Since arriving in Sasebo, I will admit it has been challenging to meet new people. Between COVID, moving from the Navy Lodge over to Hario, and then trying to link up with people my age and in a similar situation as me, I have had a time. During my two weeks at the Lodge, I joined at least 10 Facebook groups with the hopes of finding "an in" with the Sasebo base community, and while I had attended a few things, I still hadn't found my place. Then while Bryan was in port at Okinawa, he texted me a girl's number and said she had a dog and no kids and her husband was on the ship with him. Not wanting to seem too weird, I texted her and pretty much said "my husband met your husband and they think we should be friends" (I'm so good at small talk....) AND that's how I met Julia! I think she took pity on me, and she invited me to crash her girl's night on the 4th to get Starbucks, burgers and watch the fireworks. (This was the closest we could get to a traditional American 4th of July!) I met up with Julia, Jamie and Maggie at Starbucks because Starbucks was running a campaign of specialty drinks that highlighted local food favorites across Japan. You could only get that specialty drink in the prefecture that inspired it, so we visited our local Starbucks and shared #47 NAGASAKI Castella Coffee Yan! Frappuccinos. You can check out all the flavors here! Then we headed over to Hope's Diner for traditional American diner food. Once the sun went down, we took off to Yumiharidake Observatory to watch the fireworks show over the base! I had such a great time celebrating my first 4th of July out of the country, and could breathe easier knowing I was finally finding "my people!"
Once I moved to Hario, I linked up with the USS America Wardroom Spouses Facebook group, where I randomly saw a Facebook invite to join Kaiti and her two girls for a beach day. You know me, I wasn't turning down a chance to meet more people AND get a day at the beach?! So I messaged her and caught a ride to Oseto Beach on July 13! We lucked out with a beach day free of jellyfish, so we were able to stay cool in the water! That's a huge deal because jellyfish take over the beaches towards the end of July and they stick around through September. I had a wonderful day splashing in the water with the two girls, enjoying some girl talk with Kaiti and Jamie, and then silently coveting the locals for their inability to sweat...I'm telling you, the locals don't sweat. Like ever. They came to the beach in long sleeves and jeans and looked perfect all afternoon. I, on the other hand, am wearing a bathing suit and dripping sweat so bad I had to stay in the water or die of a heat stroke. I mean, it's practically 90°F with 90% humidity here, so you can understand my desire to stay cool!
On July 22, Japan's national Marine Day holiday, I was invited to join Jamie, Julia, Kaiti and Loralee at the Forest Pool at Huis Ten Bosch. For ¥1,000 we enjoyed an afternoon of floating around this indoor pool! There was a warm pool, a "flowing pool" (AKA lazy river), and several jacuzzis, that were surrounded with live plants and trees. One thing that caught me off guard: the jacuzzis were not warm. Instead, they were kept at a slightly warmer than regular pool water temperature. After a few hours of swimming, we grabbed lunch at one of the Huis Ten Bosch restaurants. I successfully ordered bubble tea and "chicken on a stick" and tried Takoyaki for the first time! Takoyaki is a famous Japanese dish of fried dough with pieces of Octopus in the center. Wrapping my brain around the fact that I was eating octopus was one thing, but it wasn't bad and I would eat it again!
This past weekend, Kaiti hosted a get-together at her house for all of the USS America Wardroom Spouses. This was such a fun night and I got to meet many other women whose spouses are deployed with Bryan on LHA6 America! I learned that I replaced Julia as the youngest spouse in the group, and everyone seemed excited to meet the new dentist's wife! Tanisha (in the red shirt below) cooked some amazing Mexican food for us and I left with several plates of leftovers! (Remember, I still have loaner furniture and I'm working with 2 pans and a disposable tin baking sheet, so I will take a good hot meal to go when it's offered!) As I met everyone and others caught up, we had the Olympics playing in the background and lots of laughs throughout the night. I am already looking forward to next month's event!
I can say that my first month in Sasebo is officially in the books and I'm enjoying it here!
-Katie
What a great group of ladies! I am sure the boys on the ship are not having as much fun as y'all! You are officially a part of the "military family", and I will bet you will keep up with many of these ladies for many years and bases to come! I hope you find a "Charla Vincent" and "Cindy Swayne"!
Love that you are trying all the new food. I can't wait to see a picture of B with his 1st taste of octopus!!! Make sure we get to see that !🤣
Hang in there ... Fall is coming and hopefully, the heat will die out and the jellyfish will move on!
Love and miss you TONS!!
Katie, Thank you for sharing so much of your new life with those of us far, far away-seemingly in another galaxy! I am so very proud of your entrepreneurial spirit and open-mindedness, EVEN when trying new foods like octopus! (Shocker - I have tried it and liked it, as well!) Keep on braving the new frontiers opening to you and sharing with us back home. You and Bryan are constantly in our thoughts and prayers and we love you!!!