I'm Finally Home!

Greetings! My name is Jacob. Mommy and Daddy are letting me write my first blog!
I have so much to tell you. First, I know I came 3 weeks early, but I didn't want Daddy to start working. That's why I made my debut on Tuesday, July 24, (Daddy's alleged first day of call).

I had not planned on arriving this early, so Mommy was very surprised when her water broke early Tuesday morning. Boy, did I catch my parents off guard! They were good sports though, and quickly accepted the fact that I was on my way. Mommy was put on Pitocin while Daddy ran home to pack our bags.

I labored for 14 hours, but Mommy got an infection and a fever about 11 hours into the day. She was put on antibiotics. My heart rate was elevated and I scared my poor Daddy a little, but everything was ok.

I did forget one important instruction while I was laboring. APPARENTLY, I fell into the fire, NO WAIT, that was my buddy Eric. APPARENTLY, I was supposed to be born face down (I think that was going to be covered during week 38, but like I said, I was early). I was confused and sustained much swelling and many bruises due to my poor decision...Mommy had it pretty rough too.

Even so, I came into this world crying nice and loud. I weighed 7 lbs even and was 19 and 3/4 inches. I was born at 9:30pm here in Japan. Since Mommy had an infection, so did I. I was put onto antibiotics for my first 48 hours, which is why it looks like I have a cast on my arm. That was just my IV!

Mommy, Daddy, and I all got to share a room at the hospital. We had tons of fun, and heaven knows my parents would NOT put that darn camera away.

We were going to come home yesterday, but I also missed another important point (which was likely scheduled during week 39). APPARENTLY, babies are supposed to poop before they are allowed to leave the hospital. Seeing that I was not told this info until last minute, I made everyone nervously wait for me to pass the oh-so gross meconium plug. I am happy to report that I performed my duties to the satisfaction of my pediatrician. I was able to take my parents home at 5:00pm Friday, July 27.

One last funny note, APPARENTLY, all of my stuff that my Mommy and Daddy packed for me got lost in a warehouse at Travis AFB, California. Currently, there is no firm ETA on the delivery of my things. So, my sweet Daddy borrowed a car seat from the Misawa Base Family Resource Center. Unfortunately, all they had was an infant-toddler car seat. So....it's hard to find me when I'm sitting in the car. Mommy and Daddy keep laughing when they see this picture.

Well, we're home now and getting settled as best we can with loaner furniture and the things my parents could bring on the airplane. But as my Daddy learned in ROTC, "Flexibility is the key to air power"...and clearly to having a baby too! The 3 of us are going to be just fine. Good talking to you all, and I can't wait to meet you soon. Gotta run, it's time to eat, but check out my portfolio on Snapfish. (Email my Mom and Dad if you didn't get the link)
Love,

Jacob Robert Massengill

(they call me 'One Eye Jake')

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACOB!!!!

It is very late here and I just left Suzy at the hospital to post some pics for everyone in the states, so this will be quick. Much more to follow in our AM. Little Jacob refused to stay in one more day. Suzy's water broke this morning at 7AM. We labored all day and he was born on 24 July at 2130 Misawa Japan time. He is a healthy 7 pounds even and 19 and 3/4 inches long. Mother and baby both had a fever during labor and are receiving antibiotics. Otherwise both are doing well. Stay tuned for more pictures and video via the website and snapfish.

Nango Jazz Fest

We had an opportunity to go to the Jazz Festival in Nango yesterday (Saturday). This (apparently) is a world-reknown festival featuring musicians from all around the world to include a Headline band that traveled in from New Orleans.

Nagno is a city about a 30 minute drive south of Misawa. We had such an eventful day. We drove down with our new friends Kourt, Melissa, and Kellie. (We took our car so it was great practice driving off Base for Jason and I). Before we left Misawa, we ate at a great Noodle Restaurant for lunch. It was very authentic as we got to sit on the floor to eat Japanese style. (I tell you, if pays to be an agile pregnant gal around here!)





Once we got to Nango, we were all surprised at the almost absurd order at the Jazz fest. The Japanese don't mess around. We learned much about thier culture in just this one outting. The parking lot was packed (there seemed to be 3 parking attandants per car).



