I think it's been about a week or so since I last updated. We've been pretty busy! Our first typhoon just teased us. It stayed out in the ocean, so we only got a little bit of rain. Nothing more than we haven't seen already, so had we not heard about it on the tv/radio/internet/postings around base we would've been oblivious to it passing by. It brought about gorgeous weather yesterday, though. I guess after storms like that pass by the humidity drops for a day or two afterwards. At least that's what the crazy housing agency dude said. He was kind of shady. We don't trust anything he said.
Which leads me to what we've been up to the last few days: searching for a home. We didn't do much this weekend-- it was rather rainy. We went to church on sunday and I felt homesick for the first time. I really miss our church. Really, really miss our church, but I am confident we will find a church home sooner or later.
Anyway, we looked at 7 houses yesterday and 4 today. [K did not enjoy this, btw.] We saw some really nasty places (the Mr was kind enough not to point out that a home had cockroaches in it until after we had left), but we found two we liked. One home is in the Torii area, which is north of the Mr's work and one block from the Sea of China; and one in Okinawa City which is between the Mr's base and the Pacific Ocean. There are major pros to both places. The Torii home being that it is beautiful, has a covered garage-type area under the apt, it is one block from the beach and park, and it is modern. The negative things about it are that it is an apartment, so we would not have a yard and the living room/dining area are small. I am also uncertain about whether it has enough storage. What I like most about the Okinawa City home is that it has a large (for Japan) living/dining/kitchen area, it has a small yard and plenty of storage; conversely, I am not a fan of the neighborhood and I can reach out of most of the bedroom windows and knock on the neighbor's window.
Okinawa residential streets are so weird to me. They have an alley-like feel to them and it makes me feel unwelcome. The only places I don't feel like this are very Americanized and, unfortunately, are usually out of our price range.
The DOD (Dept of Defense) gives us a housing allowance based on the Mr's rank and E1 (brand new to the military) to E5 get 177,000-180,000Y/month. E6 get 225,000Y/month. Guess how many really nice houses are at 225/month? Way too many and it makes me so jealous! I have been so spoiled by our homes in San Diego and I feel like a whiny brat, but I really wish we got a little more of an allowance!!!
The (upstanding) housing agents have recommended that we don't go above what the DOD gives us because the dollar isn't very strong and if we try to pay out of pocket it could get very costly should the dollar-yen rate fluctuate in the Yen's favor. It is so tempting, though, when I see how much better of a home we could get for a mere 20,000Y ($250 right now)/month more.
So, we have to choose soon. I'm praying about it and hoping it becomes clear what our choice should be, but holy wow do I need to get a hold of this jealousy!
I will try to take pictures of the more traditional Japanese homes we go to. The inside of the front door is usually lower than the rest of the home and there is usually a built-in cabinet for the residents/guests to take off their shoes. You do not enter Japanese homes with shoes on. Some homes have Tatami rooms, which are rooms filled with Tatami mats. These are somewhat delicate mats that help with temperature control. Frequently, (but not always) they have an altar-type area set up where I think they make offerings to Buddha. Not positive because every agent I've asked about the rooms say they are just for relaxing. [I don't get why you need an altar to relax, but ok.] The bathrooms are different in that (some?) Japanese do not shower in their bath tubs. In traditional type housing they have a hand-held shower head that you can use in the area directly in front of the tub. This area is lower than the rest of the bathroom and has a drain in the floor. The toilets are never found in the same room as the tub. Often they're in a closet-looking room. Most kitchens don't have an oven. Most places don't have a decent amount of storage, either; which makes me wonder if the Japanese are minimalists, awesome at organizing, are hoarders, or have storage lockers hidden away somewhere (though I highly doubt the last two).
I need to start taking more pictures. I promise I will if we go look at more homes tomorrow/this weekend because I am sure I will want to remember this. Hopefully next time I write it will be with pictures of our soon-to-be home and a move-in date!
OH! We went to the park between showings and [[TMI warning]] I really had to pee. Went to the park bathroom and totally forgot about my public Japanese restroom phobia until I opened the stall door and found the dreaded floor potty. It was magic! I suddenly didn't have to go! lol I wish I hadn't left my phone in the car otherwise you guys definitely would've gotten a picture with this post!
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