So the last week we have made some progress on trying to settle into our new home and our new schedule here in Japan. I successfully painted our living room a nice yellow and our entry way wall (which technically is part of the living room, but I'm hoping the paint helps distinguish it as another area) is a great shade of grayish blue. The two colors look really nice together and complement our furniture well. I will post pictures once we finish hanging pictures on the walls. We also are getting more stuff organized after finally getting all the boxes unpacked. We bought a small (cheap!) bookcase to stick inside our closet so now most of the clothes are off the closet floor and our master bedroom is looking a bit better. Just have to get around to painting it sometime soon so I can be "done" with that room too... though our whole place will be a work in progress while we update things like curtains, lamps, side tables, a new desk, etc. I'll probably be updating and improving until the month before we pack it all up again to move in a few years! But I'm so glad I painted and we are taking the time to customize and make this place feel like ours. With everybody living in the same few styles of on-base housing I didn't want to feel like I was the same as everyone else. Plus all the cream walls make me feel so....institutionalized! There is a bazaar next weekend on base and I've seen a few nice pieces of furniture people purchased there in years prior, so I am hoping we can pick up at least one nice piece. I'm crossing my fingers for a desk!
We are also hoping to get some yard work done in the next week or two. Our yard is a good size (as far as on base housing goes...) but it needs some TLC. There are some worn out areas that need some re-seeding and filling in the low spots to help the puddles on form. There is also an area that has a "path" where grass wont grow and it leads from the patio out to the pine trees. We decided to not fight it and bought some fun paver stones and will help make it look like a real path instead. We also hope this helps keep the mud off the doggy paws! We want to get our flower baskets up on the side of the fence soon and hopefully get our garden started. The weather has been so random here (today was upper 60s and sunny, while friday night it sleeted/snowed...) that waiting another week or two to plant the garden probably won't set us back too far.
We didn't go on any big ventures into Tokyo this weekend but next weekend we are going on another tour so we'll be busy! We hope that if we make an effort to do one or two day long trips around the area every month we'll still be able to see stuff while also having a schedule back home (not to mention not going broke- Japan is expensive!). I've heard a lot of comments of people in their last year here that realized they haven't done nearly as much as they had wanted to by then, so hopefully we won't be one of those couples. I think we might be the opposite, trying to do too much too fast! So having one weekend entirely within a 5 mile radius of our house was nice :-)
Dereck and I also were able to sign up to attend a 10 week Japanese Culture Course offered on base. Its free of charge and once a week we meet with some local Japanese who volunteer their time to teach us about traditional Japanese things. Last week we did tea-ceremony and this week we are doing Calligraphy. So far it's pretty cool! I also am attending a "survival Japanese" course (also free!) which is for 6 or 8 weeks I believe. Again, native Japanese volunteers are teaching us the basics of asking directions, ordering at a restaurant, etc. Its a great course and I've already learned a lot in my first 40 minute class!
So that's it for now. I'll try to update again soon.
Till next time- Jane
Monday, April 19, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Harajuku
Dereck and I decided to spend our Sunday going to Harajuku. Harajuku is an area of Tokyo that is known for its unique residents, shopping, and "people watching". Sunday is known for being the busiest day in Harajuku, since that is when most people have the day off, so we knew we would be in for a crowded and bustling day. Combine that with 70s and sunny weather and its gonna be a crazy day!
We got on the train and headed into Tokyo. We are getting pretty good at the train system, and I have to credit the iPhones we have to helping with that! You can look up train schedules and there is a website that gives you routes from point A to point B which helps take a lot of the guesswork out of it. So after about an hour or so on the train we got off at Harajuku station. I was expecting to be in sensory overload right away, but being that it was only 10am it was still pretty tame. That was nice because we got to go see a beautiful Shinto Shrine that is in a park outside the train station. It was called Meiji Jingu and it was really pretty and serene. The trees were so tall and old, it was amazing to see that it was right next to such a busy part of the city. If you look close, you can see me in the pink in the left corner of the picture!
After the park we started walking around the streets of Harajuku. We were hungry but had to wait about an hour for the street side cafes and restaurants to open up. It was different in Harajuku because we were not automatically assumed to be American's from the Air Base in Fussa. We were just foreigners and could have been Italian, German, or any of the other languages we heard from the other white people in Harajuku. We also could be Americans just on vacation. So it was neat to not feel like we fit into that label anymore.
