December 22

Lonely Planet Japan is our best friend right now. Since we’ve got only a few days to explore such a culturally rich city, we’ve decided to take the advice of our trusty book and start our trip on the Southern Higashiyama walking tour. The good book says that if you’ve got only one day in Kyoto this walk is the one to do. The bus system is really easy and efficient in Kyoto so finding our way around has been relatively easy. My two favorite experiences today were the walk through Zuigu Hall and the trek through Fushimi—Inari Taisha. The basement of the temple, Zuigu Hall, has in it a large stone with a Sanskrit character on it. This particular character is known as the symbol for the motherly Buddha. Therefore, the stone in the basement with this symbol on it is considered the womb of Zuigu Bosatsu. Once you descend the stairs you are in complete darkness; you just as well could have your eyes shut as even a hand held in front of your nose cannot be seen. You are guided through the narrow path by hollow wooden baseball size Buddhist beads on the left side of the wall at hip level. In complete darkness this path twists and turns as if testing my faith in a higher power to walk blindly into the unknown, to trust that all will be okay in the end. After making one of the many turns a faint light outlined the large stone a few meters ahead and the Sanskrit was able to be seen on top of this chest high rock. You are to make a true wish in front of this stone and come out purified and feeling a rebirth with the virtue of Zuigu Bosatsu. I’m not sure if my wish will come true or if I felt this rebirth but it was certainly a peaceful experience. The Fushimi-Inari Taisha shrine was just as powerful but in a very different way. This was not one shrine but hundreds of small shrines spread across acres and acres of mountainside connected by over a thousand Torii gates.

December 21

After a 3.5 hour ride on the 200mph Shinkensen (bullet train) we arrived in historical Kyoto. The ride unleashed sights of great mountains, vast farm land, and remote towns in between the two. It was nice to know there is countryside away from the city, a reminder that most of the hectic happenings are concentrated in pockets across the country. Approximately an 8 hour drive west of Tokyo, Kyoto, with a population of 1.7 million, is another one of these pockets. Kyoto’s impressiveness is in its combination of modern skyscrapers, department stores and a downtown business district with the historical Japan that one imagines from the stories in fairytales. You can be on a busy street lined with trendy shops, sports stores, and high tech stores and turn down an alley that holds a beautifully raked Zen garden, an ancient temple, or a Shogun’s castle dating back to the 7th century. There is so much to see that perhaps 3 months would allow you to scrape the surface of Kyoto’s beauty, but we’ve got four days.

December 18

For those of you who have seen Jean Shepherd’s A Christmas Story, this sound clip should be familiar. All I can say is welcome to our world. Our world is one in which Ls are pronounced as Rs and Hs and the TH sound in Theurer does not exist! Most of the time when signing our last name to something (most recently the travel papers for our trip to Kyoto) the person behind the desk or counter looks at our name and then looks up to us in bewilderment. More often than not the person smiles because we both know what is about to come next. They cock their head to the side like they’re about learn something fascinating and ask us, “please say”. After slowly saying a truncated ‘Thor’ two or three times to the individual they try to say it back. Their tongue doesn’t allow the gaffe so the sound comes out like a S. Sheepishly they apologize for decimating the name. It’s a learning experience for everyone.

Deck da halls ...

Maybe We Packed a Little too Lite

The gas is turned on and the heaters fired up. The pillows and blankets are on the bed, the clothes are washed and in the dressers, the washer and dryer are hooked up, the bike is assembled, the fridge and freezer are installed and we've discovered we can 'borrow' wireless from a nice neighbor's connection. Ah, just like home. Well, almost. In our effort to simplify and downsize I think we went a little too far. As the movers brought our things and unpacked the boxes I was reminded of our overzealous let's pack lite strategy. Here is a video of Mark and I getting creative again in the kitchen. The pictures are from a stroll through the neighborhood of Ikedacho, our new home town. We ended the night back in Yokosuka with some friends from the Cowpens. They introduced us to the great Japanese art of Karaoke. The gentleman singing his heart out was the star of the night. He must have sung 4 or 5 songs while we were there. Not a bad way to practice your EngRish i guess.

