Our First Christmas in Okinawa

It has been far too long since I have last posted.  Not only do I think so, but my sister isn't shy about telling me so..

Well, Christmas here in Okinawa was bittersweet.  It has been SO nice having the week off from school.  I was able to get some things done around the house and just relax awhile!  I go back on January 6th so 1 week left of vacation with the Hodens!  (save that for another post)..  On Christmas Eve day, Tony and I did a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y nothing.  And loved it.  We recently (I know, we're behind the times) ordered Netflix, which has been eye opening!  There is so much AFN (Armed Forces Network) that we or anyone can take.  I have memorized every commercial unwillingly.  It's painful.  As I hate to admit my ignorance to the great invention of Netflix, I originally thought that it meant we were able to "rent" 3 movies at a time and they would be sent to us in the mail.  Apparently that isn't the case anymore.  So Christmas Eve day we started two TV series "Breaking Bad" and "The Walking Dead"… hooked.

Anways, back to Christmas.  We had an enjoyable evening.  We loaded up on the veggies and protein and made a pretty good chicken stir fry.  After about an hour of chopping and preparing the vegetables, we decided to open presents.  One of the presents was a vegetable chopper - boy that would have been nice about an hour ago!!!  We played Christmas music with a candle lit dinner and felt very blessed.  Of course, we missed being home - but reminded ourselves all the good things happening right now and how blessed we are to have such amazing family and friends.

Christmas 2014?  See you in Decorah :)

This was our "lame" tree.  But hey - it was a tree RIGHT???!!!  

The worst part .. ;)

YUM

As much as I don't want to - I have to give some GINGERBREAD HOUSE credit to Tony.  This is a pretty good one.  Don't expect to ever see mine on this blog.  Sad, sad, sad.  And to think I teach Kindergarten….

Olivia and Grace made this for us.  So we had 2 Christmas trees in this house!! :)

Thanksgiving Mile Run.

As many of you know, we have quite the Huinker Thanksgiving tradition.  As much as we complain about it year round - we do have a lot of fun with it.  Typically, the 1st place runner has to write an article after the race… but since Tony will probably win every year (until Max catches up, at least) - we decided to let others have a turn at writing it!  Here is what my sister wrote this year…. 


Turkey Trot 2013

As most of you know, the turkey trot has not been one of my favorite traditions.  Every year I start thinking about it mid-October and every year I do nothing other than think about it!  Other than year 1 (2001) when Brian was still recovering from his broken leg, arm, foot, etc. and the year that Amanda was 7 months pregnant with Grace (2009), I have gotten last place. So basically, I have never beaten a legitimate competitor. Until now. Thus...I am doing the recap this year. I told myself years ago that if I ever beat someone, I will write it! So here goes...


The tradition we all love to hate continues for a 13th consecutive year. Rules remain the same. You run it no matter where you are in the world. Never did we think this would actually mean someone would be running it on another continent!

Unbelievable weather in Decorah on race day (Saturday NOvember 30) It was a bit windy on the straight away, but overall we couldn't have asked for a nicer day to run!

Runners started the race at 10:30 AM...just in time for us to recover slightly from the night before, for Grady to be up from his nap,  to allow the kids to eat lunch and be at the free movie matinee with Grandpa Rog by noon!

Kiddos were fabulous this year. All 4 of the big kids (Max, Mya, Olivia and Grace) gave it their best shot. To see those little legs moving around the track was awesome. At the 3/4 point of the first lap, Chris was yelling at Max to slow down. He was keeping up with him step for step. Olivia, Mya and Max all finished the race and got a recorded time! Looking forward to watching these guys grow up together and continuing the tradition.

Everyone really enjoyed not being lapped this year. Spirits were much higher at the end of the race, even if times were down a bit:)

Yellow shirts were in full effect. It took some digging, but we found our old "Go Tara" shirts from 2007 and made some homemade "Go Tony" shirts. It was sad that they weren't there to run with us, but we wanted them to be with us in spirit!

Twenty two days after giving birth, Amanda was out jogging around the track while pushing the stroller and finishing with a respectable time all things considered.

Rog and Pat were on kid patrol and timing duty. I fully expect Rog will be back in action next year. A certain 2 year old was a handful this year:) She wanted to continue the tradition that one kid has to start bawling as soon as everyone takes off. Next year my bet is on Grady.

Overseas runners didn't quite get the trot in on time even though they are 15 hours ahead of us. Tony had to leave for mainland Japan so they were a little late on the run. Don't worry though...we did not reveal our times until after they ran. I didn't want them having an unfair advantage! (like they need it, but hey..)

