Week two in Japan!

Hello again!

Before I forget, I wanted to show all of you a picture of our new home. This is a picture of our front yard - we are the house on the right.

The house is two bedrooms and an office, so we definitely have room for all of you when you come to visit :)

I hope things are going well with all of you! How is life back in the states?

Well, Eric and I are having a great time over here. Last week, I went to my AOB/ICR indoc class. It was definitely a little boring. I learned about over drinking, not drinking and driving, being polite to Japanese people, etc. The class was informative, but because Eric has been here for a year already I knew almost everything they taught us. However, I did meet a couple in the class. They are living on our base. We had a field trip day on Thursday, so I decided to go home early because I had already been to the majority of the places we could visit. Also, Eric and I were planning on traveling this weekend. Anyway, I saw this couple on the first train home. Then when we switched trains, the couple seemed a little hesitant to transfer trains. I went up to them and offered my help, and we chatted the entire way back to base. They had never taken the train/bus, so they said that they appreciated my help. They are about our age, don't have children (which is rare), went to college, etc. - so I was pretty excited about that!

Then on Friday, I had to take my written driving test. I was definitely a little nervous because even though the test was in English, the signs were in Japanese. Luckily, the test ended up being very easy, and I passed no problem! YAY! Now, I have to take a behind the wheel test this up coming Thursday. It should be interesting considering I have never been behind the wheel when the steering wheel is on the right side of the car and you drive on the left side of the road. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!!

OUR WEEKEND ADVENTURES... (July 15-17)

Eric and I decided to relax on Saturday during the day because it was storming, but on Saturday night we went out in Yokohama. Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan, and we live about 5-10 minutes away! I truly look forward to exploring more of the area! Like always, we ate our way through our adventure. First, we went to this small amusement park which was open to the public. You could walk around for free, but you had to pay for the rides - kind of like the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. We had a chocolate and carmel crepe while we walked around. Crepes are HUGE in Japan. They are all usually served with desert fillings, and they are sold on the streets as snacks!

After walking around the amusement park and checking out all of the Roller Coasters (Mom - when you come we will have to go there! You will love it!), we went to this mall type area across the street. It was full of different pastry shops, bakeries, ice cream shops and restaurants. While in the mall, we tried cherry soft cream (soft cream or frozen yogurt like we call it in the states is huge in Japan as well. They are most popular for there sweet potato and green tea flavors), cheese cake (which was nasty and we threw it out - not sure what was in it?!?!?!), and a potato and cheese filled pastry. I always thought that I would lose weight when I moved to Japan, but I was wrong! They have some great food here! Unfortunately, most of it is horrible for you!

After wondering around and nibbling, we ate dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. I had fajitas because I am definitely missing my Mexican food! Overall, Eric and I had a fabulous adventure - as always :)

On the way back, we didn't realize that buses stopped running early on the weekends. We had to take a cab home, but luckily it was only 1400 yen or about $13.00 - not bad considering how expensive everything is here in Japan!

(This picture is a little dark, but it is of street performers across the street from the amusement park. There were about 75 people crowded around the 2 performers.)

On Sunday, Eric's friend Cole asked him to shoot his football game. Cole works with Eric and is also the coach for the Yokosuka Seahawks, the football team on the main base. There game this weekend was against the Japanese National Team, which means they are professionals.

Last week, the Japanese National Team beat Yokota (another military base) 90 something to zero. For good reason, Eric and I were a little bit nervous for the Yokosuka team. Because Eric was filming the game for the AFN (American Forces Network), we were able to watch the game from the field - which was fantastic! I have never watched a football game from the field, and it was a blast. I sat on the turf grass, got a sun tan and watched a great game. In the end, the Japanese National Team won by a score of 34 to 6. However, the Navy boys played a great game. The score was only 6 to 16 at the beginning of the fourth, but with only 30 players (Japan had 70+) they grew very exhausted towards the end of the game. After watching this game, I am positive that our National team, or any of our professional teams for that matter, would have no problem playing Japan. It is definitely not there sport, if those were the best of the best! However, they were extremely quick and disciplined, and it was a great game to watch!

(This picture is of hubby at the football game! Isn't he adorable?!?!? He did a great job filming, and I can't wait to see the story on TV.)

Love you!

Miss you!