziness! We got a large vase for five bucks and an Amber pendant and earrings for ten. We could have gotten more but there was a lull in the good stuff. I think next time we'll go earlier. Guess where Christmas presents are coming from??

So little to report.

I've been sitting here, fingers poised over my key board, for nearly ten minutes trying to decide what to write about. Matt is enjoying his new job. I am looking for a job.

Really, there isn't much to say. We are having a good time here, doing a bit of exploring, keeping busy. I will let you know when something exciting happens.

Fourth of July Weekend

Of course my first big holiday out of the States would be the holiday that celebrates everything about the States. Of course. That crankiness said, it was a pretty good holiday weekend -- four days off for Matt. Woohoo!

We spent Thursday doodling around and snorkeling. We learned that I am not a good swimmer and thus not a good snorkeler. When I wasn't afraid of dying in the East China Sea, I did observe some very lovely fish. The colors on those guys are amazing. At the end of the snorkel adventure, we decided it was best to purchase a life vest to prevent the whole Andrea dying and being eaten by pretty fish scenario.

On July Fourth, we gathered our dear friends and took a trip north to the Okinawa Ocean Expo. We were surprised to find most of the Sea World-like park was free. We watched a couple dolphin shows and saw sea turtles, manatees and a gargle fountain. Much like a water fountain, the gargle fountain dispensed Listerine and was used by all six Americans with much enthusiasm. As always, photos are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/never.dexter/IndependenceDay

Matt and I took Molly over to Kadena Air Force Base that evening for the fireworks show. She wasn't scared one bit, but was more interested in the kids around us than the fireworks. One little guy spotted a bat flying around and when his mom told him it was "bat-san," he got super excited that he was seeing "Batman" flying around. It was way cute.

Saturday, Matt and I went down to American Village for some shopping and my first Starbucks since Tucson. There are Okinawa mugs and tumblers for sale that have little Shisa dogs on them. I will have to get one before we leave. For lunch, I had the very Okinawan meal of Taco Rice: taco meat and fix'ns on rice. It's pretty good, actually. And it's served at almost every restaurant.

Well... I'm not sure how to wrap this up smoothly, so I will just say that I love hearing from you and I hope you all have lovely days today. Fin.

Minor Housekeeping.

All right. First off, check out the picture site http://picasaweb.google.com/never.dexter for newly added photos of our house and the stuff in our house.

Next, to everyone: if you want to let me know how you feel about something in the blog, you can click right below an entry where it says "Comments" and leave a little love note. For everyone with an LJ, or other OpenID username: you can also use that to leave comments. This is the only time I will say this (so as not to be a comment monger) Please leave me comments. Please, please, pretty please with sugar on top.

Lastly, as of tomorrow around noon, I will own a car. My first "my own" car. I am excited, even though it is not a pretty color. You can bet photos will be posted ASAP.

Doctor, doctor, gimme the news...

I told Matt I was giving the Naval Clinic here two chances to get it right before I went off-base to get my medical help. My first appointment was yesterday and so far, so good.

After several less than enjoyable, less than helpful, and just plain terrible visits to military doctors, I have developed hypertension and a heightened pulse. Hmm... interesting. I am generally healthy (minus the inoperative pancreas) but when that nurse goes to take my blood pressure, things get a little crazy.

This time, to my surprise, the doctor (we'll call him Dr. Nice) actually asked me about it. Huh. I told him, "I just don't like military doctors. My last one suggested I try to get Lipo."

Dr. Nice was incredulous at such a suggestion! He could not believe a doctor would say such a thing! He wanted to know where this happened and who it was... Finally, I felt as though my prior indignation was not unwarranted. I felt vindicated. Dr. Not-Nice really was wrong. Cue sigh of relief.

To top it all off, Dr. Nice told me what labs he was going to have run on me, rather than asking me "So, what tests do you want?"

July 25, I will go in to get a follow up on my tests. I will have a meeting with a CDE (Certified Diabetic Educator) and hopefully we can get a recommendation for an Insulin pump. I know God can and will come through on this, so keep it in your prayers.

Flea Markets and Friends...

