Return to Japan - Week 6 (April 27, 2012)

This past week has been a busy week for us.  Jake's unit is being "inspected" (basically like an audit).  He has spent much time preparing for it and working with the inspectors this week going over the operations of his shop.  I have been busy with Japanese Language III class this week as well as some volunteer work at the USO and our Church and curriculum preparations for an upcoming trip.  The language class offered on our base is probably one of my favorite things I have done while on the island.  Our sensei Michiko has taught us so much about the culture here in Okinawa while teaching us the language.  Each of the three levels was 6 hours of class time, 18 hours in total.  She said the full Japanese curriculum is 500 hours, so while I have 'graduated' from her class I am still only a beginner and basically have graduated kindergarten!  In the mean time I am also trying to learn a little Chinese and Thai for our upcoming trip.  One night this week, Jake noticed how tongue tied I got talking to him as my brain was trying to think how to speak correctly in English!  

I have been asked to join a church group going on a mission trip to Thailand the beginning of June. During the trip we will be doing several work projects, including spending time at an orphanage.  The orphanage houses 9 abandoned children age ranges from 7-15 years old.  One of the things they have specifically asked us for is English books for the children to learn some basic English.  More specifically they are looking for toddler to third grade reading level books of a "classic" nature - i.e. not pop culture.  They also said they would love "Read-Along" type books too -where someone can "record" the book in English so they can hear how it sounds and as the person flips the page, it is said first by someone else and then they can repeat it.  They of course are open to monetary donations as well.  It costs $150 per child per month, so any money our group raises, will off-set this cost.  I share this with you in case you are led to make a donation towards this trip either in the form of books, financially or through prayers.  We are paying my expenses for the trip, so all money raised will go directly to the orphanage.  If you want to make a financial donation, please write the check to "All Souls Church" and write "Thailand Orphans" in the note line.  The cheapest way to ship things to us is with the flat rate boxes at USPS, military addresses receive a discounted price and regular postage applies to letters/cards.  Our address here is :

1st LT Fackler, Jacob P.

1 MAW MWHS-1 Supply  

Unit 37121  

FPO AP 96603

GOLDEN WEEK
Japanese Golden Week is kicking off this coming weekend.  Golden Week is a collection of four national holidays within seven days. Golden Week is one of Japan's three busiest holiday seasons, besides New Year and the Obon week. The national holidays making up the Golden Week are: 

• Showa Day - April 29th is the birthday of former Emperor Showa, who died in the year 1989. 
• Constitution Day - May 3rd is the day in 1947, the new post war constitution was put into effect. 
• Greenery Day - May 4th is dedicated to the environment and nature, because the emperor loved plants and nature. 
• Children's Day - May 5th was originally the Boy's Festival (Tango no Sekku). Families pray for the health and future success of their sons by hanging up carp streamers and displaying samurai dolls, both symbolizing strength, power and success in life. The Girl's Festival, by the way, is celebrated on March 3. In 1948, the government decreed this day to be a national holiday to celebrate the happiness of all children and to express gratitude toward mothers.

 

This week's Japanese (in honor of Golden week and all of the local festivities)

"Let's have fun!"

Tanoshimimasho!

Until next week,

Jake and Natasha

Return to Japan - Week 5 (April 20, 2012)

I spent this week trying to become more "Social" and in the process may have become less so with all of you.  There are so many social networking sites on the web today and I decided to branch out from email and facebook into new social mediums.  A popular site that many of my friends visit is Pinterest - a site where everyone shares, (i.e.'pins') their favorite things for others to see.  This site can be addictive with many hours spent looking at all the new recipes you want to try, household ideas, places you want to visit, new products on the market and so much more.  The information is endless.  I created my own page on the site and started my "boards" where I collect and post my favorites as I find them.  And I'm also proud to announce that I used a new recipe I found on the site for dinner one night this week that Jake thought was delicious.  If you have any interest in checking out pinterest my page is found at:  http://pinterest.com/natashafackler/