This weekend has been relatively low key. Mr. Mark is not feeling well and has had a low grade fever, sneezing, coughing and an upset tummy. But he is a trooper. Last night the Cowpens had a Hail and Farewell for those who are new to the ship and those who are leaving. I have to say it was one of the most enjoyable affairs I've attended with the Navy to date. The wardroom is very friendly, jovial and close knit. I'm thankful that Mark is having a good experience on the Mighty Moo (Cowpens is the Thundering Herd). Hopefully this week is not too ardiuous and Mark can transition into two weeks of leave smoothly. We're headed to Kyoto for some sightseeing and mischief making. Surely some great stories to come.

WWHPD?

I'm no where close to being homeless. Sure, I've worked with my fair share, I've given change to some and food to others and at Saint Joe's we'd go around Philly telling the ones on the street where the shelters were, but thank the Lord, I've never been homeless. Why would I be thinking about the homeless now? We just moved into our new pad for pete's sake! But we have no heat yet and it is cold and raining outside. Japanese houses are known for their poor insulation and their meat locker-esque temperatures in the winter times. This is no joke. At one point i was huddled in a ball on a military issued couch with only enough flesh exposed to jot down my thoughts on paper. The kerosene heaters the military delivered to us this morning have no kerosene in them, go figure. And our blankets and winter coats from home will not be delivered until tomorrow. Bullocks. I am wearing a wool hat, two fleece jackets, a sweatshirt, sweatpants under jeans, and two pairs of ski socks and I'm still chilly. That's got me thinking---WWHPD? What would a homeless person do? Too bad I threw away the newspapers this morning when cleaning out our room at the lodge. They keep in the heat I hear. I could never be homeless, I don't have the stamina for the cold. A lot of people knock the homeless for being this or being that, but i can't do what they're doing and i bet you can't either. So what would a homeless person do? Nothing, I guess just sit it out and wait to thaw in Spring. And then it hit me. Aha, the heated toilet seat! It's like a homeless person's city steam vent. With much excitement I dashed into the bathroom and opened the door to the toilet. The bathroom is actually broken up into three spaces. There is a door to the potty, a shower door that leads to a huge shower and soaking tub, and a space with the sink and medicine cabinet that connects the two. So there I was staring at the buttons next to the toilet-- too many button and all in Japanese. So I just started pushing them and watched what would happen. First button, nothing. Second button, a light came on but nothing else. Third button, a soft errrrr erupted from the back of the seat. Uh oh I thought. Before I knew it a small nozzle swung down from underneath the rear of the seat and squirted out a strong stream of water. No way! I just found the bidet. It caught me off guard and because I was standing in front of the toilet when it went off I was hit with the stream of water right in the thigh! I didn't know how to turn it off so I just put my hand over it until the thing stopped. So much for getting warm. At least I had a good laugh. I guess I too will just have to sit it out and wait to thaw. At least I have a home.

The city's abuzz with the sounds of Christmas

More specifically, it was Jingle Bells over and over and over again. In the train stations, on the escalators, outside of small shops and inside department stores. Throughout our adventures in Akihabara and Shibuya Mark and my ears were harangued by familiar tunes of cheer but with indistinguishable lyrics. "No way, is that 12 Days of Christmas playing?" Mark stopped dead in his tracks just to make sure he wasn't hearing things. It was quite comical, trying to pair up the words we know to the words we were hearing. The crowds were dizzying-comparable to New York City with the hustle and bustle but without the move it or lose it aggression. So no matter what corner of the planet you live (granted I've never been in a Muslim country during Christmas) the holidays are the holidays are the holidays.

Here's a fun fact. According to the CIA World Fact Book, only .7% of the Japanese people are actually Christian (about 900,000 people give or take a few) so you'd think that festivities would be a little more subdued or at least a little more diverse with 84% claiming to be Shinto or Buddhist. To a degree, it's unfortunate. I guess if gift buying/giving is done in a way that shows appreciation and value for the human spirit it's not so bad. It's the buying for the sake of buying because it's that time of year again that drives me crazy. So the culture of consumerism hasn't suffocated just the United States. Japan's cities' billboards and newspaper ads show what is hip in the in crowd and given the young and trendy outfits we saw (yes rainbow bright standing next to the Mark City pic is a common style) it looks like many people try to be in that crowd. But with the Japanese economy in a recession and the commercialization of the holidays, I guess retailers are capitalizing on whatever pushes the products. And right now it happens to be jingle bells.

