I’m working with students again, although this time they are a bit older and American.  I’m also helping them with a variety of subjects and my group today is taking their first exam of the year.  I think they’re a bit nervous, but the first test of the class is always more difficult since you don’t yet know how the professor tests.  Last semester was the first time I’d worked with some of these students and they took a lot of getting used to.  It’s much more difficult for me to keep the attention of these guys than the small Japanese children.  You’re trying to go over geology or english and they’re watching You Tube videos or talking about sports.  Um…guys?  You can’t just break into song and get all of their attention.  Well…I suppose I could….but that might be more awkward.  For the both of us.

In other news, I do enjoy walking and biking to work.  Since I only live 2 miles from campus, I get 4 to 8 miles a day.  Last semester I worked from 1-2pm and 6-9pm so it was a constant back and forth.  This year is similar although I’ve been riding in in the morning and driving in in the afternoon because by 1pm the weather is so hot and miserable, I’d be crazy to walk or ride.  Once fall is here and it cools down a bit…I’ll be able to get both sessions in again.  It’s also nice that there are plenty of restaurants and bars on the way so when DJ and I go out to eat (and drink) we can just walk.  No worries about drinking and driving here!

I’m getting it.  I’m stuck wearing my glasses until then which has been torture since my glasses are a prescription behind.  So all day I spend my time squinting and straining to see things.  I’ve had a headache since taking my contacts out, but it’ll all be worth it this 4th of July weekend!  I can’t even imagine being able to see.  I can’t imagine rolling over in the middle of the night and being able to see the alarm clock.  Of course, that would mean that it would have to be turned toward me and we don’t like that since it’s TOO.BRIGHT!  I don’t like light shining on me when I’m trying to sleep.  It’s bad enough that we have a streetlight shining into our bedroom and that we can’t put the shade down all the way because the cats would destroy it trying to get onto the windowsill.

But, anyway, I’m in my glasses (instead of the RGP contacts I’ve worn since I was 13) so that my eyes can go back to their normal shape.  Occording to the doc. RGP’s work by changing the shape of the cornea so that I can see.  And after 13 years…they’re a very different shape.  My eyes shouldn’t chang after surgery since then what would be the point?  Just once in the chair for me, thank you.  But, until then…glasses it is.  Yuck.

Thank god for hotels that allow them, really.  When we arrived in Japan we had to kennel the boys together for three weeks and it was horrible.  They were in a tiny box and got hardly any exercise.  I pretty much cried every day that we were seperated.  But here we get to keep them in the room with us.  I really really enjoy that, but it is somwhat like a giant kennel, just with DJ and I inside as well.  No real exercise and the type of place that allows us to keep pets…is a little less than a three star place.  But I’m not complaining!  So what if the sheets give us rug burn?  So what if our kitchenette is less than sterile?  I get to be with my family and I’m happy.

Sorry my posting has been so spotty lately.  We’ve just moved overseas!  We are now back stateside in North Carolina and are looking for a place to live.  Living in a hotel definitely has it’s drawbacks, but I should be used to it by now.  I’ll try to keep this updated as I settle in.  I will say though….hello reverse culture shock!  You always think that culture shock will be bad, but I always find reverse culture shock to be much worse.  Welcome home!

I’m taking care of a friends house while she’s deployed.  I had been over to the house right after she left and all was well.  About three weeks later I stopped by again to see how every thing was and I noticed that the power was out.  It was the dead of summer so I suppose it was more than just “noticed.”  It was more like, OMG.  IT.IS.FREAKING.HOT.IN.HERE.   So, after much searching I found both circuit breakers.  One is in the bathroom above the door (hard to find!) and the other is outside on the garage.  Flipping them got the desired result and the power (and more importantly – the AC) came humming back on.  I hadn’t thought much about it because she had been so proud of cleaning out the refrigerator (since the last deployment she hadn’t and everything went bad).  But, then I remembered.  The FREEZER!

First I drove back to my house and prepared myself with bags and gloves and then headed back to face it.  I thought about stopping at a convenience store and picking up a face mask and why I didn’t, I don’t know.  It was horrible.  It literally looked like a maggot bomb had exploded inside.  Chicken, fish, fruit, vegetables and unidentified organic matter was everywhere.  The smell was…that bad.  I actually had to unscrew and take out the panel at the back of the freezer to get all of the maggots.  It took me five hours of cleaning to get it done.  Holy God.

So, if you ever leave your house for more than two months,  don’t leave anything in the fridge/freezer.  AT ALL.  Please.

This house should be in the middle of another stressful international move.  Instead we are waiting around for the military to get its act together.  Here’s the deal….there are three actors playing a part in this, (we’re the fourth and powerless actor) my husband’s current job (in Japan), the future job (in NC) and Bupers (basically the HR department).  We have orders to go to North Carolina in November, however, the current job says that we cannot go until Bupers has someone to relieve us.  And Bupers has known about our impending move for two years.  Someone dropped the ball and we’re stuck.  The people in North Carolina say that if we don’t get there by December we can’t come at all…the current job says we’re not leaving until we have a replacement and Bupers thinks they might have someone to relieve us in February.  Oh great.  We’re doing as much as we can to try to speed up the process, but who knows.  Everything is up in the air.  Don’t you just love bureacracies?

In case your nipples don’t stand out on their own….you can buy them!

I haven’t abandoned you, sweet internet.  I’ve just been extra busy lately as the summer session of school started, and that begins with some intensive courses for my students.  I’ve had students coming and going on vacation and I went on a vacation!  But, I’ll start with the past and in the next few days, I’ll work my way up to the present.  With me?  Here goes!

The Baystars game:

A few Saturdays ago, DJ and I, along with Barabara and her kids, joined a group of people from his job to go to the Baystars game.  We had fun, but it was hot!  It was the first really hot day of summer this year and we were in full sun with no seats (standing room only).  Luckily a couple of people brought umbrella’s so we staked out under those.  The Baystars were getting their butts kicked so we only stayed 5 innings.  

I did partake in several cups of shaved ice.  It’s the kind you find in Hawaii served with sweet fruity syrup to drizzle on top.  Yum.

I had a TON of sunscreen on.  My skin could not have handled all that sun.  Thank God for SPF  55.

The fans in Japan are WAY more into the game than anyone you’d find in the U.S.  The crowd was clapping and chanting and screaming and way crazy.

But they LOVED every minute of it.  Even though Yokohama was losing.

Afterward we had dinner at a Brazilian place.  I especially liked the pineapple as you can see from the serious look in my face.  Trying to eat it all!

Once we were all full, we wandered around Yokohama and enjoyed the night.

That’s all of us, minus the two people taking pictures.  Good times!

Sometimes you can get a better deal on base when it comes to food.  And they really try to stress that the commissary is MUCH cheaper than out in town, but it’s not always.  Last month button mushrooms were almost $8 a pint and were something like $2 off base.  I don’t know what the price of peaches are off base, but it can’t be more than this.  $6.29 each.  OMG.

I was walking home from class the other night and saw the most beautiful sunset. The sun was a gorgeous color red. It’s just what you think of when you picture the land of the rising sun. Nevermind the fact that it was setting. Later the moon was amazing. Sadly my cell phone doesn’t do them justice, but you get the jist.