When the tough gets going...

I've thought about this post for a few days now and after mulling it over a bit, I feel ready to post it.  This last few days have been tough.  This is me being real, so settle in, and no judging allowed.

First, I hate being the new girl! Anyone who has known me for any number of years, knows that I am pretty quiet and shy by nature.  Unfortunately, that doesn't work when you have the life of a military wife and your social life depends on getting yourself out there. However, making that first leap is always tough for me.  The one exception was Pensacola, where everyone looked to me to facilitate that leap and people wanted to meet me and know me.  Now that we're back in a normal role, it's up to me to introduce myself to people and make them want to know me.  We had our first command function on Friday and I had already met and spent some time with the CO's wife, but beyond that, I didn't know anyone.  I felt like a little lost puppy dog for awhile, following Jaret around, hoping to meet some of the other spouses.  It's hard breaking into a group of people who already all know each other.  By the end of the night, I'd met a few of these women I'd be spending my days with here in Japan and felt more at ease. Now, here I am, the new girl in housing.  It's our first time living on base, so this is a new experience for us.  I met the lady to our left (she helped me unpack my kitchen stuff) and had already met a couple on her other side.  I sent the kids off down the street to play with the people on our other side, but they weren't interested.  I miss my relationships back home, but I'm hopeful for the ones I will make here.

Second, having a soon-to-be 2 year old in the middle of a BIG move is NO fun!  It doesn't help that said soon-to-be 2 year old spent 3 days sick in the middle of our move out of TLF into our house.  I basically hadn't slept since Friday night.  She woke up with a fever and very congested, so I spent the next 3 nights holding her pretty much all night.  When her fever finally broke, she was so fussy and clingy that I had to be holding her all the time.  Not to conducive to unpacking those few boxes we got with our express shipment.  It's also very trying when you've had so little sleep.  On top of that, our first night here, I had some major insomnia our first night in the house, worrying about how to handle a situation with our neighbors (we hadn't yet met) and various other things.  I finally got to sleep around 3 a.m. and then each kid progressively woke me up, Jonas with a nightmare, Caleigh with growing pains and Emma choking on all that blasted snot! So, needless to say, yesterday I was a blubbering mess.  I have finally slowed down enough to realize the enormity of what's happened to us over the last months. I cried for the friends I miss, the ease of texting and communicating with the people I love, I flat out miss my stuff, but at the same time and worry how we're going to make it all fit.  I miss having people to rely on and help when I need them.  But today, with sleep under my belt and a night of sushi with my hubby, I feel better.  I know it takes time to build relationships and that I'm one blessed lady to have had so many rich relationships back in the states.  I chose to wake up and lay in bed playing with my kids, enjoying their sleepy morning faces and giggles.  I decided that I would not worry about all this "stuff" and enjoy the moment that is in front of me, for in just a few days, I will no longer have a baby...my 1 year old turns 2 on Saturday.  On Monday, my bigs start school and Tuesday, Jonas turns 8!!!! There simply isn't time to worry about trivial things that I can't control.  I am embracing this new life.

Now, for that sushi experience, I know you're dying to hear about it!  We went to one of the sushi-go-round places here where the sushi goes around the middle of the restaurant on different color plates to signify how much they cost.  There is a menu with pictures and both Japanese and English descriptions.  UH, WOW!  Check it out.

 See that one just above 334 yen?  Yeah, that says crab             BRAINS!                                                                                  

 

And on the right side, yep, you read it right, RAW HORSE MEAT! They also had a "wiener" one...it was a hotdog on a piece of sushi! lol In case you're wondering we did NOT try those! Or most of these for that matter.  We stayed safe with some of the ones below and cooked shrimp ones.

 I have to admit, the roe was a bit intimidating for me, and there was A LOT on it, but it was good!

 

Now I know something about this!!!

I will finish with another dining experience with our friends from the states who now live here permanently.  And a trip to the Daiso, which is similar to our dollar tree, though some items are more, but these stores are unbelievable!  The kids beg to go back! 

 Plenty of washi tape, along with various others for your crafting needs

 Yes!!! These are just what I was looking for! Lol

 The Japanese know how to do kids meals.  See the little bag?  It's filled with treats, plus they got a sticker to trade in for a toy at the front.  They choose from a whole bunch of pretty nice toys.

  This was what Jaret and I shared.  The only thing not pictured is the Yakisoba.  Delicious meal and even better companionship.

So, when the tough gets going, the going gets eating!

I gotta get out of this place!!

So, we've officially been in Japan for a whole week.  We have almost adjusted to the time difference.  Just when I thought I was adjusted, aka sleeping till 7, I was awake again this morning at 0500.  Ah, well! It will eventually get better, right?

We have had a lot of rain since we got here, but luckily we've had 2 straight days of sunshine! Good thing because we are going stir crazy in this TLF (temporary home for non-military).

