Well, when I left off, our plane had just landed in Misawa. After we deplaned, collected our luggage, and went through customs, we stepped out into the small terminal and were greeted by several members of our new squadron. There was much shaking of hands and introductions. Of course, I didn't remember anyone's name. I was just thankful that I was able to brush my hair before we got off the plane, and had enough energy to smile. The newly instated squadron commander was there and said that if we need anything, all we need to do is ask.
Our sponsor, Sharon Gilmer, took us straight to the Misawa Inn and let us have an hour to freshen up before we needed to go start in-processing. We were pleasantly surprised when we walked through the door of our room and saw that the ladies from the squadron had hung up a welcome banner, and stocked our fridge with food and snacks. There were also some Japanese gifts, including a personal gift from Jon and Claire, who had been out visiting Misawa the week before. They definitely did a good job of making us feel welcome!
The next few days were a blur. We knew that James and the guys were going to deploy in a few short weeks and so we needed to get settled in as quickly as possible, so Sharon took us around to every place we needed to visit in order to make that happen. She went and looked at the available base houses with us and helped us pick out our unit. She also took us to the local cell phone provider and helped us get signed up for 2 Japanese iPhones. When we got hungry, she took us to one of her favorite local restaurants and pointed out the best grocery stores and things along the way. She even helped us pick out a car! As far as sponsors go, I'd say she gets an A+ because she was able to answer all of our questions and took care of our every need until we were ready to stand on our own two feet.
After all of the initial in-processing was finished, we participated in a 3 day program the base requires called "Right Start". Its purpose is to help us get acclimated and to teach us everything we need to know in order to be successful here in Misawa. The first day was pretty brutal - a full day of briefings from all of the base agencies explaining what they do and where to find them. The one fun thing about that day was taking a Japanese driving course and getting a driver's license!
The second day we went on a guided tour of Misawa city. Our guide took us to some of the local places of interest - a Buddhist temple and cemetery, a museum called The Samurai House where we learned about the way the locals lived before the area was "Westernized", and the local International Center where we learned more about Japanese culture and all of the cool places to visit in the country. At the end of the tour, they took us to a local shopping center where we got our first taste of what it's like to order food at a Japanese restaurant. Most of them have big display cases full of plastic recreations of all of their dishes so all you do is point to what you want to eat and they cook it for you. Over all, it was a good day and gave us a good sense of what the city is like.
James and I were pretty fascinated by their decorative man hole covers.
One of the biggest shocks of the day was learning the theory behind using the traditional Japanese "Squatty Potty." Thankfully, most places we went had western style toilets as well.
On Friday we went on a longer tour of the nearest large city called Hachinohe. It's about 45 minutes away, and offers much more in the way of shopping and entertainment. The first stop was a huge fish market where we had an hour to wander around and oogle at all of the live and wriggling specimens. I really don't like sea food so I was kind of dreading this part of the tour, but it was so bizarre that I couldn't help but enjoy myself.
After that, they took us to the train station and taught us how to buy a ticket on the bullet train. That may come in handy if we decide to take a vacation to one of the neighboring countries while we're here. One of the coolest things about the train station was the huge parade float they had displayed in the atrium. Our guides let us have a few minutes to be typical tourists and take pictures.
After that, we went to one of the largest and oldest Shinto shrines in the area and learned about the other national religion of Japan. They taught us how to purify ourselves by washing our hands in the fountain, and how to "pray" (offer up a wish for good fortune). James and I chose not to do that part, but walked around taking pictures instead. The architecture was very beautiful, and it was nice to be out in a more quiet and peaceful place after sitting on a bus and walking through crowded business and shopping centers for 4 days.
This iconic red symbol is a Torii Gate - it marks the entrance to all Shinto Shrines.
In addition to all of the welcome activities and in-processing, we tried to dive into the social scene of the squadron as well. I shared several meals with the ladies of the squadron and am already making friends with several of them. We also got invited to a surprise birthday party for one of the pilots at the O club on Saturday night. The theme was "Stay Classy" so we all dressed up and had some drinks and hors'dourves. Everyone was surprised that we had some formal clothes in our baggage and were able to dress up. Just goes to show that the Wentzels like to come prepared for anything!
The final thing we did during our first week here was try out one of the services at the chapel on base. One of the Christian couples we've clicked with said they like the chaplan at the 8:00 traditional service best, so that's where we went first. The chaplan was indeed very nice, but I think the service was a bit TOO traditional for our taste so we are planning on trying out the 11:00 contemporary service this coming weekend.
That evening was a bit more encouraging in terms of being spiritually fed. We tried out a couple's Bible Study attended by pilots from both squadrons. All of the people there were very nice and welcomed us right away. We are looking forward to going back and building up a strong support system here like we had in Phoenix.
Over all, it was a good first week. Somehow we managed not to let the jet lag or tiredness creep up and prevent us from doing all we needed to. Soon I'll tell you all about our second week when we got moved in and started to put our life together in earnest.
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