Move In Day

 "Car Selfie" with my love.

First time in the car for this crew!

 Road tax ticket for the Express High Way.
 

I thought we drove here with the loaner car, but I guess we had already gotten ours back from the dealership in the morning before heading over here. So many things were going on, and I mixed that up, I know that I wrote in the earlier post that we went here in the loaner car. No, looking at these pictures, I see now that we did drive here in our car!

Anyway, the kids were so excited to see the new place, and couldn't wait to get inside. 

Here the first picture in front of our "new home".

 Having to use an elevator every day is something new for sure!

I wish that I would have taken a picture of every room with loaner furniture before we moved in our bags and everything, but I guess I didn't. Here are the few picture that I did take.

 Benjamin's and Isabella's room. 

What we can't see is a big dresser next to the wardrobe in the door, to the right.

Master bedroom..

 Master bedroom again, here with door into our bathroom.

So, more pictures will come when I have gotten everything organized. We had to go out and buy all the bedding right away, as we hadn't gotten our Express shipment yet. I put all our sheets, linen, pillows and duvets in there, but now we had to purchase new anyway. All these extra expenses...

We also had to go to the Loan Locker, where you can borrow pots and pans and a few necessities until your shipments are here. Lots of running around and lots of errands to get organized!!

Loan locker items....

 ...may be borrowed until your shipments get here.

After running errands and getting a few things from the loan locker, we had dinner and then made the beds. I wish I could have made their beds with the linen and theme that we had picked out and that we had extra prepared them for in their new rooms, but as that wasn't here, it had to be something else. We only needed to have something that works, so it had to be what was there in the store. Isabella was promised a "Frozen themed room" and Benjamin a "Avenger themed room", but as they had that coming in the shipments, we didn't have that to start, but they were happy with their new bedding. And now having to share room, it's not the same with the themed rooms...they will have to have a theme on their side of the room I guess...

Isabella in her "big girl bed"

Benjamin was also very excited on his side of the room!

So cold this first night! It was cold and rainy outside, and it was freezing inside. No rugs, mats or anything to cover these freezing cold floors, and no heat in the house! The next day we went out to get space heaters! It took a long time and a few stories in each bed to get them settled in their new "normal" bedtime routine. This will take awhile to get them used to, and we are all still trying to adjust to this. I was happy to finally have kids that went to bed back in Yuma with not much resistance, and just to tuck them in and kiss good night after the story. Finally- it was a long time coming for them to get to that point, where they had a hard time sleeping in their beds, falling asleep without me in the room, waking each other up etc etc. Now, when it's all been working, it's time to "mess" it all up again, and disturb the routine with something new. 

I'm hoping that it won't take too long for them to get used to this new bedtime routine, one story each that I read with them in their bed and get some snuggle time, then tucking them both in and staying in their room until they sleep, this will take some time to get them used to stay in bed and not mess around and talk to each other and keep each other awake...

It took some time, but when the little ones were sleeping, 

I could finally tuck my older one in for her first night in her new room.

Car Shopping

As we can't bring our cars here to Okinawa, the military won't pay for the shipments, most have to try to buy a car or two as soon as possible. First step was to get a SOFA license and then it's up to you if you want to go through a dealer ship or if you want to try to buy one privately. We like the fact that if you have a problem with the car, you can take it back to the dealership and if there is something to complain about, you get it fixed. When you buy it from a private person, it's mostly "buy as is" here, and we didn't want to deal with that, even if you can get some really cheap cars privately as people have to sell when they are leaving the island.

We had some help from one of my husband's friends that has been stationed out here for about 1 1/2 and on the Friday night, while we were still in the hotel (one week after we arrived on the island) we went looking into different cars and he took us to different dealerships. There are many different kind of cars one can get of course, but what is very different to back in the states, is that most of them here are very small! Small narrow roads, very small parking lots bring a need for smaller cars too. As we still have the twins in big car seats that take up a lot of space, we can't fit Cassie in the middle of them in the second row, so we need a car that has three rows of seats. Most of them have then absolutely no space in the back for groceries or other things. Most cars with three rows also have very thin little benches and not real seats in the third row..very frustrating. So we went looking at a lot of different models to get an idea about what we really wanted and needed.

There are some really cute smaller cars here that I never have seen before, but here we see them a lot.

Like a little space ship.

Very typical advertisement of what's included. This was not the one from our car.

So, we looked around a lot, and we soon realized that the one car that we most likely would end up getting would be a Mazda MPV, it had three rows, and had the most space for everyone. We compared the prices and years of the car from a couple of dealerships, and we soon had made our decision.

