We're chugging right along...

Many people keep asking if we plan to live on or off-base. After much debate, we decided at this point it would be best for us to live on-base for several reasons:
1. It's a quick commute for Joe to get to work- 10 minutes (the base is HUGE... I never realized there weren't even any stoplights at Columbus... there are tons at Kadena... the biggest base I've been on ever by far).
2. We are struggling to get out bearings both on and off base!!!! It's a little overwhelming, but I think with time we'll get used to everything.
3. Hopefully it'll be easier to meet people!
4. I'll feel safer living on base when Joe is off on missions and I'm home alone with the pups.
5. The house is pretty big in comparion to houses off base. The Japanese are space limited so everything comes in one size - tiny.



Now, don't assume getting a house on base was so easy! We decided we wanted to live on base, but then the drama started this morning when I went to the housing briefing. Joe had to go to his in-processing meeting, so I went by myself and an hour after I sit through the boring slide-show of them explaining to me how to properly recycle... I get informed there is no more housing available on Kadena (our base)! I march up to the lady asking why, because two weeks ago we had friends have the option of choosing from 4 different houses!!! I also talk to her because I had submitted our housing application last month and she did not have it on file. Thank goodness I had a copy of it and she allowed me to post my application for last month. This worked to our advantage as you'll see in a bit.

I call my sponsor, Jeff, and he picks me up (I hate not having a car and need people to drive me around everywhere) and tell him there's no housing available. He thinks thats ridiculous and calls housing to get the scoop. They tell him there is 1 unit available but it will go to the first person on the waiting list and they would call them this afternoon.

I patiently wait and finally at 2:30 we get a call saying we were being offered the last house on Kadena and also had the option of looking at a house over on Camp Lester (a marine base). Thinking we should check out our options (we heard that some housing on Kadena is old and yucky and that some housing on Lester is new and awesome), we rush over to Camp Foster (another Marine base) to pick up the keys. This was a struggle because the camp is divided in half by a city road so you have to go off base and then back on base. Complicated. The housing office closed at 4:00 and after driving around in circles, we finally ran into the office before they closed to get the keys.

We then drive all the way to Camp Lester and look at the house. It looked sketchy from the outside, but we figure hey, don't judge a book by it's cover. We open the door and it looks like a prison. Dark cement walls, little tiny rooms the size of a cubicle... overall, it was the worst base housing I'd EVER seen. No offense to marines, but the Air Force treats us well and I will never complain about AF base housing EVER again. Seriously, we were absolutely disgusted with the house and didn't need to think twice about turning it down.

We drove to Kadena to check out the other house, but there were still people living there. They are movin out this weekend but were kind enough to let us see the house. What a difference! I would say it was a 5 star in comparison to the other house. I mean, in no means is it anything amazing, but it meets our needs perfectly. It's in a coldasac with tons of kids, but that's ok. It's a two story, three bedroom, two and a half bath little townhouse style place. A backyard that we can put a fence up (which I hear they're hard to come by...) and a spacious kitchen with a little nook to put a computer on. All in all, will work out great! If in a year we decide we find a place off base we really like, maybe we'll move. But for now, this gives us time to settle in and adjust to the island life :)

Tomorrow we take the driving course and hopefully pass our tests! I bought my car today! A cute white Toyota Celica :) Here's the lowdown, everyone here buys used cars and pretty much cycles through them in this huge lemon lot. Everyone buys/sells them for about $2-3k and you have to take into consideration the JCI (Japanese car insurance that is up every 2 years), road taxes and drivers insurance. One car down, one to go! Joe isn't being picky, just wants something that will get him to and from work. Little cars are pretty much the norm since the roads are pretty small and narrow!

Anyway, those are our adventures for today. Who knows what tomorrow will hold :)