My big accomplishment of this week though was officially starting a blog page for my weekly updates.  I wanted a place where all of my updates could be on one site and where it was easier to share photos especially for those of you without facebook.  I uploaded all of my older updates and in the next week or so will try to put up more photos to go along with them.  In the future, all of my updates will be hosted on the site instead of sending them via email.  My blog is found at http://natashafackler.blogspot.jp/ 

Besides being social on the world wide web, I also had a busy week being social with friends here in Okinawa too.  Monday evening the Christian Fellowship group that Jake and I belong to hosted a "ladies night out" event.  We had Thai food and sat around talking for hours.  It was a great way to learn more about each other.  I ordered a level 2 spicy for my meal and had to keep taking breaks to cool off my mouth.  For hours afterwards, I felt like my mouth was on fire!  The one lady in our group ordered a level 6! I spent some time visiting with some different friends this week, got my hair done (Oh, how I miss Lush317!!!), saw "Safe House" with Jake, continued research for our honeymoon plans and took a Japanese Cooking Class where we learned to make Gyoza and Yakisoba.  

This week's Japanese (in honor of my cooking class)

"I eat Yakisoba.  It was very delicious"  

Watashi wa yakisoba o tabemasu.  Totemo oishi katta desu.

Until next week.

Natasha and Jake

Okinawa Week Nine (originally posted Feb 1, 2012)

This past weekend was Cherry Blossom Festival time here in Japan.  I know back home we have several more months until the blossoms are ready to bloom.  We decided to take the tour offered by MCCS, instead of driving on our own.  We traveled to Nago Central Park and climbed the stairs (about 500) to the top of Mt. Jingamori.  Due to the cooler temperatures we have been experiencing the cherry trees were not yet in full bloom, but it was still a beautiful sight to see all the trees starting to blossom.  The event hosted street vendors, games, musical talents on stage, street performers and on Sunday there was a parade.  

Some of you know that it has been a dream of mine to run on the Great Wall of China.  Jake and I registered this week to run the Great Wall Half Marathon in May.  We both are preparing for the mileage of the race, but know that a big part of the race is all of the steps you must climb.  In fact, two days prior to the race, they have everyone walk to the top of the steepest section of steps to prove you can do it.  Here in Okinawa we have heard of this place called the "Stairway to Heaven" - luckily this week I found someone to drive me to it so we would know where it is.  There are 270 steps to the top and like the Great Wall, the steps are not all of the same height, width, and distance apart.  Yesterday was a beautiful day, so I decided to see how far it was to the Stairway from our apartment (and to see if I could actually find it again on my own).  It is about three and quarter miles to the Stairway.  At the bottom I thought - "this doesn't look that hard" - and I was completely wrong!!!  I started running and around 50 steps up I decided to walk the rest of the way.  I was huffing and puffing until I got to the top.  We will have some major stair training to add to our workouts.  A friend told me that her friend did GWM last year and by the end of her training she was able to run the Stairway 14 times in a row.  I only hope I can achieve a fraction of that.

One fun fact for the week.  You know at home when the ice cream truck is driving around the neighborhood how it plays music.  Well here - we haven't seen an ice cream truck - but the garbage trucks play "courtesy" music when they are driving around picking up the trash.

It is hard to believe that I will be flying back to the states tomorrow. I am excited to come home and the simple things like being able to drive my car, watch TV, read road signs & menus and use my I-phone!  I am not looking forward to being apart from my loving husband, to the long trip home or to the cold weather.  Some have "promised/threatened" that it will snow while I'm home!  Time here has flown by.  I have learned a lot about myself, my husband and the culture here in Okinawa. I look forward to visiting with many of you in the upcoming weeks while I am home on leave.  Please pray for safe travels for me back to the US and for Jake as he soon will be leaving for Korea.  

A big thanks to everyone for your continued support.

Natasha and Jake

Okinawa Week Eight (originally posted Jan 27, 2012)

Cirque Dreams world tour was performed this past weekend on Camp Foster.  The admission to the show was free and thousands of people came out to see the show.  The lines and process for gaining access to the shows was not organized and frustrated the many who were attempting to see the show.  Even with four performances not everyone was able to gain access.  We were fortunate to see the show after waiting approximately 5 hours.  It was fabulous.  We loved every minute of it.  I had a hard time deciding what acts to upload to share with you since were impressed by every act!  I have uploaded more to my Youtube page if you have any interest in viewing them.

