Welcome to Kadena

This place is huge. This base makes Baumholder feel teeny-tiny. It's so weird seeing fighter jets across from where I'm doing my business. I saw tankers at Baumholder and we often were stuck behind them on our way to/from school. How neat that I've had both these experience in my short 26 years.

We got our id cards yesterday (Friday) and that makes us official. You need them to do everything. Jared and I feel like real people today. We also got our cell phone yesterday. It's Phi Mu pink! It's everything I've ever dreamed of, but in Japanese. I found the English instructions so my phone is now working for me.

We are staying in the base hotel. It's like a dorm room made into a hotel room. It's really close to a gate if we want to leave base and not too far from the shopping on base. I went to the BX which is like a Target and did some shopping today and took a cab back to the hotel. They have Polish Pottery at the BX!!! They also have Clinique, so this is one happy girl. There are tons of Coach bags which remind me of my dear friend Jessica so I may go peruse the Coach aisles when I miss her.

We've looked for housing the past two days. We found one place we fell in love with. I hope we end up in that neighborhood. It's right on the Sunabe Seawall (google it) and there is a strong neighborhood feeling. IT was neat seeing kids ride their bikes in the streets. There is also a doner kebab place in the 'hood. The agent is former Air Force and v. helpful. Love the area. Some of the places we've seen are way too garish. Too big, too modern, too American like. Natives here live in teeny apartments and Americans gobble up these excessive apartments. I don't want to be like that.