1 week after work...

Hi everyone who bothers to read this, sorry it is long!

It has been pretty good, the kids are mostly good and we are getting into a routine now. I get up around 6am and have a shower, most of the time the kids don't wake until 6:30. I make myself a coffee and something to eat while they come down and I get them some breakfast. After they have eaten and cleaned up we usually go for a walk to the park (while it is still cool - and assuming it doesnt rain). When we get back i put on a DVD so i can rest for a bit (it gets really hot and the pram is heavy to push). During the day we do various things, but around 11:15 i make lunch so at 11:30 they can eat. After i have cleaned Andrew up i put him to bed - and he usually sleeps 2-4hrs! I let Ariana play computer games while i clean up the lunch mess and when i am done we do something that Andrew is too small to do. Around 4pm Joe or Felicia come home and that's all for me!

I like to go for walks around the place, there are alot of things i want to take photos of but i still dont have my camera (stupid ebay). I have my SLR and i have been playing with it but i don't like to take millions of photos with it because film and developing etc. The area is really beautiful, there are sugar cane feilds everywhere - some right near our house. The view here is lovley too, you can see the ocean from the window. The picture to the left is part of my backyard and some of the view, it is prettier from upstairs. In my bedroom at night i can see the city lights from one of the islands here and it's really nice too. The weather is crazy here, one day it's really hot and sunny the next it's really windy and rainy (but not cold). It starts to cool down in December but it never gets lower than around 15 degrees c.

I have been to the local max value (a large supermarket) and it is quite strange. They have lots of advertising around the place (video and radio) and one time i was walking and i heard a song from the radio singing "denshi renji" which means microwave lol. I found that things werent heaps expensive which is good (exept mellons which are $12-$15 but can be more in different seasons!) I also saw alcohol and fireworks in the ailses, which is nice i guess. I recently bought fantasia on DVD for around $5! I have wanted that for ages and although it has Japanese subtitles there isn't much talking in it. I also bought a bag wich is clear and has cute clovers on it, i need something i can throw everything into when i take the kids for a walk - good for going to the beach with as well. I went to the local mall (thing) and bought clothing, i was happy! The things i have seen are pretty decent too.

I have been on the American base several times now. I was surprized because it was so big - they have resturants, dorms, swimming pools, shops, bank, cinema, church and lots more. If you wanted you would never have to leave the base (i don't know why you would). It is weird going there because it is like a whole other country - i am experiance this Amreican culture as well as the Japanese so it is quite strange but i like it. I got to try Reece's peanut butter cups and i really like them :) The things on base are pretty cheap, and it is nice to have a place that speaks English too. Oh and alcohol is cheap too, i saw some of that absolut vodka (around $40AU at home) for half the price here! I bought some of that lychee liqure here and it is really nice (if you like lychees).

Some other random news I have decided to try a different type of Japanese drink from the vending machines every day. I have had a few different sports drinks, teas and juices. There are so many different types it is fun trying them, they taste different to drinks from home. I bought a new mobile phone :) it is black and nice looking and it came with a mini stationary kit (?). The brand is softbank which i thought was weird but it was cheap ($50 + $30 worth of credit free). I have been looking for some friends in Okinawa to show me around and practice my Japanese on, i want to meet someone who is around my age but i have alot of older people msging me :s oh well.

This weekend Joe and Felicia had some people over from work for a BBQ. It was nice to meet new people and not hang around kids all the time! On Sunday two of their friends and us went to the aquirium. It was the first thing i got to see besides going on my walks and down to the base. It was so full but it was still nice to see. We had Japanese food for lunch and then went back home.

Not much else to say, i have been busy alot and i hope to soon figure out the bus system here. I really want to buy an electronic dictionary so i am investigating that :) i am having a good time though. I might update my blog weekly for people to look at but i will stop emailing you all coz i dont think everyone cares that much. Hope everything is good in Australia (i have been watching chaser online and looking at the news every now and then). Cya

-Alicia

Arrival

Hello!

