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Hello All, 12 FEB 99
We finally received our first big snowfall of the year today
- about 12 inches
and it is still snowing. When I headed into the office at
5am today (Friday) there was already about six inches on the ground.
Thank goodness for the proclivity of 4WD vehicles in Japan. Ours
is a 1990 Toyota minivan. We hope to add a Nissan Terrano (like a
pathfinder) to our stable of vehicles this weekend.
We've been living off base since the 29th after spending a
little over two
weeks at the Misawa Inn. The Inn was comfortable - but incredibly
small. Think of a small one- bed hotel efficiency unit and you get
the idea.
Upon arrival in Misawa on 13 January we were met by our sponsors - Roger and Barbara Tinius (who have been great to us) - and by my new boss, Lt Col Barnes (we were also met by about five inches of snow). Did I mention that we were stuck in Chicago overnight because our plane had mechanical problems? Actually that delay turned out to be a God-send because we were able to upgrade from coach to business-class for the trip to Tokyo. Now I know how the other half flys - and I don't want to go back. We also had bulkhead seating which meant we had alot of room for Chrisopher to roam around. Of course the seats fully reclined, we were served filet mignon on white table clothes with real utensils and little crystal salt and pepper shakers. Oh - of course we also had unlimited no-cost access to the array of fine wines and other drink selections (not that I had anything to drink on the way over).
Despite all the room and the pampering - it was an incredibly long flight (about 13 hours) and we were glad to be done with it. Of course after we landed in Tokyo (at about 1230pm) we had to switch airports for our connecting flight to Misawa Air Base. Thank goodness for the driver who met us at baggage claim and hand-delivered us to our next destination.
Enough about the travel.
Our first order of business upon arrival was to get a drivers license and a set of wheels - not necessarily in that order. The paper shuffle and building hopping that goes with buying, registering, and insuring a vehicle is a quite a hassle - but worth the effort.
On our second full day on-island I was taken to my office for what I thought was a brief look-see that turned into a 9-hour workday. It hasn't slowed down since. Although I am entitled to 40-hours (one week) of leave to get settled I have only used 8 hours worth to accept delivery of our household goods at the rental (all the goods arrived undamaged!).
We live about 10 kilometers from the base (you do the math if you want it in miles) in a small (1150 Sq Ft) three-bedroom house. It has hardwood flooring throughout - built in 1995. The house is heated by four kerosene room heaters (vented thankfully) and the gas range is fed by two propane tanks strapped to the house (no smoking within 50 feet of the building please). In accordance with Japanese tradition the toilet is in a separate room from the bathroom. Neither area is heated (quite an initial shock). We manage by using an electric space heater around the clock in the main bathroom - and the toilet is supplied with a heated seat (you haven't lived till you sit on one of these - it makes you forget that the rest of the room is cold).
Enough bathroom humor
The house also has a large (and unheated) foyer, and it has a very small but functional one-car garage (not too many of those around here). In line with Japanese culture - we have grown accustomed to removing our shoes and boots in the lower foyer area before donning our slippers to enter the main foyer and the rest of the house. We have found that slippers are essential in order to keep the tootsies warm - normal socks just don't cut it on these wood floors. We do have some carpeting (used) thanks to base supply - just enough to make the main living areas more cozy. Still alot of uncovered wood flooring around.
Although we live in a three bedroom house - we use the largest bedroom as a living room (since it adjoins the very small combined living/dining area). Everything we shipped fits into the house - though there isn't an empty shelf or available wall space anywhere.
We only get one american TV and radio station (AFN - Armed
Forces Network). The Japanese stations are fun to watch even though we
don't understand much of the language yet. Thank God for VCRs. AFN
does not have any advertisements or traditional commercials - just official
announcements and warnings about the dangers of this and the dangers of
that.
AFN does, however, have frequent snippets of war history and general
Americana trivia - which I enjoy. I still think at some level AFN
is the radio-wave equivalent of salt peter - making sure the masses stay
in line and adhere to the rigid and overly moralistic guidelines issued
by the military (I don't sound that liberal do I - I'm really a conservative
at heart - but I have my limits).
AFN complaints aside - we are really enjoying our tour here so far. Patti and I have a regular babysitter which lets us get out and sample local restaurants once a week. So far we have sampled a traditional Japanese restaurant (Patti even ate sushi) and a couple of local Chinese restaurants (nothing like the Chinese places in the states though). We have also enjoyed a couple of dinners at the Enlisted Club on base. Last evening we had Mongolian BBQ - it was great!
Christopher is really enjoying himself. Fortunately the next
door neighbors (Americans) also have a young boy with a stay-at-home Mom.
Patti and Christopher have already enjoyed several afternoons with the
neighbors. They even venture out to local shopping malls together.
A very fortunate situation for us - especially since I have our
only vehicle for 12 hours each day.
The on-base facilities are very nice - but the hours are very
limited relative to what
we are used to in the states. The commissary has a reasonable
selection of food - though you can't depend on seeing the same things each
week. Flexibility in shopping is a must. I think the
cost is actually less than a stateside grocery store - however the
high cost of doing anything off-base more than makes up for cheap on-base
groceries.
The air base is very large. In addition to being host to the
military unit I am assigned to (about 1200 people), there are an additional
8000 or so U.S. military personnel associated with the main tenent of the
base - the 35th Fighter Wing. The 35th is made up of two squadrons
of
F-16 fighters which are largely assigned to assist in the defense
of South Korea. The base is also host to elements of the Japanese
Air Self Defense Force which fly F-1 and F-4 fighters for the traditional
defense of Japan. It is fun to see the fighters take off and land - they
make a heck of a noise.
I wish I could say more about work - especially since it is occupying 10-12 hours of my day. As I mentioned in our Christmas letter I am the first civilian Deputy Director of Operations for this particular unit. I am also the second highest ranking civilian here - so in addition to managing 600-or-so military folks I also assist in the management and administration of the 15 agency civilians assigned to the unit. Suffice it to say that I have alot to learn and that managing at this level is a far different experience than I have had with my prior management positions.
Well, your eyes and brain must be growing weary of my ramblings
by now - so I'll sign off. Of course, there is much more to say that
I'll save for future correspondence.
Although each day here increases our belief that we made the right
decision to move to Japan, we miss our friends and family very much.
We hope you are all healthy and faring well this winter. We'll try to correspond
frequently and send pictures when we can (we haven't had the cameras out
yet).
Sayonara for now,
Terry, Patti, & Christopher
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