I was able to bring my Frommer's Japan travel guide with me which highlighted some things to see in Harajuku. One of them was an Oriental Bazaar that is known for its quality authentic Japanese gifts, so we had a good time walking thought that. It was so strange though because this very pretty Oriental style building was right in the middle of very modern and high end stores such as Ralph Lauren, Coco Chanel, and other similar establishments. By the time we were done shopping the cafe we wanted to eat at had opened up. It was a very tiny place and was on the 2nd and 3rd floors of a building down a little side street. The side streets were such contrast to the main road because they were narrow and quaint. Only foot traffic was on them and it was really so nice. Then you walk out to the main road and its just seas of people. Here are some pictures:
We really enjoyed our lunch (Dereck had some Korean style bbq and I had some breaded chicken that has this delicious "wine" sauce on it) and it was fun to sit and relax up on the tiny 3rd floor and get the fresh air from the open windows.
I'd like to go back to it sometime! We even found something on the menu that Dereck's dad would like (yes, they had an English menu available, which was surprising because this place was so tiny!) Do you see that? SPAM!:
It was about 1:30 in the afternoon and the park was hoppin! Back in the states you'd think that there was some sort of festival or event going on with that many people, but in Japan its just a beautiful and sunny Sunday. There were street performers, children playing, people playing instruments, kites, pets, sports, and plenty of picnics. You name it and it was probably at the park. We walked over by the very big dog park area and had fun seeing all the Japanese dog owners and their dressed up dogs (they put clothes on the big dogs too!). Here are pictures at Yoyogi park:
Dereck got some street vendor food (his favorite) and finally we were worn out and ready to head home. On the way back to train Dereck stopped to get his "free hug". It was hilarious.
The train trip home was even easier because we caught an express train that skips some stops so it went faster. All and all it was a great Tokyo day and I had a blast. So far Harajuku is my favorite thing we've done so far!
Sayonara!
Jane
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Bringing Home the Bacon
That's right, I'm back to being a workin' woman. I have managed to get not one, not two... but three part time jobs in the last few weeks. All of the jobs are teaching English off base to Japanese citizens. However, they are all very different.
The first job that I got is for a school called Kodiara and it is to teach English to members of the Japanese Military. It is off base but they arrange our transportation, so I just have to get myself to the other side of base to be picked up. I will be teaching there once a week starting this summer. I will have my own class starting around the August timeframe but I will be subbing a few classes in June/July. My class will be smaller and more advanced, and will be for people who are leaving directly from the class and going to work in various embassy's and other positions that require them to use their English skills a lot. I'm very excited for this class because I think it will be very interesting and more professional.
The second job is working for a public school in a Hamura City, which is just on the west side of base. I will be coming in about once or twice a week to teach at a Jr High School (or Middle School as some of you know them by). The curriculum is set and they have a regular Japanese teacher who runs the English class, but I come in to help with the correct pronunciation and so they can hear a native English speaker. The class is between 28-40 kids so it is big but I've heard nothing but great things about it from other ladies on base. I should start around the first week of May :-)
The third job is for a private English school in Hamura City. This school teaches students from ages 4-adult and it is after the regular school/work day so I will be there in the evenings. Because I committed to the other jobs first, I told them that I would be a substitute until I see how my schedule is. They want me to teach a regular class but I don't want to over commit myself so I stuck with subbing for now. This allows me to pick how many times I want to work and I can say "no" if I'm too busy or have plans. I already subbed one class and it was very fun. The classes are small, no more than probably 10 people max. I had 6 little girls, about 7 or 8 years old. They were adorable. Next week I'm subbing at least 3 more classes!
All the jobs pay very well and even with having three I will not hitting more than 15 or 20 hours a week max, so I will still have plenty of time to be involved on base and spend time with Dereck. I am happy to have my own thing to do again though, and happy that its something I think I will enjoy and allows me to learn more about the Japanese culture.
That's it for now! Sayonara!
Jane
The first job that I got is for a school called Kodiara and it is to teach English to members of the Japanese Military. It is off base but they arrange our transportation, so I just have to get myself to the other side of base to be picked up. I will be teaching there once a week starting this summer. I will have my own class starting around the August timeframe but I will be subbing a few classes in June/July. My class will be smaller and more advanced, and will be for people who are leaving directly from the class and going to work in various embassy's and other positions that require them to use their English skills a lot. I'm very excited for this class because I think it will be very interesting and more professional.
