This week was a crash course in Sasebo base life and Japanese culture. For those who are not familiar with AOB-Indoc (a.k.a. Indoctrination), newcomers to most bases are required to attend a 3-4 day seminar on what the base has to offer, plus a session or two on the customs of the country. Our Indoc began on Tuesday and officially ended Friday afternoon. The first day and a half we learned about the different organizations present on Main Base and Hario.
The last half of Day Two was a 2 1/2 hr class on Japanese customs and phrases. Our instructor, Eriko, was very energetic and quirky. She taught us how to use chopsticks, order food in Japanese, and explained the reasons for some of the customs most Americans aren't used to. I was reminded that the Japanese are very germ conscious and it is normal for them to wear "surgical masks" when they are sick and moving about in public. She also explained that tipping is considered an insult to the Japanese because monetary gifts are usually given in an envelope (or "en-vah-wop" as she pronounced it :) during formal occasions like weddings, etc, not arbitrarily left on a table after a meal.
The following day Eriko took us on a "field trip" around Sasebo City via bus. We visited a shrine where she explained the procedure for making a wish to the spirits at the altar. I've always been fascinated by the rituals surrounding worship at shrines and temples. By the way, shrines and temples are two different things, both in physical appearance and function. Shrines are for those who want to wish for things to happen to them in their lifetime. A temple is for honoring and praying for the dead. A small wish at a shrine may be granted if you drop a coin in the box. A bigger wish or dream may come true if you write down your wish and hang it on a rod next to the altar. Most coins that are dropped in the box are 5 yen coins, one of the smallest coin denominations. Eriko explained that the Japanese are "very superstitious, and also very cheap."
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After visiting the shrine we went to the ticket center at Kujukushima just to see where it is located for future visits, and then to the Free Zone at Huis Ten Bosch (a Dutch amusement park right next to Hario Village). There were no crowds since we were visiting on a weekday. We had about 30 minutes to wander around. In that time we discovered that there were many promising places to eat, including a Red Lobster, and a huge plastic hamster ball attraction that my son got to experience for 500 yen.
Our next stop was a supermarket/mall called Aeon that was four or five stories tall. We had lunch on the food court level and spent the remaining time in the game room that was PACKED with video games. Our tour ended with our guide pointing out every landmark and store of interest on the ride back to the base.
Friday was the day most of us newbies had been waiting for...the driving course and test. The instructor for this last part of Indoc was another Japanese lady, whose name I didn't catch, who was very nice and very good at her job. She spent an hour summarizing the road rules of Japan and emphasizing facts that would be on the written test. The written test was given five to ten minutes after the class and I am happy to report I got a 100%! My husband also passed, but I believe he scored better on the driving exam than I did. The hardest part (for me) was backing into a 90-degree parking space and trying to remember that the turn signal is on the right side of the steering wheel AND you must push it DOWN for right and UP for left. My husband and I are now proud owners of a driver's license.
Today (Saturday) we went car shopping. After two weeks of taxi rides, walking, train riding and car shopping, we were able to make a deal on a red Mazda MPV from Tamie's Auto. I highly recommend this place. Extremely nice couple, and the owner (Tamie, a guy) was willing to budge a bit on the price which is not common in Japan! He also handed us the car title without any upfront payment so that we could get it registered on base. He told us we could pay when the car was ready for pickup in about 3-4 days. We're constantly blown away by how trusting the Japanese are.
If I were to sum up my favorite accomplishment of this busy week, it wouldn't be my perfect driving test score, completing Indoc or finding a car. It would be....wait for it......successfully using a traditional Japanese toilet in the train station! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, only women who have experienced this will know what I'm talking about, hence the word 'squat' in the title of this blog post. I'll just leave it at that.
Until next time...
