Another murder by an American Marine

Why does this happen? Don't they have kind of pride that they are representatives of their own country? You know an American marine confessed that he killed a Japanese lady in Yokosuka.

It is really sad that US Navy in Japan has such a bad reputation, but this proves how they create this stereo-type image.

My hometown is near Yokosuka, where US Naval Base is located. Some Japanese residents are afraid of them because some of them acts so silly and offensive. Or even though they are nice, the way they present themselves is very different from ours, so it might make some of us feel nervous around them.

I used to work at an Italian restaurant in Yokosuka. This place is really popular among Americans. I know some of them are really rude and make fool of us, especially when our staffs can't speak English well. But I also know some of them are so nice and friendly to us, better than Japanese customers. Also some of my English teachers were from Naval Base. They are such good people. I really like them.

But the thing is, even though most of them are so nice and friendly to us, this one murder can ruin all their efforts, or even if it is not a murder. If an American guy shouted at his friend in English, we might feel nervous because we dont know what he said. If a Japanese waitress said something in her poor English, trying to help them at a restaurant as she serves, then if American customers suddenly burst into laughter, how does it make her feel? Probably they didnt laugh at her, they laughed at something else, but if she didnt understand English, then she would think they laugh at her for some reason.

What I want to say is they should think how they are watched, how their behavior affects their reputation. Be awere that you represent your country when you are in a different culture even though you dont want to!!

A trouble with DFS shop

I came back to Japan last night. It was 11 hours flight from LA and took another 2 hours and half to my home from the airport. It was loooooooooonnnnng way.

I left his home at 9 am. His mom made lunch for us, some egg muffins and pineapples. We brought it to the airport.

It was raining in LA. We got there 2 hours before departure time, about 11 am. After I checked in, we had lunch his mom made. It was really delicious. Then I went to DFS store to buy some suvenior for my friend who booked my flight. I bought a box of chocolate.

Then, it was time to say bye to him. I didnt cry this time because I had a feeling that I would be back to LA next time with my job and live there to be with him, so I felt really positive. He felt the same way.

At the gate, all passengers were supposed to pick up DFS products we bought earlier. But mine wasnt there yet, so I went to a kiosk to buy a bottle of water. When I came back, I asked a DFS staff there about my stuff. He said they would bring it on board.

I got on board and asked a Singapore airline staff about my chocolate. He went to check it. When he came back, he said it would take about 5 minutes to bring it on. But after a while, a Japanese lady came up and said that my chocolate didnt make it on board, I have to get a refund or make it delivered to my apartment. Either way, I need to call DFS in Japan to talk about my situation.

I wanted to ask more questions, but she said she is a Singapore airline staff, not a DFS shop staff, so she couldnt answer any further questions. All right, I didnt get my chocolate anyway.

I called DFS today but an answering machine said they would be available from 4th. I called another number which is available all year around, but this number is supposed to be available for those who havent gone through Custom in Narita airport. I just wanted to know what I have to do to get my money back.

The staff said if I tell them the information of my purchase and my bank account, then I can get my money back, but I have to wait till 4th anyway.

I was going to a new year party with my high school friends tonight, but I had a migraine in the morning, so gave up..... It is kinda nice to stay at home all day with my family, though. I'm going to Kamakura for Hatsumo-de tomorrow.

Shopping at an outlet mall

I was such a shopping girl yesterday.

We went to an outlet shopping mall. I wanted to buy some chocolates for my family at Rocky Mountain Chocolate. That's the only reason we went there this time, but looking at all inexpensive products turned me into a go-go shopping girl again.

I wanted to buy some kind of sport wear for Ultimate, so went to Reebok at first. I found some nice jersey, but went on to Puma store. Oh, my god... I found a really cute pink bag, pink hat and sport jacket under 100 bucks total.

Then we went to Coach outlet store. I didnt intend to buy anything there because my favorite brand is Dior and even though it is an outlet store, still expensive, you know. BUT I found a really pretty little suede bag and it was affordable.... I bought it!!!!!! Oh, yeah!

