Hello to all my friends, family, and faithful readers. I am sorry for the nearly week-long hiatus. This week was filled with time consuming things, such as AOB/ICR (Area Orientation Brief/International Cultural Relations) training and field trips. While it has kept me from having time to sit and blog, it has also provided me with much to blog about. Let's begin.
Tuesday was a whirlwind, and not necessarily in the best way. We had class to attend at 9:00 AM, and that a shuttle was supposed to be picking us up from the Navy Lodge at 8:30 to take us to the base daycare (CDC) so we could drop off Aria. 8:40 rolls around, and there's still no shuttle. So we walk to the Cultural Education Center where the class is being held, and find out they cancelled the shuttle because they were not aware anyone needed CDC services. Grrrr #1.
So we called our sponsor and he was kind enough to pick Aria and I up, and drive us to the CDC himself. Where they told us no one had made a reservation for her, and they were booked solid for the rest of the month at least. Everyone on our side of the exchange (us, the sponsor, etc.) was under the impression, based on things that had been said, that FFSC was scheduling Aria's slot at the CDC. GRRRR #2.
So we find out there is an opening for her at the CDC at Hario Village (an offshoot segment of the main Sasebo base). So our amazing sponsor drives the 25 minutes to Hario to get Aria and I there, as I am frantically filling out the paperwork no one had told us about in the passenger seat. Upon our arrival, the Hario CDC receptionist tells us "you were supposed to get these two pages of the packet filled out by the base medical office." Grrrrrr #3. But she was kind enough to let it slide for the day, and off Aria went to her class. Then, my kind sponsor drove me over to the medical office at Hario, and we asked THEM to fill out the paperwork. The corpsmen working there were exceptionally sweet and understanding, and said it was no problem to have the paperwork done by the next morning so I could pick it up before taking Aria to the CDC a second day. So after all the grrr moments, at least I discovered "Hario = Helpful" could be the slogan at that branch of the base.
Our sponsor and I finally headed back to the main base, where I arrived 2.25 hours late for class, just in time to recess for lunch. Though frankly I learned so much about driving in Japan from my sponsor that I don't really feel I missed out.
After class ended at 3:00 PM (or 15:00 for you military types), another person had to be sent our way to drive us to Hario to pick Aria up. At least SHE did fine rolling with the punches and was in a perfectly happy mood when we saw her.
The next morning, we did it all again (but without the confusion of going to the CDC at main base). Aria was more upset this time with my leaving, but she still managed to get through the day alright, from what the teachers said. When we picked her up and asked her why she had cried all morning, she told us "I cry because I thought Mommy was coming." Poor kid... the phrase "Mommy will be back later today" means nothing when all she can conceive is "Mommy is leaving." I think we sometimes forget the desperation that goes with not being able to comprehend.
Though... actually... being stationed overseas puts you in touch with that feeling pretty quickly.
Wednesday we met Eriko-san, the Japanese cultural instructor here. She... was... amazing. I am completely convinced she was a stand-up comedienne before taking on the job of guiding culturally ignorant military folks around her city. She played a very obvious character throughout her whole presentation; a character I only saw her break the few times she spoke in Japanese in some sidebar to a fellow Japanese citizen.
Thursday we were taken on a "field trip" all around Sasebo to familiarize ourselves with the area. Eriko-san was our guide, and an excellent one at that. She not only showed us some beautiful sights, but gave us very practical and helpful advice about where to go, where to drive, what this store and that restaurant and that giant building over there were. Absolutely invaluable.
We saw Kujukushima (99 Islands) Pearl Sea Resort. This are was supposedly named "The 99 Islands" way back when, because the fishermen in the area got tired of counting once they got to 99. Plus apparently "99" is synonymous with "a lot" in Japanese culture. However in modern times with bird's eye views available, the total count of islands comes to 208. I can't wait to check them out more closely on one of the boat tours offered from the resort.
We also saw a bit of Huis Ten Bosch, after taking a long walk down from the Hario Village base. Huis Ten Bosch was a very cute "authentic European village" theme park. It was beautiful, but we weren't really there long enough to fully appreciate any one element of it. There are definitely plans in our household to go back someday soon.
At one point Aria was playing on one of the boat shaped statues, and a group of people (I believe they were speaking Korean but they were speaking too quickly for me to really be able to tell) started taking photos of her and milling about her. She is seriously becoming a tourist attraction.
Sidenote: when we went out for sushi today Aria got a lot of attention from several ladies... one of whom flat out SAID she wanted to steal her away. Joking and complimentary as it may have been, I got a bit rattled.
ANYWAY...
If you want to learn more about some of the places I have mentioned so far, or will inevitably mention someday soon, check out this link:
Perhaps the most important part of the tour for me, was the visit to the Shinto shrine here in town. It was so serene, so well kept. Both my husband and I found it impossible not to be struck with reverence and peace. ARIA, on the other hand, jabbered at the top of her lungs about this, that, and the other thing, and became irate when we kept shushing her. Oh, the shrieks coming out of this child have never seemed so loud as they did echoing through this sacred space. The only time she quieted down was when an adoring group of sweet but unrecognizable old ladies came up and started talking to her and telling her how cute she is. Seems tripping her "stranger danger" censors will shut her down completely. Lesson learned. From now on if we are going somewhere requiring silence, we should be sure to have a gaggle of strangers in tow to keep Aria quiet. :-P
We were able to purchase a "ko-tsu anzen omamori" (safe driving talisman) there, so at least now the hope is we will not come to harm or cause harm while driving here. VERY important, as the driving laws here are as stringent as they come, and the roads are as narrow as they come, too.
I will write a new post about driving experiences here in the next day or so, but I am fried for now, so I will draw this one to a close. I will also soon post about some pretty funny Aria moments from the week. As well as a post dedicated to some food related experiences from the week. :) Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more! :)
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