We have just about had our fill of living out of suitcases and being in confined quarters.  Truthfully, I fear one or more of my children may not make it out! lol  Everyone is kinda getting on each other's very last nerve, including poor Emma.  We are doing our best to get out and about everyday, but only Jaret has his license so far and we are still waiting on cars.  I should have both my license and "new" van this Friday.  We have meet some really wonderful people already and are thankful for their willingness to show us around our new country.  We went to our first dinner out in town the other night at a yakiniku restaurant (no shoes allowed) where you get thin slices of different meats and you grill them on your own table grill...think melting pot, except grill.  It was delicious, but next time we will get a babysitter and go without kids or at least Emma.

I will leave you with some pictorial evidence of our living situation followed by a few of the gorgeous mountains that surround our base.

A few rare moments of the kids getting along

 Our first 1/2 American 1/2 Japanese lunch in our room

The pictures below are of our TLF. Jealous, huh?  I actually thought, "wow, this is pretty nice" when we first got here and as the time wore on and the patience runs thin, I'm not so sure! ;)

  Lastly are some pictures of our host country

 Just beyond the little building are lotus fields which Iwakuni is known for...in fact, it's everywhere!

 These pictures don't even do these mountains justice.  They are amazing!

Jonas and I went to see Earth to Echo at the base theater.  He ate nearly 3/4 of this tub of popcorn!

Until next time!

Konnichiwa, Japan!

As you already know, the Rhineharts have arrived safely in Japan.  The flight was brutally long, but all-in-all went pretty well.  The "real" parts of it, instead of booking the entire row of 5 for our family, the booked 3 seats and 2 behind.  So the girls and I were in the 3, flanked by non-English speaking people and the boys were behind us.  This made things a little difficult with Emma's carseat being between Caleigh and I, but we managed.  At around the halfway point, somewhere over the Gulf of Alaska, when the girls were content, I had a moment where all the emotion of the last month came to the surface. All the goodbyes I had to say, graduating nursing school and actually leaving the US for Japan.  The tears fell and they fell fast and plentiful.  I can't say I want to make that trip anytime soon, especially with a 2 year old in tow. 

When we arrived in Tokyo, everything had gone so smoothly on the trip up until we cleared customs (which was super easy) and went to check-in for our flight to Hiroshima.  The plane we were booked on was so small that they could not check our luggage.  This all really threw us for a loop and added a whole new level of stress.  The kids were cranky and thirsty, we were trying to figure out a physical address for our luggage to be delivered to and we had a connection to make.  Thankfully, they agreed to check 2 pieces of our luggage and Emma's carseat (they wouldn't let us use it on this flight), so we quickly grabbed a few things from other suitcases and shoved them into the 2 we took.  I forgot to grab a hairbrush, soap, shampoo! We got everything situated 10 minutes before our flight was due to leave. Luckily, the Japanese have a much smoother security process than we do and we were at the gate within 7 minutes waiting for boarding which was delayed a few minutes.  We were finally onboard to our final destination! As Jaret likes to say, it was an easy day.  I could've done without the frustrations in Tokyo (I almost lost it...up for over 24 hours, tired whiny kids, only 2 broken hours of sleep) but we survived and the kids really did well given how hard flying across the world can be.

Our sponsor set up our Temporary Lodging Facility (TLF) so nicely.  He thought of just about everything.  Our fridge/freezer were full of food and drinks (including wine), the cabinets stocked with more food/snacks, paper plates, utensils, etc, and he left 3 baskets FULL of goodies for the kids and us (including Godiva chocolates and a bottle of Moscato).  We crashed within 20 minutes of getting there.  Jaret and the girls woke up at 3:30 and Jonas and I shortly after.  We dropped the kids off bright and early at the CDC and Youth Center and we were off to attend the Welcome Aboard Indoc, where they repeatedly remind you that you are an ambassador of the United States and what is appropriate behavior, etc, as well as teach you some basics about Japan and then you take a bus tour of Iwakuni and the base.  I have to say I learned a lot, but am still overwhelmed at the thought of stepping outside the gates of the base.  It won't stop me from doing it, but it will take time and the help of friends to figure it out.  We did get some time to look around in town where Jaret and I chose to check out the Daiso (Japanese dollar store) which was 3 floors full of everything you could imagine.  We only have a short amount of time, so we'll be checking it out again soon once we are in a house.  Much to our amazement, our bags arrived while we were on the bus tour and our sponsor had them ready for us.  Again, kuddos to Japan for getting all our stuff to us as promised and it not disappearing, much more trustworthy than Americans.  The kids all had a great time at the centers and each made some friends.  We were all dragging by 5:00, but we pushed on to go to bed at a normal time and help adjust to the change.  We decided to go to the bowling alley for a game or two and dinner to help keep us awake.

Today is a new day in Japan! We are all healthy, happy and together! I will try to get some pictures soon...the weather has been yucky since we arrived.  Thanks for all the prayers for safe travels to our new home.  Please continue them for our adjustment to this new home and culture.