We went to a movie theatre to see "KING KONG" at late night. When we bought tickets, my BF said " 2 tickets for KING KONG" and the cashier said "Both adults?"

HEY, WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?????

I dont look like a minor anymore!

It was a really good movie. It is 3 hours movie but doesnt feel like that long. My BF watched the original one and he said after he watched the re-make one, he can have the same feeling from the original one. I like this movie.

It was my last day today, but we didnt do much because we came back home after 0:30 last night and got up at noon this morning. We just shopped around again. But after dinner, I was desperate to have some icecream, so we went to COLD STONE! Yeah.

I had "Pumpkin something in the sky" with corn in a cup. BUT I thought I was going with "Love it" size but if you order icecream in a corn cup, it has only one size "GOTTA HAVE IT". I totally didnt know it and when I got it, I was like..... OH NO! What do you do with "Icecream with whipped cream on top in a gigantic corn cup"????

I wasnt worried that I cant finish it. I was worried that I could possibly finish it even though it was so big....and I did....

I can live without icecream for a while....

I will be leaving the States tomorrow. See you guys in Japan!

Disney California Adventure!

We are now at Disney California Adventure! Yeah!

It wasnt as crowded as the other one. You can totally tell why this is not as popular as Disneyland Park. You dont feel like you are in Disneyland. You feel like you are in an ordinary theme park. That's why. But still fun though.

We got on a ride called Grizzly River Run, which is "Roar down this white-water raft adventure" according to the map. This is a wet-ride.

We got on a boat with 4 indians(looks-like), 1 father and 1 super-cute little boy(Americans I suppose) and us. One indian lady got really soaked! Oh, my god. We were glad that wasnt one of us. The boy we got on a boat with was so cute! He said " I really like getting wet!" and put a huge smile on his face! Oh, CUTE!!!! I was wearing Micky ear hat, and he said "We shoud get one of those, daddy!" I was about to give it to him(Well, I didnt though...)

Anyway, Other than this, we rode, California Screamin', Mulholland Madness,Golden Zephyr,Mike &Sulley to the RESCUE and Soarin'Over California.

Also, there were interesting attractions, which were "Mission Tortilla Factory" and "The Bakery Tour". You can see the process of making Tortilla and Sourdough bread.

This is Sourdough in progress...

Big tortilla machine with my BF back shot.

You can get a piece of free sourdough bread and tortilla.

And the main event here was to see "Electrical Parade"!!

See pictures below!

Oh, my god! It was really fun again! We came here for free and enjoyed too much! Hahaha-.

Disney Land Park!

Ok, I'm back from Disneyland!

As I said before, Disney Resort in CA consists of 2 parks, which are Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure. We went to Disneyland Park the first day.

The park had restricted access. The one day pass wasnt available there. If you wanna get in the park, you need to have tickets in advance. We soon found out why. There were millions and millions of people there!! Whenever you go, you have to stand or walk shoulder to shoulder with strangers. There was no spare room even an inch between people. If you want a soda or churro, you have to wait at least 20 minutes to get. It was insane..... Also, I havent seen so many strollers in one place and those actually ran into and ran over our feet so many times. Ouch..I know parents must have harder time than us, though.

Anyway, we waited in line for rides. We rode, Disneyland Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh( this was busted right before our turn and we had to leave untill it was fixed....we came back later of the day), and what else? Prob. that's all. We did a good job, didnt we?

Also, the main events of this day for me were to see "A Christmas Fantasy" Parade and "Remenber...Dreams Come True" Fireworks Spectacular. We also saw the show "Fantasmic" while we were walking around.

See pictures below!

This is the main street.

Pooh with someone I dont know...

Chrismas tree at the main entrance.

Parade!

After the fireworks, it was snowing! Nah, I'm just kidding.

This is an artificial soup snow. But see how crowded here is...

Oh, we had a funnel cake here, too. This was better than knotts berry farm funnel cake, though.

We were so tired but it was so much fun! Thank you honey for coming along with this selfish, I-wanna-do-everything type of girlfriend!

We stayed in Red Roof Inn nearby and will go to Disney California Adventure next day!

