Christmas Day & Beyond

クリスマスはお姉ちゃん夫婦の家に遊びに行きましたわ。お姉ちゃん夫婦に今年４番目の女の子が産まれました。とにかく可愛い。３番目の子は２年前に会った時は、赤ちゃんだったのに、既に歩き、片言の英語をいい、子供の成長って早いものだわ。しかも、上２人の女の子は、当たり前だけど英語がペラペラ。んーーまたもや頑張らねばと思う日だったわ。デービスはというとジョシュのお父さんから離れない。いっつも膝の上に座っているのよ。かなりお父さんの事が気に入ったらしい。
クリスマスの翌日はミネソタにある全米第３位のモールでお買い物。毎回思うが、モールの中に歩く歩道を備えつけてほしいわ。歩くのが苦手な私にはかなり辛いわ。でもお買い物は楽しいわ。またお買い物に行きたいわ。

[continued] Christmas Day was spent at the Swenson's. Christmas 2005 was Soren's first Christmas while he was still a baby in a Santa Claus outfit. Now he is constantly running around, getting into 'trouble'. This year was Annika's first Christmas. The Swenson's are: Dean, Jen, Elizabeth, Heidi, Soren & Annika and of course the peaceful Maggie (golden retriever). Takako was surprised at the English-speaking level of Elizabeth & Heidi. She wants to become more fluent. Day-bis & Kuro accompanied us although Kuro tried to stand up to Maggie (barking), Day-bis was comfortable on Grandpa Wes's lap. The last couple of days we spent in Minnesota was primarily for shopping. We went to the Mall of America (the world's 20th largest mall), IKEA & Southdale (nation's oldest climate-controlled mall). We had a great time, wish we could've stayed longer, but we are close. It is only about 5-6 hours away!

Christmas 2007 in Minnesota

片道６時間かけてジョシュの実家のミネソタまで行ってきました。実家に行くのはこれで４回目ですわ。ってか片道６時間、休憩しながらだったけど車、乗っているの、辛かった。クリスマスイブはジョシュの両親と妹夫婦と過ごしました。最後は皆でボードゲームをしたんだけど楽しかったですわ。実は２年前のクリスマスイブもミネソタにいました。その時に、ジョシュにプロポーズをされたんだけど、全く予知してなかったから、かなりの勢いで驚いたわ。しかもおばあちゃんに、両親、お姉ちゃん夫婦に子供達、弟夫婦、妹夫婦がいる前で、まぁ、ロマンティックだったけど、、、次のロマンティックはいつかしらねぇ。。。。

Just last Saturday, we left Bellevue bound for Minnesota to celebrate Christmas 2007 with the family! It was a 6-hour drive that took us into Iowa and up to Minnesota. Not much to see so I will spare you the details. Upon arrival at my parents house, we introduced Day-bis & Kuro and unloaded our Highlander. The following morning we attended Hosanna and saw niece's Elizabeth & Heidi in their Christmas concert. Wonderful performance! This was the second Christmas in Minnesota that Takako & I have celebrated. The first was back in 2005, the perfect setting for the 'proposal'. The only difference was that Grandma Mabel was not here to enjoy the time together. Also, this year Jared & Mary travelled down to Florida to celebrate with Mary's family, so we only saw them the first two days then dropped them off at the airport in on Christmas Eve morning. Jen, Dean & E, H, S, A were going to celebrate Christmas Eve with the Swenson's. It was a nice quiet evening at home for eating Potato Chowder with Mom, Dad, Chris, Jill, Takako & of course the two little boys. After opening presents, we played the board game. Then it was on to Christmas Day... [to be continued]

Real-life drama + couple of nights before Christmas

アメリカにきて、あるドラマにハマりました。でもね、すぐファイナルをむかえちゃったんだけど。かなりリアリティのあるドラマでさ、どこまでが本当でどこまでが、、、ってかなり気になるドラマ「The Hills」ですが、次シーズンも見なくては。昔からアメリカのドラマが好きで、高校生の頃はフルハウスをみてましたわ。その後、「Charmed」に「Malcolm in the Middle」「Friends」と。今もこっちで放送されているので見てますが、私の英語力では、全部の理解には苦しむわ。頑張らねば、英語。
寒い日が続いているので、デービスとクロをお風呂に入れました。初めてのお風呂。今まではシャワーだけだったんだけど、毎日、雪の上を歩くので肉球もガサガサ。暖めないとね。クロはゴクゴク、お湯を飲んでましたわ。デービスは相変わらず、慎重でビクとも動かず。
今週末からジョシュの実家のミネソタに帰りますわ。

