Back in Jer-pan
Well, I made it back safe and sound...and so did my Kitty!!! I am so glad to have her here - makes it feel like home!
The flights are getting easier, and I didn't have any jet lag going either way this time. Kitty, on the other hand, would probably disagree on both counts. She didn't get to get out of her cage at all at LAX so she was trapped for about 20 hours (since we had to get to the airport so early). She had water and a little food, but was afraid of both. I tried to teach her about the water thing before we left but she wouldn't lick it until I put liver suasage on the end. Then when it was sticking into the cage she didn't like it at all. Oh well...she survived. When we got to the airport here in Japan we had to go to the quarantine people and they had to inspect her and our paperwork so they let her out of the cage. When they finished they said that she had to go back inside so we could leave the airport. I was sure she would refuse, but she hopped right in. She is such a good dog!!! As soon as we got outside I took her to the grass to do her thing, but she was so thirsty that she started licking the ground on the way there. So we got some water in a bowl and she was happy.
I rented a van to get her home since they don't allow pets on the base-bus from Narita or the Japanese trains. As I got in the car I realized I had never thought about getting directions to the base and had no idea how to get home!!! Brilliant, I know! Fortunately most cars in Japan have navigation systems. Unfortunately, they are in Japanese. Luckily the woman who gave me the keys knew how to work it, put in my address, and I could just follow the pictures.
When we got home, Kitty sniffed the entire place and bravely walked through my hallways (one of her Florida fears). She was happy to find her bed upstairs. I hopped in to find that the bed was only about 70 degrees. Not a happy discovery since the whole house was about 40 degrees. Apparently with the weak Japanese electricity for the waterbed heater and no heat on in the house for two weeks, the bed cooled way down. I cranked up the room heat, grabbed my sleeping bag from Josh's room and slept like a baby. Kitty did not. Every time I rolled over, she perked up her ears and looked at me like, "Why are you sleeping in the middle of the day?" She has been getting better, but I swear the dog has jet lag! She's also been whining to go out in the middle of the night which is a big no, no! I gave in the first few days because of the torture I put her through on the plane, but we are going to put a stop to that very soon. Anyway, that is the story of the dog getting to Japan.
I think the flight was better this time because right before I left the house I checked on the internet to see where the empty seats were and picked one on an aisle where there were two empties next to me. It was great! I also went right to sleep since I knew I would be getting here at night time, so that probably helped too. Live and learn. :)
Josh is scheduled to come back on the 18th and I have been enjoying the solitude. It's been nice, but I don't know how much I will like it after he leaves. It is weird not having a human roommate. This week I haven't had a car (they replaced the top over break but I can't get it back because they are closed for New Years until the 6th or 7th) so I have gotten lots of exercise. I walk to and from the train station at home (about a block away) and work (lots longer). It is so funny that on the train and in the train stations everyone is soooooo silent! I keep thinking about how noisy it would be if there were the same number of people on an American train and it cracks me up. As do the sleeping Japanese (standing, sitting, wherever) and the grown men and women text messaging on their phones so they don't make any noise talking.
Today I went and signed up for my Japanese class. I talked four other new teachers into going with me so we signed up together and bought our book. The class is free and lasts 10 weeks, so we'll see what happens after that. Not sure what I'll do about it when Josh gets back, but I'm sure he won't mind starting school a little later on those days (hopefully I'll get better at staying up later).
My team at school is still crazy! They are whining and complaining about signing one single assignment book as if it is the end of the world. I do not understand what the problem is and I told them so. They say it isn't working, but I disagree. He's had his homework in my class every day since we started. They are documenting everything so they can blast the mother and principal at the end of the nine weeks so they don't have to keep signing. Freaks!!! Al wants to bring in the union because "We aren't getting administrative support on this issue." He is nuts! He has also decided that his research class and my research class are much more difficult than Peggy and Victoria's, so he is going to tell them that we have to switch at the semester. I'm sure they will jump at the chance! Never a dull moment around here...
Oh yeah...and we had two staff meetings this week about one of the Kitty Hawk sailors who beat a 56-year-old Japanese woman to death in town. It is becoming a major international affair and could cause all sorts of problems for the military in Japan. They instituted a period of reflection and we have to be in by midnight until Monday (not a problem since I fall asleep here by 8ish). No one knows the whole story, but they have a guy in custody and will probably hand him over to the Japanese government soon. (Jay, did you hear anything about it down there - they said Okinawa was reflecting too but I think only the Navy bases are.)