Post-Christmas Sale

We went shopping at Fashon Valley today. Oh, my god... I have never seen so many cars at one place here in the States.... It took about an hour to find a parking spot, where was not even in a parking garage. We parked outside.

We were kinda hungry, so tried to grab some food at the food court. Oh well, there were long lines at every single stores!! It took at least 20 minutes in line to wait. I just have not seen this many people before in a shopping mall. I went shopping on 26 in Canada and States before, but not as much crowded as this place. I dont know what is so special about this mall, though. Seems like just an ordinary place to me.

When I went to Starbucks there, the cashier asked me my name to put on cups. I told my BF's name and he looked confused because it obviously is guy's name. I told him it is not my name and if I told him my real name, then he would get more confused because it is not a name that he gets used to. I once told my real name at another Starbucks and the cashier there never got it. So I just gave up and told my BF's name. I think if I live in the States, I need to creat English middle name.

We watched NFL game today at home. He explained the rules, so I now enjoy watching it.

I'm going to LA for the interview tomorrow and Disneyland after that! I cant update this blog for a while, but some pictures will be posted on this later for sure! See you all later!

Christmas!

We have been so lazy recently... I wanted to help his mom but it was almost noon when we got up.

I had a cheese quiche from yesterday's leftover for brunch and he was just nibbling appetizers that his mom prepared for pre-dinner.

Then she gave me a Christmas present. It was a hand-made scarf! She knitted it for me again! I gave her and her husband a wall clock and gave my BF PSP softs and a leather pencil case. He gave his mom and step dad Chargers baseball caps and sweat shirt. Chargers is a NFL team in San Diego. His Christmas present for me was the ring, as you know.

We helped her peel potatos and cut off the edges of green peas, but other than that, dinner was done.

Christmas dinner was really good. I especially liked stuffing and chutney. I think she is a great cook. We had an apple pie for dessert. Oh, I love it, too!

Dinner was early. It started about 4. I asked him why holiday dinner is always so early and he just shrugged.

We watched a movie we rented the other day, which was "MEMENT." This is so good. It is kind of frustrating because this hero has a "condition" which is that he has a short term memory. He cant creat new memories, so has to write everything down on a piece of paper. Also the story was being told backwards. So we feel like we too have a short memory because we cant see how the story began. I think this director is really clever to use such a way.

There wasnt so special event on Christmas, but it is so nice to be accepted by my BF's family as a family member and spend time together. I hope we can spend our Christmas like this forever.

Christmas Eve!

Last night, his mom said she was gonna make special breakfast, so would like us to have it together. She said it would be at 8 or 8;30, but we were too lazy to get up....

We finally got up at 10... Anyway, breakfast was Mushroom and bacon quiche, Mushroom and cheese quiche, Cranberry muffins, baked potatos with bacon, and freshly squeezed orange juice. Oh, I love those quiches! It was really delicious.

We went for a ride on his brand-new motorcycle.

I've never ridden on it before even though it was my dream to buy this big motorcycle and ride it around! It was actually kind of hard work. I was leaning on him, but when it made a stop, or blakes, I had to support my weight with my arms. My armes got so tired... Also he said his wrists got tired because he had to support his weight and my weight. It, however, was so much fun!! I would like to ride it again for sure. You know it is kind of girls' dream to ride on a back seat of his motorcycle and wrap your arms around his waist, isnt it?!

Then we got out to pick up my ring. God... the mall was even more crowded than the day before yesterday! The ring was re-sized so nicely. You cant tell where the joint is. Oh, I love it!

We had pretzels for lunch. I had pepperoni twist and he had pretzel bits with jalapeno cheese. This sauce is his favourite. The pepperoni twist was just out of a oven. Oh, god... It was so soft and warm. Hummmm perfect!

Then he got thirsty, so he got smoothy and icecream somewhere and I got cafe latte at some coffee store. Whenever I saw really bad customer service, it makes me think I can do really good business in the States. I can just open restaurants or cafes and hire all Japanese people. It makes customer service way better than American one. If you are Japanese and living in the States, you know what I'm talking about.

