Arriving in Okinawa

We have now been in Okinawa for 4 months! Man has that flown by and I have yet shared photos of our experiences so far. We left on the morning of the 4th of July and when we arrived in Okinawa, it was about 10:00pm July 5th. The flight was about 13 hours long, but Japan is 16 hours ahead of Arizona - so basically we are in the future!

Arriving in Tokyo was an experience in itself! We immediately felt the change when the signs were half English, half Japanese. It was amazing how quickly the Japanese people would come up to us and try to help us. Chris and I would just stand and look puzzled, then BAM!, someone was there to aid us in what little English they knew.

I have to mention the toilets here and my first encounter with them. We were waiting for our luggage, and I decided it was a good time to use the restrooms. First of all, the bathrooms are CLEAN! Also, the toilets have a remote with 5 or so buttons - one actually sprays you. I decided to stay away from that button, but when I finished my business, I had no idea how to flush. I must have taken a minute trying to figure that out. I finally pulled the lid down, and there was the handle. Who would have thought it would be just like our toilets! Anyway, the sinks I noticed were a little lower than I was used to, so I think this is when it struck me that I am taller than the average person here on island.

Our sponsor picked us up, took us to Burger King (yep they have a few different American places to eat on base), and then to our hotel. We were exhausted, but somehow were wide awake by 7am the next morning. Jet lag didn't seem to effect us except for the few days we napped for 3 hours...

Facebook is a wonderful tool at times. I have a friend who served a couple mission in Okinawa and gave me an email of some members who still live here. I called them on Saturday to arrange a ride to church. They were so kind and took Chris and I out to eat and experience a little of Okinawa. We had soba, which is like a noodle soup. Then they bought us ice cream at Jusco. We went to church with them on Sunday and had dinner at their house that evening. Needless to say, we were well taken care of!