Since we have been here in Nebraska, Takako has been slowly getting immersed in 'American' TV shows. Actually more real-life dramas on MTV such as The Hills. She couldn't tell if it was scripted or real-life. When she was in high school, she watched Full House. She then went onto other shows such as Charmed, Malcolm in the Middle and Friends. She couldn't understand a lot of the English but those shows were easy to understand at her level of comprehension.
The past couple of days have been cold weather in Bellevue. Day-bis and Kuro's paws are quite dry. Tonight they received their first bath in the states! Kuro wasn't scared of drinking the bath water but Day-bis just stood still, probably thinking to himself, "what should I do?" This coming weekend the four of us will pile into the Highlander, trek up to Minnesota to celebrate Christmas with the family!

Fun in Nebraska

変圧器が臭いですわって事で先日購入した変圧器をつないで掃除をしていたら、ヘンテコな臭いがしてきたと思ったら掃除機が動かなくなってしまったわ。ガビーン。で、色々調べたら、電化製品を使用する際は２、３倍のワット数の変圧器が必要って事らしいの。聞いてないわ。私。って事は、３０００ワットの変圧器が必要なのよ。そんなの売ってるのか？って感じだけど、現在、問い合わせ中。だから炊飯器もポットも掃除機も使えず。冷蔵庫だけは省エネだから全くワット数を使ってないの。だから今つないでいる変圧器で大丈夫。炊飯器はなくても普通に鍋でご飯を炊けるから大丈夫。問題は掃除機なのよね。で、悩んだあげく掃除機は今必要って事で買う事に決めたわ。今まで使っていたのはダイソンなんだけど、かなりいい具合の掃除機。で、今回もダイソンを購入。言葉もそうだけど、電圧とかも世界共通にして欲しいものだわ。

Moving from Japan to the US comes with some small problems. We have many appliances that require 100V input. We didn't want to just plug them into the American outlets (120V) because the appliances would overheat in a while. Once we became connected to the net, we surfed for step-down transformers (120V->100V) so that we can go on with our appliances as we have been. We purchased two transformers although while Takako was vacuuming, she popped the fuse and possibly a lot more on our 200 Watt transformer. We need a LOT more wattage for our Japanese Dyson vacuum. Right now, we are awaiting a price quote for a 3000 Watt step-down transformer so that we can swap it out with some smaller appliances. Other than fun with power, we did end up purchasing a new Dyson vacuum. So far we love it.

We have also been having fun with Day-bis & Kuro while getting them used to the snow. Kuro loves the taste.

Our home in NE

気がつけば１２月も半ばですが、私達は元気ハツラツでーす、ブヒ。さて、オマハにきてすぐ家が見つかりました。ベースが管理している家なんだけど丁度、空いていてね。ラッキー。入居作業も無事完了しましたわ。こっちにきてから、欲しかったフカフカのソファとダイニングテーブル、洗濯機と乾燥機を買いました。冷蔵庫だけは備え付けがあったんだけどさ。せっかく日本から冷蔵庫を持ってきたから、台所へ設置したわ。が！寸法が合わない。まぁ、気にせず、無理矢理台所に入れたけどさ。でもね、変圧器を持参するのを忘れたの。そう電圧が違うじゃぁん、アメリカと日本じゃ。おかげで、入居したのはいいけど、日本から持ってきた電化製品使えず、ガビーン。結局、インターネットで購入。一安心だわ。
車も購入しました。日本にいるうちからジョシュがこっちのディラーさんと話していて、オマハに着いた時には既に車もあり。新車で、ハイブリットだわ。私は車の事は、よく分からないから全てジョシュにお任せコースだったけど、乗り心地はとてもいいわ。果たして私、この大きな車を運転できるのかが不明だけど。
家の写真何枚かのせておきますわ。３ベットルームがあるんだけど、まだ荷物が散らばっているので、ベットルームの写真は次回という事で。

Here we are, in the middle of December. We (Day-bis & Kuro included) are doing great in Omaha. We found a house very quickly through the 'on-base' housing office. We moved in last Friday, have unpacked the larger items, although we are still unpacking smaller boxes. This past weekend we purchased a sofa, chair & ottoman, washer & dryer and a dining room table + 4 chairs. There was a refrigerator already in the remodeled home but since we brought ours from Japan, we swapped it out. It doesn't quite fit in the space allowed but we prefer ours. Also, since some of our kitchen appliances are Japanese, they need 100V input but since we have 120V here, we needed to purchase a couple of step-down transformers online. Prior to moving into the home, we purchased our 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Josh had already reserved the vehicle via email with the Toyota dealership (it's a little dirty in the pic). We both feel the vehicle is very comfortable and large enough for our needs. Takako feels that it might be too large for her to learn to drive. We have snapped some pics of our home but more pics to follow due to the organization of the the three bedrooms.