My flight to Taipei was kinda boring. I watched 3 movies and some other things. When i got there i was surprized because i thought i had to book a hotel for myself, but the airlines organized it for me! It was really muggy and hot there, but everything was air conditioned. They took us to this fancy country club and gave us free breakfast and lunch. There was one channel on the TV in English (CNN) and all this free stuff in the room so i was happy.

The next day it rained in the morning and then went for a walk. It was alot cooler but it was still uncomfortable. I saw alot of shrines and stuff like that, but we were too far away from any shops so i couldn't buy anything! I was supposed to call some people but i lost my mobile phone! The phone itself wasn't such a loss, but now i don't have anyones numbers anymore! So if you want to email me your number do that at some point!

The bus took us to the airport and i got the chance to buy some souvineers (so the money i exchanged for taxis wasnt in vein). The flight to Okinawa was only an hour and 10 minutes and when i got there it was hot (even in the evening). Right now is Japan's Autum, but because Okinawa is right down the bottom of Japan it is quite warm. Okinawa is famous for it's different dialect, beaches and typhoons. I am staying in Yomitan (see map) After i filled out heaps of forms i saw Felicia and Joe and they drove me home!

It was weird being in Japan, there are vending machines everywhere! I knew this before i came but i saw vending machines for cigerettes and alchohol. They said once they saw someone stop his car in the middle of the street and run out to get something from one once.

Felicia, Joe and the kids are all really nice. They are only in their 20's so it's nice to be around people that i can hang out with too. The house is really cool too, two stories and has air conditioning ^_^.

Last night there was a typhoon here, it wasn't very bad but it was weird seeing the storm and hearing the wind. Lots of trees around here are held up with wood so they don't blow over becayse typhoons are so common.

That's all for now, i start working on monday and i had a bit of time to get to know the kids. I will probably update in a week or so. Cya!

Delays

It turns out I am not flying out on Saturday anymore! The situation is I had to send my visa to the passport office in Melbourne and I was told by the post office people it only takes two days to send via registered post. Anyway the visa office sent the passport on time but it didn’t arrive here on time so I have had to delay the flight to next Wednesday, which means I won’t get to Okinawa until Thursday! I feel really bad for a few people (the family I am going to be working for and my friend Rina who is meeting up with me) but I can’t get on a plane without a passport or visa! Anyway this means I have a few more days in Sydney with my Dad (which is good). So I am really frustrated at the moment with the post office, this makes it harder for a lot of people.

In other news has everyone been watching what the chaser guys are doing at APEC? LOL! Also as a side note my Dad has this radio in his car which is security code protected. Anyway he got the car second hand and at one point the radio had to be taken out and when it was put back in the code needed to be re-entered. Well my Dad did not know this code so for about 3 months has had no radio. He has been randomly typing in 4 digit codes but it seemed highly unlikely to actually guess it. When I came to visit he told me about it so I thought I would try typing in random codes to see if I could get it – and I did! On my fourth try I had a good feeling about these numbers and what do you know – radio again! So yay for me and my lucky numbers!

That’s all for now.
-Alicia

Sydney

Well I am in Sydney at the moment. I got here last night and I will be here until Saturday morning when I leave for Taipei (Taiwan) and I leave for Okinawa on the Sunday morning (yes I have to spend a night in Taipei!).

The next few days will just be visiting family and such. I don’t really have a lot to say except thanks to everyone who came to the airport or saw me off in the previous weeks. It means a lot to me that everyone was there and I wish I had more time to see people. Also thanks to everyone for showing their support for me doing this, I don’t know what I would do without you guys!

I hope everyone has a good time while I am gone (not too good :p) and please keep me informed on all the news etc because I doubt I will have a lot of time. That’s all for now, I will post again when I am leaving for Japan (probably). Wish me luck for the trip.

-Alicia