Apparently our first stop of the day is crazy with electronics whether it's the holidays or not. Even the exit sign from the train pointed to 'Electric Town'. Akihabara, bring it on. Block after block, high rise after high rise this area was a big kid's dream. This section of Tokyo is Best Buy, Lowes, and Home Depot on steroids. Every alleyway had a theme and every store was floor after floor of things to make your electric bill soar/sore. And if you didn't want to purchase a new state of the art computer, vacuum, rice cooker or camera, you could just wander around until you found the individual parts to put one together yourself.

We finished our day in Shibuya, the NYC could be if there were more horns, smog and people yelling, 'Yo, foggettaboutit!'. Mark had some ipod issues so we hit up the Apple store and came out with a brand new one. Ah, thank goodness the world is flat.

Sushi and a Cell Phone

MTV Cribs in Japan

Here is a glimpse of the house and yard. Just the right size.

Dinner in Yokosuka

a recap of our day

Dynamic Duo Reunite

Japan just got exponentially better, Mark is here! We went to Yokohama the day after the COWPENS pulled into port. We didn't waste anytime in finding cool sights and picture opportunities. I had a blast just watching Mark's reactions to all the new things. More to come later after I take a nap.

Kamakura- the best adventure yet

As part of orientation it is required to get acquainted with the train system, so today I ventured out and did some more sightseeing. This time around I actually had some buddies to hang with- much better than doing things on my own. So off we went- myself, Adam, Dan and Travis to be awed by one of the old capitals of Japan, Kamakura.

With the sea on one side and densely wooded hills on the other, Kamakura was originally used as base by the Minamoto clan back in the 1180s. Now check this out, the Minamoto clan and the Taira clan were great warrior families with a lot of beef. When the Minamoto clan defeated the Taira clan in 1192 their leader, Yoritomo, was appointed shogun and ruled from Kamakura. But when he kicked it his wife's family could only defend the area until 1333 before it was taken over by Emperor Go-Daigo and the capital moved back to Kyoto.

Nonetheless, there is a great deal of history left in this community. One of the most impressive sights is the Daibutsu, other known as the Great Buddha. Its construction was said to have been inspired by Yoritomo's visit to Nara (where the biggest Buddha stands..well, sits).

The Shinto shrine that we visited is the main one in Kamakura. There were so many things going on at once. Kids in their school uniforms chasing pigeons, elderly paying their respects in the shrine (bow bow, clap, clap, bow), and couples getting married.

We then headed to another temple, but this one was a little scarey. It was the Enno-ji temple, which is distinguished primarily by its collection of statues depicting the judges of hell. Check out the video. The big one in the middle is noted for it's fierce gaze and is the ruler of the hell's 10 kings.

Our eyes, ears, and noses had some great treats throughout the day, so we couldn't let our tastebuds be left out. We stopped in this extremely busy street at an icecream shop and had some sweet potato and vanilla icecream. It really was good. I also tried this jello-y thing that i thought was going to be sweet but it was NASTY! It's all in a days adventure.

127 Million Packed into Cali

This week I've been keeping busy in an official orientation to Japan. The military requires this four day class for everyone that is staying in Japan. The first day was so dry--mostly admin stuff regarding the process/procedures/policies of the base. Today was so much better. It was all about the Japanese people, culture, cuisine, sports, religion, holidays, money and language. You name it, we talked about it. Here are some fun facts I thought I'd share to give you a better idea of the country profile. Japan is approximately the size of California but holds a population 1/3 the United States at 127+ million people. Out of the country's total land, a relatively small percentage is able to be urbanized, only 19% is used for industry and residential purposes (67% is mountainous forest and 11% is used for farming). This means that 2/3rd the population is crammed into 1/3 of the country! No wonder I couldn't find any green space when I took the train up to Tokyo. There are 422 thousand people in Yokosuka alone, which is only 32 square miles itself. This means there are 10,830 people per square mile. Tokyo is even more crowded with 12.37 million in 844 square miles. That's 14.6 thousand people per square mile! People aren't the only things crowded together. We learned that there are 1 of those crazy vending machines for every 20 people in Japan- i'm telling you they're everywhere (515 alone on base). AND, get this! During rush hours there actually 'train pushers' (I can't wait to get a pic). Platform workers wearing white gloves help individuals squeeze onto their train by stuffing/pushing body parts! The gentleman giving the seminar today touched on something that I've experienced myself when coming back from a crazy adventure. When you try to convey the experience with those who haven't experienced the same thing, you just can't do it justice. So do us a favor come on over and see Japan for yourself.

