This week in Japan we got to attend the Bon Odori (Friendship) Festival here on base. We had been looking forward to this event for weeks. They had opened the base to the public, and it was packed with both Americans that live here on base, as well as tons of Japanese from the wild. The Japanese really like the pilots here...they had pilots in uniform out by their planes in the streets, and the Japanese would get in line to take pictures with and get signatures from the pilots. They also bought a lot of the squads T-shirts. They really worship the Americans. It was neat to actually see in person. Each of the different squads here on base set up there own booths for fundraising..there was a lot of hot dogs, but my personal favorite was the cotton candy! MMMHHM, both me and the Japanese loved it! There were also some Japanese vendors selling different things....lots of sushi, noodles, and trinkets. We got some good little souvenirs, ate some yummy food, and were so tempted to buy a gold fish (not...haha Anton wasn't sure if it was for a pet, or to eat....we still don't know ha ha). We spent most of our money on a wood block painting...we think it will fit in well with our home decorating...if our stuff ever gets out of storage ;). I had hoped Maggie would nap in her stroller while we walked around..however, she was to intrigued by all of the people around base that I had to leave the festival a couple of times to get her home for naps. Everyone still loves Maggie of course....they all have to comment about her blue eyes, and she's so good at responding to them with the biggest grin. Since it was an open base, their were navy police everywhere...it felt very strange walking around the field with suited up army men carrying guns. They had tight security to say the least, but me and Magster were never questioned due to our obvious adorable American looks :)
They had turned the gym here into a large flee market, and I felt like a lot of tables just had things that they sellers didn't want in their homes anymore ;)...but luckily we found some little treasures. They had a day of activities, including the professional eaters from ESPN, a couple different DJ's, and traditional Japanese dancers. We had to call it a day at 7, so Maggie could go to bed, but we got to hear the party all night long from our hotel room ;)
The George Washington ship is in port right now, so all of the men on the ship are home with their families for about 3 weeks. Its crazy how full the base fills now...on normal days, me and Magster can go out to do our exercise and not see a single person...now with everyone home, everywhere we go we have to wait in line. The weather is still insanely hot and humid, but we can tell that our bodies are adjusting. There are bugs everywhere...they have these insanely loud rattling bugs in the trees that pretty much rattle from sun up to sun down, the drive me crazy...but least they distract Maggie for a good 3 minutes.
In the next couple of weeks, Anton will be starting school again...working on his masters in Public Health online. He's pretty great. Mags is as adorable as ever. Still napping 3 times a day, and sleeping through the night mostly. She's eating applesauce, carrots, and oatmeal right now, and will be trying green beans shortly.
We are still enjoying Japan a lot..we miss home, especially our peeps, but so glad we are out here!
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