Golf and Crochet

Just wanted to give everyone an update. There isn't much new happening here. We are still waiting on our shipment to arrive. I have put in a couple of applications on Camp Courtney, but it takes a while for them to be processed, which is okay because I wanted to wait until we had all of our belongings here before I started working. We tried signing up for Japanese classes, but found out they already started and we missed the first class. So, we are going to try and take it in April. Kyle has remained busy at his new job. It seems like he always comes home from work and says they were so busy that day. I think part of it is that he is new to the shop so he is kind of playing catch up. I think once he gets the hang of things and how things work, it might slow down a little. I know he says they are a lot more motivated about their work here then they were in Jacksonville. Which, I believe is a good thing.

In other news, I have befriended a girl that lives in the same building as us. Kyle and I have gone out to eat with her and her husband. They have a little boy who is absolutely adorable. Definitely one of the best behaved kids I have ever met. She is white and her husband is half Filipino- maybe that's why their baby is so cute! I believe Filipino babies are the cutest, but maybe I'm just biased. :) It has been nice getting to know them. Like me and Kyle, they only have one car so her husband usually takes it to work. So, she and I are usually car-less. We have gone on a couple of walks together and yesterday we walked off base and went to a little sushi joint. It was pretty good- if you like raw fish. They did have some cooked sushi, so I was all over that. It was a really neat restaurant.

My new friend also taught me how to crochet! She has made a lot of beautiful pieces, but I asked her to just start me out with the most basic stitch and I'll work from there. So, I am working on a scarf right now. Not that I need a scarf here in Oki, but I'll get a lot of good practice out of it. I was thinking about crocheting a rug for our kitchen. She has one in her kitchen that I thought was really cool, but I think I need a little more practice before I tackle that project.

Kyle also started a new hobby- golfing! The second or third weekend after we got here, Kyle went golfing at a 9-hole course with our sponsor. He had never really golfed, but ended up loving it. The awesome thing is, it's only $4.oo a person to golf at the 9-hole course. There is an 18-hole course on Kadena. The cost is a little more money but still a good price. Apparently, golf is huge on this island. There are quite a few golf courses off base. So, since Kyle had learned he actually enjoyed playing golf, we started looking around for a set of clubs. Everywhere we looked, a set of golf clubs ranged from $300-$500+. However, Kyle was browsing on okinawayardsales.com one night and saw a whole set for $100. It came with a nice bag and everything. We kind of felt guilty at first thinking it was an impulse buy, but we had really been researching and looking around so we couldn't pass this up. And since we'll be here for three years, I think it will get a lot of good use out of it.

So, that's what we have been up to. Kyle has a long weekend this weekend because of President's Day. Or wait, maybe that's next weekend. I forget when President's Day is. Well, whenever it is, we are thinking about hiking Hiji Falls which is about an hour and a half away. Everyone says its a really neat experience. I am looking forward to it. I don't think the snakes are bad this time of year. Thank goodness, because you wouldn't catch me hiking around some jungle with snakes everywhere. Speaking of jungles, in two weeks Kyle will be going to Jungle Warfare Training. And it is just that- training in the jungle! He is really excited about it. They will be gone for a week doing training exercises. Living in tents, trudging through mud... lots of fun stuff. I'm going to buy him plenty of baby wipes because they don't get to shower while they are out there!