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.
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