This morning, Matt and I decided to check out the Camp Courtney bi-monthly Flea Market. I'm not sure what we were expecting, but we certainly didn't find it. Apparently, "Flea Market" translates into "Mass yard sale of things people have found on the side of the road on bulk trash day" in Okinawan. It would have been a total bust, had I not invited my good friend Stacee from Virginia Beach to scour the piles of random stuff with me. I hadn't seen her since she left the beach and it was beyond good to catch up. It also reminded me why good friends and great people are important to you mental well-being. Unlike the night before when I gasped to a few of Matt's friend's wives "Can you believe Jamie Lynn had her baby?!" and got responses of "Who's Jamie Lynn?" and "I didn't even know she was pregnant!", that comment to Stacee was met with "Oh my gosh, and did you hear there were all these complications?!" Which made me feel like a s;lightly better person for my celeb gossiping ways. Her comments about John Cusack also made me feel more at home, but that is for another time and place.

I guess the point of this is to say, I do have one good friend over here and I am working to make a few more. Keep that in your prayers. Oh, and driving. It's a little stressful.

P.S. I'm not sure I can trust someone who says "John Cusack? Yeah, he's all right in Serendipity, I guess, but I don't really like him." HE'S A CUBS FAN. Really, people.

Stages.

Well, we have stuff. It feels like it's been forever since we saw these things (the things we remembered we had, anyway). The important things - the mattress, our paintings, my bookcase, the TV - are all in their respective one pieces. Proof that it must have been monkeys moving us from Flagstaff to Stafford. Anyway...

Now I am in a house full of boxes, trying to find a home for each item while anticipating at least a week of rain and storminess. And being homebound. Really, really homebound.

For as easy as one might think driving on the other side of the road is... well, frankly, it isn't. Especially when you have terrible depth perception and really narrow roads. And every road in Okinawa looks the same. I've been to Matt's work building several times and if you asked me to direct you to it, I could not.

It seems as though I have reached Stage Two of living in a foreign country: Being cranky and wanting things to be like at home. Stage One (being excited and wanting to experience everything) did not last long. Hopefully, Stage Two will be over soon, too.

The Update: Letter to the Family.

As most of you know, Matt has been here in Japan for the past two weeks getting things ready for the arrival of Molly (our dog) and me. Molly and I flew from Tucson to Seattle with the assistance of my mother-in-law, Dena, on Tuesday, and then off to Japan on our own on Wednesday/Thursday. We flew from Seattle to Yokota AFB, on mainland Japan in about 12 hours. I was able to go to Molly and walk her around a bit before our 3 hours from Yokota to Kadena AFB on Okinawa. I was relieved that Molly did not seem traumatized in the least when we stopped at Yokota. She is such a good dog and I feel very blessed that she was able to make it here with us. She even made friends with some Corporals at Kadena before I was able to pick her up, Thursday evening. She is such a wonderful, resilient pup!

I want to thank you all for your prayers regarding our housing situation -- they were answered mightily. After picking Molly and me up from the airport, Matt was able to take us back to our 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom on-base house! It came with a washer and dryer, fridge, oven, dishwasher and garbage disposal. And Matt had gotten me a beautiful food processor! I can't wait to make Hummus! Woo! It is more space than I could have dreamed of, and frankly, I'm not quite sure how we are going to fill it. This afternoon we should be getting some government "rental" furniture for the spare bedroom and living room. There will be plenty of space for visitors, so make your reservations soon!

Friday, Matt took off of work to get some housekeeping details taken care of and to show me around the island. I got a cell phone (very similar to my Chocolate back in the states - only hot pink) and we picked out our first pieces of real, non-IKEA furniture. Matt picked a lovely bed and dresser set out from the Base Exchange. We will be getting all of our belongings from the states delivered to our house on Saturday, June 21. I cannot wait to see all of the wonderful things we own that have been in storage since December! It will be like Christmas.

Well, I think I am going to leave off with the chronology and just let you know some other various things. Tomorrow I will be getting my Driver's license here. Okinawans drive on the Left side of the road so this will take some getting used to. Fortunately, no one drives too fast around here, so I'm not too worried about it. On the side of the roads all over the place there are drink vending machines. Apparently, Okinawans love drinks because you cannot drive for any distance without seeing one. There are many Coke machines, a few Pepsi and lots of Coffee machines. Some machines even have heated drinks. Matt's favorite drink so far is "Miracle of Grapefruit," which I tried today, but don't like nearly as much as "Bikkle," which reminds me of an orange creamcicle.