Times for 2013 are as follows:
#1: Anthony Brown: 5:54
#2: Chris Hoden 7:48
#3: Tara Brown 8:20
#4: Max Hoden 9:02
#5: Beth Hoden 9:04
#6: Brian Huinker 10:35
#7: Mya Hoden & Olivia Huinker: 12:55
#8: Amanda Huinker: 13:35

                                                      proof that Tara ran one mile:)

It's been awhile…

I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I've last posted.  Time has been going by pretty fast lately!! I will post pictures for this post soon!

To be very honest with the blogging world/readers, we have had somewhat of a tough month.  I think it really hit us (especially over the holidays) that we are truly living in Japan and we'll be here for quite awhile yet.  As there are times I think it will go by fast and things will be great, there are those times where it weighs pretty heavy on me.  I want to be honest of where we're at now so we can look back and remember all these times!

I remember my brother telling me back in the day (I'll actually never forget it..where I was, what I was doing, how I was feeling - even what I was wearing) that "before things get better, they'll probably get worse".   And the reason for the 3 week "pause" for blog writing?  You can probably guess…

So I'm not writing this to ask for any sort of sympathy or attention, but I am writing this because this has truly been an experience of a lifetime and we are just 4 months in.  It's been a roller-coaster of feelings since we have gotten here.  And since I hate roller-coasters, it's time for our life here in Japan to start feeling more like the "Lazy River" ride :)!!!

I have come to realize that not everything comes easy in life.  In the states, there are many things at your fingertips that can make you happy.  In my case, shopping for clothes or groceries was one of "happy" places.  Or having a handful of friends to go out for happy hour and then to meet up with a bunch of people later on was awesome.  I haven't found that here, YET.  And if I don't, It's definitely ok.  There are some really neat places in Yomitan, but it takes work to figure out what is actually inside.  I, of course, can't read anything here.  I can usually tell if it's a restaurant - but that's about it.  So in order to know, you have to simply walk in and figure it out yourself.

I often tell Tony how much LESS we would see of each other if we lived in a place, such as Minneapolis.  I would have more plans on the week nights and weekends, as would he.  What better time of our lives - as newlyweds - to have ALL this time together.  I do often complain of his long hours at work, but the second he is home, I am there. (poor guy ;)  We are blessed.  And we appreciate it.

So all this being said - I had SUCH a great day today.  Tony went golfing with a couple of buddies, which was great for him!  And I went for a coffee date with my good friend, Natalie.  On my way home I decided to venture off on the side roads and came across an awesome Thai place called Sirojuma.  I had some amazing curry soup :) ... and then to fulfill my love for shopping, I found this amazing warehouse with TONS of stuff that is very reasonably priced.  And the greatest thing about this place is that they accept any credit card, Yen, OR Dollar.  You don't get that in Yomitan.  Places rarely take our USAA credit card and accept only Yen.

I think I'm going to enjoy this "Lazy River" ride here in Okinawa :)


"Be brave enough to live creatively. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You can only get there by hard work, by risking and by not quite knowing what you are doing. What you will discover will be wonderful: Yourself."
Alan Alda 

Street Tennis

As many of you know, Tony LOVES tennis.  And you also probably know, I don't always love to play as much as he does.  We have been to "real" courts a few times since we have moved, but recently we have just been playing in the street right outside our front door.  It's actually been pretty fun :)  Yesterday we had a very old Japanese guy stand there and watch for about 20mns.  I don't think he was able to talk, but he sure was smiling and giving us a thumbs up!  

Grady Lawrence Huinker

On Thursday evening, November 7th, God blessed us all with the arrival of our newest nephew, Grady Lawrence.  He looks like such a sweet boy with his shocking blond hair.

As it's been incredibly hard being on the other side of the world from all the nieces and nephews, it's twice as hard not being able to meet the newest member.  Again, very thankful for FaceTime - but you know there's just that feeling you can never replace…

We are counting the days until we get to hold him and squeeze him.

Ladies and Gentleman,  Grady Lawrence:

What Feels Like HOME.

Living in a foreign country feels…..well…. foreign.  As much as I enjoy experiencing all the things on Okinawa,  I do love the things that feel like HOME.

FACETIME.  This has been a lifesaver for me.  I absolutely love to see my family (at least once a week) on screen.  It is something I look forward to on a daily basis and allllmost makes me feel like i'm right there with them.  It's a comforting feeling knowing that I won't really miss them growing up the next 3 years because I'll SEE them grow up.  Speaking of which, this is already happening with my oldest nephew, Max.  I can't believe the things he is saying, what he is reading, etc.  Thank goodness for technology.

