Wow

I had a really good day today. We woke up early and still had time to spare before Cari's appointment. Everyone got in the shower and out timely. Things were just flowing so well today. Then we got to her appointment and they say that it was at 9 am instead of 9:45. Ummm, ok. I had Japanese class at 10 and they said that she could still be seen but at 10:30. Doug so graciously dropped me and Janiece off at class and brought Cari back to her appointment. Crisis averted.

I learned a lot in class today although it was very, very cold. We learned how to conjugate verbs and construct sentences. After this is all said and done, I'll be able to understand and speak a little Japanese but I still won't be able to read it. The characters are called Kanji, hiragana and katakana and I still can't read them at all. But, today we have officially been here for 3 weeks so I still have time.

I'm such a nerd, because I read the entire Yellow Pages for the island. Actually it's not that big of a book, but anywhere that I'm not familiar with I usually read them. What better way to find out info than to read about all of the businesses. Also the Yellow Pages always has other important information about the area in it too. I learned about the shisa dogs that are perched on rooftops or in entryways and why one dog has it's mouth open and the other one has it closed. There's a wealth of info in the books and I don't think enough people read them. I was even telling my husband, who's been here for over a year, about some of the info, because he didn't even know.

Oh, I drove for the first time here today. It is so different to drive on the wrong side (left) of the road and sit on the right side of the car to drive. When Doug gave me the keys to the car so that I could drive home from the base, I was a little apprehensive. I got in the car and wanted to turn on the blinker and I kept turning on the windshield washers, LOL. I also was driving way to close to the curb. I don't think I did that bad for the first time but coming home from Kadena is just one straight shot. Getting into the garage is, however, a challenge...and I was going forward. I can't imagine what it will be like to back in or back out of the driveway. I will get that opportunity very soon, so I really need to get used to it.

We all go through adversities, but how we try to solve them is what makes a difference in the outcome sometimes and who remains an ally.

Today, we went bike riding again. This time it was a lot shorter, maybe 3-4 miles. The bike that I'm riding is much harder to pedal than the one my husband rides. For every one pedal he has to do, I have to do at least 3. My butt hurt as soon as I sat down on the seat and because I was raising up over every bump, my thighs were burning too. I suppose this is a great workout for me because I'm definitely getting more muscle tone to my thighs. Uh, oh, I'll be able to wear short shorts now, sike! Even if I could wear short shorts, I wouldn't LOL.