We brought the presents we bought yesterday to this mall because there is a wrapping service available by high school brass band. They are volunteers, but we pay for the service, so they can get a fund to manage their band next year. This is really cleaver system actually.

After it was done, we came back home and went out with his mom and step dad to see a very beautiful Chrismas decoration at Hotel del Coronado.

There's a skaterink in a garden facing at the sea. The funny thing is you can see people surfing in the sea from there. I mean there is summer sport and winter sport available at the same place, at the same time. Humm. This is California, isnt it? This hotel is decorated and put lights on. But the thing is they have really big and beautiful Christmas tree in a lobby!

Sorry it is not rotated, though...

We had dinner at a pizza place and came back home about 6. We got bored, so rented some movies. We watched " The 40-year-old-virgin." This is kind of hilarious, but we didnt get the ending, though. But the rating is really good on the movie critic website. Check it out if interested.

I'm going to bed right now. It's about 1;30. I will help his mom tomorow morning prepare for Christmas dinner.

Good night.

Second Day

As I said, I was just waiting for him coming back from work. He called me several times and said it was really busy at work and he didnt know what time he would get off.

In the morning, when I went to the living room, his mom asked me what I want for breakfast, so I told her I'm a cereal eater.

Then about 2, I was about to get out for Starbucks because I got hungry again, then she offered me sandwich. Wow, what a perfect timing! I had ham and cheese sandwich. I spent much time with his mom. I really like her.

He finally got home about....I cant remember the exact time. Anyway he got home and we had pasta with his family for dinner. We went out to Horton Plaza in San Diego after that. He said his coworker is staying in a hotel in San Diego, so he called her up and left a message, but apparently she didnt get it. We just shopped around and bought Christmas presents for his mom and step-dad.

While we were shopping, he got a call in from the jewelly shop and it said my ring is already done! Cool!

There wasnt much action on this day, but it was just good to spend time with him.

The first day in the States

I got off the airplane in such a hurry but unfortunately I choose a very slow line at the immigration....I waited so patiently.

As soon as I got out of the gate, I found him and coudnt stop smiling. It was the moment he and I had waited for 3 months. Huggs and kisses fell on me.

We sat down and chatted for a while. Then he really surprised me by saying, " Could you make a miso-soup with me?" in Japanese. I thought he just wanted to eat it, but then, he gave me a ring! You know, it was a proposal!

He actually proposed me last time he was in Japan, but didnt have a ring, so he promised me to buy one for Christmas. We laughed together. He said his Japanese co-workers told him to say it. Actually they told him to say " Could you wash my underwear?" I'm glad he didnt say that, though.

Dont worry, he said that miso-soup proposal as a joke and I knew it, too. He proposed me seriously before, so it doesnt bother me that he said miso-soup proposal this time.

We went shopping afterwards. It was really crowded in a shopping mall even though it was a weekday afternoon. There were a lot of "Last minute Christmas shoppers."So were we...

The ring needed to be re-sized, so we went to the jewelly shop. He always buys stuff here for me. I asked him why and he said he now knows a guy working there and consults him what he should buy for me. When we got there, the guy was there. He said it's so nice to meet me. I really like that guy, too. He is nice.

He chose size 7 which is an average size of American women, but they said they knew as much that it was too big for me. I didnt know my size,so couldnt tell him. My size was 5. It takes 2 days to re-size, so it will be ready on 24, late afternoon. Perfect timing for Christmas!!

After shopping, we got home, but I slept only 2 hours on the airplane and he was tired, too. We fell asleep without eating dinner.... I woke up 2 in the morning and realized I was starving. I didnt think I'm going to make it till breakfast.

He has to work today so left early in the morning. I got up and took a shower. I hesitated to go to the living room because I didnt say hi to his family last night. But my hunger won over hesitation.

I went to the living room and greeted his family. I said I should have said hi last night, and his mom said it is understandable that I was exhausted from the flight. Ah, such a nice family.

I'm now waiting for his coming back, but he gave me Starbucks gift cards last night so I can go to Starbucks. There wasnt one before but now there's new Starbucks within 10 minutes on foot.

Ah, it's such a nice feeling to be in the States on vacation.