We have been making some new friends here on the island and were able to have lunch with one couple and their two children Sunday after church.  The restaurant they choose has a "vending" type machine at the entrance where you put in YEN and then push buttons for the food you would like to order.  A "ticket" prints off for each item you ordered.  You take the tickets with you to your table and then they bring out your food as it is prepared.  We both really enjoyed our meals and plan to go back  - which is a first for all of the Japanese restaurants we have tried.  Also this week we had another couple over for dinner.  Jake remarked afterwards that it was good to see me in "my element" - referring to the fact that like to prepare dinner and entertain guests at our home.  

The big excitement for me this week was Japanese Language class.  Our instructor said it takes about 500 hours to master Japanese and that each of the three level classes taught on base are only 6 hours.  Each day approximately 30 students attended the 1 1/2 hour class.  While I have learned only a limited amount in the 6 hours of instruction, I felt like I had learned so much!  We learned pronunciation, vowels, sounds, numbers, counting, sentence structure, questions, greetings and so much more!  Each day I try to say something to the Japanese people we encounter.  I can't wait for the level two class in March!

Until Next Week,

Natasha and Jake

Cirque Dreams - Bumblebees

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPWDHSYDvqc&feature=context&context=C396bf9bADOEgsToPDskJDgGX0bYg5T11b5IGelZrb

Cirque Dreams:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsz2UEuTSqs&context=C396bf9bADOEgsToPDskJDgGX0bYg5T11b5IGelZrb

Okinawa Week Seven (originally posted Jan 20, 2012)

Last weekend we ventured to the Northern part of the island.  Hedo Point is the northern most tip of the island and where the only limestone mountain/rocks are located in Okinawa.  It took us close to three hours to get there.  We enjoyed a picnic lunch and then walked around the trail.  We then drove down to the beach and spent over and hour picking through rocks, shells, and coral that had washed ashore.  We saw so many different things that we hadn't seen before at beaches back in the states.  It was like a treasure hunt!  We brought home a whole bag of our favorites.  We then went to Dai Sekirinzan national park and hiked the "strange & big rocks course" -(honestly that is what they called the one trail), saw panoramic views of Hedo point and saw a huge Gajumaru (Banyan) tree.  After we left the park we were determined to find the 30 foot bird that we saw from both of the previous locations.  In typical fashion, we got lost, we could see it several times, but couldn't figure out how to get to it.  We drove up this one path "road" and I swear we were going to lose the bottom of our car as it scraped and made terrible noises as we drove along.  At the end of this path we arrived at a pig farm and sewage plant!?  We eventually found the bird after I flapped my arms to an elderly Japanese man who pointed us in the correct direction.  We then set off for Okuma - the military resort.  As we are driving up to the hotel, we were both impressed at how beautiful the place was!  When we pulled up, we told them we had a reservation and the lady said, "Military?  Further down the road..."  So we leave this beautiful resort and a half mile later arrive at the chain link fence and concrete guard station.  HA!  The accommodations were not fancy, but in the summer it would be great to spend time on the beaches and participate in all of the water sports/activities that are available there.  One of our favorite things about our room though was TV.  Since we don't have one at our apartment, we were happy to watch American TV and Jake even got to watch a football game!  The next day we hiked Hiji Falls - the tallest waterfall on the island.  Despite the rain, we had a good time and they even provided us with a loaner umbrella for use on the trail.  At all of the parks we have been to here, you find rocks, shrines and other places were people place coins.  We do not know the significance, but reminds us of wishing wells and fountains that we have seen in the states and other places where people toss coins.  

