Octoberfest...?

Hello everyone! I finally seem to have a lot of time on my hands so I will try to recap a little of whats been happening in my life this past month. Once again it seems like so much has just happened to me but i want to try and tell you about the great weekend I had earlier this month. I heard its been an average October here but it seems like spring weather to me. Its still way too warm for a jacket but nice sweater weather. When its sunny it is really nice. I actually went swimming a couple of weeks ago(definitely for the last time of the year). The water was freezing but it was still a nice day to be at the beach. Overall its been a pretty wild month but I will get to that later.

10-10-09

So I decided to head out to Yokohama. The fourth largest city in Japan, it has fallen in the shadow of Tokyo but still has its own unique feel and livelihood. I got invited by some Americans i met on a Tokyo boat cruise. The couple work for the US Airforce(but they hardly fit the part) and live on a base on the west coast of Japan. The guy, Quinn had hair down to his back when i met him and his wife, Kristen is a bit of a treehugger too. Kristen first got the job because she is a speech therapist and works with kids. So I left home to meet them in Yokohama to check into a hotel they booked. Since we were coming from opposite directions equidistant apart I thought we would arrive around the same time but I ended up getting there pretty early. I got off at the stop we were meeting and with time to kill I went out and explored the area. I stopped by a few shops, looking at winter clothes and books. I was already starting to like Yokohama. I had a good feeling about the place. It is much smaller then Tokyo and is more friendly and traversable. I also thought it wasn't as cold. Soon I realized i got off at the wrong stop and rushed back to meet them. When I finally figured out where they were I got out off the train to find a smiling group of gaijins(foreigners) all staring at me. It took me a second to recognize Quinn and Kristen so I was a bit freaked out. Quinn has cut off all his hair! It turned out they all worked on the Airforce base in some form or another. After some brief introductions we grabbed some beers at the next 7-11 and headed to this US army hotel to drop off our bags. I was expecting just a normal hotel plopped in the middle of the city that was just owned by the US. But that was not at all what we found. We climbed a big hill to find a full US navy base. Yes I stayed on US soil for the first time in 3 months. It was also my first time entering an international US navy base so i was a little unnerved at what to expect. To my surprise it was very nice and everyone give or take a few was really friendly. The base stood on what was an old Horse race track. It was on a big hill so there were beautiful views of the city. The eerie part though was that is was just like being back in the states. Even all the money used was US dollars! The hotel was really nice though and it was only $40! We then ventured down to the heart of the city. We had originally come to celebrate Octoberfest, but since it was Typhoon season it got pushed back to Sunday. Kristen reserved a place at a Lebanese restaurant so we headed in that direction. Though we found we were to early so we walked to China town, the famous attraction in Yokohama. It was great! I was a bit hungry so I ordered fresh dumpling on the street, delicious! There was also some festival happening so there were a lot of dragons and bands parading down the streets. It was quite the scene but really cool. When we got to the Lebanese restaurant we were a little disappointed to find the only had a set menu but the ambiance was right and we were hungry. The place started to get packed and we soon found out why, there was a belly dancing show. It was pretty awesome. The dancers had a routine and incorporated the diners. It was really funny to see some of men getting a show while their wives were sitting in the next sit. By the end of the show every one was up dancing in a big circle. We stayed until closing and again perused the streets of the busy city. We stumbled across a Karoke place and unanimously decided to go for it. We eventually made it back to base, only a easy 15 minute taxi ride, and crashed for the night. The next day I woke up early and still couldn't believe i was on a US Navy base! It was surreal. I wasn't allowed to leave without my sponsors Kristen and Quinn so I explored the base. It had everything. A full restaurant, a movie theater, a Walmart equivalent, and even a Library! I was amazed by how American it all felt sitting in the middle of a big Japanese metropolis. After what seemed like forever we all left to go to the waterfront district of Yokohama. An Octoberfest celebration was happening that was supposedly the biggest in Japan. I ended up parting ways with the group at the train station though because I was invited to a BBQ actually more held in my honor! Mr. Sakama who works at the Board of Education wanted to invite the new jets in the city to his house. I was a little bummed to have to go but man was it worth it. Not only was it a feast but it was at a beautiful house in the countryside with an immaculate Japanese garden. It left me with a whole new meaning for the words Japanese hospitality. It was Will and I, four young women from the BOE office and Mr. Sakama with enough food, beer and Saki to feed 20 people!! We ate outside watching the sunset playing with his dog and two cats. The night ended early because it was getting cold and Mr. Sakama drank far too much. I thought the weekend was over but since it was a three day weekend I got a call from some other Jets in the south looking to play the game Settlers of Catan and since I have the big house. I was up for it though and we ended up staying up until 4am playing apples to apples! It was a lot of fun! I woke up on Monday morning realizing that I had three guys throughout the house I decided to make a big greasy American breakfast of hashbrowns and scramble eggs! Two of the guys, one being from Canada and the other from England, had never had an American breakfast and really enjoyed it. After recovering for most of the day I went out shopping and cleaned the house. As I realized the weekend was over, I thought were else but in Japan could have such a experienced and done so much in only two days!!! It was a good feeling, not that i always need to be out doing so much every weekend but rather just knowing this time spent here will be anything I make of it. Or rather any experience, life is just what we make of this time spent here...

To fill you in briefly on the crazy new events of my life, I broke my foot on Tuesday!! Yeah it sucks! I was playing basketball at my elementary school and they have small hoops so i was dunking but i was asked to play so I wasn't prepared and only had sandals!! I landed awkwardly and fractured my 4th metatarsal in my left foot. The doctor said I will have to be on crutches for a month. So I will be house bond for awhile since the train station would be a forty minute walk in my condition! Have a Happy Halloween!