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The seawall on base. Thsi is where I walk each day.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Hi to everyone
After a long flight, I arrived in Hiroshima, Japan. As overwhelming as the sights and sounds were, I managed to take some pictures while traveling. I will post them later when I have the necessary equipment to do so. Iwakuni is a small village and the Marine Air Base is also small, so we lack resources and shopping malls to run out and buy computer cables.
I have been studying the Japanese language and it is view useful. It was especially useful when going through Customs and Immigration at Tokyo. There was some glich in my travel orders because my name was misspelled. For a moment, I thought I was destined to be a "Terminal Citizen" like in the Tom Hanks movie. After about 30-45 minutes and 8 different people examined all my paperwork, I was allowed to proceed.
I was met at the Haneda Airport by my sponsor, Brett and his wife Carrie. We had a leisurely ride back to Iwakuni. This was because the maximum speed limit on the expressways is 90kpm which is about 50mph. The traffic laws are strictly enforced by camera cops. I saw many lotus fields, tile roofed houses, and many strange small cars. Once in Iwakuni, I saw the reason for the small cars. Most of the 2 lane roads in Iwakuni and other villages are the width of the alleys (or even narrower) in back of houses in the USA.
Of course I was exhausted when I arrived, but Brett would not let me go to sleep until it was at least 9pm. He said DODS wants me to become acclimated to the time change as soon as possible. The DODS staff also keeps all us newbies very busy day and night to adjust to the change in time. I am getting used to the time here because now instead of awaking at 300am, I can sleep in until 500am. In a week or two, perhaps I can sleep in until 700am. Whoohee! So, days, I spend touring the base, getting a phone, visiting the various depts needed to process paperwork. At night, I go to dinner with DODS staff, attend barbecues, and other social stuff. At 900pm they mercifully let me go back to the BOQ to go to bed.
I have started a routine of exercise in the evenings. I had to do that. What with all the eating I have been doing, I was worried that my tux for the wedding might not fit. The base is surrounded by the sea on two sides. There is a long broad seawall (about 2 miles) that many people use to run/walk/bike. I walk about an hour a day on the seawall. I also walk everywhere else I go too.
Friday will be a big day for me because that is the day I will get my driver's license, which is required of all DODS teachers. We have to drive to extracurricular functions at other locations. On Friday, I plan to rent a car and explore Iwakuni.
That's all for today. Next entry, I will tell you about the Goldfish Festival I attended in Yonai. I hope to have pictures to post.
I have been studying the Japanese language and it is view useful. It was especially useful when going through Customs and Immigration at Tokyo. There was some glich in my travel orders because my name was misspelled. For a moment, I thought I was destined to be a "Terminal Citizen" like in the Tom Hanks movie. After about 30-45 minutes and 8 different people examined all my paperwork, I was allowed to proceed.
I was met at the Haneda Airport by my sponsor, Brett and his wife Carrie. We had a leisurely ride back to Iwakuni. This was because the maximum speed limit on the expressways is 90kpm which is about 50mph. The traffic laws are strictly enforced by camera cops. I saw many lotus fields, tile roofed houses, and many strange small cars. Once in Iwakuni, I saw the reason for the small cars. Most of the 2 lane roads in Iwakuni and other villages are the width of the alleys (or even narrower) in back of houses in the USA.
Of course I was exhausted when I arrived, but Brett would not let me go to sleep until it was at least 9pm. He said DODS wants me to become acclimated to the time change as soon as possible. The DODS staff also keeps all us newbies very busy day and night to adjust to the change in time. I am getting used to the time here because now instead of awaking at 300am, I can sleep in until 500am. In a week or two, perhaps I can sleep in until 700am. Whoohee! So, days, I spend touring the base, getting a phone, visiting the various depts needed to process paperwork. At night, I go to dinner with DODS staff, attend barbecues, and other social stuff. At 900pm they mercifully let me go back to the BOQ to go to bed.
I have started a routine of exercise in the evenings. I had to do that. What with all the eating I have been doing, I was worried that my tux for the wedding might not fit. The base is surrounded by the sea on two sides. There is a long broad seawall (about 2 miles) that many people use to run/walk/bike. I walk about an hour a day on the seawall. I also walk everywhere else I go too.
Friday will be a big day for me because that is the day I will get my driver's license, which is required of all DODS teachers. We have to drive to extracurricular functions at other locations. On Friday, I plan to rent a car and explore Iwakuni.
That's all for today. Next entry, I will tell you about the Goldfish Festival I attended in Yonai. I hope to have pictures to post.
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