Island life

Here we are in Okinawa, Japan!
The time difference to pacific time is 17 hours ahead. I am talking to you from the future...oooooooo.....aaaaaaahhhhhhh.....
We have made several friends here, one couple i knew from Florida around 7 years ago and another person i actually met on WOW and joined the Marine Corps because of me. So it's been quite interesting around here.
There are many things to learn about and adjust to.
Driving for one is a big change. For example, you drive on the left side of the road and when the light turns green, you don't go, you hesitate. They call it the 3 car rule, but sometimes it's five. Let me explain. You have to wait for 3-5 cars to run the red light before you can go. If you go on green and hit a car running the red light... it's your fault. Also, Americans are considered "professional drivers" which means if you get in an accident with a Japanese driver, it's automatically your fault. Even if your car is parked and they run into you, your fault.
On Kadena, if you are caught speeding....
1st offense - 30 days license suspended
2nd offense - 60 days license suspended
3rd offense - 90 days license suspended
4th offense - lose license 1 yr.
They don't play here, it's very strict. Oh and drifting.... you can't even WATCH a drift event.
Also, if you get in any type of trouble, the Japanese government can intervene and arrest you for an indefinite amount of time. Even your teenagers can be tried as adults for any reason.
If you get a ticket off base... you don't want to get a ticket off base. If you get in trouble off base, they can incarcerate you for 30 days right off the bat, before doing anything with you. There are dependents in jail now for various reasons.
SO, other than that, it's awesome!
There are several schools here on the island. The middle school Mike is going to just opened this year. Dondan's school has very little students, the first and second graders share a class.

Another interesting fact... there is a viper on this island called the "Habu", it is very deadly and is only native to this island. You can only be bitten once. They have an anti-venom, but it only works once, if you are bitten again, you die. So when people are bitten, they move off the island.

okay, that's all for the moment. We have our house and bought a car, pictures to follow eventually.