Sooooo...it's been a while....SOOOOO sorry!

**Some of you also received this exact message in an e-mail. It's the same one! No need to read again. :) 


Hey there everyone,

I decided I'd give you an update on life over here in the far east. Thank you for your e-mails and suggestions. I've pretty much gotten the same thing from almost everyone in the US. ;) We are doing fine over here. Even the scheduled power outages for our area were cancelled today because the limited service on the trains saved enough electricity that our local government decided to spare the local areas from losing power. So I'm at our house for now and everything is fine. 

I spent the morning creating massive care packages that were going to be sent with marine helicopters up north. It was a great showing of support as you can imagine. Piles of clothes, bedding/blankets, food and water were everywhere in an empty hangar and we all worked together to sort it organize it and get it on it's way up to where it is needed. 

Afterwards I had lunch w/ our Skipper's wife and then I was at my friend Traci's house. Her husband is the head of CAG 5 - the O6 (captain) of the entire air wing (he also happens to be our former skipper of VF-213). 

I have all necessary items that I might need in the event of an emergency in a backpack that I've kept with me at all times since Friday. I know some/most of you feel that I should hop on a plane and either head home to the US or just get out of Japan, but for now we're all sitting tight. **Side note, CAG and Traci offered for me to sleep over their house every night if I wanted to and if it made me feel safer...the American tv channels are tempting...but I plan to keep that offer only if I really need it. I don't want to overstay my welcome. But, I do have a place on base that I can go at any given moment. ;) 

One of the issues with leaving Japan right now is that it is not an easy event for non-essential travel. The Narita express train service that goes to the airport has been disrupted since Friday afternoon. The base shuttle going to and from the airport has stopped until further notice due to the rationing of gas and us being asked not to travel too far from home unless necessary. The usual 2.5 hour trip to get to the airport if you have someone drive you has taken approximately 6 hours for anyone that has gone in the last few days. I have a friend that came home from Thailand on Sunday when the airport opened and it took them 6.5 hours to get back. Our next door neighbors went to pick up his parents when they came in yesterday and it took them 4 hours to get back (only 3 to get there). So it's not like driving 40 minutes to the local airport and hoping on the next flight. My plan, if I did leave, would be a Space A flight out from our base to wherever it is going. However, those flights right now are for essential personnel coming from Okinawa and Ewakuni and going up north to help with relief efforts. To be honest though...if I do go anywhere...it would be because we're all being evacuated and I'd go wherever they tell me to go and get on the plane with everyone else. 

I'm not alone, we're all in the same boat over here and we're all ok. If anything at all changes, or I even feel at any given moment that I'm no longer as safe as I was a minute prior...you will hear from me and I will tell you where I'm headed. I promise.  

Other than that, it was about 68 degrees and breezy today. It was beautiful. Spring is around the corner! We were all prepared for the power outage that never came. Of course, it may happen later on in the week and later on this month, but so far so good. 

Feel free to call me anytime to check in (we're now only 13 hours different in time). I'm going to add some contact information to the bottom of this e-mail so you all have it. 

Our Vonage/home phone number is: 631-237-5754. Yup, a NY phone number. As long as I have power, that phone line will work. 

Our base  mailing address (incase anyone wants to send treats from the US :) :) :) )

Nick and Janelle Hampton

PSC 477 Box 632

FPO AP 96306          For those that don't know: FPO is the city AP is the state. You will of course have to fill out a customs form as well.

Our physical Japanese address for our house is: (Mom...get a pen...I don't think you have this one yet). :)

228-0024

Kanagawa Ken Zama-shi

Iriya 5 Chome

1967-1

Char Chan Flat D

JAPAN

For those who don't know: Japanese addresses work the opposite from ours. So they are reversed. It goes ZIP CODE, state/prefecture, city/street, street number, apartment. 

I have no idea what you'd need our Japanese cell phone number for...but it is 080-4136-7304. The Japanese country code is 81...so technically you should be able to call 81-080-4136-7304. However, I've heard that you might also need to take off one zero in the front of the cell phone number...so it may be 8180-4136-7304. I've never tried it, so I don't know. 

Also - if you sign into Skype, I can receive calls on my cell phone using my Skype app. If you're signed in and see my name you just call like you normally would. If I'm not near my computer, the call comes through on my cell phone. If you're not on Skype. JOIN. It's free. My Skype name is Janelle_Hampton. 

