[i wrote this post originally back in September but it's been so busy so I am finally uploading it now...oops!]
Arthur and I only have 3 months left in this beautiful country and the feelings are pretty bittersweet. On one hand, we have absolutely loved our time here. We love the people we have met, the places we have visited, the opportunities that have come up, the FOOD, the culture, the locals here, basically everything. On the other hand, we are very excited about the next chapter in our life and moving back to the states and closer to family. Also, we are excited to have access to all the small luxuries that are so common back in the states but valued when you can’t access them anymore. I know for sure we will miss people and random things here in Okinawa. The Family Marts every 3km with clean bathrooms, delicious treats, and dinners you could survive off for months. We will miss the beach being within walking distance of our apartment. I will miss going for runs (missing runs?? Weird.. I know) on the seawall at sunset and all the Japanese people smiling and nodding as I pass. I could really go on and on but I shouldn’t. I am just going to do my best to enjoy everything I can these next three months.
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| Okinawa sunset like every night... |
So much has happened since my last blog post about Seoul and Fukuoka. It’s been about 3 months, a crazy, busy, but fun summer which included my cousin and her two friends coming out to visit, our TWO year wedding anniversary (how is that possible..), a trip back to the STATES for my brother’s wedding, Arthur went to Guam for the weekend, I got a tattoo (just kidding… I just want to see who is still reading this), and much more.
Our trip back to the states was so much fun. Unfortunately, Arthur could only go back for a week but I was able to go back for 3 weeks. Our flights back were so incredibly long. I didn’t really mind because we both actually enjoy travelling and airports. We had an overnight layover in San Francisco, which we had planned on using to sleep. When we arrived, the terminal we were supposed to go to was closed so we had to wait a little bit and then we finally got through security and was able to wait there but then it was freezing! So we tried to sleep a little bit and just waited for the time to pass. We arrived in Portland that following morning where we met my mom and Rich at the airport. The weather was COLD and it was so nice! It was nice getting out of the overwhelming humidity for a short while ☺. We stopped at Starbucks on our way back home and loaded up on some “normal” Starbucks drinks that we have missed while in Japan. (It’s the little things ;) ).
The first week in town was so incredibly busy! Poor Arthur, I barely even saw him very much. Thankfully he was able to hang out with his brother and Raymond. I was super busy with everything wedding in preparation for my brothers’ wedding. I can’t really complain though because that just entailed pre-wedding pedicures, manicures, hair appointments, massages, venue tours, rehearsal dinner (which was so amazing and fun!), dinner with bridesmaids, and nights in hotels. It was a lot of fun, just completely packed.
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| Rehearsal Dinner - Three generations of DeWitt men. So handsome! |
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| Missed her so much!! |
The wedding was so incredible! Katie looked beautiful and Derek looked so handsome! Their vows were adorable and everything about the wedding was so much fun. Everything was done so well and the venue was awesome. Here are a few pictures from the wedding:
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| Wedding Party :) |
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| Big bro and I |
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| The incredible venue |
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| Giving my speech at the wedding! |
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| The lovely couple :) My new sister-in-law! |
The day after the wedding, Arthur and I went to our old church, then spent time at my Aunt and Uncle's house with my cousins and mom.
The next day was our two year anniversary, so we drove up to Portland to spend the night and spend some time together. It was a lot of fun. We shopped a lot, enjoyed delicious food, even deliciousER ice-cream, and just enjoyed being together after not spending much time together that last week. Sadly, the next day Arthur had to leave back to Japan to get back to work.
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| ANNIVERSARY |
I met a girlfriend for lunch after I dropped him off at the airport, and then headed over to Bend for a family vacation with my Dad’s side of the family. I started to feel sick over this trip which was SO annoying because I rarely get sick and so it was disappointing that it was over my vacation. My time in Bend was so much fun. We stayed in a really nice cabin surrounding our own personal lake where we had access to Stand Up Paddleboards, Kayaks, and canoes. The weather was so nice and it was great to see all my family and cousins and grandparents that I hadn’t spent much time with for a while. The house had no Wi-Fi, no TVS, and no service, which was interesting at first but probably ended up being really good. It’s nice to take a break from technology every once and a while. I should do that more often X-).
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| My drive out to Bend |
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| Our private lake we had at our cabin :) |
We celebrated my Dad's birthday while out at the cabin so we all dressed up as famous singers and the girls did a little cute dance with my Aunt Cathy. My cousin made the below shirt for my dad because his siblings love to point out how red his ears get when he gets tired :) He loved the shirt and enjoyed the surprise party.
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| Dad, Becky, and myself dressed up :) |
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| Trying on his shirt- obvi he loves it. |
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| My wonderful grandparents. |
I got back from Bend on Friday evening, which meant somehow I only had less than a week left. The time had already flown by. I spent time with my mom, shopping and relaxing and watching movies and just spending time together. I got to meet my NIECE for the first time and she is the most precious little girl ever. I had a girls' night with two of my cousins where we were going to watch a movie but ended up just talking the whole time trying to catch up from the past 10 months of being away. I went to dinner with my mom and Rich, my dad and Becky, and Derek and Katie- which never did I think would happen in my life but it did and it was great! I went hiking and spent time with my Godchild. I did so much and was able to hang out with so many people I have missed so much.
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| I can't even with how cute she is... |
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| Erika was pregnant here and had her baby like less than a week after we left! AWWWW |
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| COUSINS |
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| CRYING because she is so cute |
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| Lunch with my Dad. So handsome in his uniform! |
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| Last pictures in my childhood house! |
The trip back really made me realize how important family is and how I am so thankful for my family. As amazing as eating the good food in the states is, or shopping at American stores is, I would trade that all in to spend time with my family. That was my favorite part and the best part of my trip. As I get older, I realize how much more important those relationships are – more important than any amount of money or activities I could do. It was sad leaving because I miss everyone already so much but I know that in just a couple months, wherever I am will be much closer than out here in Japan.
I’ve enjoyed Japan so incredibly much and am so thankful for this experience. It’s going to be so sad leaving this beautiful island and all of the friends we’ve met that have become like family. And the time is going by so quickly now! I can’t believe it’s almost October already. I only have about 6 weeks left of work because I’m going to take about a month off before we leave. I wanted that time to be able to spend time with friends a little more and do some things that I haven’t been able to do while I’ve been working. It’s getting so real that we are actually leaving and I have so many emotions piling up.
Plans for the future- I wish we had some. As of right now, we really aren’t sure about what’s going to happen, Arthur’s job situation, where we will live, my job situation, many, many things. We are praying hard and believing that God has a plan for us and it will be revealed in time. Plans for the immediate future are easier to pin down. First, my Aunt Pam and Uncle Galand are our last visitors here! They are coming in October and Arthur and I are both very excited.
We also have another trip (and our last one) to Hong Kong at the end of November for Thanksgiving and Arthur’s birthday, which is going to be so fun! I also think the weather will be in the low 70s, which sounds pretty perfect so that’s exciting.
We don’t have a set date to leave the island yet, I guess it depends on Arthur’s job and what his company wants to do. It’s weird not knowing what’s next and what we should be doing but I’m trying to embrace the unknown☺ and trust in God.
By the way, I just want to do a quick shout out to all my fans (well… the couple that told me they read my blogs and enjoy them!) I have to say I was motivated by that to write this ☺ So if you made it to the end of this exhaustive blog, bravo, and thank you☺. Love and miss you all and we will see you soon! Xo.
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