Here’s the biggest difference between visiting a country and moving there: all we’ve done since we got here is work! Chris and I went to the housing office today, which has a nice fish pond and the above statuary in front. Turns out we’ll be able to get a place about the same size as our HUGE apartment in Jacksonville, or maybe just a little smaller. This is shocking to me, and I am very VERY pleased. Also fantastic: the military covers a lot more of the move-in fees than we thought so we won’t be in the red. This is a huge blessing and something I was pretty concern
ed about. We’ll have to put down a refundable deposit and something else (I forget), but they’ll pay the landowner fee and the agent fee and stuff. Such a relief!
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Then Chris headed off to file our moving paperwork so we can get reimbursed for the travel costs we fronted AND got my re-entry approval stamp in my passport. That brings my number of passport additions to FOUR over the past 24 hours (or so): three stamps and a piece of paper stapled in. I went to the exchange to see about getting my camera fixed. I need a receipt (in our shipment if I still have it), or if I try to get our credit card records, I’ll need to have it mailed because of that MasterCard snafu where they reissued everyone’s card early this year so we can’t access our old card number transactions. So I’ll have to wait for that in the mail before I can prove my camera is less than a year old and have it fixed under the warranty, and then they’ll send it to Sony for repair. This is boring. I also found info on all the Ikebana (flower-arranging) and Chigiri-e (torn paper art) classes this month.
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The commissary is smaller than any other commissary I’ve been in, probably about the same size as my favorite Apple Market in Pensacola. I’m happy to find tons of Japanese products, like an apple drink in a Capris Sun-esque pouch labeled “pu-pu-pu-pu.” The bananas are $1.06/lb., but I found these local tangerines—a specific breed that’s only in season in Japan, only right now (according to the “Local Tangerine Just in Season” sign). 
Seasons Along the Hikichigawa
Red Tape Miracles are Extra-Miraculous
Walking to (through?) Ikebana
Liberty and Aloha for All
Gotta get my kayak ready for the trip…
Keep up the postings, i’m enjoying reading about your adventures.
Wow! I love to kayak but they may burn me out a little…. I am so glad the navy is covering more of those costs and the size of the apartment- super exciting! That person who gave you all that information about how small the apartments would be- you shouldn’t listen to anymore of her advice:-) Anyways, the tangerines, paper class, and flower arranging are right up your alley. What with your writing skills, international intrests, and craftiness and my craftiness and party planning propensity, we need to start a Martha Stewart Magazine for young hip people! Glad everything is working out!
Japan sounds so fun already! I’m sure it’s a big adjustment too – but what an awesome adventure! And you should definitely take flower arranging and post pictures!
Hahaha! pu-pu-pu-pu! Hahahahahahahaha!
Haha! I love how you said this is boring right in the middle of your paragraph and then went right back to typing as if it were a completely normal part of your post 🙂 Glad everything’s going okay so far!