Well, gotta run. It's time for our TGIF dinner at the Italian restaurant on base...and I can actually go this week! :)
The flights are getting easier, and I didn't have any jet lag going either way this time. Kitty, on the other hand, would probably disagree on both counts. She didn't get to get out of her cage at all at LAX so she was trapped for about 20 hours (since we had to get to the airport so early). She had water and a little food, but was afraid of both. I tried to teach her about the water thing before we left but she wouldn't lick it until I put liver suasage on the end. Then when it was sticking into the cage she didn't like it at all. Oh well...she survived. When we got to the airport here in Japan we had to go to the quarantine people and they had to inspect her and our paperwork so they let her out of the cage. When they finished they said that she had to go back inside so we could leave the airport. I was sure she would refuse, but she hopped right in. She is such a good dog!!! As soon as we got outside I took her to the grass to do her thing, but she was so thirsty that she started licking the ground on the way there. So we got some water in a bowl and she was happy.
I rented a van to get her home since they don't allow pets on the base-bus from Narita or the Japanese trains. As I got in the car I realized I had never thought about getting directions to the base and had no idea how to get home!!! Brilliant, I know! Fortunately most cars in Japan have navigation systems. Unfortunately, they are in Japanese. Luckily the woman who gave me the keys knew how to work it, put in my address, and I could just follow the pictures.
When we got home, Kitty sniffed the entire place and bravely walked through my hallways (one of her Florida fears). She was happy to find her bed upstairs. I hopped in to find that the bed was only about 70 degrees. Not a happy discovery since the whole house was about 40 degrees. Apparently with the weak Japanese electricity for the waterbed heater and no heat on in the house for two weeks, the bed cooled way down. I cranked up the room heat, grabbed my sleeping bag from Josh's room and slept like a baby. Kitty did not. Every time I rolled over, she perked up her ears and looked at me like, "Why are you sleeping in the middle of the day?" She has been getting better, but I swear the dog has jet lag! She's also been whining to go out in the middle of the night which is a big no, no! I gave in the first few days because of the torture I put her through on the plane, but we are going to put a stop to that very soon. Anyway, that is the story of the dog getting to Japan.
I think the flight was better this time because right before I left the house I checked on the internet to see where the empty seats were and picked one on an aisle where there were two empties next to me. It was great! I also went right to sleep since I knew I would be getting here at night time, so that probably helped too. Live and learn. :)
Josh is scheduled to come back on the 18th and I have been enjoying the solitude. It's been nice, but I don't know how much I will like it after he leaves. It is weird not having a human roommate. This week I haven't had a car (they replaced the top over break but I can't get it back because they are closed for New Years until the 6th or 7th) so I have gotten lots of exercise. I walk to and from the train station at home (about a block away) and work (lots longer). It is so funny that on the train and in the train stations everyone is soooooo silent! I keep thinking about how noisy it would be if there were the same number of people on an American train and it cracks me up. As do the sleeping Japanese (standing, sitting, wherever) and the grown men and women text messaging on their phones so they don't make any noise talking.
Today I went and signed up for my Japanese class. I talked four other new teachers into going with me so we signed up together and bought our book. The class is free and lasts 10 weeks, so we'll see what happens after that. Not sure what I'll do about it when Josh gets back, but I'm sure he won't mind starting school a little later on those days (hopefully I'll get better at staying up later).
My team at school is still crazy! They are whining and complaining about signing one single assignment book as if it is the end of the world. I do not understand what the problem is and I told them so. They say it isn't working, but I disagree. He's had his homework in my class every day since we started. They are documenting everything so they can blast the mother and principal at the end of the nine weeks so they don't have to keep signing. Freaks!!! Al wants to bring in the union because "We aren't getting administrative support on this issue." He is nuts! He has also decided that his research class and my research class are much more difficult than Peggy and Victoria's, so he is going to tell them that we have to switch at the semester. I'm sure they will jump at the chance! Never a dull moment around here...
Oh yeah...and we had two staff meetings this week about one of the Kitty Hawk sailors who beat a 56-year-old Japanese woman to death in town. It is becoming a major international affair and could cause all sorts of problems for the military in Japan. They instituted a period of reflection and we have to be in by midnight until Monday (not a problem since I fall asleep here by 8ish). No one knows the whole story, but they have a guy in custody and will probably hand him over to the Japanese government soon. (Jay, did you hear anything about it down there - they said Okinawa was reflecting too but I think only the Navy bases are.)
Well, gotta run. It's time for our TGIF dinner at the Italian restaurant on base...and I can actually go this week! :)
1 Comments:
Jennell, thanks for the update. I knew you made it back, but it was great to hear how it went. Poor Kitty, she's such a mixed up dog, with her name and all. Now she's on a different time zone altogether, she lives in the Orient, and she doesn't speak Japanese. I hope they have dog therapists there. Hopefully, you'll do better with Josh and not get him all mixed up, too. lol
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