Night 2 - July 16th - I think?

It is 10:39 PM here and I have been going strong all day. I promised an update, but this one has to be brief - - very brief. I'm exhausted.

The flight over was very uneventful. On the longest leg of my flight (MSP to Tokyo) I sat in the first seat in the section of the plane that switches from three together near the windows to two. I always ask for an aisle seat so I can lean against the window to sleep. Well, because it switched from three to two, there was actually room between the window and my seat for almost one seat. So, there was an empty space. This meant that while I couldn't lean against the window to sleep, I could stand up anytime I wanted to (full height) right next to my chair. Twice I even sat/lay down on the floor between my seat and the window. It made it nice to stretch out, however, I was unable to sleep much at all in spite of that. There was a bit of turbulence so with all the shaking they kept asking us to fasten seatbelts. There are no seatbelts if you are sitting on the floor - the flight attendants weren't too fond of that.

My flight from Tokyo to Okinawa was almost empty. I had a row to myself and was able to stretch out and sleep for almost the entire flight.

Once getting off the plane, I knew immediately I was in Okinawa. Actually, in Tokyo I was already aware I was in Japan. #1 - the awesome scents of curry rice and soba were everywhere. Yummy. #2 - The people offered numerous times to help me with my luggage. One man didn't wait for me to decline - he just took a bag and helped me board the bus. #3 - the flight attendants there were extremely anxious to serve and even came over to wake up a gal sleeping on the seats in another gate. It turns out her plane was getting ready to taxi and she had slept through final boarding calls and everything. They somehow got her out and managed to take care of her. In Okinawa, the humidity in the jet-ways was heavy. The jetways were beautifully maintained and decorated; birds of paradise (or some orange flowers) and purple orchids were everywhere and scenting the air.

Gay Grenninger met me at the airport and brought me "home" to Lisa's apartment. By this time, it was 10 AM Minnesota time and I wasn't even the slightest bit sleepy. I unpacked my things and enjoyed the fact that I could still identify "my" stuff from when I lived in the apartment: my curtains in the living room, my old CD/stereo system, a plastic organizer drawer system in the bathroom . . . Kind of fun.

After fighting with myself on and off for most of the night, I gave up and got up about 5:00 this morning. I finished unpacking and decided to go for a walk around Yomitan. I took the old "post office loop" for those of you who lived here. There is an apartment building now where the elephant cage used to stand! Different!

Sugar cane fields, a goat, some chickens, many people out tending their fields and gardens, one lady weeding the side-walk outside her store. It was nice to be back - - and yes, I was sweating by the time I got to Max Value - - which is now open 24 hours and accepts credit cards. So . . .I bought a few groceries before coming home.

I had breakfast with Donna Russell and her family: Gail and Joel Anderson. There I learned that I had an administrative meeting at 11:00 that morning. Between breakfast and the meeting I learned that I was switching apartments, so I threw my stuff back into bags and trotted them down the hall - - now I'm in #203 (one of few apartments I don't believe I have ever lived in here).

In the meeting, I was a bit overwhelmed with what is expected of me, but I know it will be great. It was fun seeing all the office staff again and making connections!

I worked at school until 2:30 when I was picked up by my friend Kathy Fagan to spend the evening with them. She took me down to Foster (A military base) where we picked up Randy (her husband) and then went to eat dinner. After a quick trip to the 100 yen store (too quick for me to look around at this time) I was home by 8:30. I unpacked again and tried to settle in.

That's where the day stands. Tomorrow, holds a meeting where I give the summer school expectations and orient the staff. Then, I try to get my own 3rd grade classroom ready while answering questions and helping the other staff get set up. I'm praying that I can answer questions and that I thought of everything. I'll have to get up early to prepare a devotion and get my notes in better order.

Well, there you have it. Not a very neat and exciting update, but that's how I spent my first day on island. For those of you waiting to hear it -- Yes, I was "hot" for a few moments today! The AC is out in "my" office at school, so it's a bit stuffy in there at times.