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.

December: New job, Finals, Chaplain Corps Ball, Turtles, Holidays

Now that it is the end of the first month of 2015, I suppose I should finish out 2014. This month included new things, things that ended, and events, so a solid mix of life experience.

I started working as a National Test Center Administrator with University of Maryland University College. In a less fancy title, I'm a test proctor. I love being on a college campus, even if it is only part of one building. The atmosphere is where I belong, and I imagine I will be working in educational administration for quite a few years to come. I'm now certified to proctor several types of tests, some of which got me through my own undergraduate degree, so I feel right at home. UMUC is a great employer too. I'm enjoying working full time again, and having a salaried job for the first time.

Given that I have to stay behind a desk during testing sessions, I have a lot of time on my hands. I used the time to knock out both of my Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages certificates. Officially certified! Nathan also finished his first semester as a graduate student. His finals week was not fun, but he came out with great grades. 

A highlight of the month and even the entire year was the annual Chaplain Corps Ball. We spent the evening going between our table with the new, young RPs, visiting with Hansen friends, and dancing to great classic music. Nathan wore his new tailored suit, and I had my first henna tattoo done to blend with my new dress for the occasion. It was a fantastic evening as expected.

Another event was a free outdoor Colbie Caillat (soft pop/indie musician) concert. It has its struggles, but military life also has its perks.

Somewhere along the line, I traded the blonde hair for violet. Done, as usual, by my own live-in stylist.

We have sons! We picked up two turtles, Calvin and Polycarp. They are small, but fully grown. Calvin loves to explore the house and will walk around for hours, but Polycarp prefers to keep his face hidden in a corner.

Christmas season is very busy at the chapels, so while I got a week off for winter break, Nathan worked a lot. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were both up in the air as far as working, but he only ended up doing a little on those days, thanks to a willing unmarried RP who volunteered to work. Since it had been so uncertain as to when he would be working, we made no plans for Christmas. But we enjoyed the day by opening gifts over Skype with the Sissons, and watching Christmas movies. We managed to get a little tree and decorate last minute, so the day felt festive.

New Years Eve was spent at the chapel, Nathan working a midnight service. We welcomed in the New Year by ringing a bell with strangers, but we felt welcomed, so it turned out to be exciting and fun. And they had a pancake breakfast at 1am, so no complaints from me!

November: Down Under and Back Again

Less than two week after moving in to our new house, we were off world-traveling. As I mentioned before, we planned an epic adventure to New Zealand and Australia, with the best layover in Taiwan. We took hundreds of photos, so I'm only going to put a few highlights on here. Head to Facebook or message me for more!

November 7, Day 1: Tai Pei

It started with a crazy taxi ride by a woman who runs her own business- and got a ticket with us in the car. Then we got to the airport and learned we needed more military documentation than we had. One of the chaplains rushed to our house, then the airport, to bring us what we needed. We barely made the plane!

An hour and a half flight dropped us off in Taiwan for a 10 hour layover. So naturally we went out and explored. 

This is the Chiang Kai Shek memorial. We spent all of the afternoon getting to here and exploring. There were several museums on the side.

November 8, Day 2: Travel

This day was spent entirely in transit. We flew from Tai Pei to Sydney for a brief layover, then on to Auckland. We picked up our rental car. grabbed dinner in a Burger King (they call it take away instead of to go), and drove to a holiday park, arriving much later than the check in, which we were unaware of. But we did get in and spent a cold night in a place that did not at all look like the pictures...

November 9, Day 3: Hobbiton and Waitomo

The real fun begins! First thing, we had to find a grocery store to get some breakfast. Easier said than done. New Zealand is very rural, but gorgeous everywhere. We spent the day exploring Hobbiton, a dream come true, and visiting Rotura and glow worm caves in Waitomo. That evening, we drove to Waiuku and spent the night in a trendy little suite we found on Air B&B, a site where individuals can rent out extra space.