pics of imperial palace and department store

Walking around Tokyo

I cannot wait for the Cowpens to pull into port. Although I'm enjoying the new adventure, it will be so much better with Mark. Yesterday I took advantage of the break in rainy weather and out in town and up again to Tokyo to discover neighborhood in the city. The first pictures here are of markets outside of base in Yokosuka. I can't wait to buy the local delicacies and practice cooking for those who visit. Who knows, with a little soy souce and wasabi, the items I discovered in the fish market could be great. I will have to look elsewhere for shoes though. These puppies were LL, the largest size the store carried. After getting to Tokyo I was hungry for lunch so went in to a small store and pointed to something on the menu. It ended up being some fried crab, a bowl of rice, some greens, and tofu soup or something. Everything but the soup was great. After lunch I headed for some more touristy things. The Imperial Palace was hard to get a glimpse of with the high rock wall around it, but you can get a sense of the residency. The 8 story department store I hit up was comprable to Saks or Macy's in NYC. Taking pictures of these high roller stores is as close as I'm willing to get.

Top No No's in Japan

I was supposed to hit up some hot springs and waterfalls on Sunday, but unfortunately they've canceled it due to the cold and wet weather forecast. I mean, in my opinion, we'll be in HOT springs, so does it really matter. It would be just like that time a bunch of us were all toasty in the hot tub while snow flakes froze in our hair. Oh well...can't keep me down. I went to the library and checked out some guidebooks. So it will be me, my camera, extra batteries and Footloose in Tokyo this weekend. Just so you are familiar with some ground rules if you do the right thing and visit Mark and me in Japan, here's a quick lesson.

1) Do not blow your nose in public (i guess the sleeve will have to do)
2) Do not wear shoes in the house
3) Do not say your mom is pretty (you should actually refute this and say no, she's not!) Actually the rule of the thumb is to deny all compliments. It can't wait to test this one out. I'll compliment some random people on the train tomorrow and report back on their responses. Just for the record, Mom, you are very pretty.
4) Never use soap in the bathtub, it is for soaking only. Oh, and save the water so more than one person can use it (ha, that seems oddly familiar). You wash in the shower.
5) Get a room! No PDA in this country
6) When you offer someone something and they say no thanks, offer them again! Japanese always say no thanks to be polite but will accept it after the second or third offer. (& visa versa)
7) Never start eating w/o first saying Itadakimasu [ee tah dah kee mah soo] which means, 'I humbly recieve this food'
8) When finished eating always say Gochisosama [goh chee suhh sah mah] 'it was a great feast' to neglect either of the two statements is considered very rude

Now that you've been properly schooled in how not to look like a that American you're ready to experience the land of bicycles, scooters, and crazy vending machines..i'm not lying check it out. you can get hot and cold beverages!

The Meiji Shrine (may-jee)

I finally got a good taste of the Japanese culture. To commemorate Veteran's Day I decided to head to a Shinto Shrine to give thanks for those in my family who fought/ are fighting for the freedom to be in Japan as an American. The Meiji Shrine was established by Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken during their reign from 1852-1914. The Shinto religion values harmony with nature and other virtues. This particular shrine pays respect to "Magokoro" or sincere heart. As I walked through the gardens and under the Torii (gates) I focused on the sentiment, 'thy will be done'. Although I've got many goals and aspirations (not to mention business ideas and ways to make money) I always ask the Lord to use me as he sees fit. When things are not going my way, I have faith that life is progressing as it is because, "thy will be done". There is a purpose for the experiences we have, the struggles we face, the losses we overcome. Free will is alive and flourishing for all individuals, but the things we cannot control is because 'thy will be done'. So with a sincere heart I payed my respect to this beautiful place.

Before entering the Shrine it is appropriate to cleanse your person and to put your mind at ease. This is done by using the dipper to first rinse your left hand, then rinse your right hand, then rinse your mouth from water in your hand. Then raise the dipper so the rest of the water drizzles down the handle, ready it for the next person.

The other ritual that was very specific was how to pray inside the main shrine. When you approach the fence it is customary to throw coins into the offering tray. I saw one very distraught, grieving girl pour in what looked like her entire piggy bank while wiping back tears. I hope that her heart feels better after lifting up her prayers to the Shinto divinity. After tossing in coins you are to then stand facing the alter area (don't know the real name of it) and bow twice while saying your prayer. Clap twice to show your prayer is finished and bow once more. It was very moving to watch men and women, young and old carry out this ritual. Every individual in this life has struggles, needs strength in tough times and has things for which to be thankful. Seeing how another culture shows their respect reminds me that there is more than one way to do this. There is no one right way, one right religion. We all ask for courage and strength throughout our lives despite the corner of earth we inhabit.

