Getting Familiar

Not bad for civilian attire! Dan isn't used to being able to wear T-shirts, flip flops and shorts.

We've been spending a lot of time going around with our sponsors Russell and Tonya and their 2 wonderful kids (4 and 6 yrs old) these past few days...getting familiar with the various bases (since they are spread out into "camps" throughout the island), the essential shopping areas like commissary, exchange, post office...checking out eateries and shopping off base...and learning which are the best tasting drinks in the vending machines (which you can find at every turn). "San-A" is a grocery store off base with much better priced quality produce (which I would expect anyways compared to the base commissary). We had delicious gyros on a rooftop, yummy sushi at Yoshihashi's, and yesterday it was girls day out with Tonya and her daughter at Zen restaurant right by the beach. We stopped by the "Pirate Ship Park" and "The Bunny Store" which is like a small version of Babies R Us.

Sunday we were able to check out a local church with Tonya's friend who happened to go there as well. Once again we run into a pastor from CA who was happy we understand him when he mentions In-N-Out and Albertos! haha. Its amazing how many children there are, it seemed like they outnumbered the adults! Everyone says Oki is a wonderful place to raise kids, and its clear that the parent community is very strong. Plus, judging by the the massive amounts of well kept playgrounds everywhere, the island loves to cater to the kids. One thing you'll notice is that all children are taught to raise their hand whenever they are crossing a street, warning drivers to stop. Nice habit for the kids to learn.

Anyways, Dan began work yesterday and is still in check-in process. We still have yet to connect with an agency and look around for off base housing as a back-up option (in case we don't like the on base housing we will be offered). Especially with the baby on the way, we prefer to live on base for convenience sake, so pray we get offered something great! Be back soon...