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.

November 25: One Month

Today makes one month that I have been in Okinawa. The time has gone fast, yet at the same time the memories of the summer apart are already fading. Although we are still learning how to make a home together, I've almost forgotten the long separation.

For the first week and a half I was here, we lived in the Hansen Christian Center. It looks like a house that is used as a ministry center. During the week, it is mostly empty with the only current planned event being on Friday nights. It was a good transitional place for us to live, as the upstairs is an apartment and the downstairs had a fully equipped kitchen. It was much better than living in a hotel, as we had planned before this was an option.

Since my flight was delayed, we arrived from the airport just a few hours before the Friday night meeting. We were able to spend a little time alone before people started arriving. Just being in the same room was amazing. When everyone showed up for the meeting (a dinner and Bible study of sorts), I was rapidly introduced to a lot of people, most of whom knew I was coming and were eager to meet me. Though I almost immediately forgot everyone's name in the rush, I now know the group well. Though the Friday night meetings are not part of our regular routine now, the group that attends is the central circle of most of the activities we are involved in.

From then on, things have been a rush of busyness and precious time together. I took the Newcomers' Orientation and got my Japanese driver's license a few days later, and in Okinawan style, ran six red lights within a week. The people drive like big city drivers, so you are expected to run some red lights, cut people off, and drive around turning vehicles. Motorcycles do whatever they want, and you just have to do your best to avoid hitting them when they zip around you. Learning to drive on the other side of the road and using an speedometer in kilometers wasn't hard. Navigating is the tricky part, as the roads aren't really named, or else are in Japanese. Only the main highways are marked in English. Even the GPS can get confused.

Once our government furniture was delivered, we moved in to our apartment. We are on the fifth floor of a building that was originally a sort of resort that was later converted. After the conversion, the restaurant in the basement remained, giving off a tantalizing aroma at mealtime. From our deck, we have an amazing ocean view and accompanying breeze. Although it doesn't sound like much, ~800 square feet is more than enough for us. We barely touch the living room, but will be glad of it when we entertain. But since it is mostly just the two of us, the space is plenty. Little by little, we have been converting it into our own. (Shout out to everyone who gave us money in lieu of bridal shower and wedding presents. Soon I'll post pictures of how your gifts were used!)

While I still have a lot to learn and explore about the island, I am comfortable in the sphere I'm in. I'm running the sound board at chapel, and tag along to work with Nathan frequently. We started decorating the chapels for Christmas today, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Christmas is even close. I am aware of the passing of time, but since I don't have a cell phone or a calendar to look at, I am surprised at the passing of days. The idea of living in one place for three years is still a little hard to grasp for us, but so far, we are enjoying getting to settle into a place we can call our own.