The second job is working for a public school in a Hamura City, which is just on the west side of base. I will be coming in about once or twice a week to teach at a Jr High School (or Middle School as some of you know them by). The curriculum is set and they have a regular Japanese teacher who runs the English class, but I come in to help with the correct pronunciation and so they can hear a native English speaker. The class is between 28-40 kids so it is big but I've heard nothing but great things about it from other ladies on base. I should start around the first week of May :-)
The third job is for a private English school in Hamura City. This school teaches students from ages 4-adult and it is after the regular school/work day so I will be there in the evenings. Because I committed to the other jobs first, I told them that I would be a substitute until I see how my schedule is. They want me to teach a regular class but I don't want to over commit myself so I stuck with subbing for now. This allows me to pick how many times I want to work and I can say "no" if I'm too busy or have plans. I already subbed one class and it was very fun. The classes are small, no more than probably 10 people max. I had 6 little girls, about 7 or 8 years old. They were adorable. Next week I'm subbing at least 3 more classes!
All the jobs pay very well and even with having three I will not hitting more than 15 or 20 hours a week max, so I will still have plenty of time to be involved on base and spend time with Dereck. I am happy to have my own thing to do again though, and happy that its something I think I will enjoy and allows me to learn more about the Japanese culture.
That's it for now! Sayonara!
Jane
Monday, April 5, 2010
The Red Rocket
So here are pictures (as promised) of our car. Its is a 1997 Nissan Cube and Dereck has named it The Red Rocket. Its nice and small so we fit into the Japanese parking spaces as well as on the narrow roads off base. However, its also surprising spacious quite versatile. Dereck and I both feel that we have enough leg room in the front (the seats move far back enough to comfortably drive) and the head room is great because of the cube shape.The back seats fold down to create a larger open space in the back. We were able to fit my bike in the back (barely) and that's probably the biggest thing we'll ever have to haul in it. The storage space between the back seats in the hatch is probably only about 16" deep but surprisingly seems to hold more than we thought. Plenty of room for groceries! There are also some small storage bins under the floor of the back seat area, though we aren't sure what to put in them since they are only about 2" deep. The Red Rocket has about 69,000km on it, which is about 43,000 miles. We got it for only $1800 from a couple who lives on base, so we are very happy about the deal we got, especially since in the USA I sold my '97 Acura that had 125K+ miles on it for $4000! Most cars in Japan seem to be decent priced, but like anywhere, if you buy from an individual you save compared to buying at a dealer. Plus all the cars have to pass an inspection every 2 years so we know its not a "lemon". Here are some pictures of our new ride:
You see the wheel on the right side of the car? crazy, right? I keep turning the windshield wipers on instead of the blinkers!
Also, here are some pictures of my new bike. I wrote a blog a few days ago about the trip to purchase the bike but I didn't have pictures loaded onto my computer yet. The bike's brand name is "Orkney" but Dereck didn't remember and called it "Orly". That is now my bike's nickname, which we find funny since we have a good friend named Orly as well. I hope she doesn't mind that my bike shares the same name. Enjoy the pics! She rides great :-)
Also, here are some pictures of my new bike. I wrote a blog a few days ago about the trip to purchase the bike but I didn't have pictures loaded onto my computer yet. The bike's brand name is "Orkney" but Dereck didn't remember and called it "Orly". That is now my bike's nickname, which we find funny since we have a good friend named Orly as well. I hope she doesn't mind that my bike shares the same name. Enjoy the pics! She rides great :-)
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Shinagawa Aquarium and Tokyo Tower!
The base has a great Information, Tickets, and Travel (ITT) department that have a lot of tours and events that you can sign up to go on. On Saturday the 3rd of April we went on a bus trip to take us to Shinagawa Aquarium and to the Tokyo Tower. Its nice because the bus takes you into Tokyo and they buy all your tickets for you, so there is no guesswork or hassel on our part. We just go and enjoy!
The bus trip to the Shinagawa area was pretty cool because we got to see a lot of the Tokyo area. We have Google Maps on our phones are were able to follow along using the GPS feature so we could see exactly where we were in relation to the city. It was pretty cool! Traffic was light and we made it to the Aquarium in just a little over an hour. Once we got our tickets into the Aquarium the first thing we did was see the dolphin show. Of course it was all in Japanese so we couldn't understand anything, but you didn't have to understand to have fun watching the dolphins do tricks. Dereck and I have been to Sea World a few times (both in FL and TX) as well as the aquarium in Corpus Christi, so we have a lot of compare this to. It was small but very fun. There were two dolphins and the tricks were simple but great. The best part was the Japanese audience. The dolphins just needed to swim by the glass and everybody yelled with "oooooohs" and "aaaaahs". They were amazed! It was so funny. We even ended up getting splashed even though we were not in the "splash zone". Here are some pictures of the show.