Chris headed back the next day to complete some paperwork so they could start the process with getting the car ready for us. There were some new things regarding buying a car here in Okinawa, that is very different to back in the States, that we (read my husband...) had to read up on: road taxes, JCI etc and I'm not going into details here what it's all about, but if one is interested you can read some of it here. New laws, new rules and new everything. Lots to keep in mind!

We thought that we made a good choice, and were happy with the car. We got it ready the following Tuesday afternoon. And after running some errands on Wednesday, the engine lights came on!! Not happy, we went back to the dealership, who sent us to their garage. There, we were told that there were three problems showing up in the sensors in the engine! What? How in the world could this car then pass the JCI inspection the day prior? We were not happy to say the least! They kept the car there, parts had to be ordered from the mainland. Meanwhile, we got an old van to borrow from the dealership, as we needed a bigger car to get our things out of the hotel, and moved over to the apartment, as we were supposed to move in on the Thursday!

Chris and I drove over with most things to the new base with the loaner car in the evening, and then we slept one more night in the hotel. On Thursday, March 12, we packed up the rest, and checked out of the hotel. Driving up to our new home with the kids in the loaner car wasn't what we had planned, we got everything out, and Chris had to drive back to give back the car and get our car back in the afternoon.

Not a great start of our new car, but we hope that it will now be alright! We are also a bit spoiled with having had such a great new car back in the States, so we are not used to this "used car" and that some things aren't as great as we would like, but we deal with it! That's just the way it is here, you buy used cars, and sell them again after your tour is over and leave them behind. Too expensive to ship cars here and to ship them back to the States.

We will also buy a second car later on, it's hard to get used to the fact that we only have one car, when you are used to have your own and be able to go places at all times, not having to plan around my husband's work schedule. The weekends have been less relaxation and exploring so far, but more running errands and grocery shopping...

Newcomer's Orientation

Our hotel where we stayed before we got our apartment.

On our first Wednesday here in Okinawa, we had to attend a day long event, called the "Newcomer's Orientation". Everyone over 10 years old have to attend, and that meant that Benjamin and Isabella had to stay in daycare that day. They were not very excited for this at first, but had a great time while they were there.

The hotel's Japanese garden from the entrance.

It was an early morning, as our sponsor picked me and the little kids already at 6.45am, as we had to be at the meeting at 7.15am. It was a long day of information. Most of it, very informative and interesting about the different bases here, the history of why and when, and every organization had their own 15 minutes with slideshows and handouts. Everything and anything you could think of being important while here. Where to go for what ever need you have. Hospital, schools, FRO, what to do in a typhoon, car shopping, driving rules, police, terrorist threats, Japanese culture class and a lot more! Well you get it, a lot of information about anything that they could think of that is important as a newcomer to know.

Half in the meeting, the kids/teenagers were taken on a tour around that main base that we were on, showing them the library, teen center and driving past a few other things. Cassie met up with a sweet girl that sat with her family at the same table as us, and they were the same age. Instantly hit it off the two of them, so nice!
In the end of this very long day, the ones that wanted could wait for the driving license test. You have to take a theory test to pass the license. You have to have a valid American driving license and SOFA status to be able to take it in the first place. It was pretty tricky, some new rules, and distances to remember, a lot of new signs etc. 40 questions. You got 20 minutes (or was it maybe 30?) to complete the questions, and then you had to wait for a while when they checked them. In advance, you had to fill out some forms, and also sign your signature etc, there is no picture on the license, and they were already prepared. They came back with a big bunch of yellow notes, those were the ones that didn't pass, and a much thinner bunch of the white laminated cards for the ones that had passed. He started to read out the names in alphabetical order of the ones that had passed, and with us being in the end of the alphabet, it was a nervous waiting. He had only a two cards left it looked like, (I stared at that bunch in his hand sitting in the first row) and then he called out my husband's name! Great, he had to pass as he has to drive for work, and that was all that mattered in this moment, and when I congratulated him, I almost overheard the name on the last card - MINE! Wohoo, we both passed!!

One thing to check off the list! You have to have a valid license to even buy a car, so with that, we now could start planning this next step, buying a car here. More about that later.

When I picked the kids up from daycare, they had had so much fun and didn't want to go home, so that was nice to see, as they were so hesitant to go there in the morning.

 

Ben was very busy building dinosaurs when I got there. 
Isabella was playing grocery store with a girl, but came running when she saw me so no picture of her playing. 