On the way home from Okuma we decided to stop at a Japanese Mall to walk around.  We tend to find unique things and can spend hours just browsing.  Well, the most unique thing we found at the mall this time was in the bathroom!  Let me start by saying that many times here in Okinawa, the bathrooms are very primitive and many times there is only a hole in the floor to squat over.  So as I went to sit on the toilet, "courtesy" music started playing from the toilet seat!  Of course it first made me jump up off the seat.  After I finished and went to wash my hands someone else's seat started to play and I just started laughing!  It was the weekend for strange bathroom facilities because earlier in the weekend I had used a squatting port-a-john.  I told Jake it was good he didn't have to go b/c he never would have fit since he is so tall. Also at the mall we found a store that had 1980's memorabilia - ET, Gizmo, Garbage Pail Kids trading cards and so much more!  Of course, Jake didn't recognize half of the things I remembered from my childhood!  

New pictures and videos are posted on Facebook. Use links below to view videos. 

Until Next week,

Natasha and Jake   

Banyan Tree at Dai Sekirinzan National Park:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x90tIcWNqHI&feature=youtu.be 

Two video clips from of Hedo Point - One from Dai Sekirinzan National Park and one from the Bird:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbYZlLkTwq8&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZhog2_U6CQ&feature=plcp&context=C346eb68UDOEgsToPDskJDgGX0bYg5T11b5IGelZrb

Okinawa Week Six (originally posted Jan 12, 2012)

I thought this week would be a good time to talk about Transportation here in Okinawa.  As a transportation "geek", the differences here catch my attention.  So the first big difference of course is that they drive on the opposite side of the road.  There are many times in the car that I'm looking to make sure no cars are coming but am looking the wrong way.  Also on a few occasions, I have gone to the wrong side of the car to get in, but for the most part remember to go to the other side.  Jake always laughs at me when I do this - habits are hard to break!  Jake has a car and drives us places on nights/weekends and uses the car to go to work each day.  As I have written before I have been walking everywhere and have logged over 100 miles in my time here (I wear my GPS watch everywhere to see how far it is  - hey I already mentioned I was a geek - ha!).  This week the rain has been back and after two days of being stuck at home I decide it's time to buy a bike.  Technically I'm not stuck at home, however it is a 45 minute walk to the gym and stores on base and I really do not enjoy walking in the rain that far (wet shoes, spots on my glasses, messy hair, etc) and of course if I buy anything I have to carry it home.  So with my Christmas money in hand I walk to the athletic store on base and purchase my new bike.  The return trip home only takes me 18 minutes!  I'm super excited to have a bike here now and Jake is going to get one too so that we can do biking on the weekends.  At home in PA I would say that where we live has a pretty flat landscape. Here in Okinawa, the opposite is true, there are hills most places.  So walking, running and biking here are more challenging then at home.  As a pedestrian, it is hard for me to remember sometimes the correct way to look for cars when crossing the street and which way cars might be turning from into parking lots, etc.  Also on the sidewalks, I am used to at home, where as a common courtesy, we mostly travel in the same manner as cars - sticking to the right side, but here since cars travel on the left I find myself always walking into the crowd on the wrong side of the sidewalk!  Jaywalking is enforced, so you must always cross at the cross walk.  The one nice thing is that there are many pedestrian bridges across the main roads, that you travel up and over the street instead of having to cross it.  

Other major differences I have noticed:

1.  Motorcycles are allowed to "white line".  It is common practice here for motorcycles to go in and out of travel lanes or to create their own lane between the cars by traveling the white lines.  They are allowed to travel the white lines in the middle and sides of the roadways.  As a vehicle driver, you must always be aware of this while making turns or changing lanes.  When we approach red lights, all of the motorcycles travel between and outside the cars to get to the front of the pack and take off first when the light turns green.  All of this is completely legal.  They do have a helmet law here.

2.  Children/babies are not required to be in child/booster seats.  They believe that the child is safest on the mother's lap.  Many times you will see young children crawling around on back seats, unbuckled, walking, looking out the window, etc.  

3.  New and Older Drivers are clearly marked.  Both of these types of drivers are required to place a decal sticker in a certain place on the car to signify to other drivers to be more aware of them on the roadways.  

4.  Vehicle size is smaller here.  You rarely see a minivan, SUV, truck or other large vehicles here.  Many of the car make/models here are not the same as in the US.  Also parking spaces, especially at homes, are very small due to limited space on the island.  Many days I wonder if our car was any bigger if we would even be able to get down the driveway to our apartment building.  