After the dolphin show we had about an hour before the sea lion show so we went to walk around the aquarium. They had rockhopper and chinstrap penguins so Dereck was happy about that.
Then we went to the spotted seal exhibit which was really cool. They had this big glass tube you could walk through and the seals would swim over, under, and around you. It was really cool because you could barely see the floor you walked on so it really felt like you were just totally surrounded by water. Very fun. Here are some pictures of that.
After the seals we went to see the other tanks of fish. They had a really need tunnel that was like what they have in Underwater World in the Mall of America. The fish were swimming all around you and they had these huge rays and a really big sea turtle cool. We ended up going through it twice that day because it was just so cool. It was also fun to watch the other Japanese exhibits, like eel and octopus.
The sea lion show was really fun. Again, we couldn't understand anything but we had a good time. We could tell that the show was supposed to be funny, and one sea lion came up and splashed everybody and they all laughed and happily freaked out. The Japanese audiences definitely enjoyed the show.
We eventually saw everything in the Aquarium and went outside to get some lunch. The Aquarium is in this really big and pretty park so we had lots of places to walk around. After Dereck had some Ramen and I had some kind of fried meat balls (I think it was chicken) we had about an hour to walk around the park until the bus left. The sun was out and it turned out to be really nice so we were glad to do this. There was a pretty river and the cherry blossoms were out and looking beautiful.
We walked over and saw a little league baseball game being played so we sat to watch for a while. The boys looked about 12-13 years old and they were really into it! Then we noticed that one of the teams were wearing Twins jerseys so we really got a kick out of that!
The park also had some fountains and other biking/walking trails, as well as a picnic area. We walked through the picnic area and saw a bunch of people grilling... but they were grilling stir fry, and seafood, and pretty much anything that you would NEVER see on an American's grill at the park. It was fantastic! We also walked by a swimming pool complex that had greenish water in it and had people fishing. Yes, they stocked the swimming pool with fish! It was so strange.
Eventually we went back to the bus and headed to Tokyo Tower. Tokyo Tower is like the Eiffel Tower but newer and bigger. The line to get in was very long and the smushed us into the elevator to the point where nobody had any personal space. Not good for those who get claustrophobic! But after a quick ride to the viewing platform, we got a 360 degree view of Tokyo. We want to go back at night someday, but the day view was really cool too. It was surreal because as far as your eyes could see was just buildings. Tons and tons of buildings. Buildings until they faded into the distance. Tokyo harbor was pretty but then beyond that, more buildings. It was just insane.
They had a spot where you could look straight down so that was pretty cool.
We took the stairs back down to the bottom so it was fun to get some fresh air and get out of the crowded observation tower. At the bottom we saw a lady doing some sort of show with a monkey dressed like a child. We had no clue what she was saying but the monkey didn't look very happy. It was funny though, since we just randomly were like- hey, look! a monkey!
We couldn't watch long though because we had to find our way back to the bus. We stopped quick at a gift-shop to pick up some souvenirs, and we had to get one of the very strange looking pink mascots that the Tower had all over. They look like bright pink Bananas wearing overalls and we don't really understand it, but now it is hanging in the back window of The Red Rocket to great those to drive behind us.
It was a fun trip and we can't wait until we go on another one! (p.s. There are more pictures on our Shutterfly website!)
The bus trip to the Shinagawa area was pretty cool because we got to see a lot of the Tokyo area. We have Google Maps on our phones are were able to follow along using the GPS feature so we could see exactly where we were in relation to the city. It was pretty cool! Traffic was light and we made it to the Aquarium in just a little over an hour. Once we got our tickets into the Aquarium the first thing we did was see the dolphin show. Of course it was all in Japanese so we couldn't understand anything, but you didn't have to understand to have fun watching the dolphins do tricks. Dereck and I have been to Sea World a few times (both in FL and TX) as well as the aquarium in Corpus Christi, so we have a lot of compare this to. It was small but very fun. There were two dolphins and the tricks were simple but great. The best part was the Japanese audience. The dolphins just needed to swim by the glass and everybody yelled with "oooooohs" and "aaaaahs". They were amazed! It was so funny. We even ended up getting splashed even though we were not in the "splash zone". Here are some pictures of the show.
