February: Classes start, Visitors, Sushi-Go-Round, Okinawa Zoo

I started grad school classes in February. It's been several years since I finished my undergraduate degree, so getting my academic brain back in action took a few weeks. I'm taking two classes this term, one with UMUC and one with SNHU. I'm loving being back in school, though the thought of homework is always in the back of my mind. But thankfully I have enough time at work while I'm proctoring tests to do all my homework, so I don't actually have to do any at home at all! It's working out quite well.

Our college friend Gem visited for a few days. She teaches English in Taiwan, which is just a short flight away. She and two other girls needed to renew their visas, so they stayed with us and we showed them the island.

A new favorite place of ours is the sushi-go-round. This particular one is called Hamazushi. You select what item you want from the screen, and a few minutes later, it appears on the belt and you snag it. Or else you can simply grab any of the plates that are not marked as reserved. At the end of the night, you pay based on how many plates are stacked on your table. Such a fun way to have a meal! They even have hamburger sushi. 

In late February, we spent a day at the zoo with the other RPs. They're pretty good at getting us to drive them wherever they want to go. But we hadn't been to this zoo, so we were happy to go.

January: Grad school, Legos, Commissary trouble, and Lysander

Hi everyone! I'm sure you've figured out by my absence that we have been very busy! I'll catch you up.

January was an interesting combination. Nathan worked a lot over the New Years holiday, even all the way to midnight. We literally rang in the new year with a giant bell as part of a service.

The big news for me was being accepted into graduate school. I'll be studying Higher Education Administration with Southern New Hampshire University, as well as taking a few Distance Education Leadership classes with my employer, UMUC (gotta love free tuition). I've been considering grad school for two years now, but moving overseas changed a lot of my plans. I've been actively applying since last summer and was turned down more than once, so this is a triumph for me. I should be able to finish the degree before I leave island.

In January, we had fun trying some new things, including a Lindy Hop swing dance lesson taught by those at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology. Danced with a room full of PhD candidates! We spent an afternoon messing around with Legos, cameras, and computers to make a comic book page. It was a neat combination of hobbies. 

For several weeks (that turned into months), the commissary- our word for on-base grocery store- has been struggling with stocking the shelves. There were strikes in the shipping ports, so we were unable to get a lot of fresh items. It was a little freaky, but there are always the Japanese grocery stores we shop at with translation apps. 

One amazing addition was Lysander, our ball python. His 

owner was looking for a new home for him, and I gladly brought him home. We absolutely love him. He is very calm and likes to explore.