STARBUCKS.  It's not conveniently located to us, but I do see it quite often when I have to run certain errands.  Just the sign from afar makes me feel good and puts a smile on my face.  And then to actually go inside?  Other than the baristas not speaking very much english and paying for my latte with yen, I can't tell if I'm in Okinawa or Minneapolis.  That's a fun feeling to have for a short while.  My friend Natalie and I used to meet there once a week and catch up.  That hasn't happened for awhile for multiple reasons, but I think I'm due for it to be back on the ol' calendar.

HALLOWEEN. Ok, I admit - I am NOT a fan of this holiday.  The only only only reason I like it is because of the excitement that comes from the nieces and nephews.  Call me a fun-hater, but dressing up and eating candy has never really been my thing.  Happy for those who love it, but I think i'll pass…until I have kids of course.  At that time, I'm sure my feelings will change.  Anyways, we celebrated Halloween at school on Thursday.  The kids and teachers took the afternoon off and had our own "trick-or-treat" in the school.  The teachers pretended their room was their home and the kids were able to walk around knocking and getting some candy.  Even with the chaos and a splitting headache at the time, it did remind me of home - and that felt good for an afternoon.  Don't be fooled, when I left for the afternoon … I was right back at disliking Halloween.

THE COMMISSARY.  The commissary is the on-base grocery store.  I actually border line hate (THIS POST IS GETTING A BIT NEGATIVE!!! :) the place, but what feels like home are some of the foods in the commissary.  I complain quite a bit about the lack of organic foods at the store, but I guess they have a decent selection.  Call me crazy, but the "usda organic" label makes me feel at home.  weird, I know.  So why do I hate this place?  Imagine a town of (I don't know for sure) 40,000 people all going to one grocery store.  And it literally is an "outing" for some families.  I don't know why the mom, dad, and 4-5 kids all have to go to the commissary.  It's quite a headache when you go..  I've heard quite a bit of moms complain about the hours it is open.  I don't blame them - it's open from 9am-7pm.  They can't really go to the store after the kids are in bed or their husbands are home from work.  So when that mom with her 4 kids is in the store, I can't really blame them - other than they should plan better and go on the weekends.  Ok, there's my vent of the commissary.

MY THINGS.  I really enjoy our house and the best part about it is that I have my things finally.  I went about a year without all the candles, dishes, pillows, comforters, furniture, etc.  That was tough for me!  Each night I come home from work, driving on the left side of the road, passing signs I can't read for the life of me, making my way through the narrow streets of Yomitan, I do get to come HOME to my (our) things.

I'm sure there are other things I am missing, but these things stick out the most.  They are daily occurrences so I will continue to appreciate them and find a bit of HOME every day that I am here…and in the meantime, soak up this Japanese culture.

Monday Funday

Yes, that's me....with a drink

THANKS FOR THE CHAIRS MOM & DAD!!!!! :)

Tony is the little black speck out there

success.

Rapasardo's + Browns

This weekend is a long one for us - which we of course LOVE!  Tony has a 4 day weekend and I have a 3 day, so we decided to make a little bit of a road trip with the Rapasardo's on Saturday!  Tony and Andrew work together at 3/12...and well, Ali and I seem to get a long quite well.  When I heard she used to work at LuLu Lemon and had a "thing" for Anthropologie, it was love at first sight.

Saturday morning we were texting with ideas for the day and decided on the infamous Okinawa Aquarium.  It was about an hours drive north from Yomitan, so not too bad.  The Aquarium was very neat.  As you can probably imagine, the fish were HUGE and very beautiful.  We had a good time walking around, the guys read just about everything they could - while Ali & I admitted that often times we look at the words, but never really read it...or care TOO much.  On our way home we stopped at Blue Seal to get some ice cream.  I don't think that will be the last time I stop there - a scoop of sea salt cookie was pretty darn good.

We all went our separate ways for a couple hours and then met up at a cool rooftop bar/restaurant.  Unfortunately when we got there they had stopped serving food, but we were able to enjoy a drink on the rooftop.  Very cool setting!  So we ventured off to a place nearby that we have all driven past a million times, but have never gone.  Good thing we did!  It was a hole-in-the-wall (probably why we haven't stopped yet) but delicious!  Each table had their own grill and you order raw food and cook it yourself.  Genius idea for a restaurant if you ask me.  Ali and I got the shrimp and vegetables...I was able to cook the shrimp, but tony had to peel off the head for me. Gross. 

It was such a fun day and evening!  Sad to report the Rapasardo's are leaving end of December!  We are so happy for them, but selfishly SO BUMMED!

Here are a few pictures:

We had great laugh from this picture. 

