Two weeks down!!

Well, I'm happy to say we've survived the first 2 weeks in Japan! It's actually hard to believe that it's already been 2 weeks! I feel like it was just yesterday that we were packing up and dreading the flight!! Anyway, we've made a lot of progress and have gotten a lot figured out in those short 2 weeks...although not much of it is real exciting?! Just the normal 'getting settled' stuff! 

We are currently still staying in the Navy Lodge, which is a hotel on base. It's tight living quarters, but we're settled so I guess that's what's important! We did find out that we will be moving into our Garden Apartment on May 12. It is a spacious 845 sq ft, 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom luxurious base housing arrangement. I think they throw the word 'Garden' into the name to make it sound fancy, but I'll post some photos once we're in and you'll soon see just how fancy it is!! It was my choice to live on base, which definitely has it's benefits, so I guess I won't, or will try not to complain too much!!

Dan and I have successfully passed the driving course, so we can officially drive in Japan! Just in case you didn't know, they do drive on the other side of the street, and the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. They have a joke out here...how do you pick out a new driver in Japan? ...they always have their windshield wipers on. Yes, I'm guilty. The lights and blinker are also reversed, so in the short drive I took I had the wipers on twice. Andrew and I took a trip to the Commissary (grocery store on base) yesterday (the day after I got the license, and first attempt behind the wheel). It's only a four block walk, but a pain hauling both Andrew and the groceries home, so I thought it was a good chance to try out the driving thing. We cheered when we got there, and when we got home...it was quite an accomplishment!! Yes, the picture above is our little Japanese car! You see a ton of these on the street...space is limited, but I guess it's nice to have as compact as possible because it makes the u-turns easier!! I'll keep you updated on how the driving goes out in town. I plan to use the base as a practice course for a while before venturing out too far!! 

I'll do my best to keep updating this site and letting you know how we're doing! I'd love to hear from you all too, so email or send messages here! The next couple weeks are hectic as we'll be moving and then Dan will be leaving on deployment before the end of the month, so you may not get many updates between then and now, but I'll do my best!!