The Bad and Unexpected

Alexis reminded me today that when I started this blog I said I would share it all – the good, the bad and the unexpected. She pointed out that I haven’t shared much of the bad and unexpected. We all did some brainstorming of things that have been hard or did not go according to plan. Here they are in no particular order.

General Health Issues

I developed a weird rash on my arms while we were in Jaco. I went to a pharmacy and got an antihistamine cream because they thought it was an allergic reaction. That helped some, but not completely. It has cleared up since we have been in Japan, so I’m suspecting it was a humidity thing. I guess time will tell when we move on to Guam.

Dave tweaked his back in Jaco and I tweaked my neck here in Tokyo. We are guessing this is a product of sleeping on many different beds/pillows. It’s making me feel old.

I’ve mentioned before I have a sensitive stomach. Without familiar food, I often have a low grade stomachache on any given day.

Everyone Needs Space

This picture shows the entrance to our current condo in Tokyo. We are so desperate for personal space at times, that Dave has resorted to putting a chair in here and shutting the door. I’ve tried it too and it’s actually quite nice!

Dave has described me as looking like a caged animal when I feel like I don’t know what to do with myself.

We have barely fit on the couches in each location during family movie night. So far other countries don’t have giant luxury couches like we’re used to back home.

Braxton has so much energy at times his body feels like it’s pulsing and there’s nowhere in our current living situation in Tokyo for him to play. Here’s a quiet activity he discovered!

Teaching Is Hard

Homeschooling is hard at times. It’s hard for the kids to see us as their teachers and it’s hard for Dave and I to know appropriate expectations academically.

Food

When going out to eat in Japan, things are not the same as in the states. Servers leave you alone until you get their attention. It’s unclear where to pay. It’s usually not at the table, so we often just watch what other people are doing. It’s impossible to ask questions about the menu. We just have to pick something, order it, and hope for the best.

Finding familiar food is hard! We have found yogurt and a somewhat weird form of granola and that is the extent of familiar food we have been able to get in Japan.

There’s no coffee maker in our condo here in Japan. We have been buying cold brew coffee from the convenience store and occasionally getting takeout hot coffee. I’m starting to really miss our Nespresso machine back home.

Cultural Complications

The time change in Japan makes it difficult at times for all of us to connect with friends/family back home.

Living in a country where you don’t speak the language can feel very isolating.

Alexis struggles to control her volume. If you know her well, this requires no further explanation.

We are good at developing routines and this makes getting things like school done easy. On the flip side of this, we then feel like we’re ‘back in our old routines’ and living only a slightly different life in a very different location.

Final Thoughts

I’m sure there are more unexpected things that have happened, but this was all we could come up with today. We are just over two months into our year long journey, so we have plenty of time to encounter more. I find myself worrying at times if we are getting everything we can out of this adventure. It’s hard not to feel pressure to seize every opportunity, but the world is a big place and opportunities are everywhere. When I’m feeling like this, I remind myself we are living in these places and that is an amazing opportunity in itself.