Today I sat down at my computer and I was about to email some pictures of our Okinawan Christmas to my family and friends. I made a list of all the pictures I wanted to send and a list of the people I wanted to email, and the list was massive! The thought occured to me that maybe I should just put all these pictures on a blog, instead of emailing them to every person individually. So, yes! I have finally joined the rest of the world in embracing cybertechnology and started my own blog! Hopefully this will be a good way to stay in touch with our loved ones who are, quite literally, scattered all across the globe. Well, let me start by saying "Happy New Year!" to everyone. We had a wonderful, if a bit different, holiday season here in Okinawa. It was interesting to spend Christmas outside of the United States, and more specifically, in a country where the majority of people don't even celebrate Christmas. The season started off on the wrong foot when I tried to buy a Christmas tree and was informed that the BX on base was all sold out. Keep in mind that this is BEFORE Thanksgiving! I started to panic, because it's not like I have a lot of shopping options here on Okinawa when it comes to American products. I pretty much have the BX, and oh yeah, the BX. I tried to order a tree online, but no vendors would ship an object that big to an APO overseas address. I was so depressed on the day after Thanksgiving, because that is usually such a fun day filled with shopping and dragging out the Christmas decorations. (Where are you, Emily and Jaden, when I need you?) I had nowhere to shop, and no decorations to put up. I did bring a small box of decorations with things like the Christmas stockings, etc., but not enough stuff to decorate a house - even a tiny house like mine! I asked around if any of my friends or neighbors knew of any places off base that might carry Christmas trees and decorations, and they all laughed at me. They gently reminded me that Christmas is not a holiday that is widely celebrated in Japan, and so Japanese stores don't carry much of anything like that. (This is when the tears started.) I related this information to Shane, and he asked me what I was going to do. I told him simply that I was leaving the house the next morning, and I would NOT come home without a Christmas tree, even if I had to cut one down myself from a city park with a kitchen knife. He chuckled, and reminded me that there aren't even pine trees on this island. (More tears.) So, I left the next morning to canvass the island for a tree. I drove from the East China Sea (which I live by) all the way to the Pacific Ocean - literally from sea to shining sea- in my quest. Along the way, I stopped in at every store that I recognized. Keep in mind that this is harder than it sounds, because I can't read the signs on any storefronts, and so I have no idea what kind of merchandise a particular store carries until I am inside. In fact, I can't even tell if stores are STORES until I am inside. Sometimes what I think looks like a store will turn out to be a restaurant, or a bath house, or something completely unrecognizable to me. In those cases, I simply smile and bow and make my retreat as quickly as possible before anybody talks to me and wants any kind of an explanation. So anyway, I had spent the entire day and had found absolutely nothing. (More tears.) I was on my way home, dejected and sad. Along the way, I saw a store that I recognized as a chain home improvement store. I decided what the heck, I might as well stop in. I walked inside and discovered that they didn't have any trees for sale that I wanted (they did have a couple but they were a foot tall, and hideous), but my eyes lit up when I saw their store's own display tree. They had put up a makeshift Christmas display, presumably to attract the American crowd, and in the middle was a huge Christmas tree. I couldn't tell exactly how big it was, but it was BIG -and pretty. It took me a while to find an employee, and I asked her if I could buy that tree. She couldn't understand a word I said, so she went to get her manager. He was little Japanese man who didn't speak any English either. Through pantomime, I was able to ask him if that tree was for sale. At first he shook his head, but then he paused, scratched his head and shrugged his shoulders, kind of like he thought I was a crazy American to be asking to buy the display tree, but I guess he figured he might as well make a buck or two off me. I told him to name his price (he didn't know this, but I would have paid anything at this point) and he finally came up with the price of 9800 yen. He probably thought that such a high price (about a $100) would dissuade me, but I didn't even bat an eye. I slapped down my money before he had a chance to change his mind. There was no box for the tree, since it wasn't even supposed to be for sale, and so it was quite a sight to see these Japanese men trying to carry this huge tree out to the parking lot and stuff it in my van. I drove home with Christmas music blaring from my car stereo, fake evergreen boughs sticking out of every window, and I could not have been happier. I felt like the Grinch when he returns to Who-ville on Christmas morning with his tiny sled brimming with gifts. I had saved Christmas!! Never mind the fact that when I got the tree home and inside, I discovered it was atleast 3 feet too tall. Nothing could dampen my spirits, however. I just didn't put the top section on the tree. So my tree wasn't pointy on top, it ended in a sort of plateau. But who cares? Not me. I thought it was beautiful. I filled the tree with what few lights and ornaments that I had brought with me (by the way, thanks, Ryan and Emily, for some helpful additions), and I think I have never appreciated or enjoyed a tree more in my whole life. Anyway, once the tree was up, the Christmas season went without a hitch. Shane's parents came from Texas and were able to stay with us for three weeks. We had a wonderful time with them! It was so nice having them here. They, more than even the hard-won Christmas tree, made our Christmas bright.