The food here is good even though I have not eaten out a ton. Matt is in heaven with all the sushi. Most places we are able to just point at the menu to order and don't seem to have to many problems communicating. The people here are very kind, very understanding and very used to dealing with Americans.

Down to the Wire.

Well, the countdown has begun. Breakouts, sore throat, chronic upset tummy: all signs of a Very Nervous Me. Can you all say a prayer right now that hair loss isn't added to that list? Much appreciated.

Tonight, my good friend Stacee and her husband, Paul, are starting their trip to Okinawa. It's scary to think that a week from today, I'll be on my way to Tampa, never to return to Virginia (hopefully). I really don't have much of point to this, other than that I am feeling very overwhelmed in all of this. And I am super glad that Stacee will be there before I am.

Also: Watch American Idol and vote for David Cook, as my husband will not let me vote :/

Why We Write in Pencil.

Last summer, I was reintroduced to the joy and wonder of the Day Planner. Even my empty schedule seemed exciting with "Coffee with Em - 11.30" or "Start new bottle of Insulin" written in bright colors with various friendly animal stickers decorating the days. I stopped dreading the days highlighted with "Field Exercise," when those days also said, "Meet Erin for Panera Bread" or "Molly+Tea Doggie Play Date."

Days are a little less exciting now that The Big Move looms ever closer. "Coffee!" has all but been replaced with "Overseas Screening!" and "Play Date" with "Dentist - 5 fillings". Furthermore, I have learned the importance (to a military wife) of writing key events in pencil. That big day in late May that once said "Flight to Oki," has been rewritten to read "Matt flies to Oki." Two weeks later, you'll find the entry, "Andrea and Molly fly to Oki."

Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. I thought we were doing this together! I thought this was a family event! What happens when my iPod dies on the eight hour flight? I can't very well grab the iPod of the stranger sitting next to me, can I? And what about Molly? She needs her daddy to tell her everything will be all right. So does her Mom.

I guess this is where I need to remember that God's got it all together. He works all things for the good of those who love Him. He has a plan for good, to give me a future and hope. I'm holding on to those promises as tightly as possible.

Stuff + Me + Matt + Molly + Okinawa = :D (?)

A million things in this back story: When we left Quantico in January, we had nearly everything we owned sorted into 2 piles (To Okinawa! and 3 Years of Storage!), or trashed/given away or, and this was the smallest pile, moving with us to Virginia Beach. We scored a sweet furnished beach house and really only brought our clothes with us. I knew I would miss my stuff, but the thought of packing it up to move four hours south for only four months was just ridiculous. I knew we had a really big move coming up so I tried not to be worried about it.

When we arrived to our beach house, I was sorely disappointed. I knew, having lived in a summer house before, not to expect much in the way of amenities, but really? A turn dial microwave? Whisks made for little people? Only three coffee mugs? I'd go through those in a day! I suppose the amazing view of the Atlantic Ocean more than made up for these shortcomings, but still.

As I made do with the seven tank tops and three pairs of jeans I'd brought to Virginia Beach, I couldn't help but yearn for the various tee shirts, shorts and sweaters packed in boxes marked "Lady Clothes" sitting idly at Fort Belvoir. Little did I know how "for the best" this situation was.

Once Matt finally got in touch with TMO (Government moving sevices... don't ask me what the letters actually mean), we learned that everything that was in storage could be sent AHEAD of us to Okinawa. And it would arrive two full weeks before we did. If that's not a major blessing, I know know what is. Sidenote to our beloved pillowtop bed: We miss you in a way words cannot explain. I can't wait to see you in June!!

Almost done?

Well, we got Molly's second round of Rabies without incident (probably due to a different vet). I would like to note that if your dog is less than a year old at the time of his or her second rabies vaccination, you have to wait 30 days until you can get the FAVn test done. Not two weeks. Fortunately, the nice vet fudged Molly's birthday by two days. Whew. Crisis #1847594 averted.

Yesterday, we got the FAVn taken care of and it was back to the mean vet. Boo. He jabbed my dog about five times looking for the vein and then blamed me because I was trying to calm my dog. He also whined again about Molly having two micro chip. Needless to say, by the end of the en minute visit, I was ready to smack him. You would think a vet would have to at least like dogs. I really don't think this guy does.

As far as I can tell, now we just have to fill out some paper work, wait for the FAVn to come back, and get a health certificate ten days before we leave. Which is coming up soon. I hope to still be sane when that day gets here. I can make no promises.