Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Tuesday, August 19, 2008: Train talk

It was pouring outside this morning. It let up just as we were about to bike to the train station and then another round of showers. At this point, we have our umbrellas in tow, however, Brandon and I only have 13-14 minutes to walk to the station. I start panicking that I wouldn't be able to make my train. Then, it got down to 12 minutes or so, so we caved in and Brandon called a taxi. It was about $7 and I got there with 5 minutes to spare...however, my bills were too large for the machine....so I went inside the ticket office, waited in line, and missed the train I had planned on! Thank goodness for cellphones and internet! I called Brandon and he was able to look up, in English (Hyperdia.com is a lifesaver. We can find out train times and train station connections), when the next train was. My last train even had a couple of guys from "OWLS" (the company I work for) that I recognized. So, that was comforting to know I was on the correct train and we got there early. Edem and Shaun (the guys I talked to on the train) are pretty funny and they were real familiar with Japan...so they had stories to tell. Apparently, the crime in Okinawa is pretty rough with the marine crowd being there. On the other hand, I've seen pictures of some of their beaches...crystal clear water, paradise-type of landscape. Some people call Okinawa the "Hawaii" of Japan. I want to go there!!

Okinawa, Japan

Training was pretty uneventful, although we did get our own business cards! On my train ride home, I was more observant of the towns we passed. It seemed like no matter the size of the house...they still hung their clothes to dry. You would think someone would by a dryer (I have yet to see it...of course I haven't seen any multi-million dollar homes either). Brandon and I made sure to stay up late so we could make some phone calls via Skype (wonderful technology!! We can call the U.S for only $6/mo. and for people who have Skype...we can both dial from our computers and talk for free). I called Mom and my surgeon, Dr. Langley (I still haven't felt right, since the surgery).

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