First Impressions

We have now been here for 3 days and I thought I would write a little about our first impressions.

-Here on base EVERY SINGLE BUILDING looks exactly the same. They are all made out of cement and painted an off white, yellowish color. It is hard to find things only a few of them a have a sign in front that is visible from more than 10 feet away.

- Directions: Speaking of hard to find, we have noticed that there are no addresses really, people just give directions such as "go down the 58 and turn right after the statue of the funny looking man in the weird outfit" or "turn after you see the red vending machine". I am super nervous to drive off base, not only because of the whole driving on the left side, but because I won't know how to find anything.  We were looking at cars and I saw that one had a GPS and got excited. Then the guy tells me they are all in Japanese so they won't really do you any good. Perfect!

- Toilets: We went to church today and it is such a beautiful building. It was built only about 3 months ago so everything is brand new. We went into the restroom and noticed the toilets were plugged into the wall. Then, in one of the stalls they have a super high tech bidet (Matt, you would be in heaven!). They have a little screen thing on the wall and you can pick what temp you want the water, what direction you want it to spray in, whether you want a wide spray or narrow spray... seriously intense. I didn't try it yet, but plan on it in the near future.

- The two handed hand over: If a Japanese person hands you something that is meaningful, they give it to you with 2 hands. Anything from your change at the cash register to my sandwich that they made wrong the first time at the food court. I am sure it is slightly offensive to them when I only take it with one hand, but I am trying to remember. The other day the cleaning ladies came by and asked if we wanted any services. I said no, but asked if she would take this. I then handed her a poopy diaper wrapped in a baby wipe. She took it with two hands and then realized what I was handing her and probably had second thoughts about adding that second hand. I felt kinda bad afterward, but she just said "ok"with a very strange look and I walked away.

- Church: The ward we went to today was super nice. The people were so friendly and welcoming and happy to have another family around. It probably won't be the actual ward we are in which is unfortunate. There are 3 military branches on the island they make up a military district so everything is in English. The Elders Quorum President went up to Curtis and asked if he was going to be in the ward for sure because he wanted Curtis to teach the lesson next Sunday. I told him it is because he has such a wonderful spirit about him. He was happy to say we didn't know where we would be so...sorry.

- Driving: I have to admit I am super terrified to get behind the wheel and drive on the other side. I feel like I am 16 again and the whole driving thing is just a bit scary. There have been multiple times I see a car driving down the road and I look in and for a split second I think "Ah, no one is driving that car!" We get our drivers license tomorrow, but first have to pass a test. Hopefully it's easy because I haven't taken a test in a long time.

- A few things I am really going to miss: WinCo. It really was my favorite store because of all the little bins with a plethora of snacks. Calling family at any time- this 15 hour time difference is a killer. Hey, if that is all I can think of right now, we must be doing really well!

My goal is to do something new at least once a week. I am telling all of you so you will hold me to it.

We will add more pictures soon.