One more thing...I speak from experience (that sounds so funny coming from my own mouth because I still feel so new to this whole "military wife" thing...but) from watching the US media coverage of the N. Korea "crisis" from over the summer I was upset and worried about our guys because according to the media...WW III was imminent...however in reality, the entire "crisis" was blown out of proportion and the exercises had been planned for some time. What I mean is,  as I'm sure you're aware... most news channels and internet websites reporting the "news" about the nuclear meltdown (AP, NYTimes, MSNBC...not to mention CNN and FOXNews) can go overboard and really cause unnecessary panic. Yes, the situation up north is horrible and frightening, but I am so far removed from it. 

I promise, we're ok over here...and if that changes at anytime you all will be the first to know and I'll let you know where I'm headed. I hope everyone at least feels a little bit better that 1. you know how to reach me at any given time and 2. you know that I'm well prepared (food/water/ emergency backpack) to jet out of here if I need to...or if I need to hunker down for a few days and not move. Either way. I'm set. 

Please feel free to forward this info to aunts, uncles, cousins or friends who have been asking about how I'm doing over here. :) I love you all very much. Thank you for thinking of me. ;) Domo arigato gozaimasu. 

Love,

Janelle

Greeting from paradise!

Hello everyone! Janelle convinced me to write something on our blog to let you know what we're up to these days, so here goes. We are currently on day 2 of our Koh Samui, Thailand trip. However, I should mention that this was preceded by 6 days in Khao Lak, Thailand, which was awesome! Khao Lak is just to the north of Phuket, and we were able to get some amazing beach days in at our really nice hotel. Janelle and I both agreed it was the nicest place we've ever stayed. While we were there we were a;so able to take a couple of days doing things like elephant rides through the national park nearby, an afternoon canoe trip, diving and snorkeling at the Similan Islands (just off the coast, one of the top 10 dive sites in the world!), and in between each of those, like I said, we were sure to make some time for hanging out at the beach and taking it easy. Right now we're at our first hotel in Koh Samui. Janelle and I are lounging on our balcony getting ready to see if we can find the nearest tiger zoo. Tomorrow we leave for our second hotel which we're really excited about, it looks even nicer than our first. Janelle really did a great job putting all of this together. Who knew that she'd be so good at spending our money ?? (I might get in trouble for that one) We'll be sure to let everyone know how our next hotel goes, be sure to check our pictures out on Facebook, the ones of our elephant trip were pretty cool! See ya!

Nick

Chippy HO!!!

Don't think I need to write a lot here...but NICK IS HOME!!! We got word late last week that homecoming would be taking place within 72 hours or up to two weeks. We just didn't have a definite date or time set...but we got the info later on this weekend (Sunday afternoon) that our guys would fly home on Tuesday (today!). Sooooo needless to say, I spent all day yesterday running around like CRAZY trying to get everything (that I thought I would have one more week to do)...done. It all worked out...and I am THRILLED that he is home safe and sound...after his anti-skid brakes failed during his flight home and he had to catch a wire on the runway in order to stop...
Regardless...he's home, he's napping...and I'm one happpy Chippy!

Love to everyone!
Love,
Janelle

Chippy HOmecoming  <--------------pictures here

Back from the Mountains :)

Hey gang,

I just got back tonight from a weekend in Hakuba, Japan. It is about an hour away from Nagano where the Winter Olympics were held in 1998. Great relaxing weekend, no snow there yet, so we did some sight seeing and enjoyed the colorful changing leaves. The ski jump from the Nagano Olympics was actually in Hakuba and we went there on Saturday. There were a bunch of ski jumpers there for practice and it was super cool to see.
I should really be heading to bed now...turns out our guys are headed back a little earlier than expected...everyone should receive a phone call from our favorite Chippy really soon.

Here are some pictures from my weekend. I can't wait until I have pictures from the weekend and Nick is actually in some of them!
Miss you all!
Please remember that our phone number changed! 631-237-5754...(Rita!!!)
Love,
Janelle
Hakuba Girls Weekend Pictures  <------------------- click this link for pictures. :)

October!