November 10, Day 4: Waiuku and Auckland

We bought breakfast in a tiny bakery, then headed to a black sand beach. Due to the iron in the area, the beaches on the west side of New Zealand's north island literally have black sand. We enjoyed our breakfast there, and spent a long time wandering in the hot sand. The rest of the afternoon we spend exploring the giant city of Auckland, which was very clean and culturally diverse. We caught an evening flight, which ended up having us spend the night in the Brisbane airport.

November 11, Day 5; Cairns

After our early flight got in, we got our rental car and checked in at another Air B&B place , a neat cabin set into a hillside. Our host was very helpful and pointed out some places to eat and visit. We got lunch where she suggested, then drove up a mountain in Barron Gorge Park to Kuranda, a village with several different things to see. We walked around in it, and spent a long time in the butterfly sanctuary. We also jumped into a freezing creek. We spent the evening exploring downtown Cairns, and watching hundreds of bats fly overhead as we ate dinner outside.

November 12, Day 6: Great Barrier Reef

Something from the bucket list! We spent all day on a boat, diving, snorkeling, eating, relaxing, and getting a terrible sunburn even with loads of sunscreen. We walked around downtown again and enjoyed a great Greek dinner.

November 13, Day 7: Sydney

We took a very early flight down to Sydney. Although we had originally planned to use public transportation, we ended up getting a rental car when we saw how long the buses took to get everywhere. We spent the day at Taronga Zoo, seeing some fantastic shows and animals too big for little Okinawa. We stayed in a brand new hotel, the first Americans in there, and enjoyed the busy area.

November 14, Day 8: The Finale

We got pastries for breakfast from a bakery across the street from us, then drove out to Featherdale Wildlife Park. This was very different from the zoo, as we got to touch and feed lots of animals. It was the experience of a lifetime. After that, we rushed to Sea Life Aquarium in the harbor, since aquariums are our thing now. Lots of neat things to see there too. We briefly went back to the hotel room to clean up, then headed out for an unforgettable evening at the Sydney Opera House, seeing Shakespeare's Henry the Fifth.

November 15, Day 9: Flying

We flew from Sydney to Auckland to catch our round trip flight, then back to Sydney for a layover, then all the way to Tai Pei for another long layover. All day in flight.

November 16, Day 10: Tai Pei and Home

We spent this afternoon with Gem, a college friend who now teaches English in Taiwan. Nathan's wallet got left on the bus, so we spent a good portion of the day using Gem's Chinese skills to get it back. The rest of the day, we explored the underground malls in the train stations, which were rather tricky to navigate. Finally, we took an evening flight back to our own Okinawa, where a friend picked us up and brought us home. 

So much more happened and there are so many little stories I could tell, but I think you get the idea that it was the trip of a lifetime.

October: New House, New Jobs

Last I wrote, Nathan had just been told he was being moved to Camp Foster. Well he was, and I transferred to the Foster bank location as well. And we moved! The entire month of October was spent moving all aspect of our lives an hour south. 

We now live in an area called Sunabe, right on the seawall of the East China sea. It's a neat place with the feel of a beach town, except all the building are made of concrete- Okinawa style. There are restaurants from many different cultures and lots of small businesses. We love walking around, as there is always something new to see. 

Check out our new house! 1400 sq ft, so nearly double the size of our apartment. 100 yards from the sea wall, 10 minutes from Camp Foster and Kadena Air Base. If you were here, you would understand this is the best place on island to live for convenience and attractions. 

come inside!

master bedroom. there is a sliding divider that could split it into two rooms if we wanted.

 

game room, with a giant bean bag chair                                                   downstairs bathroom, the shower                                                                                                            separate as usual for Japanese houses

this is the "space room" because of the outer space wall paper.                          our super tree!

there are chairs in here now, or an air mattress

                                        ^^heading upstairs...                                           our pink-ish bathroom...

top of the stairs, looking straigh

our favorite piece of furniture on the right

and my lovely new kitchen with so much cabinet space, some of them are empty

a dedicated utility room

 looking left...

our totally awesome living room, with the giant deck door

look behind you for a moment

and head outside on the amazing deck with a view! the water is literally right there.

We have lots of space, so stay with us if you are ever in the area.