A couple days ago we decided to get a cell phone in the hopes that we would be able to use it as a hot spot for internet when we move into housing in a couple of weeks. We stopped by the cell phone kiosk located in the food court on base and spent about an hour learning that the calling plans available in Japan pale in comparison to what we can get in the U.S. However, I ended up with a new iPhone that will serve as its own hot spot, but after 7 GB will slow down to what could possibly be GTMO internet speed. I will still make good use out of it considering I can talk to family and friends with Facebook and Skype from my phone, check exchange rates, and ask where the toilet is using my handy translator app. I did use that app today, by the way. :)
Later that afternoon we went car shopping. The process of shopping for a car from the base is interesting in that it is useless to look for a vehicle any bigger than a Nissan Cube. The average size of a Japanese car is a lot smaller than what you would find in the USA. Most Americans stationed in Sasebo spend between $1,000-$6,000 for a used car with low mileage. We looked at cars that were 10-15 years old that only had 30,000-40,000 miles on them! What was more surprising is that the car dealer is happy to pick you up and drive you to the dealership to shop their inventory. In our case, a nice lady came to pick us up just outside the base, along with a new friend of ours, and drove us 25 minutes to a very small car lot in the back of a vacated fish market. Her English skills were decent and she motioned with her arms how many of the cars on the lot were for sale. Another salesperson who spoke no English followed us around and confirmed prices and mileage on the cars we asked about. He did not budge on any price! They will also not sell you a car that they feel is not in top condition to drive...even if you offer to buy it anyway and fix it yourself! After a good 30-40 minutes on the lot we didn't make any purchases and we were driven back to the base. The nice lady even offered to drop us off at a restaurant since it was dinner time, but we told her that wasn't necessary. At the end of the day I still had a new phone and a meal from Chili's, so I was happy. :)
If you have read my blog on The GTMO Life, I welcome you to our new life chapter in Sasebo, Japan. I've visited Japan before, but that was in 1992 and I was a 16-year-old exchange student living in Hiroshima for 6 weeks out of that summer (Thank you, YFU, Mazda, and Dad). It was a memorable experience, and I doubted that I would have the chance to visit Japan again let alone LIVE there for an extended period of time. But, here I am!
Today marks our third day in Sasebo (located on Kyushu in the Nagasaki prefecture), but I count it as our first official day. 'Why' you ask? Well, if you've never traveled to the other side of the world, you may not be familiar with the phenomenon (aptly nicknamed by our housing counselor as "the fog") of severe jet lag. Since getting off the plane in Fukuoka, we have been wandering around like zombies trying to force our bodies to believe that it's really day instead of night and vice versa. We were lucky to have Saturday and Sunday to simply focus on staying awake during Japan daytime hours and holding onto sleep during the night.
Today I thought I would be proactive and walk to the elementary school (located outside the Main Gate) to get my son registered for classes. My son and I took the 10-15 minute walk from the Navy Lodge to the Main Gate in sunny 45-degree weather. Quite the change from the Caribbean! So far I've found the base to be pedestrian friendly and rather scenic considering the base is shaped like a horseshoe around the water and there are mountains on either side of the base. I barely made it off the base when I was detoured to security to inquire about getting the proper pass to get back on base. Unfortunately, they don't give out temporary passes and they had to call my husband's sponsor to pick us up. Then we walked all the way to the other side of the base to meet my husband and explained that his presence was necessary to get me on and off base until I acquired my own ID card. In the end, the school was kind enough to drop the paperwork off at the Navy Lodge. From there we had lunch at the food court which is twice the size of the Taco Bell/KFC/A&W joint in GTMO. After that we split up and I killed some time exploring the library and Navy College areas until we met up again at Housing for "The Briefing." The best thing that came out of this two hour meeting was that we will most likely end up in Hario Housing (located 20-25 minutes from Main Base) in a unit much bigger than our humble GTMO dwelling. YAY!!
Aside from the errands I have to run to get us settled on base, I started making a mental list of the details that I found interesting and endearing about the Japanese culture. Some of them were new discoveries and others were reminders of things I witnessed when I was here 20 years ago. The problem is that I can't remember most of them long enough to get them in this blog! Note to self: Carry a small notebook. Here's what I DO remember:
1. Humble, welcoming disposition from every Japanese person with whom I've come in contact
2. The Japanese "haw haw haw" chuckle is for real. It's hilarious!
3. "Hai dozo!" means "here you are"
I will now occupy myself with other activities in an effort to avoid sleep before 7pm!
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