After the dolphin show we had about an hour before the sea lion show so we went to walk around the aquarium. They had rockhopper and chinstrap penguins so Dereck was happy about that.
After the seals we went to see the other tanks of fish. They had a really need tunnel that was like what they have in Underwater World in the Mall of America. The fish were swimming all around you and they had these huge rays and a really big sea turtle cool. We ended up going through it twice that day because it was just so cool. It was also fun to watch the other Japanese exhibits, like eel and octopus.
The sea lion show was really fun. Again, we couldn't understand anything but we had a good time. We could tell that the show was supposed to be funny, and one sea lion came up and splashed everybody and they all laughed and happily freaked out. The Japanese audiences definitely enjoyed the show.
We eventually saw everything in the Aquarium and went outside to get some lunch. The Aquarium is in this really big and pretty park so we had lots of places to walk around. After Dereck had some Ramen and I had some kind of fried meat balls (I think it was chicken) we had about an hour to walk around the park until the bus left. The sun was out and it turned out to be really nice so we were glad to do this. There was a pretty river and the cherry blossoms were out and looking beautiful.
We walked over and saw a little league baseball game being played so we sat to watch for a while. The boys looked about 12-13 years old and they were really into it! Then we noticed that one of the teams were wearing Twins jerseys so we really got a kick out of that!
The park also had some fountains and other biking/walking trails, as well as a picnic area. We walked through the picnic area and saw a bunch of people grilling... but they were grilling stir fry, and seafood, and pretty much anything that you would NEVER see on an American's grill at the park. It was fantastic! We also walked by a swimming pool complex that had greenish water in it and had people fishing. Yes, they stocked the swimming pool with fish! It was so strange.
Eventually we went back to the bus and headed to Tokyo Tower. Tokyo Tower is like the Eiffel Tower but newer and bigger. The line to get in was very long and the smushed us into the elevator to the point where nobody had any personal space. Not good for those who get claustrophobic! But after a quick ride to the viewing platform, we got a 360 degree view of Tokyo. We want to go back at night someday, but the day view was really cool too. It was surreal because as far as your eyes could see was just buildings. Tons and tons of buildings. Buildings until they faded into the distance. Tokyo harbor was pretty but then beyond that, more buildings. It was just insane.
They had a spot where you could look straight down so that was pretty cool.
We took the stairs back down to the bottom so it was fun to get some fresh air and get out of the crowded observation tower. At the bottom we saw a lady doing some sort of show with a monkey dressed like a child. We had no clue what she was saying but the monkey didn't look very happy. It was funny though, since we just randomly were like- hey, look! a monkey!
We couldn't watch long though because we had to find our way back to the bus. We stopped quick at a gift-shop to pick up some souvenirs, and we had to get one of the very strange looking pink mascots that the Tower had all over. They look like bright pink Bananas wearing overalls and we don't really understand it, but now it is hanging in the back window of The Red Rocket to great those to drive behind us.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Trip to find a Bike!
On Wednesday Dereck and I made our first trip driving off base by ourselves. We've been off base quite a few times with friends, and walking off base really isn't a big deal. But after about a week of driving around on base to get used to some of the traffic signs driving on the left side of the road, we thought we might be ready. With Dereck behind the wheel, I was the navigator. Thanks to technology, I was able to see our route clearly on Google Maps and I had a good idea of where we were going. The main mission of the trip was to buy me a bicycle and the first place we went to was a second hand shop. We had been to one before on the other side of base that is within walking distance, but had no luck finding a bike. It only took about 10 minutes to get to the shop and we found it without any problems. The traffic wasn't too bad but it was still quite steady. The roads we were on were smaller so speeds were kept low, which I enjoyed. I think one of the strangest things about driving around the towns here in Japan is that there doesn't seem to be zoning like in the USA. Along on section of road you'll pass a few houses, a school, a restaurant, a business, a farm, more houses, etc. Its just so random!
