New Experiences in Japan

It's not very often in life that we experience things that would be completely normal in life as we know it, but unexpected when we are thrown into an entirely different place. Such was the case this weekend, not once, but twice.

First, I got an email at work on Friday afternoon letting me know that there was a chance of snow in Yokosuka. I knew that it snowed in Japan... there are mountains everywhere in this country, the temperature drops below freezing, and precipitation falls on a regular enough schedule that it was bound to occur. But for some reason, I just didn't believe that we'd actually see much snow. As it turns out, we woke up on Saturday morning to the sight of snowflakes falling from the heavens towards our little section of the Kanto Plain. The snow continued all day, but for some reason we saw no accumulation around our house. We decided to brave the rough weather and head into base, because (1) Nicki has never lived (or driven) in a place where snow actually falls, (2) we were getting cabin fever with little to do in our house and wanted to get out, and most importantly (3) we wanted to find a place that had insulation and heat so that we could keep warm.

During our drive to base, we noticed quite a few cars covered... and I mean covered... in snow, but we couldn't understand why because we didn't even have to scrape snow or ice off our windshield before driving. By the time we drove the 2 to 3 miles to base, we figured out why. The snow was accumulating everywhere! It was very pretty sight to see the blanket of pure white snow covering the buildings, trees, and sidewalks. It was also nice to enjoy the view from our heated car and the heated restaurant where we had lunch. But for some reason, it just didn't seem real to me, perhaps because I spent my previous eight winters in San Diego, where the average temperature was a bone-chilling 55 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 13 degrees Celcius for all the non-US readers out there).

My second new experience occurred today - a Sunday afternoon. I experienced, yet again, something that I would not even think twice about in the States, but it caught me completely by surprise here. Our doorbell rang in the early afternoon, which is atypical because we rarely receive visitors at this point. So I checked it out and as I opened the door, I saw a very nicely dressed Japanese man carrying a small stack of papers. I motioned for him to enter our front gate and he thanked me in very good English. As it turns out, he was with the Jehovah's Witness religious organization. My point here isn't to speak one way or another about any particular religions, but I found it quite unexpected and peculiar to see a Japanese man doing Jehovah's Witness missionary work on my front doorstep in Yokosuka, Japan. The man was very polite and well-versed in the English language, so we talked for a few minutes before he finally continued along his way.

Anyway, just something I thought I would share because it never would have occured to me that I would experience snow and a Jehovah's Witness missionary in my neighborhood in the same weekend.

Go Carolina Panthers! (because they're from a fine state)
Go Pittsburgh Steelers! (because their coach, Bill Cowher, is a fellow NC State University alumnus)