Sorry I haven't posted in a few weeks! October showed up and I have been keeping pretty busy each week and they've been flying by. I hope the next few continue that way and that homecoming will be right around the corner!
The month started out w/ a HUGE weekend of festivities for those of us with deployed husbands. The airwing had an "over the hump" of cruise celebration. On Friday, October 1st we had "Bad Girl Games". They call it Bad Girl, because the name of their Strike Fighter Ball/Hornet Ball/Fighter Fling is called Bad Man Ball...so when it's just us girls...it becomes Bad Girl Ball. Friday's games were centered around our crazy lives in Japan. We had scooter races, mental challenges that included converting a shopping list from USD to yen, converting a recipe from ounces and pounds to grams and liters. It was challenging and made for a good laugh as I'm sure you can imagine. I competed in the "Walk of Shame"...you're proud...I know. I had to put on a pair of high heeled shoes, and walk from the fields where we were to the other side of base to the Child Care Center carrying a glass of red wine that had to be full and if it spilled too much, I would've been disqualified. Once arriving at the Child Care Center, I ditched the wine and the heels and tossed on my sneakers and picked up a baby doll that I had to then race back to the fields and cross the finish line. I came in 4th place....they gave out points for 1st-3rd place. Nice. Oh well. All in all, it was a great time. Tons of laughs. Saturday night was the Bad Girl Ball. Each squadron had chosen a theme for the night. Ours was super heros. It was hilarious. We all had a great time. Other squadron themes were Austin Powers, Ballywood, Grease, Slumber Party, Stepford Wives and Roller Derby. Everyone had a great time, it was an awesome way for us wives to celebrate being waaay more than 1/2 way over with the deployment. It's always fun to be with other people who know exactly what you're feeling...because we're all in the same boat...with our husbands literally on the same boat. :) You can see pictures of the games and ball on the underlined link below...don't judge. :)
 Bad Girl Ball  View pictures of the NAF Atsugi Bad Girl Ball - our "over the hump" celebration.

On Tuesday, October 4th members of the AOSA (Atsugi Officers Spouses Association) were invited to Admiral Sato's house (Admiral Sato is the head of JMSDF - our joint Japanese part of NAF Atsugi). Mrs. Sato and her friends taught us how to make gyoza and sushi. Both were amazing! We had a great time and the women seem to love sharing their joy of cooking with us all. They love trying out their English and everyone always has a great time when we're together. Our next meeting is October 21st and we're teaching them how to make a Thanksgiving Day feast! I'm in charge of the corn bread pudding! You can see pictures of our cooking class luncheon on the underlined link below. :)

Cooking Club Pictures View pictures of my latest cooking club lesson - gyoza and sushi.

Last week on Thursday, I also went to my very first golf lesson. It was quiet an eye opener...I have to be honest...I thought golf was an "easy" sport that you just swing away and the ball magically flies into the air and lands somewhere on grass near the hole. Not so much. My hour lesson left me with a blister and a sore back...but it also left me interested in enough to go back again this Thursday for lesson number two! I'll keep you posted!

My latest adventure was yesterday when my friend Tracy and I went to Enoshima Island. A very small island (4km circumference) off the coast of Japan (very close...it's connected by a bridge that you can walk over). It was the most beautiful day. About 80 degrees and sunny. The island is full of history and therefore full of beautiful shrines and overlooks out onto the Pacific Ocean on one side and the bay on the other side. I will definitely be taking Nick back there, no question. We were able to just walk all over the island from one side around to the other side, up the hill in the center of the island, go in caves and walk to the marina afterwards. It was the greatest day! From our house in Zama, it's a super easy train ride away. There is a black sand beach (and it's the closest beach to us) I loved the smell of the salty air as soon as I walked off the train. Definitely a high point of being here in Japan so far and I can't wait to go again and take Nick. When the weather cools off and it's not so humid and hazy, you can see Mt. Fuji across the bay. I hope it's that kind of day when we get to go again. 

Enoshima Island  View pictures of my day trip to Enoshima Island.

I hope everyone back home is having an excellent month as well. I know there are a few celebrations this month. Chris and Dez's anniversary on the 8th and Dad Hampton's birthday on the 25th. I just got a surprise phone call from Nick about 30 minutes ago and he's doing really well. They're still flying a lot which keeps them busy and keeps him happy. He's ready to come home, but at least he's enjoying the flying! Shortly after he gets home, we're taking a trip to Thailand for 13 days! We're both really, really excited and are looking forward to a nice, well deserved vacation (for him)...my whole life is pretty much a vacation at this point. :) I'm not complaining!

And oh yeah BIG NEWS! WE'RE COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!! We'll be headed back to the states sometime in December. Nick's squadron is sending them to Lemoore to start the transition....we're looking into how we're going to get me back to the states as well...haven't quite gotten there yet...BUT we do have tickets headed to Long Island on December 22nd! We'll do Christmas on the island and head up to see the Hampton's most likely on the 25th evening or 26th. Nick will have a descent break and we'll be able to see everyone for at least a few days. I'll be hanging around the NY area (with maybe a little trip down to VB if I can swing it) until early February! :) So so excited!