This shop was much bigger than the other second hand shop we went too and had some really cool things in it... but their bike selection had nothing of my liking (or price range). I finally was able to drag Dereck out of the store after promising we will go again and we headed up to Joyful Honda. We had to back track the route we just took and then kept heading north. Traffic had picked up at this point so with all the stoplights it took us a little bit to get there, but we never got lost and found it fun to see all the different stuff surrounding the base. Also, since Joyful Honda is huge there were some signs marking the way. This store is a Japanese superstore that is like a mix of a grocery store, Walmart/Target, Home Depot, and Petsmart. Its crazy huge and has anything and everything you could probably need there. We found the bike department and probably spent about 30 minutes looking through the bikes and figuring out which kind we wanted to get. I decided on a silver bike that has 3 gears, a front basket, and a rear tire rack. I can choose to attach another basket to the back or just get some bungee cords to attach some parcels to it. It comes with a tire lock and a pretty cool bell too. And though its "my" bike mainly, it is silver so Dereck can ride it sometimes and not feel like he's on a girl's bike the whole time.
I was pretty proud of myself since I was able to successfully communicate to the store worker that I needed to get a bike from outside. I don't really know if it was the "correct" way to say it, but he understood just fine so I'm happy with that. Bike in Japanese is "Jitensha". I added that to the phrase "I need" while pointing outside and he knew what I wanted right away. The bike came to be about $160 and we were okay with that, since I hope to use it as a main mode of transportation quite often. We had to buy a helmet as well since base rules require it, but I'm okay with that. If I'm sharing the road with cars I don't need convincing to wear a helmet!
So after we purchased the bike and the workers attached the pedals and check it out (he demonstrated to me that the brakes and bell all worked well) we were able to take it home. The next step in this process was trying to fit the bike into our car. I apologize for not posting pictures of our car yet (they are coming soon, I promise!) but this is NOT a large vehicle, and my bike has some good size to it. After a bit of frustration we were able to get the seats in the into a position that allowed the car's rear hatch to close. Of course, these seat positions were so terrible that I couldn't feel the lower half of my body on the way home, and I'm surprised that Dereck was able to drive with he's seat back up so far. But even though it was a bit uncomfortable, we made it back to base with no issues. The traffic had cleared up a bit so the trip home took less than 10 minutes.
I haven't uploaded pictures onto my camera yet, so my next post will be a big picture post included our car as well as my new bike. I'll try to get it up tomorrow!
Sayonara!
This shop was much bigger than the other second hand shop we went too and had some really cool things in it... but their bike selection had nothing of my liking (or price range). I finally was able to drag Dereck out of the store after promising we will go again and we headed up to Joyful Honda. We had to back track the route we just took and then kept heading north. Traffic had picked up at this point so with all the stoplights it took us a little bit to get there, but we never got lost and found it fun to see all the different stuff surrounding the base. Also, since Joyful Honda is huge there were some signs marking the way. This store is a Japanese superstore that is like a mix of a grocery store, Walmart/Target, Home Depot, and Petsmart. Its crazy huge and has anything and everything you could probably need there. We found the bike department and probably spent about 30 minutes looking through the bikes and figuring out which kind we wanted to get. I decided on a silver bike that has 3 gears, a front basket, and a rear tire rack. I can choose to attach another basket to the back or just get some bungee cords to attach some parcels to it. It comes with a tire lock and a pretty cool bell too. And though its "my" bike mainly, it is silver so Dereck can ride it sometimes and not feel like he's on a girl's bike the whole time.
I was pretty proud of myself since I was able to successfully communicate to the store worker that I needed to get a bike from outside. I don't really know if it was the "correct" way to say it, but he understood just fine so I'm happy with that. Bike in Japanese is "Jitensha". I added that to the phrase "I need" while pointing outside and he knew what I wanted right away. The bike came to be about $160 and we were okay with that, since I hope to use it as a main mode of transportation quite often. We had to buy a helmet as well since base rules require it, but I'm okay with that. If I'm sharing the road with cars I don't need convincing to wear a helmet!
So after we purchased the bike and the workers attached the pedals and check it out (he demonstrated to me that the brakes and bell all worked well) we were able to take it home. The next step in this process was trying to fit the bike into our car. I apologize for not posting pictures of our car yet (they are coming soon, I promise!) but this is NOT a large vehicle, and my bike has some good size to it. After a bit of frustration we were able to get the seats in the into a position that allowed the car's rear hatch to close. Of course, these seat positions were so terrible that I couldn't feel the lower half of my body on the way home, and I'm surprised that Dereck was able to drive with he's seat back up so far. But even though it was a bit uncomfortable, we made it back to base with no issues. The traffic had cleared up a bit so the trip home took less than 10 minutes.
I haven't uploaded pictures onto my camera yet, so my next post will be a big picture post included our car as well as my new bike. I'll try to get it up tomorrow!
Sayonara!
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