more Japan

Hi!  I hope everyones Christmas was as special and wonderful as ours was!  The past week as FLOWN by for us and we have been enjoying every minute of it :)  Here are some of the things that we've been up to.  (p.s. I have about a thousand pictures of all this stuff which I will upload once I get home :)

Ziplining!  This past Monday we went down to the bottom of the island to a place called Forest Adventure Park.  We hopped on a shuttle where they took us to literally a giant jungle up a mountain.  They strapped us into some very tight harnesses (poor boys...) and we were given a mini-tutorial (mostly spoken in Japanese... so not safe...) on hooking yourself up to the zipline and etc.  Then, you were on your own!  (Note: Japanese are very laidback. Unlike America, for sure.  Literally, they showed us for about 10 minutes how to hook yourself up to these ziplines and then they just let you go through the entire course without another guide in sight throughout the whole thing.  SHOCKED that no one has fell off or died yet honestly.)  Anyway, the first zipline took a bit of coaxing from Eric for me to actually step off and let go (he has some awesome pictures of me almost in tears).  When I finally lept off the ledge, the adrenaline rush was INSANE and I couldnt wait to go on the next one and the next one.  We were literally ziplining over 200feet above the ground which was a beautiful green jungle.  After a series of about 7 ziplines, there is an obstacle course to do that is also about 200 FEET UP in the air.  It consisted of: a 100 foot free-fall drop hanging onto a Tarzan swing that threw you into this massive net, you then climbed UP the net to a ledge where you walked across swinging planks of wood to the next ledge. Then, you balanced yourself and walked across another wobbly net, to another ledge of skinny little swinging planks to walk across, which brought you to another ledge that you climbed up a wiggly rope ladder to an even HIGHER ledge, where you ziplined yourself back down to the ground into a pile of woodchips. The ONLY thing that got me through THAT was the sign "FINISH". Just get me to that sign! 
All in all though, it was an incredible experience. Something that I will always be able to say that I did all by myself.  It was absolutely crazy and I cant even explain the rush you get from it. 
Worst part of this experience:  The Japanese speaking guide giving a tutorial in Japanese on how to not die. Then in broken English saying: "you not do right, you die."  uhhh.........

Bases!  Tuesday we went to Camp Hansen (the Marine Corps base that Eric is stationed at) and Kadena Air Force base (the BIG base with the mall and restaurants and all the planes and jets).  I loved walking around Erics base and being able to piece together in my head where Eric spends his days, eats lunch, where he works, where he is when we skype, and all that.  It was fun to see his little temporary home.  His base in all reality is sort of a crap hole. haha  Its just a bunch of concrete buildings that look like little prisons.  But in a way it's sort of home-y and makes you feel really proud when you see all the Marines in their camoflauge work outfits walking around with a sense of pride.  It was really neat to be on base. However, you must also remember that these guys havent seen a girl in like 4 months so Eric did a great job of holding my hand and making it known that I was NOT available after all the stares I was getting. haha! Poor guys! Kadena was awesome too.  Its just HUGE and as soon as you get on base you just hear this roar of jets over you and there are planes flying everywhere.  Its a really nice base and we actually got to eat at the Chili's there that they have on base which Eric was SO excited about because, honestly, Japanese food has proved to be quite a problem.

The food! sweet baby Jesus, feeding ourselves has been the hardest thing about this whole trip! (and the most amusing). I'm already a litttttle bit of a picky eater so going into restaurants and seeing Sea Urchin and Slop on the menu has been ROUGH. Not to mention even the McDonalds tastes weird and Japanese-y!  The rootbeer has soy sauce in it! haha! it's just been quite an adventure finding places to eat that have a more normal palette. I've tried some new things though and I'm getting used to it little by little!  One night we went to this super authentic Japanese place and that was SUCH a cool experience.  It was a hole in the wall, and we walked in and they made you take your shoes off at the door.  Then they brought you to a little table where you sat on the ground.  Luckily they had menus that were in English (as most places do, so thats nice) and we ended up eating SO GOOD!  They had steak, and fried rice, and shrimp, and chicken... it was fantastic.  They did not have forks however, so our chopsticks skills have improved greatly as well!  Monday night we went to a Steak and Lobster house and that was awesome too. It was right on the water and we watched the sun go down while we ate like Kings. :)  The only thing that I havent gotten since being here is sushi! Which is so ironic!  but everywhere that we have found sushi doesn't quite have california rolls on the menu and looks like a slab of raw fish on a plate. Weird and unappetizing.

Aquarium!  We went to the Aquarium last week which was SO cool.  Its not ANYTHING like an aquarium in the states.  They had CRAZY different creatures that I have never seen before. and... they had WHALES. We walked down a flight of stairs after seeing some of the most odd looking tropical fish Ive ever seen and in this massive tank were these HUGE stingrays, and manta rays, and then 2 massive, massive whales. just WAIT until you see the pictures of these things.  Just you wait. 

gah! There is SO much more stuff to blog about but it will have to wait because I'm hungry and need to find some food. haha Love you all and Im SO excited to fill you in on everything else we've been doing!  Literally every single day is an adventure and its been a once in a lifetime experience.  As expected, though, being with Eric has been the best part of everyday.  He is truly just such an incredible husband and I can't even handle how blessed I am to have him and be near him right now.