 

Thirsty kids!

Our First Look At Our New Home

So, back this is how it looked when Chris and I had our first look at our apartment. It was a very cold and gray day - kind of suited the mood we were in...We had as I mentioned before, two options. They were both in this tower. One apartment on the fifth floor, facing the other side, and one on the seventh floor, facing this way - count up, and you see our windows. As the other side were under construction, and we were told that they were going to continue working on that side until June, we really didn't want that. Then when we saw that the second option, on the 7th floor, had a tiny bit of water view - our decision was made.

 Close to the park, just crossing the parking lot.

I thought that I took a lot more pictures, but I guess after looking through them, that I missed taking a few pictures from some places.

This is standing in our living room - looking at the front door. 

To the left: our laundry room with new washer/dryer. Above there are two wall cabinets. Wall across - storage shelves. Opening to the right: entry into the kitchen.

Our dining/living room area. It's not very big.. and with the large white AC/fan unit taking up the biggest wall, makes it hard to place furniture as they can't be covered or furniture in front of them..

Standing by the window wall to the balcony in the dining area, by the far end of the breakfast bar. Notice the awful white linoleum floors that we have throughout the whole place. They are most likely put right on top of the concrete floor, and are freezing cold. Not to mention how slippery they are - kids have been slipping and falling several times already. They are used to run around barefoot, here it's still too cold on the floors to do that, and with socks it's a safety hazard. We don't use shoes inside, so I'm trying to tell them to use their Crocs for now until we find something better, but they are on for one minute, then they kick them off somewhere, uncomfortable to have on when playing, sitting on the floor..Hopefully it will soon warm up a bit more even inside - YES, I didn't mention - we do NOT have central heating in this building. Only AC. But with temperatures just in their 60's some days, (16-18C), it makes it COLD inside! 

So, as you can imagine, one of our first trips to the store was to buy two space heaters, that we can have on in the kid's rooms to keep them warm, and to be able to use in the big room too.

 Same corner in the dining area, here with the door to the short hall way with the bedrooms.

Standing in the living area, facing the kitchen. I DO love the long counter top and bar!

We haven't had luck with the kitchen in any of the houses that we have rented, and we do cook and love to entertain a lot, so the working space or I should say - lack of working space - in the kitchen has always been something that bothers us. Here, we have way more counter top and storage space than we are used too! Nice also that the appliances are new- far from great, but still new and functional. Now used to the gas stove top, it will take some time to get used to the electrical stove top - the pans just don't seem to get hot enough! And - we do miss our big fridge!

Here the balcony outside the dining area. It's not very big. It's only about 3x12 feet, so you can't really utilize it for anything else but put a small gas grill out there. Maybe get an outdoor rug to cover it up and a few plants later on. The safety net is not a very pretty sight, but at least it makes it safer for the kids. From the balcony, you can also see our designated parking spot for the car. The white car is the one from our sponsor that drove us there that day, but that's our spot. No garage here, not even covered parking and only one spot per family. If you get a second car, you have to use the visitor parking lot.

Trying to get a picture from the side view of the balcony, 

facing the playground and the water view in the background!

First room to the left - Cassie's bedroom. 

Second room to the left: the twin's bedroom. Now imagine two beds in there and the room is pretty much full.

I didn't get pictures of first room to the right - kids' bathroom. Standard with a tub. Second room to the right, master bedroom. Small, and with a connection small master bathroom, with shower. We also have a 3x4 feet big balcony - enough space to get out and open a door to the emergency exit stairs that run down the sides of the building. We also have a small storage room next to the entry door outside in the hallway. For some boxes and suitcases etc.

Coming down again walking to the car, looking up this hill and part of the heavy vegetation that is starting there. The "jungle" as we call it. In there is where there is a tomb and then there is no path to walk. And one should stay away from heavy vegetation- think large venomous Habu snakes and other creatures that I don't want to see could hide in the bushes...

Next tour I'll give you when we have gotten all our things and stuff organized. I should have taken pictures of the house when we just moved in, with just the loaner furniture in there, before we started to unpack and before we got our things everywhere. Oh well, there will be more pictures later to show you the furniture.

Housing Appointments & Disappointments...

I've been downloading some pictures from my "old phone" and the ones that I have taken from my "new phone" I can't download yet, so there is a lot of pictures still to come. When ever we were out and about Chris and I and had to leave the kids with Cassie in the hotel room, she would have my phone of course,  I took some pictures with my old phone. But when we are out and about all of us, I take the pictures with my new phone. But, as I can't figure out how to make my laptop accept my new phone as a device on here, I have to wait to sort the pictures out later when my hubby has had time to fix that for me.

