| | January 1st found me sound asleep in bed. Sounds exciting doesn't it?  I had worked Dec 30th and 31st and had to go back to work New Year's Day so there just wasn't any chance I was staying up till midnight. I thought I might get woken up at midnight but either things were very quiet around my house or I was very sound asleep. I did wake up at 2am when my neighbors got loud. I couldn't shut them up but my earplugs helped me get back to sleep!
It's hard to believe that I've been on Okinawa more than 2 months already! I started letting you all know about what was happening but never kept up with things so here we go...
December 16th was my first day off orientation and on my own on the Labor Deck. Yikes! I was very nervous that day but things went well and I was able to hold my own. Things are continued to go well at work and I have been enjoying myself. Though I never imagined I'd end up as a labor nurse I enjoy going to work most of the time. It's a whole lot of fun celebrating the miracle of life when at work! I still have a TON to learn and I am still nervous when I go to work. But my co-workers are awesome and help me out as needed.
December 18th my parents and Katie arrived! Yay!! This visit was totally a highlight of the year. I was able to borrow a mini-van from a coworker so we didn't have to squeeze into my car all week. This was fortunate because we did a whole lot more driving than I expected. During their visit we were able to go up to Ocean Expo Park (in Nago) and check out the Churaumi Aquarium. The weather was horrible that day so we didn't get to enjoy the whole park as much I'd have liked but the aquarium was awesome. They have 3 huge whale sharks that made the whole trip worth it. Driving up to Nago also gave us a chance to see more of Okinawa. Another day we went down to Naha and Shurijo Castle. The castle remains are from the Ryukyuan dynasty and they have recreated what the castle building were like (most of the buildings were totally destroyed during WWII). This day was beautiful and we enjoyed walking through the castle complex. Another well done tourist site. I think the highlight of the visit for my parents and Katie was going on Kadena and getting to visit the base exchange (think walmart) and the commissary (groceries). Being in Asia for so long makes them appreciate almost anything American! I had to work 1 of the days my family was here but otherwise I was able to enjoy their company at home playing games, making cookies and enjoying mom's delicious home cooking! On the 23rd we went out to dinner at a wonderful Italian place and then to a light show at the Botanical Gardens with some of my friends. We celebrated Christmas on the 24th because my family had to fly out on the 25th (the only available flight). It was great having them around and was sad to see them go. The house is definitely empty without them. Anyone else want to come visit?
I guess those are the big highlights. I spend my days off doing random things like biking, shopping or reading. I'd like to do more biking and have been fixing up my bike. But the weather has turned really cold (ok...I've already adjusted to Asia and so 50's is cold for me especially without heat in my house) and the sun doesn't like to shine much. Definitely much colder here than I expected.
Hope you're all having a wonderful 2008!
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| | Posted 1/2/2008 2:28 AM - 43 Views - 2 eProps - 1 Comment
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