Cafe in the Aquarium

There was some presentation going on.  Of course we couldn't understand a word of it.

The first place we were at for an Orion beer

spicy sausage - YUM!

delicious shrimp

Pictures from a different camera:

Random thoughts on paper..or on a blog post

Kindergarten - I have a whole lot to say about this group of kids, but I will keep it to a minimum:

Last week, Saburo (local kid) comes up to my desk sticking his pointer finger out at me (too close for my liking) and asks if he can go get a kleenex.   Looking at what came out of his nose, "yes, Saburo...you may"

(we are learning the difference between telling and tattling in class right now)
Student: Ms. Tara, Dylan is kicking my chair
Me: Lia, are you tattling right now?
Student: NOOOO i'm not tattling!!!!!
Me: Then what are you doing?
Student: I'm telling you that Dylan is kicking my chair!!
Me: ooooohhhh

On a fun note, my kids are doing really well in class.  Of course I am reminded every 10 mms that they are just 5 & 6 years old and I need to cut them a break more often than I probably do...but I am pleased with the class overall.  Some days I love my job and others - eh, it's alright ;)

other random things:

Typhoon Fitow came to visit this past weekend.  We prepared as if we were to lose power for about 3 days.  Thursday morning around 5:15am Tony and I took the satellite off the roof, brought all the flowers in, I baked 2 pizzas, and had everything powered up just in case.  I thought maybe we were over doing it a bit, but I guess we didn't know what to expect.  Better to be too prepared than not!  The storm wasn't anything too crazy.  High winds and rain that tore up some small plant roots, but other than that - the power remained on and we had a GREAT excuse to stay in all day and finally spend enough time together to actually get stir crazy and sick of one another (ok, maybe not quite;)
Thursday night before the storm hit, I sent Tony a list of things to get at the grocery store since he was going home hours before me.  Here was the list: Milk, Peanut Butter, Tequila, and Vodka.  Oh yes, the essentials for a typhoon ;)

One of my favorite, if not my most favorite, thing on this island is the people.  They are so nice and sincere.  I hope those that come visit can stay long enough to really get a grasp of this.  When we leave a store/restaurant of any kind they ALL say "thank you for coming".  Those in the kitchen, at a different register, or someone stocking the shelves.  When they hear one person say "thank you for coming" they all say it.  You actually feel special and important LEAVING the place!

I like having the car I do.  I have always had a thing for making "mixed" tapes while growing up.  I used to listen to the top 9 at 9 EVERY night with a blank tape ready to press the play and record button at the same time, hoping to time it perfectly.  I have missed making mixed cd's lately because of all the bluetooth action i've had in the cars we owned..but now, I don't have that! And loving it :) I get to make mixed cd's once again :) and my car has a tape player!  Maybe I can somehow have my mom scavenger up some oldies.

This past Friday Tony and I met some friends at an Italian place in Yomitan.  When we pulled into the parking lot, waiting for the others to arrive, we sat there for about 10 minutes watching a guy across the street do karate in his living room.  We both admitted that if this were someone working out in the states, we would have laughed quite a bit.  But here in Japan, we couldn't help but to stare with amusement and think it was way cool.  There are many times I am reminded where I live, but this time it reeeeeally hit me.  Very fun.

That is all for my randomness....for today anyway

Fuji

Hey, just thought I would throw up some of the pics from my trip to Mt Fuji, Japan recently.  I finally got to see what mainland Japan was all about and as I suspected it was beautiful over there and very different than life in Okinawa.  My favorite part was the fact that it was 70 and sunny with no humidity with great running trails through the forrest.  Hopefully soon I will get to go with Tara and next summer climb the mountain...12,389ft!

To give you a quick rundown on my job and why I went there I'll try to explain as best I can considering operational security.  My unit shoots artillery and we cannot do this on Okinawa because of some restrictions so the Government of Japan pays for us to bring our equipment to mainland to train there instead.  It is a very interesting part of my new job and routinely I am in meetings with around 15 Japanese (Government of Japan officials, logistics company reps, etc.) with our small planning team discussing the training and negotiating the details of our upcoming exercises.  I am in charge of most of the transportation and maintenance for our unit so this is important for me be involved in.  This was the first time I got to be in the planning and actually go see it in action. I had lots of commitments back at the unit so I only went on this one for a short time.  Here are some pics!

Truck inspections prior to leaving for Camp Fuji

Breakfast bento box

About to offload

Moving the howitzers to get ready for the convoy

Offload

 

These pictures do not do the mountain justice, its huge!

 Offloading our gear

 More bento boxes...yum!

 Went out to an awesome all you can eat and drink restaurant too!