I miss you all and can't wait to be on the same time zone in just a few months! :) Oh yeah... our phone number changed. Magic Jack died on me...so we now have Vonage. Our home phone number is 631-237-5754 Call me any time!!!
Love,
Janelle

Our "Home" Away from Home

The weather has really started to cool off over the last week and we've had a few really nice days with blue skies and puffy white clouds. So on Sunday afternoon I decided to talk a stroll around our neighborhood to check it out. While the houses are ridiculously close together (I saw two neighbors talking to each other from their 2nd story windows and they could have literally passed something to each other because they were so close), there are some that are really beautiful. I've really started to figure my way around (driving and walking) and I'm enjoying exploring our new area.
Last night, while I was sleeping, I woke up because the house was shaking. It didn't take too long to realize it was an earthquake, and I actually said outloud "Oh, it's an earthquake" even though there isn't anyone hear to confirm it for me! I wasn't scared at all (I know, I know... you don't believe me) but it was 2:55am and by the time I woke up and realized what it was...it was over. I looked it up (you can too!) on the US Geological Association's website and it was a 4.9 magnitude about 30km outside of Tokyo. I was super impressed with myself for 1. not freaking out (I didn't even get out of bed) and 2. recognizing what it was. Though...it must not have been too impressive to anyone else...no one else here even noticed it. Everyone slept right through it!
I started teaching English tonight! It was my first class...and it was just like the first day of school. I was really prepared and organized...but of course, still nervous. All went well though...the class was actually 3 separate classes. My first class from 4-5pm is 3rd graders. Second class 5-6pm is 5th graders and the last class from 6-7pm is two 8th grade girls. I teach grammar (yikes) and conversational skills. There is another Japanese woman there (this is a business she runs out of our house) who speaks English and she co-teaches with me. I really enjoyed it. I made 12,000 yen for the class (with the exchange rate today it is about $142USD). Not too shabby for 3 hours of minimal work. I brought the kids Fruit Roll Ups from the commissary and the teachers asked if I had a few extra for them! They loved it. I think the Keebler M&M cookies I have for next week are going to blow their minds...
I've also been working into the wee hours of the night planning our next BIG trip. You know Nick and I usually take a long vacation once a year...in recent years we've gone to Europe and Hawaii...well...when in Asia...do as the Asian's do (or the ex-Pats living in Asia)...and head to Thailand! We're headed there for two weeks in November once Nick gets home from deployment. We will be headed to Khao lak a quiet beach area just south of Phuket (less touristy than Phuket) for one week. I was able to get us an amazing deal by getting us the military/govt. rate for a suite for the week!!! After that we head to Koh Samui for our 2nd week. There, we're staying at the Sandalwood Luxury Villas! I know...just the name makes me sound spoiled...just wait until you see pictures of this place... It was rated as the #1 hotel on TripAdvisor for Koh Samui...and we're reeeeally excited for that one.
I hope everyone is continuing to do well over there. I of course miss you all and hope to hear from you soon. Our MagicJack broke :( ...it still works through the computer...but I can't use the phone with it anymore for some reason...so I might look into a Vonage line...or try to figure out how to fix it (though I already tried once w/ MagicJack live help...no luck). I'll keep you posted though.

Miss you!
Love,
Janelle
Here are the pictures of my walk around our neighborhood. Zama City, Japan http://gallery.me.com/nickjanellehampton#100163

Yokohama - 2nd largest city in Japan and SO MUCH FUN!

One of the more unique things about being a military family is the influx of people at certain times and the sad times when friends leave for their next duty station when you aren't quite ready for them to go (or you're the ones leaving...and you aren't quite ready to go either). This past weekend eight of us went out to say "good bye" to our friend Tori. It was my first time in Yokohama (which as you can tell from the title, is the 2nd largest city in Japan). We started with a dinner and drinks boat cruise from 6-8pm. Then we headed to the amusement park nearby called the Wonder Amuse Zone (we called that Engrish) and rode the Vanishing Roller Coaster (it was 700 yen or about 10USD for about 30 seconds of riding). Fun though! Afterwards we headed to a bar area called Red Brick Warehouse and went to Beer Next. We had snacks and a few drinks and decided to head back on the train to Zama (it's about a 40 minute trip w/ a few transfers). When we got back to Zama, one of the girls had a "great" idea to head to a karaoke bar called All Bar for some late night karaoke. Here, in karaoke bars, you get a private room and you pay by the hour. 1000 yen (or about $14USD) and it's all you can drink for the time you are there...singing. We were there for two hours...and believe it or not...I didn't even drink. I was so tired! Thankfully, it is very much walking distance to our house. My friend Jen (who lives across the street from us) and I walked home. It was a great time and I got a "frequent singer card" at the karaoke place so I'll get 5% off every time I go! :) Very exciting! Here are some pictures from our night out! Click here ------> Yokohama Pictures for Tori's Farewell

We've hit the 6 week countdown!!!!!!!!! I'm beyond excited to show off our house to Nick. The last time he saw it, it had temporary furniture and nothing of our own. :) We're planning a BIG trip to Thailand for when he gets home. We're both really excited about that!

I love you and miss you all very much.
Love,
Janelle