Yokosuka Gazette, 1/13/14

I promised more exciting content in this week's Yokosuka Gazette and I am here to deliver. 

First, it was a glorious, glorious week of solitude.  Josiah and Annika headed back to school and Will, as usual, was at Sara's.  Ah, sweet solitude, welcome back.  How I love thee.  I spent my Monday morning walking out to the Japanese grocery store to get my fruit and veg.  Oh, the strawberries!  I wish I could describe the strawberries, and every single berry in the tidy little carton is without flaws.  I could wax poetic about the broccoli and the kiwi that I bought, oh, and the fresh pineapple.

I finally got my bike registered--see, didn't I tell you this was going to be super exciting?!  It was a bit of a complicated process requiring a trip to buy a helmet, bell, front light and rear reflector.  I even bought panniers, imagining myself on a sunny day, pedaling out to fill them up with fresh, beautiful Japanese produce.  We shall see if that daydream ever comes to fruition.  Ha, that's almost a pun.  Anyway, after a quick trip to the VRO (our equivalent of the DMV), my bike is registered and I'm ready to ride.

Now if only some poor woman on base hadn't gotten hit TWICE this week.  The first time, on base, knocked completely off her bike and the driver just took off.  The second time, on her way home from the hospital to get checked over from the first hit, she got hit by a Japanese driver out in town.

I keep up on Facebook, y'all.  Go ahead and ASK me what the dirt is around Yoko, because I know.  It's a disease.  I need help.  Of course, it doesn't help that there are about a thousand crazy women on base who really, really enjoy being total bitches and stirring the pot every day.  You try to tear your eyes away...!

Geography Bee was Thursday morning and Josiah, as you know, placed second.  We are proud of him, don't get me wrong, but I know he knew the final answer.  If I knew it, he knew it.  I think he got a little nervous.  He still had a great day because he came home and saved Princess Peach and lo, it was great because he has been competing (with much smack-talk) with Hans all week to see who could get there first.  It is DIFFICULT, for reals.  I can't get past level three.  So, sigh.  Maybe next year on the Geo Bee.

OK, so last night I met my friend Saskia and a group of other ladies and we went to the medical hot stone spa.  We came in, immediately put our shoes in a locker and then turned in our keys and paid for our time in the spa.  I had no idea what to expect.  I imagined us on tables with someone putting hot rocks on our bodies.  We all went into a locker room and changed into the spa-provided pajamas, cleaned our faces and filled up our water bottles. 

Here are a few pictures:

Directions for putting on pajamas

Picture of a picture of the interior of the spa

Me, washed up and ready to broil

 

 

So, I was picturing this experience as going into a room, laying on a table and having someone place hot stones on my back.  Instead, we passed through an antechamber and into the hottest, most humid room I have ever been in in my life.  Instead of large rocks, there were thousands of tiny, smooth pebbles.  You lay down and sort of burrow into the rocks, laying on your back, stomach or side.  A small pillow filled with hot pebbles supports the neck.  We were in for 10 minutes, gasping for air, then we went back out in the antechamber and drank and drank and drank, then back in for a little longer.  In and out for about two hours.  It was peaceful and relaxing, but it got harder and harder to go back in after awhile.  I was starving when we got done around 8:00 p.m.  We all went out and ate our body weight in curry.

 

Another interesting experience in Japan!

 

This week will be busy with my new volunteer job at Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, oil change for the van, start of UMUC classes, FRG board meeting, 7 Lucky Gods tour in Kamakura and my first hail and farewell at our house on Friday!

 

Sayonara!