Preparing to Shift Colors

The emotions with heading out to meet my ship are wide and varied for me. I am very excited to be the ship's chaplain. I am very excited to be going to a ship again after a short 22 year hiatus. I am very excited about the friendships that will develop and the ports I will get to visit. YET – I do not look forward to leaving my Princess and the Madre behind. In 18 years of marriage we have spent a few weeks here and there apart, but never a deployment. Both of us are confident that our relationship is strong enough to handle it with ease, but we still don't look forward to this part.

My relationship with my Princess is significantly different. She is only 5, and only superficially understands what is going to happen in a couple of days. Yesterday morning, I took her to breakfast at the club and explained to her that on Saturday I fly out to meet my ship. This will not be like previous times that I have been separated from her; it will be much longer. It was very emotional for her to hear this. I then shared with my Princess a Mizpah necklace. It has become a permanent fixture around her neck – until this evening.

This evening, the Princess and Madre stopped by the playground to play for a few minutes on their way back to the Lodge. Everything was going well until it was time to come back to the room, and the Princess told Madre that she could not find her necklace. Madre called me to get me to bring a flashlight since Princess lost the necklace somewhere in the sand. I grabbed my flashlight and headed out. About the time I arrived Madre was putting the necklace back on the Princess's necklace. Turns out, the Princess was continuing to live out her fantasies surrounding pirates and had buried her necklace in the sand as a treasure under the 'X'. Our Princess was completely beside herself, but was also emotional about finding her necklace. I think her days of burying jewelry are now over.

So Much Accomplished in So Little Time

It is hard to believe that in just over a week in Japan we have:

1. Gone through the indoctrination class for the base
   
2. Found a place to live
   
3. Found a vehicle to drive
   
4. Found good food
   
5. Found interesting people and places to visit
   

At the top of my list is the new home – it is incredible. It is close to base (<15 minutes driving time). It is spacious (equivalent of 4 bedrooms). Close to a park (I think that is Coheem in Japanese). Beautiful view (we can see the harbor in Sasebo where my ship is moored from the bedroom windows).

It looks like, although a home has been found, I will not actually reside in it for a while – you gotta' love the Navy. Madre will get the joy of receiving our household goods on her on. I will simply come home at some point in the future to try to figure out where my socks and underwear are.

Let’s review now what we have learned so far:

Today we began our indoctrination class. Lessons learned:

1. Although all the documentation received to date indicated that a courtesy shuttle would be provided, picking us up at the Navy Lodge, taking us and children to the Child Development Center (CDC), then returning to the Fleet and Family Services Center (FFSC) in time for the briefing to begin it took at least 5 phone calls to make it happen such that service members were dropped off at FFSC while leaving spouses to figure out the litany of paperwork at the CDC and hopefully returning before the apocalypse occurred. As it turns out, a decision was made that the shuttle service would no longer be provided effective the beginning of the month. This was never fully conveyed to anyone. When I called at 7:30 I was assured that the shuttle would be there at 7:45. At 7:55 I called back again and was told that the service was discontinued. When I asked for recommendations on what to do, they said they would call back. About 8:00 I was called back and they were sending a shuttle right over. Finally, about 8:15 the shuttle showed up.
   
2. The indoctrination briefing we were attending was Area Orientation Briefing / Intercultural Relations. For most people it simply flows from their lips as AOBICR. For me, it was enough letters that it might as well end in M-O-U-S-E.
   
3. Uniforms are not required at the AOBICR, as I found out, being the only person in uniform there.
   
4. Presentations given by civilian employees of the various agencies were usually well thought out and presented. Presentations by military personnel were, for the most part, weak. The civilians seemed to take great pride in putting their presentations together and organizing them. The military personnel seemed to put it together by whoever drew the short straw today.
   
5. Most presenters listed off a tremendous list of activities you could do that would end you up in jail, in the brig, in the morgue, or other pleasant situations. The amusing part of it was the fact that almost all of them presented all sorts of things that seemed like you would burn in hell for doing, but ended their brief with, "But welcome to Sasebo, get out, enjoy and have a truly great time." Almost hearkens back to the days of Mom saying, "Have fun and don't get in trouble;" two statements that have nothing to do with each other when you are a teenager.

Welcome to Sasebo

The final journey here and welcome were amazing. It took 4 flights spread over the better part of 3 days to make it happen. In many ways it felt like we would never get here, but we did. The only glitch came up on leg 2 of the flights (Houston to Honolulu) where the three of us were initially spread all over the plane. When I asked them to make sure the person next to the Princess (now 5) was fairly warned and had the opportunity to make sure that her snacks and drinks were readily available.

