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Moving right along…

  • We move out of the hotel and into our apartment on Monday. As luck would have it, ALL of our belongings arrive on Tuesday. 🙂 I am so excited to have my own stuff again. I am also excited to say “bye-bye” to the food courts, cafes, and fast food joints that have made up the majority of our meals, because unfortunately, we can’t eat at a lush Japanese restaurant every time. Chuck and I are both looking forward to balanced, home-cooked food again!
  • I was accepted into the Johns Hopkins grad school program. I am happy, but this definitely presents me with a dilemma. GWU, or Hopkins? The program I like better, or the cheaper one? As you all know, I am terrible at making decisions.
  • My lovely Bean will not have to go back into caged quarantine! This is the silver lining of on-base housing. She can do the quarantine “in-home”, which – for a generally indoor cat – is actually like no quarantine at all 🙂
  • I applied to 3 jobs, and already scored an interview for one of them. How is it that it took me a year to get an interview in North Carolina but it only took a few days here in Okinawa? Of course, none of this means I will actually get the job(s) – or even more interviews – but it’s encouraging to hear something back, rather than applying countless times only to hear… absolutely nothing.

As of now, I have no real plans for the weekend. I still need a car, so maybe we can go scouting for the one I like…my only requirement being that it’s pink! Pink cars are everywhere on Okinawa, yet they are very difficult to find at the “approved” used car dealerships. Wish me luck! I can’t be without wheels for too much longer.

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American Pedicures, You Lose

ImageWhen I first found out I was moving to Okinawa, the girls I knew there consoled me with the same bit of seemingly useless information: “You can get an amazing pedicure over here!” This afternoon, I visited Cocok Nail Salon with my sponsor, Kellie, and I have to admit that it was pretty much the best thing ever.  Not only do they serve you chilled green tea and the massage is lengthier and more thorough than any I’ve ever had, but you get a giant book of hundreds of intricate designs to choose from. I played it safe the first time and stuck with the pink and floral design pictured above, but it’s just a matter of time before I attempt one of the following:

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Plus, what’s not to love about a nail salon with a great view (clouds and telephone lines aside) and a resident feline? His name is Mitt, and he’s adorably grumpy 🙂

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All in all, this was an experience I will certainly repeat. I’m generally the type of girl who gets a pedicure maybe two or three times per year, but in a place where I will fairly consistently be in sandals (or cute peep-toed shoes), I think they may became a staple in my island beauty regimen. For better or for worse, there is another location near the base I on which I will live. How lucky is that?

Now, check out Kellie’s toes! They’re little minions! Too cute.

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Is this what they call “frizz”?

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I’m not quite sure what to make of my hair these days. This is generally how it looks several sweaty hours after I attack it with curling irons, a teasing comb, and hair spray – not the morning after a fresh wash. My hair is very fine and somewhat thin, so I rarely deal with frizz. I guess this means I need to find a way to condition more without making my roots overly greasy. Or maybe I can find a way to enhance it so it looks more like a sexy beach wave? Maybe Pinterest can help me out…

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New Climate, New Lifestyle

It’s only April, and while the heat is not yet unbearable here in Oki, the sun is strong and the humidity is apparent. My body and face lotion no longer absorb into my typically dry skin – it sits in a milky-white film before I grab a tissue to dab it. My hair has this new consistency that I don’t quite understand… it’s much more dense. Heavier, kinda flat, but feels thick…?

Besides cutting back on my moisturizing and conditioning habits, I am going to have to invest in a hat. I hate sunscreen, and will definitely have to find a brand that agrees with my skin better than the cheap stuff I usually use, but at least I can protect the more fragile skin on my face with a cute beach hat of sorts, that will go with most anything. This will be quite the search, because I’m not a hat gal. And I don’t think I’m quite up for the Japanese approach of toting an umbrella around like an early 20th-century parasol, even if it is pink!

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Living the adventure

Last night, on the eve of our big 3-year adventure in Japan, a good friend gave us a beautifully written card:

“Chuck, when you proposed to Nikki – could either of you imagined how the next years would lead you to Japan? Surrounded by cherry blossoms, your decision that day led you down a path that could never be known to either of you in that moment.”

Ironically, last night was the 4-year anniversary of our engagement, which took place the midst of DC’s Cherry Tree Festival (albeit in a quieter part of it!) Now, we are headed to the land that gave us those cherry trees, starting a new phase of our lives across the world.

We have had a fantastic time here during our break. We spent quality time with family, friends, and the city we call home. We celebrated our democracy with a private tour of the Capitol, honored our history with visits to the Air and Space, Natural History, and American History Museums, and just plain had fun by trying new restaurants and enjoying respective girls’ nights and guys’ nights out and about town (with a side trip to New Orleans!)

Now, I am simultaneously excited, nervous, and a little bit sad as I prepare to fly to the Far East later this afternoon. I will miss everyone, and I am sure I will have moments of nostalgia, but Chuck and I both have a sense of adventure that will ensure we make the very most of our time in Japan…

“…I hope the same thought applies to the time in your new home – letting things come one day at a time, knowing that the next adventure is right around the corner.

Actually, scratch that – you’re living the adventure today!”

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American Bloat

While I was in France, I ate whatever I wanted. French food is heavy on all the currently “taboo” food groups in this country (depending on who you’re talking to these days), to include dairy, grains, meat, fats, and everything in between. And I have to tell ya – my digestive system never felt better while I was over there!

I returned to the U.S., and while I surely love American food in all its glory, I am back to being bloated, irregular, and less energized. It’s not because I eat bread… or because cheese is wrecking my digestive system…or because I enjoy red meat. I ate all those things in Europe. I know this is no secret, but it really is the fact that food in this country is SO overly processed. Even the packaged foods in Europe had smaller lists of ingredients, most of which I could actually pronounce. Everything is fresh and mostly local there. I ate raw eggs and beef for crying out loud (and lived to tell the tale.)

I’m not one to judge the U.S. based on what other countries are doing. I’ve never thought it’s a fair comparison – we are so much bigger and more diverse than most European countries. However, I do wish we could take at least SOMEWHAT of a hint from their dietary practices. Natural ingredients. A reduced reliance on corn. Cleaner, more humane livestock care. And perhaps the elimination of preservatives, dyes, and other miscellaneous ingredients that are banned everywhere else in the developed world except here! Of course, Americans could take a little personal responsibility and work on portion control, too…

I hate to be that Northern Virginia snobby white girl, and I probably won’t have this opportunity on a military base in Okinawa, but I may have to start shopping organic (it’s a start!)

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And we’re back!!

Home safe and sound after a EuroTrip that really could not have gone better, in the soft fluffy purring embrace of the Bean, with the news that the first of the grad school programs to which I applied has accepted me. Wahoo!

In the meantime, 1,587 photos are uploading to my computer. I’m gonna have a blast with those…!