5.  One lane, but two way traffic.  Much of the smaller road network, especially in residential areas, are one lane, but allow for two way travel.  Once we leave the main interstate to travel home, most of the roads are this way.  Since parking is a premium here, cars also have a tendency to park on the road.  You must zig-zag around the park cars and pull to the edge if another car is driving towards you.  

6.  There is a vast pedestrian infrastructure here. There are many large (8 foot) and smaller sidewalks along most major roads to accommodate bikes and pedestrians.  As mentioned above, there a many pedestrian bridges also at large intersections.  Surprisingly to me, despite this vast network and the large percentage of population that utilize them, they do not have public trash cans along these pathways, so litter sometimes becomes a problem.  They also do not have a "curb your dog" policy, so it is very important to watch where you step!!!

Until next week,

Natasha and Jake

Okinawa Week Five (originally posted Jan 5, 2012)

The Year of the Dragon

Celebrating the New Year is a big family and religious holiday for the Japanese.  Shogatsu is a serious family time when relatives travel great distance to share even a few hours time with each other.  The New Year is celebrated Jan 1-3 and most businesses are closed.  During this time, the Japanese will Hatsumoude - pay homage for the first time of the year to a temple or shrine.  Upon arriving to the shrine, many people wait in long lines, then must wash their face/hands to cleanse themselves before they pray.  One will go to the Haiden, bow, pray and then throw a coin in the offering box.  We visited the Futenma Shrine that is about a mile from our apartment.  At this shrine, they had little items you could buy to write your prayers on and leave tied at the shrine.  They also had an area where you could receive your "fortune" for the new year.  The shrine was busy all day and night for the three days of the new year.  The streets are lined with food vendors and some dress in their kimono's to visit the shrine.  The Japanese most visible sign of the new year is the Kadomatsu - a pine and bamboo decoration that most households and businesses display to welcome God and the New Year.   

For New Year's Eve - we had booked a hotel room and had planned to celebrate the new year at the Peace Prayer Memorial Park.  We had read about the Fire & Bell Observance with prayers being offered to the 230,000 who lost their lives during the battle of Okinawa.  Moments before the stroke of midnight, the flame of prayer descends from the bell tower to light participants torches as they welcome the new year.  A choir sings, the Bell of Peace is rung as participants light their torch from the large flame holder.  It's a solemn ceremony.  We thought this sounded like a unique way to experience New Year's Eve.  We left our hotel with plans to stop for dinner along the way - had what we thought was the best Japanese food we have eaten to date and were on our way.  Shortly before the entrance to the prayer park we notice another entrance where all the cars were entering.  We thought maybe everyone was parking here and were shuttled over to the other event.  So we pay our entrance fee and walk around this park - where they had over $1.3 million Christmas lights on display and food/game vendors.  Within 30 minutes we had walked through this whole section but didn't see anything going on that resembled the ceremony.  We got in our car and drove the half mile or so to the prayer park where a guard told us to go back to the Illumination event that nothing was going on at the Prayer Park.  With limited English (and no Japanese on our part) we didn't know what else to do.  So that our hour drive wasn't for nothing, we decided to travel to Naha to see if we could find anything going on there  - but we couldn't see the event we had read about for that part of town either and it had started to rain.  So after 2 1/2 hours of driving we arrive back at our hotel and decide to see what is on TV.  The only English speaking channel was CNN where they were doing a year in review.  We snuggled up on the bed (which was too short for Jake) and sometime before the new year we both fell asleep!  

New Year's morning, we went for a swim at the hotel pool and were enjoying the donuts we had picked up for breakfast.  Jake is not very picky, but when he took one bite of his donut he said this tastes like chicken BBQ!!  We ended up throwing that one away!  We left the hotel and traveled to the Nakagusuku Castle.  We walked around the castle ruins, exploring the many different sections and enjoying a great view from that part of the island.  This week we also were invited, along with another couple & their children, to Jake's boss house for dinner.  The next day we also went to a farewell luncheon where I was able to meet all of the officers in his command and their spouses.  It was great to finally meet other spouses and families.  

We hope your New Year is off to a wonderful start!

Natasha and Jake