Hot Summer Days

The last week has been busy and quiet at the same time. This is what the last few days have looked like for us.

Brandon has been avidly working on the ship everyday. He works during the hot days and is usually pretty tired when he gets home. He has a 24 hour duty every 6 days, and work has kept him busy for the last few weeks. We have been camped out the last few nights watching old John Wayne movies and enjoying our air conditioner. I have been taking it easy for the most part because of the extreme heat. It is a blistering 100 degrees outside and it's only mid July. By August it will be at least 115 everyday. I am struggling to drink the extra amount of water that has been advised to stay hydrated. If I thought I had to go to the bathroom a lot before, I was wrong. After doubling my intake I am almost always going. The military has issued a black heat level flag. At a certain time of day all outdoor activities and recreation are prohibited. People are getting dehydrated and going to the hospital left and right. It is so hot outside that the river behind our house is now at a slow trickle. Brandon's ship is like a giant steel oven, usually 10 degrees hotter than the outside of the ship. When Brandon comes home at night I have to put his uniform into the wash as soon as he takes it off, otherwise it stinks up the whole house. I am pretty much living indoors with my air conditioner on high at this point.

We drove up to Mt. Yumihari the other night. The sun was setting and there is a lookout at the top. It is one of the highest points in Sasebo and upon our arrival to the top, the entire city was visible. Breathtaking is not even close to the word that would describe the view. We could see the entire base and shipyard, including Brandon's ship. The ship looked like a giant building compared to the other boats in port. Houses looked like miniature models. We sat and watched the tiny cars on the highway they looked similar to ants. The changing colors of the sky were beautiful. What a relaxing way to spend an evening. I took several pictures, but I'm sure they didn't do it justice.

Brandon had a 24 hour duty on Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning I had an early doctor's appointment and would need the car, so I ended up taking Brandon to work for his duty. Since we have been in Japan I have only had to drive a few times. Most of the time Brandon is my driver. This would be the first time that I would have to drive by myself. I wasn't nervous at all. How hard could it be? I've been driving since I was 16. I knew it would be like riding a bike. The steering wheel is on the right side of the car, which means that the gear shift is on your left hand side. A little awkward but it's not to bad. The blinker and windshield wipers are opposite of an American vehicle. I am used to putting on the blinker with my left hand and now I have to use my right. Forgetting this tiny fact makes you look like an idiot. Turning on your windshield wipers in the blazing heat while you turn a corner is an immediate sign that you are an American and are new to driving in Japan. You might as well spray paint that you are a giajin on the side of your car. Giajin is the term that the Japanese use for Americans or white people. Much like the Mexicans call us gringo. Driving on the opposite side of the road isn't as hard as you would think. I got used to it fairly quickly. I made it home all in one piece. And then back to the base to take Brandon his dinner. After a full day of driving today I am considering myself to be quite educated in the ways of driving and am confidant in my skills. Nothing exciting happened while I was cruising about, which makes for a semi boring story. But it was a bit different than the norm, so I thought I'd share it.

My doctor's appointment this morning was fairly uneventful also. Brandon had just gotten off work, I picked him up at the ship. He didn't have time to shower or shave, he had changed into civilian clothes from his uniform, but still smelled quite ripe from being on the ship all night. He was exhausted after pulling an all nighter, and I was wondering if he would make it through our day at the hospital. We met our translator and again took the government van to the doctor's office. Check in was a breeze. I was again weighed and measured with the same electronic contraption as the last visit. I have only gained 4 pounds. At seven months I'm quite proud of myself. The doctor wants me to keep gaining from now until the baby is born. We sat and waited again for hours. Brandon barely made it an hour before he was begging me to let him take the train home for a nap. He looked like he was going to pass out from exhaustion, so off he went to the train station down the street. I still had to wait. I took my glucose test today checking for the possibility of gestational diabetes. It took several hours for the results to come back. They came back great. I have been working hard and it is paying off. I also had an ultrasound. Jackson is getting big. His weight has doubled since my last appointment. He now weighs in at a whopping 3 pounds and is 17 inches long. He was pretty active on ultrasound and was quite the little ham, making everyone in the room laugh and marvel at his antics. He is still in the breech position and is pretty comfortable apparently. I guess all of those exercises I did didn't help change his mind about turning around. The doctor assured me that there was still plenty of time. All in all everything went well. Jackson is in perfect health and growing fast. And the doctor said that I am doing great and staying healthy. I am due back to see him in 2 weeks as the end is getting near. I was at the hospital for 5 1/2 hours today. By the time I got home I wanted lunch and a nap. And that's just what I did.

We went to Mongolian BBQ tonight for dinner. They have it on base every Wednesday and Thursday night. We love to go and have been many times. During dinner we saw the captain of Brandon's ship and his family enjoying a family meal. I have become friends with his wife. She is an amazingly warm hearted southern woman. Very laid back and friendly. Because of fraternization rules my friendship with her is limited, but whenever we see each other we stop to chat. We see each other everywhere, and so it's become almost comical of how much we run into one another. After they got done with their dinner, she came over to our table to check up on me and the baby. She's much like a mom in her demeanor. I feel quite fortunate that out of all the wives she could watch out for I am the one. It makes me happy to know that I have made such a positive impression on her. I am hoping that we remain friends through the rest of our tour here.

Other than that our week has been pretty ordinary. Next week doesn't look very exciting either. Looks like everyday life has set in for us. I'm sure there will be more fun to come in the near future, but for the moment it's nice to just take it easy and enjoy everyday slowly. We hope that all of you are enjoying your summer thus far.