So here we are, the first post.

To bring you up to date, I arrived in Japan on February 7th and Heather followed 10 days later on the 17th. Thus far our time has been spent getting acquainted with our new home and its surroundings. As of this weekend we finally finished unpacking and have our apatto whipped into order. It is a nice size for us, is close to the center of town and the train station, and thus far we are happy with the selection we made. While the apartment is about 8 years old, we also like the nice views it provides of the city and the surrounding mountains.
I started with intensive Japanese 4 hours a day 3 days a week for the first month and I must say it was quite difficult. Now I will proceed with 4 hours a week and have of course daily immersion. I am learning quickly how little of this language I have mastered for the amount of training I have had over the last couple of years. Heather is also settling in to weekly classes, which consist more of day-to-day survival training. We have different sensei’s both of which are excellent.
Myself and some of the wives have been teaching Heather about the many good restaurants and local watering holes, and many of the other families already here on assignment have been showing us both the way around town. Heather has made some friends and is also tutoring a couple of the locals in English, and will soon start with a small group of 6-9 year olds.
With the weather already warming it will soon be time for the Sakura to start blossoming bringing on the “O Hanami” season of Cherry Blossom festivals. The parks will be full of drunken revelers as they take this party season very seriously. I am sure we will be right in the mix on that.
I’m also looking forward to the warm weather and I hope to purchase my motorcycle soon. Driving here daily is a chore and bicycling and motorcycling are much better choices for daily transportation. The surrounding rivers and mountains seem to offer some choice trails for offroading. Sorry for the length of this post, but it is sort of my test of the new blog. As we get things adjusted, Heather claims she will become the Key Blogger from here on out. See ya! kevin