When we finally arrived on Friday we were exhausted. The amazing thing about our arrival was the warm welcome. The family readiness group from my ship brought over what would normally be a goody bag, but I think they brought over a goody shopping cart or cornucopia. There were 3 or 4 large grocery bags of stuff to welcome us and keep us going.

For dinner on our first evening we walked up to Chili's on base – I know it is not the great cultural experience to get us started, but we were hungry and we were tired – we didn't care. The Princess was so tired that no sooner did her dinner arrive than she promptly fell soundly asleep on Madre's chest. We quickly made our way through dinner and walked back to the lodge to put her to bed. And, as would be expected, we awoke relatively early on Saturday in time to watch the activities of the fish market across the river from us – it starts at 3am.

Our cultural experience began in earnest as we headed downtown to the Yonka-Cho Shopping Arcade, a wonderful collection of stores and restaurants in an open air, covered mall about a 15 minute walk from the base. We first found a street vendor selling some form of dumpling that was simply delightful.

We each tried one, then simply had to have about 6 more. We quickly sat down on a bench and made very quick work of them. They were delightful. I will have to figure out later what the appropriate Japanese name of these is.

Shortly after the dumplings we came across a noodle restaurant that will certainly be revisited by us over and over.

We have absolutely no idea what the name of the place is. We have no idea of the names of the foods we tried. We are only moderately certain of the content. We had two different types of noodle dishes.

The first was much more like a very hearty beef stew with a distinct hint of curry – it was YUMMY!! I could easily see devouring gallons of this in the cold of winter as you enjoy a good football game.

The second had noodles and what appeared to be rice, kind of like Rice Krispies, along with a wonderful broth and shaved beef; also, very good. The Princess enjoyed experimenting with being allowed to slurp and eat with chop sticks.

Two other treats we had (sorry no pix) were rice, a pork dumpling, and a shrimp fritter. The rice was sticky-gooey rice with a purple fleck of some kind in it that tasted like blackberries or maybe a floral type of flavor. It was surprisingly good. The pork dumpling came cold, and tasted OK cold, but thank goodness that Madre pointed out the microwave that was sitting right next to me. I shoved it in for about 45 seconds and boy was it good. The Princess even enjoyed tearing into it. The shrimp fritter was the real prize. I was prepared with shreds of onions, carrots, and shrimp with some form of batter binding. The onions tasted much like onion rings, the carrots added a sweetness, and the shrimp simply completed the picture.

The final treat of the entire experience was noticing that we were the only people in the place who were not Japanese. It appeared like we learned how to order our meal, pay for it, find our seat, enjoy our meal, and clean up after ourselves all without having a clue about what we were doing. What a treat.

Three Days in Dublin

On Thursday, Madre and I ventured off to Dublin, Ireland as part of family vacation, and it was great. We spent three wonderful days exploring the streets, history, people, culture, and food of Dublin. In many ways

this was a second honeymoon for us, a mere 18 years after our first. We have had wonderful vacations in the past, but not since the Princess also became part of our lives just about 5 years ago.

One of the greatest culinary delights of Dublin is the institution that will celebrate 250 years of preserving humanity, one pint at a time on Thursday September 24, 2009. At 17:59 around the world people will hoist a pint of Guinness together celebrating the lease that Arthur Guinness signed 250 years ago as a 9,000 year lease. With only 8,750 years to go we had soon start scouting out alternate locations.

Another part of the culture of Dublin is the food. Dublin has a tremendous love with the sea and the seafood is a delight to behold. The smoked salmon simply melts in your mouth. Madre and I enjoyed a dinner of brown bread, smoked salmon, and mussels for our last evening there with Guinness and Irish Whiskey while we enjoyed a typical Irish band enliven us with their capabilities.

It is always good to know who you are, and where you come from. Many people run for decades from their family name because of the shame that is brought by it. Others cling to it as if the entire human civilization depends on it. No matter where you stand, it really does your heart proud when you come to the realization that an entire railway station shares your family name. I couldn't help but venture over simply to confirm, in person, that the station's name was indeed as advertised, and not only that but spelled correctly.

A very strange realization was on our very first day. Madre and I took a tour bus that allowed you to get off and get on as often as you like. As we were passing an area near the old Dublin Castle our bus driver casually mentioned, "Do you see the rather distinguished looking lady that is walking down the sidewalk now? We, she is Mary McAleese, the President of the Republic of Ireland." You could have knocked Madre and me over with a whisper. She was not traveling in some grand entourage with enough secret service that you would be able to fund a small country with their combined salaries. There were a couple of people walking with her talking into their sleeves, but she was simply walking through the streets of Dublin as everyone else was. Who would have ever thought?

