The Grand Introduction
Konnichiwa! Watashi no namae wa Lynne desu. Hajimemashite!
I promise I'm not trying to flaunt my skills in the Japanese language, or, Nihongo. This phrase says, "Good afternoon! My name is Lynne. Nice to meet you!" and is one of the few phrases of Japanese I'm really good at besides from, "I only speak a little Japanese", "Do you take dollars?" or "I forgot my San A card today"; the latter, in a very polite form takes a good 5 minutes to present to the poor cashier who is giving you that please-hurry-and-make-this-moment-pass look.
Anyway, I'm a 27 year old Californian living in Okinawa, Japan with my active-duty husband. I've lived here a little over two years. I have two girls 4 and 1 1/2. This blog isn't really about fun places to take your family, or about my family in general, but witty (hopefully) observations and truths about life in Japan. My situation is a little unique because I'm not:
1. An ex-military member married to a Japanese national
2. A military spouse working on base
3. Over here to teach English
4. A gay man married to a Japanese girl just to divorce her after receiving Japanese citizenship. (No, seriously two that I know of)
As exciting and dramatic as number 4 may sound, I'm a number two with a twist; A prior enlisted chick/military dependant who landed hard-to-get work off base. All joking aside, I feel very privileged to work for the largest-profiting telecommunications company in Japan, especially because out of the 5 Americans working for our company, myself and this other guy are the only ones without "dual citizenship" and who are not married to a Japanese National. This position allows me to observe Japan and It's people in a more intimate setting without having to be too attached at the same time. I don't have to adopt all opinions and beliefs that are in fact very Japanese.
My intent of this blog is not to hate on Japan because I really do enjoy living here. I have great respect for Japanese citizens and their traditions.
I promise I'm not trying to flaunt my skills in the Japanese language, or, Nihongo. This phrase says, "Good afternoon! My name is Lynne. Nice to meet you!" and is one of the few phrases of Japanese I'm really good at besides from, "I only speak a little Japanese", "Do you take dollars?" or "I forgot my San A card today"; the latter, in a very polite form takes a good 5 minutes to present to the poor cashier who is giving you that please-hurry-and-make-this-moment-pass look.
Anyway, I'm a 27 year old Californian living in Okinawa, Japan with my active-duty husband. I've lived here a little over two years. I have two girls 4 and 1 1/2. This blog isn't really about fun places to take your family, or about my family in general, but witty (hopefully) observations and truths about life in Japan. My situation is a little unique because I'm not:
1. An ex-military member married to a Japanese national
2. A military spouse working on base
3. Over here to teach English
4. A gay man married to a Japanese girl just to divorce her after receiving Japanese citizenship. (No, seriously two that I know of)
As exciting and dramatic as number 4 may sound, I'm a number two with a twist; A prior enlisted chick/military dependant who landed hard-to-get work off base. All joking aside, I feel very privileged to work for the largest-profiting telecommunications company in Japan, especially because out of the 5 Americans working for our company, myself and this other guy are the only ones without "dual citizenship" and who are not married to a Japanese National. This position allows me to observe Japan and It's people in a more intimate setting without having to be too attached at the same time. I don't have to adopt all opinions and beliefs that are in fact very Japanese.
My intent of this blog is not to hate on Japan because I really do enjoy living here. I have great respect for Japanese citizens and their traditions.
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