Anyhow, therefore, I have to sort through some things that we have done to see what I could start writing about and also post pictures, as a post without pictures is pretty boring.

We arrived to Okinawa on Friday, February 27th, and on the following Tuesday, we had an appointment at the Housing Office at Kadena Airforce Base, who are the ones that regulates the housing for all the military branches here on the island. We had already back in the States filled out an application in advance for a house, with all the information, but this was for no use when we were here. They threw a lot of information at us for about 2 hours, and it was no happy news, or no news at all at that point..

• There were hardly any houses available at the moment at all.

• It's all luck and depending on what base your active duty member works on where you will be living and how fast you can get into housing. 

• It's normal to stay in a hotel and wait for 2-5 weeks.

• Even if you have pets that you have paid a huge amount of money to bring to the island, they won't accept that as a reason for you to get a house or to where you will live. 

• Everyone will get 2 different housing offers to choose from. One MUST accept one of the two. If you don't, you will have to leave the hotel on base immediately and live on your own expense out in town for three months, then you can be accepted to get on the waiting list again. You are with other words not guaranteed a house at that point, but only to be accepted on the waiting list. If you then are unlucky, you again will get two options that don't fit your needs....NO ONE can afford this, so you end up with having to choose one of the first two options that they give you.

• Everywhere on the bases State side, you can choose if you want to live off base and get your own home, rent or buy. Here it's different. Here everyone MUST live on base. ONLY if the base house occupancy is over 98% one MAY be allowed to live off base. 

• Biggest letdown for us. We only rate a 3 bedroom home in their rules. If you have three children following rules apply:

1. Children over 10 years of age rate their own room.
2. Children of the same sex 10 years and younger can share room until the age of 10.
3. Children of the opposite sex 10 years and younger, can share room until the age of 7.

Boom- that was not fun to hear! Our twins have never shared room, only in the very beginning in KS when they were newborn, but not since then. This will be a BIG change again, in the time when everything changes...

• My husband's orders said that he would be working on Camp Foster, but that's where the HQ is, and they wanted him to work on Camp Courtney, so instead of being on the list for a house on Foster, we now had to call and get on the list of houses on Courtney.

This didn't seem like so bad, as we had heard that there was a lot of openings at Camp Courtney, and another family that we have gotten to know and spent time with, had just gotten a 4 bedroom house in the nearby Camp Mc. T (housing only), so we thought our chances still were good at this point, as the lady we spoke to at the first housing appointment thought that they would "work with us" to get us into a bigger home right away, instead of letting us move in awhile when the kids have reached the age of 7.

So, the following Thursday, our sponsor drove my husband and myself up to Camp Courtney for the first time to have a look and to have a meeting with the office there, as they already had something to show us.

 Driving on a toll road, it costs about $5 one way to take the Express Highway.

Top big sign says "half price"! 

Something we learned at the Newcomers brief that we attended. It symbolizes someone chopping wood in half, you can see the two "wood pieces" flying in two directions on the top. A handy sign to know when one goes shopping!

Typical car lot.

 First time at "our" gate.

For you that don't know this, every Camp (USMC) , Base (Navy/Air Force), or Fort (Army) have guarded gates where you have to enter and exit. There is no way to get on any base without going through this security. There is ID check at all times. Military ID, that is. If you don't have one, you are not allowed on base. Here they check everyone's ID in the car, not only the driver as it sometimes is in the States. All active duty and all their dependents over the age of 10 should always carry their Military ID. If you are a visitor, you have to be sponsored by someone that has a valid ID.

Before we went to the housing office, we drove by my husband's new "office" so he could drop off some of his gear in a locker there instead of storing it at home.

 Close to the Housing Office, a big sport field.

To make a very disappointing meeting short, we were offered two apartments in a tower, as they call them here. One on the 5th floor and one on the7th floor. We were so upset! Not only would we loose a room for the kids if we got a 3 bedroom house, we would also loose any kind of outdoor space. Patio, a small yard space. We, who use our BBQ several times a week all year around, spend time outside, the kids have spent endless hours outside on our screened in patio and outside in the yard playing with water table, pool and so many meals at our patio set. Now- that would be all gone.. Keep in mind- we had to accept one of the two options!

So, here is a sneak peak on "our" tower. More pictures from inside will follow.

Not a very welcoming sight....