I hope your Veterans day was as peaceful as mine. Love to all.

Check out our new diggs!!

Oh yea, oh yea, oh yea---if you can't tell, I'm doing the, We got ourselves a house, dance. That's right- a cute 2 or 3 bedroom (depending on what we want to make the third room) Japanese styled house about a 15 minute train ride from base. I took this picture from a picture so the quality isn't great. You can't really see the bottom floor but there is a little garden area with a patio that goes into the downstairs behind the wall. The yard isn't very wide (like all things Japanese) but has great landscaping with a pagoda statue and some fruit trees. We've even got our own driveway which is a huge plus since the streets are so narrow. There is no way the truck would have fared very well. It is in a quiet and safe neighborhood on the top of a hill in Ikedacho. Mark's trek will be very short to the Kitakurihama train station (it's a pretty steep slope so he won't even have to pedal if he uses a bike). Coming home will be a different story all uphill, but it's not far at all. The scooter will surely come in handy. We move in on the 24th, just in time for Thanksgiving. Instead of the first month's rent and security deposit given up front, it is standard in Japan to provide the first months rent, the security deposit of equal value, an owners fee and an agent's fee. Good thing we're thrifty spenders cause I'll have to hand over $7,490 dollars cash (749,000 Yen) as soon as the paperwork is signed. Don't worry we'll get this back in moving allowance. We could have taken out an interest free loan from Mark's command but it would have added weeks to the process. So what do you think? Ready to book your flight? The stove, refrigerator, and washer/dryer can be rented from the base for the duration of our stay at no cost. They also provide beds and other furniture for the first 90 days while we find our own furnishings. I'm looking forward to picking up some authentic pieces for decorating. Although, the old standard Ikea down the highway is tempting.

Not much else has gone on today. I did meet up with another wife from the ship, Nicole. She and her husband have been here for three months. She picked me up to go to Starbucks but before we even got 200 yards from the lodge we got pulled over for going 33km in a 25km. I'm proud to say it wasn't my fault. They're very strict. To top it off when she moved the car from drive to park it made a horrible sound. One I heard before, not too long ago on a dirt road in Aruba. I was like, uh oh, that sounded like the transmission. Sure enough, that puppy was done. Good times- always interesting. Tomorrow everything is closed to celebrate Veterans day so I will be headed off base to check out more sights. Miss you all.

In the minority

I think I can imagine how a Tampa Bay Ray's fan might have felt in Citizen's Bank during the World Series. A quick and subtle YES whenever their team scored a run or the Phillies made an error. That's how election day was for me on base. With every blue state added to the board I could feel the tension rise for those McCain fans out there. Well, I heard it too. There is a court yard with a playground outside the entrance of the Lodge. I'll go out there once and a while to check out who's who and see if any connections can be made. Wednesday mornings conversations were full of frustrations, intolerance, and contradictions. One lady can't stand elitism and doesn't understand how people don't see through Obama. I didn't get into it that McCain was born into a family of Admirals and Naval Academy grads with money and power galore. Nor did I correct her when she stated that Al-Qaeda and Saddam were in cahoots long before 9/11. Again, I didn't have the patience to explain that Saddam was a secular ruler who gased the Shiite population (the more fundamentalist crowd that Osama was sympathetic toward). Needless to say, I'm looking forward to living off base so I can explore another way of life, another way of thinking, another way of looking at America. Talking with the Japanese real estate agent the other day made me realize how much ordinary citizens in other countries look to the United States to lead. He said, hopefully Japan can accept change and move forward like the Americans. We needed the victory of Obama to reestablish ourselves as a strong, resilient, and rational people. We needed to show the world that we are not stuck in ways of the past and we can be the change for the future when the world needs it.

After the housing brief the other day I decided to venture out and see what Mark will face daily when we live off base. Everyone talks about the heavy traffic-- even living as close as 10 miles from base can turn into an hour trek in a vehicle (which we might end up getting). If it weren't for the year waiting list to get on base- I was almost tempted to be even closer to Uncle Sam. Then I came to my senses- the train! It could be a place to catch a few more shut eyes for my man as he ventures out in the early morning, as long as he doesn't get caught up in one of his daredevil dreams and miss his stop (anyone see this happening?). The trains are really efficient in Japan--that is if you know what you're doing. With my adventurous spirit and sense of humor in tow, I decided to try them out.

