September: Seminary, TESOL

Hello! The summer has passed and I have barely been able to keep up! Here is a brief update from each month.

September marked the end of a busy summer and the beginning of a new lifestyle for us. Nathan started his Masters of Divinity classes with Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, which means that he now spend several hours each night in silence, either watching video lectures with headphones, reading stacks of books, or writing forum posts. After one night of needing to keep quiet and having a very difficult time doing it, I knew I needed a project too. I signed up for a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certificate class. So now we both spend time studying each night. It works out pretty well.

As of November, Nathan will be the ranking RP on island for awhile. As such, his command is moving him from Camp Hansen to Camp Foster, as it is the HQ for the RPs. Since Foster is an hour away without traffic, we have decided to move south. Our lease ends the first week of November, so the timing works out pretty well. I'll either transfer to a bank branch down there, or find a new job. Working on that! We're looking forward to the new atmosphere. Living up north has allowed us to explore places that would otherwise be very far, but now we get a chance to explore the south and live close to everything.

We currently live and work on Camp Hansen (C), and are moving down to Camp Foster (G). For reference, Okinawa is about 70 miles long, half of the height of Pennsylvania.

August: Scuba Certification, Vacation plans

Hello! The summer has passed and I have barely been able to keep up! Here is a brief update from each month.

August passed quickly without much to say for it. We both were working and carrying on with normal things. We spent time outside when we could, but the humidity is so high, you couldn't stay out for long!

The highlight of the month was getting our open water scuba dive certifications through NAUI.

The other exciting thing was vacation planning. We planned and started booking a trip to New Zealand and Australia. More to come!

July: Typhoon Neoguri, Sea Kayaking, Zip Lining

Hello! The summer has passed and I have barely been able to keep up! Here is a brief update from each month.

Over the July 4th, holiday, I experienced my first typhoon. Because they are huge and slow-moving, we know days in advance before it hits, which allows time for preparations. The wind picked up and the skies turned grey a day or two beforehand, hinting that some rough weather was ahead. Since this was our first typhoon in our 5th floor, ocean-front apartment, we were a little nervous. The wall facing the ocean is half windows! We taped cardboard over the sliding glass doors, charged all our electronics, put sandbags in our cars, and filled our water bottles. 

We ended up having to deal with a good bit of water coming in through the glass doors, making up tape and towel them multiple times. We lost power for about 30 hours, but our water still worked. We passed the time reading books, playing games, and taking naps. Since we have a gas stove, we were still able to cook, though we tried not to open the fridge. Growing up in a rural area with bad ice storms, I was used to dealing with power outages. The new thing for me was the noise. The wind and rain were roaring. We switched rooms as the storm changed directions to get a break from the noise. In the end, I had two days off from work and a lot of wet towels.

As for fun in July, we led two events, now deemed the Summer Island Adventure program at the chapel. The first was a day spent sea kayaking and snorkeling. Since it was through a tour group, we didn't get quite as much freedom as we would have liked while kayaking, but the snorkeling was amazing. The group was thrilled with all the fish, sea cucumbers, snakes, and coral they could see, without even having to go fully underwater. 

The other Island Adventure for the month was a trip to Forest Adventure zip lining park. That pretty much explains itself. By the end of that day, we were tired, dirty, and happy. Dinner that night was at a michi no eki, a large rest stop created by the government that has shops and food vendors. The guys got a chance to try soba, Okinawan donuts, and mango ice cream. 

Oh and one last thing. Blonde now :)