There and Back Again..... A Marine Wife's Holiday

Three years ago, after deciding to relocate to a United States Marine Corps base in Iwakuni, Japan, the Bee family embarked on what would turn out to be an adventure of a lifetime.   

All adventures, regardless of their exciting beginnings, must eventually come to a close.  However, the end of one adventure is merely the beginning of the next, and the Bee family is excited to announce that they are starting their next escapade back in America. 

Queenie, her DH, and the three little bees have been living in America for three weeks now, and the cultural aspects of normal American life are jarring, intriguing, and amazing all at the same time.  Below, dear readers, please enjoy some of the "in-ordinary circumstances" that we have been facing as we re-integrate into the "American Dream".


---Ten minutes after disembarking their final flight (after almost 30 hours of traveling) in San Diego, Queenie attempted to buy the 3 little bees their first meal in America, it was 10PM and the only thing open in the terminal was McDonald's......there was oatmeal on the menu!  She was so excited to finally give her little bees something healthy to put in their tummies before crashing at the "People's House" (what the bees have named hotels).  However, upon paying for the meal at the cashier, Queenie was completely dumbfounded to see a completely new type of credit card machine!  It was the world's longest 5 minutes as she tried time and time again to understand the buttons and slots.  When the cashier condescendingly offered to swipe her card for her, Queenie humbly accepted.  Upon receiving her receipt (which she incorrectly tried to SIGN with a ballpoint pen), she also tried to show them her military ID....an attempt which was met by a blank stare from the cashier who responded, "Ummmmm....you don't need to show that here."  Queenie's yellow stripes turned  a deep orange with embarrassment for almost an hour after that incident!


---Bee family was 100% pedestrian for a day or two following their flights, due to the fact that both cars were sold back in Japan- that, and the fact that even the world's smallest "golf cart with a roof" can't fit on a 757. Walking to breakfast the next morning, they walked past a Target.  Killer started asking "What's a Target, Mommy?"  Queenie replied, "It's a store here in America!  You can buy clothes, and shoes, and food, and laundry soap and stuff."  Killer answered back, "WOW!  Shoes and food in the same store?!?!?!" It was then that Queenie realized they had an audience of about five other Americans walking through the parking lot, staring unabashedly at the family that appeared to have just escaped an electricity-free commune.


---Queenie wondered why in the world she felt "dressed up" walking through Target wearing corduroys, t-shirt, scarf, makeup, and leather boots.  When did corduroys become "dressed up"?


---ONE omelet at IHOP fed all 3 little bees.  Sometimes enormous portion sizes can be a great thing!


---Queenie wondered, at times, why the restaurants were placing the Yen rate right next to the US dollars price.....until she realized it was the calorie count for the item listed!


---The Bee Family doubts they will ever walk in the door of a Burger King again.  (BK was one of the very few  American restaurants available in Iwakuni, Japan....and was overly frequented!)


---The taste of genuine, Amish-made, chunks of bleu cheese from a gourmet booth at HEB grocery store.......priceless and unforgettable.

---The sight and sound of Killer reading every sign he sees in Wal Mart, not just for items, but the sales posters as well: "20% OFF, Buy ONE get ONE HALF OFF, 50% OFF, BIG SALE, NEED NOW, GREAT DEAL, MARKED DOWN, HURRY FAST, multiplied by about 200 times......Killer was VERY thorough."