It went something like this. Ah, Americans, yes! "Excuse me can you tell me where the train station is?" Oh sure, take a left at the Gulf Gas Station and just keep going til you hit the overpass, you can't miss it. As i walked down the street the only thing i understood was a sign for a Coach store- dude, what were we thinking, Japan!! After about a half mile I got to the station. I climbed the stairs like a champ and then froze. Again, what were we thinking! Oh get over it I actually said out loud- if others do it so can I. So in that moment I cautiously approached the ticketing machines and busted out my trusty map. I looked for a town up north and then tried to find it on the train schedule. I glanced down at the map and up again at the schedule-- Aunt weeze, you know that face you make when you're trying hard to find something or read something that you can't quite get- you know, when you pucker your lips and crunch your nose and squint your eyes-- that was me:). I think I laughed at myself a few times during this, how difficult can it be stage. I consulted this map and that map for a good 10 minutes before I saw him- Yes, another American!

Thank goodness for Brenden. A dead give away was his navy shirt so I knew i was in the clear. "hey buddy! Can you help me out-how does this ticket thing work?" 'Well, where you headed,' he asked. "Uh, where you going.' I replied. He looked confused. "it's my first day off base, i just got here on monday night" i quickly added. He smiled.

So Brenden bought me a ticket and gave me the lowdown and I jumped on his train. we were headed north. Good enough for me. He transfered at the second station but made sure I had the name of the station where I would exit. I ended up going up to Tokyo and transferring to another train- another adventure in itself. But the sights were awesome and I got a better idea of how Mark may fare by using the train. A couple hours later I was on my way back down to Yokosuka. Of course I accidentally took a different train than I was planning on getting-- another scenic route. But I ended up getting back at the Station nonetheless. A day of riding trains and taking in the sights was a great way to stay awake and not give in to the jet lag demon. So check out the video..its a quick glimpse of how slender and close the houses are....its like this as far as you can see for as long as i was on the train. Enjoy and hopefully you'll see this for yourself when you visit-ahem, Marrianne :)

San Diego is so last week!

So after a short 11 hours on a plane, we're now in the land of sushi, crazy vending machines, Mt. Fuji and bicycles. Konichiwa, Japan!! Mark has gone on to meet the USS COWPENS in Guam and I'm staying at the Navy Lodge on base t0 go through some housing briefs to get situated. Jet lag has been a pain, but I have to admit, I give into it like that mom with the annoying kid at the grocery store that throws something off the shelf into the kids mouth to shut him or her up. A five hour nap yesterday could be the reason why I've been wide awake since 2am. Nonetheless, I am enjoying every minute of new discoveries. Its almost like having the innocence of a child again. Everything is new and exciting. I got my first Konichiwa from the Japanese bus driver as I boarded the Clockwise bus going to Purdy Fitness Center. I smiled pretty big, you know that one where my cheeks get like a chipmunk. Even though I increased my bus ride by 30 minutes (the counterclockwise route would have been faster to the gym) I got to see the whole base. It's got a very tight community feel to it. More pics to come on that. I grabbed some groceries after the gym and threw them in my bookbag for the walk back to the Lodge. It's so cool to see all the bikes lined up at the different buildings and there are scooters galore- score, we made a good call on that one! The base is pretty hilly and very green. The water is pretty clear but cold. I saw some fish jump on my 6am discovery walk yesterday. The MWR (morale, welfare, and recreation) office offers tons of tours and activities to do while we're here. Mark would be disappointed to know we just missed a international fishing tournament- but i'm sure there'll be more. I'm hoping to get into some aerobics classes, language classes, and some kind of marital arts- if only for the social aspect of it. There are so many cool sights and sounds, it's hard to fit them all on one post, so more to come in the days and months ahead. Stay tuned. Miss you all and keep in touch!!