December 1st -- Our longest day of this year

実感のないまま出発の日がきてしまいました。 お昼には横田ベース着き、皆でご飯を食べたりお話したり。時間は過ぎ、涙涙の別れをしていざ、チェックイン。がっ、なんと私、出国手続きをしてなかった。実は横田はアメリカ領土 だから日本の出国手続きをしなきゃいけなくて、急いでオフベースに行って出国手付きをしてまたチェックイン。感動の別れから一転、「どんだけー」の 別れになってしまいました。
まずは横田からシアトルまで 。なんと飛行時間８時間。早かった。で、シアトルでは６時間位時間があったからジョシュの友人 に会い、その後、シアトルからデンバーに向かいました。でもシアトル出発頃から天候が悪くて、デンバーに着く頃には、更に悪化。 デンバーに着いた時には次の飛行機が３時間の遅延。まぁ、無事にデンバーからオマハまで飛行機が飛んだけど、結局夜中にオマハに到着。
殆ど寝てないまま送りにきてくれた、サチ、タク、カナコママ、カーリ、サム、 ありがとうね。また、朝から車を出してくれたシューキちゃん夫妻ありがとう。お母さんもありがとう、赤飯、美味しかったわ。

What a trip. Our day started out by Josh picking up Day-bis & Kuro at [Purely] pet hotel. We picked up Kabu-chan at the Fussa train station to head on base. Takako was awaiting her friends that wanted to wish us the last ‘see-you-later’. Everyone met at the Yokota Passenger Terminal at about 2 pm. We checked in, chatted a little more with friends just prior to heading to the gate. Some tears started. Once we approached the gate and Takako showed her passport, we stated about finalizing her Immigration Visa (IV), the Passenger Service agents told us we needed a ‘Japan departure’ stamp. We needed to head about 5 minutes off base, received the stamp and then another ‘see-you-later’. At about 4:45 pm we left from Yokota bound for Seattle. The flight was about eight hours to Seattle where we finalized the IV, received our baggage including the little boys to take out for a walk and to relieve themselves. The time was about 9-10 am. We then met Andy at Sea-Tac. We wish it could’ve been longer but before we knew it, the layover was complete and we needed to head for the gate en-route to Denver. Once arrived in Denver, we noticed that our flight had been delayed for about three hours. We didn’t leave Denver until about 10 pm, still on the 1st of December. Finally arrived in Omaha at a little after midnight. That was a long day. We thank everyone that helped us get here. Shuki/Nick - thanks for driving. Thank you very much also to: Kabu-chan, Sachi, Taku, Kanako-mama, Sam, Karisuma. We hope to see you again, in the near future!

Last party, party

１２月１日に出発ですが、前日の３０日は、私の送別会でした。渋谷のお店で飲んだ後、更に、渋谷で二次会。その後は、六本木に向かい、クラブへ。でも飲み会の前あたりから左足がズキズキ痛くて、全く踊れず、足をのばしたいからカラオケに行きましたわ。最後はやはりラーメンを食べて、解散。平日の昼間にランチしたり、夕方飲みに行ったり、週末も遊びに行ったり、皆さん、お時間、割いてくれて本当にありがとうございました。ゴッツ楽しかったですわ。あっ、写真にタクエモンの額には「肉」、ヒネリの額には「魚」、私はアメリカに行くから「米」っていう文字をミカチンに書いてもらいましたわ。

November 30th, Takako's final going away party with the 'crew' since she will leave with Josh, Day-bis & Kuro on 1 December for the states. The party started off with drinking in Shibuya and then a second party also in Shibuya. Once those two parties concluded, the headed for Roppongi. Takako's feet hurt so she didn't care to dance so the crew went to karaoke so that Takako can kick her feet up to rest. As with many of the other parties, this one also ended up at a ramen shop and then get ready to head for Yokota. Takako wishes to thank everyone that made her last couple of weeks so enjoyable. By the way, the symbols on the foreheads are Takako = America, Taku = Meat and Hineri = Fish. Mika's wonderful artwork.