The truth is almost always stranger than fiction. Our last evening in Dublin we were making sure that we hit some of the best pubs in the Temple Bar area when we encountered a number of men dressed in a way that you could not help but nearly wet yourself upon seeing them. They numbered about 20 or so of these men. For each of them they were attired exactly the same: Great fluorescent green afro wigs, faces painted as orange as the fine people of Syracuse University, and white knicker style trousers with white suspenders. Yep, you guessed it, they were Oompah Loompahs. It was quite a treat seeing 6 foot tall oompah loompahs, smoking cigarettes, drinking Guinness, and singing traditional Irish drinking tunes. When I encountered one of the said oompah loompahs in the men's room (that is a strange occurance in and of itself) I asked him what was going on. He told me, but between the number of Guinness that had already lubricated his speaking capabilities, and his thick accent the best I could must was to smile and nod knowingly. Eventually, Madre and I figured out that they were part of a huge stag party.

Arrival in Harrogate

Yesterday, I finally got to begin my leave in Harrogate. It is great to be back here again after a mere 10 year absence. I was concerned that my congestion may be an issue for me flying or visiting, but so far it has just been a pain - not a real hindrance.

After breakfast this morning Madre, the Princess and I went to Darley to pick up Auntie Marion - Madre's 95 year old aunt. We took her into Pately Bridge to get fish and chips then out to Two Stoops to enjoy just being outside for a little while. After fish and chips we came back into Darley to stop and get some fresh eggs at a local farmhouse. The thought of purchasing eggs at a grocery store in this neck of the woods is an anathema. The farmer and his wife indicated to Madre that they only had 6 hen eggs left, but they would cut a little on the price for 6 hen and 6 pullet eggs (pullet eggs are from hens in their first year of laying and are a bit more slight in size than traditional hen eggs). When Madre indicated to the farmer and his wife that we were toting around her Aunt Marion they were all excited and simply had to come out to speak to her - Marion is a bit of a celebrity in the community as would be anyone who had achieved 95 years young.

Pictures of all this will soon follow.

Moving Out Of Beaufort

I have to be blunt - I am not a big fan of moving. Yet, I have been called to a vocation that seems to have moving at the very heart of it. As a pastor, you will most likely move from time to time, but as a chaplain you will most definitely move on a regular basis. I think the real trick is finding a way to enjoy what life has to offer without collecting more "stuff" along the way than you truly need. As a chaplain, the list of "stuff" I need as dictated by the Navy is almost infinitely long. A significant portion of our express shipment was exclusively eaten up by my uniforms and professional books. The other real trick, I believe, is finding a way to find joy in the midst of suffering. Our Princess has helped us to not take ourselves too seriously. Even as the movers were loading our "stuff" on the truck last week, Princess was dancing on their boxes.

I wish that we had thought to get a picture of it, but she spent a significant portion of the day hibernating in the "safe room." She referred to our spare bedroom as the safe room because we had instructed the movers who were picking up our household goods load to not touch the spare bedroom - it was all personal items going with us or being picked up the next day as our express goods shipment.

Our Princess also helped us to stay grounded as she decorated her boxes before they went on the truck. The movers were great about keeping her comfortable.

You still have to wonder what was going through her mind as she watched her entire world get loaded on a truck, hermetically sealed in wrapping paper, cardboard boxes. I do know that this has been very emotional for her, as it has all of us. Our last night here together she was having difficulty going to sleep and I heard her crying in the next room. I went in to talk to her and she was very upset that the pillow at the BOQ was not as comfortable as hers, she would miss Madre and me when we die, and that she would miss her friends in Beaufort when we go to Sasebo. The emotional whiplash from the conversation gave me some unique insight into the real fact that this move is hard on her - so for now we simply love her.

Thus our travel plans begin

Orders came - Japan it will be - specifically, Sasebo.  The world has certainly become our oyster.  For now is the adventure of deciding on base or on the economy for a home.  We also need to decide issues like school for the Princess, job for the Madre, what to take, what to store, what to trash.

Madre lived in Germany, Spain, and England before - never Asia.  I have always lived in the US, but visited Europe and Middle East.  The Princess, being only 4, is simply excited about the possibility of meeting Japanese princesses.  With very few exceptions, those with whom I have spoken about living in Japan have glowed with how much we will enjoy this experience.

As we transition we will visit family in the UK before heading on to Sasebo.  The sojourn begins with other sojourns.