Orientation: NOT!!! The civilians who provide orientation and city tours have evacuated after the earthquake so there was no orientation. Welcome to Misawa!
I'm finally adjusting to the time change - and not waking up at 4 am anymore. Last night I slept all the way through the night. I do however, go to bed at 9 and wake up at 6am voluntarily now. Quite a change for those of you who know me. . . :)
I've been off base, seen the city, tried some food and learned a few words! I even found a house! Yeah! Can't move in yet, but by next month hopefully I can get settled. Did I mention the house has 4 bedrooms??? Oh yeah! The military is treating me well!
Quick Facts: Misawa is 10 minutes from the coast of the Pacific
Located in Northern Region of Honshu (main island)
It snows here . . . that's all I have to say (maybe I can learn how to snowboard! )
Joint US Army/Navy/Air Force and Japanese Air Base (lots of planes here)
Time difference: 13 hrs ahead of eastern time
5,000 service men/women on base
Total of 7 Air Force Network TV Stations complete with government commercials :)
NO SINGLE MEN
My job: For those of you who don't know by now, I'm a nurse. I'll be working on a 9 bed Medical-Surgical Unit that hardly ever has patients - I'm probably going to start grad school online to keep my sanity on night shift.
Fun story - So I've found a house, now I need to find a car so I can get to work once I move off-base. So they drive on the other side of the road here and the other side of the car! I took my first drive illegally on Monday (I didn't have my drivers license yet)! It was also 4:30pm TT/3:30am ET. Not the best idea ever, but it was fun! I made it with no accidents, just a lot of fear every time the road curved and I thought a car was barreling straight at where I would be if I was driving in America!
I haven't found any food I like yet. I've tried ramen and some kind of beef with sesame seeds in it. The food here is very bland. I can't wait to start cooking again. I've already got a list of new recipes to try. If ya'll have any good recipes PLEASE pass them on! Remember I prefer healthy choices.
Must try: Onsen - natural hot springs Drawback - most onsenare nude and co-ed. Who wants to join me? LOL
Looking forward to: Traveling - Apparently there's lots to do within a few hours driving distance from here. Highlight include an ice castle, waterfalls, ski resorts, Mt Fuji!
Coming up: Cherry Blossom Season!! Yeah! For those of you who have ever lived in DC you know how beautiful these flowers can be. I can't wait! Hopefully they should be blossoming by the end of May!
So that's the long and short of it. I'll post more as things post-worthy happen. Hope ya'll enjoyed! Finally, I'd like to take this opportunity to invite all of you to come visit me. I've got at least one room waiting for you! :) I love you all and miss you already!
Valerie, good to hear that you are getting settled in. How long will you be stationed in Misawa? Do you feel safe being in Northern Japan with the damaged nuclear reactor? We'll keep praying for your safety!
ReplyDeleteSince you mentioned online grad school, I wanted to let you know that Liberty (LUonline.com has an MSN program. Paul and I are online both students at Liberty and love it!
ReplyDeleteSweet update. How were the cherry blossoms? How's the grad school coming? That's an awesome idea!
ReplyDeleteJulie