October 9, 2014

Well,  after a 2 year hiatus with the blog I decided that we needed a good way to share our new travel adventures.

Just a short explanation as to our current location.

Doug has taken a traveling faculty position with the University of Maryland, University Colleges (UMUC) Asia Division.   UMUC has a contract with the Department of Defense (DOD) to offer classes on the military bases in Asia and Europe.  These classes are for military personnel and their families and they earn credits toward UMUC degrees.

So on August 1st Doug flew to Tokyo, Japan for a week of orientation and then on to Okinawa for another week of orientation and logistics.  Starting a new faculty position creates a fair amount of learning and logistics.    This position added the need for getting military clearances for base admissions, military drivers license, learning the ins and outs of purchasing a car in a foreign country that can also be allowed on a military base, and obtaining secured furnished housing.

Doug's first few weeks were challenging as he worked through getting the appropriate documentation, a Common Access Card, to be allowed on the bases.  Due to diligence, luck and tender mercies he was the first one to buy a car, get emergency medical help (for a kidney stone), and his Common Access Card.  In that order.

He has been teaching two classes: Human Biology and Anatomy and Physiology 1 in the first 8 week session that has just finished.  As the majority of students are working military, the classes are held in the evening and labs are on Friday evening and Saturday morning.  He has enjoyed the students, the classes, the labs and especially not having endless committee meetings.

Meanwhile I was still in Marshfield, WI selling the house, packing up the house and decided what to get rid of, what to send to the kids, what to send to Japan, and what to store for future use. Easy peasy!!  NOT.  We have two storage units in Marshfield full of belongings and furniture.   Eli, who is staying in Marshfield, helped.  My brother Mark came to help haul things to the storage and my sister Toni was indispensable with packing and hauling things to storage.

We were blessed again with a firm offer on the house within 3 weeks of listing it.  The closing was on Sept 19, 2014 and on Sept 20th I drove to Salt Lake City, Utah to spend time with Eric and Ashlyn, Sara and Quinton, and Tony.  We had a wonderful time together.  Then I flew to Portland and spent time with Lynn, Janson, Grace and Mari.  I did some sewing at both places and was able to help celebrate Lynn's birthday.

On Monday 10/6/14 I began my journey to Japan and 36 hours later landed in Okinawa.  There were some flight delays and missed flights, but United Airlines put the displaced passengers up in a hotel in Tokyo.  It was wonderful to be back with Doug after 2 months on separate continents.

Stay tuned for our Okinawa adventures.
Ellen