Sayonara USA

I've watched some peaceful sunrises creep into the sky over the Atlantic, but watching the sun setting into the sea brings out colors that soothes the soul to the core. Since the last post Mark and I conquered the seals during our deep sea fishing trip (if you're not quick enough pulling up your fish, they will make sure you only reel in a fish head), checked out the animals at the zoo, petted some stingrays at Sea World, and watched the Phillies win the World Series!! Oh yea, we even paid to smash plates, vases, and mugs at Sara's Smash Shack (an angry broad who channeled her energy and now gets others to break stuff too). Don't worry, there's hardly any waste in this, the shards of pottery are used in mosaic projects for elementary schools. AND I was able to meet up with some great friends in LA for a few days. Thanks Jonathan and Natalie...keep on living the dream!

ain't nature grand

Mark and I set off on our first Cali adventure yesterday after he got back from school. Snacks were packed, cameras charged, and two east coasters were ready to take in the sights of California's southern coast. With my co-pilot and soon to be navigator equipped with our trusty map we hugged the winding coastline from downtown San Diego up to the rocky coastline of La Jolla. This picture shows the sea lions basking on the beach, in their natural habitat. so much better than a zoo. as they shimmied in and out of the water on- lookers gazed in amazement with smiles on their faces.

practicing for the big one

Mark and I have logged quite a few hours of travel time in the past two weeks. we see it as practice for the long flight ahead of us. last week around this time we were soaking in the warm sun and pristine surf of Aruba. Sarina and Mike's wedding was magical. Witnessing them exchange vows under a setting orange sun with waves softly lapping just feet away gave me goosebumps throughout the ceremony. Mark and I couldn't stop smiling at each other as we were reminded of what it means to marry your best friend. we are so excited for them to take on life together as husband and wife- teammate and companion. our trip was amazing and could only have been topped if we were there an extra day:)

we got home just in time for the movers to help us transform our home back into a house-- so much for simplicity- they packed and moved an estimated 5,000 pounds worth of household goods- and a lifetime worth of memories. well, considering we were allowed up to 13,000 lbs, i'd say we did okay after all.

otherwise, we'd never have known

it's funny what becomes second nature when you learn to exist in a new place. despite the english language, the atlantic ocean, the PBR, and the wawa's, Norfolk is surely not Florence. It's not even Philly for that matter. two years ago when mark and i crossed the mason dixon line i didn't anticipate the culture shock that would ensue. there was a sudden absense of honking horns on the interstate and the zippy checker outters at the grocery store (or any store for that matter). as if the south's lifestyle wasn't enough to get used to, we also enterd one of the largest military meccas in the world. Home of the Atlantic Fleet, Norfolk is a conglomerate of people coming and people going. Not until mark and i coached a local rec soccer team did I meet someone born and raised-Norfolk style. just like at one time it i had become immune to the roosters and donkeys and dogs incessant chatter on the islands, nowadays it's nothing to have your chest (and sometimes furniture) reverberate daily from big metal birds zooming not so high above your head. You tell me. How many times have we been on the phone and i've had to ask you to hold on cause a E-2 Hawkeye, C130 plane or F-16 fighter jet was making you sound like that teacher off of Charley Brown? "What's that you say?- hold on a minute. all i hear is 'wah wah wah wah wah'--I can't understand a word." so it got me to athinking to put a little twist on a devious little game. "If not for Norfolk, never would i have ever...." First off, i would have never learned the authentic, true way to prounounce the city---Nawfuk..so all you who come down here pronouncing your Rs and LKs--- you my as well have Yank tattoed on your forehead.

so if not for norfolk, i never would have...crossed the chesapeake bay bridge so much! smelled the crape myrtle tree, learned the story behind the odd lady who religiously hoollah hoops on granby st, eaten so much crab and done so much fishing. never would i have learned the struggles of this city's homeless or spent time with some of the city's lost youth. never would i have felt the joys and frustrations of being a soccer coach. the jaycees would have been just some cultish clique. never would i have witnessed the love and care a mother can have for her son with disabilities; the patience she has shown and the small wins she embraces. She has reminded us what is really important in life. the love for each other. the thristy camel and the redneck pier helped break the waiting for mark to come home from deployment. but most of all, the people i have met and their love of life that inspires.

the quest to find simplicity

How does one clean house without losing pieces and parts of ones life? When moving, distance can be irrelevant. The miles being traveled are sometimes nothing compared to the emotions and nostalgia that creeps out when boxes are opened and closed. Moving is mental and emotional exercise-- with the attic void of household goods, our blessings are before us in each room. right now our house is a fire hazard- a hoarder's dream. mark sustained our first injury as he bashed his knee on a tv while whisking through the living room in the dark. this is quite the life lesson-- in a world where our culture of consumerism has fallen on families like smog in philadelphia, mark and i are fighting back in our quest to find simplicity--