However, as we walked up to the grassy area surrounding the amplitheater....we couldn't believe how quiet and orderly it was for as many people that were there! It was also extremely clean...every group had their own little trash bags to accumulate thier trash and when it was full, everyone went to dump it into the larger trash cans at the front gate. Even the smokers carried a small plastic pouch that they put their cigiratte in after they had extinguished it. You couldn't find a piece of litter.



We met up with several people from Misawa once we were there. The rain started about 30 mintues after we got there, but it did not dampen the mood. The Japanese are very prepared and accomadating people. Most of us Americans felt prepared for the weather when we put on our jackets as the rain started, but felt quite unprepared as you watched the Japanese not only put on thier ponchos and rain pants, but water proof hats, blankets and tents. The Event staff was quick to put up several rain pavilions and we all just put our blankets and lawn chairs underneath the pavilion, and we were happy campers! Would that ever happen in the states?


Overall we had a great day and night. We were there for almost 8 hours and heard some great jazz, ate some great food, got acclimated with more of the Japanese culture and got to know our Misawa friends even more.

FAQ

Thought we'd share some of the most popular questions people have been asking us. Here's the Top Ten, in no particular order.


1. Why are we in jackets in all of our pics? Although Misawa is a mild climate, this July has been one of the chilliest in the past several years. Since we've been here, the highs have been generally ranging in the high 60's and low 70's. We had packed expecting a warmer July so we've been wearing the same couple pairs of jeans, pants, sweatshirts and jackets. Compared to the 90 plus degrees that it sounds like the midwest and east coast are experiencing, we aren't complaining about the weather here.


2. What is the time difference? We are 13 hours AHEAD of EDT.

3. How is it driving on the "wrong" side of the road? That has not proven to be a major issue thus far. Do take into consideration though that the maximum speed on Base is no more than 45 miles per hour...so it's not like we're driving thru major intersections at great speeds. Even off Base, the speed limits are much slower. It's the little things that confuse us...like trying to get into the wrong side of the car or turning on your windshield wipers instead of your turn signal (lucky for us it was raining the first few days we were acclimating ourselves to the driving so we weren't as conspicuous with windshield wipers on at intersections!)


4. Are you having trouble communicating with the Japanese? The majority of the Japanese people we have interacted with, speak at least a little English. We are getting better with our phrases and vocabulary and have a couple books and multiple cheat sheets. The Base also offers a Japanese language course that we will most likely take as we get settled in.

5. How big is Misawa? The town of Misawa has a population of 41,000. The Base population is approx 12,000 Active Duty and Dependents. (Assume that half of those are female and you're looking at Jason's patient population.) It's a very small community here. I don't know many people yet, and Jason hasn't started seeing patients, and yet we already bump into multipule people at the commissary (grocery store). I can't imagine what it will be like the longer we live here.

6. What is the food like? Well, that depends on where you're eating. The restaurants on Base are American food. There is a Burger King, Subway, Taco Bell, Deli and Grill, Cinnabon, a Mexican Restaurant, etc. Off Base, there are many wonderful options. The Japanese diet consists mainly of rice and seafood so there are great sushi places, Japanese restaurants serving all types of fish, lean meats, veggis and rice. Misawa also has great Italian (apparently the Japanese love their Italian food!), Chinese, Thai, Indian and American restaurants. There is even a McDonalds in Misawa. Misawa also has several grocery stores to buy all the components to make your own Japanese dishes.

7. Do we use Yen? The Japanese currency is the Yen. The value of the Dollar against the Yen changes daily, but since we've been here...it's been anywhere between 119-130 Yen per Dollar. The Base accepts both Yen and the Dollar and the Base has several ATM machines that you can get both American and Japanese currency from. Off Base, you can only use Yen. Japan is also a very cash orientated society so one hardly uses a credit card when off Base.

8. What time does the sun rise and set? Right now the sun comes up 4:00am and sets approx 7:45pm. This was one reason it was difficult to recover from jet lag. Both of us woke up around 4:30am the first several mornings, and you couldn't help but get up because it was already light outside! Even now, if you wake up at 6:00am, you feel like you slept in since the sun has been peaking thru the windows for a couple hours already. In the winter, the sun comes up around 7:30am and sets around 4:30ish pm.


9. When will Jason start working? Jason does not officially start taking call or seeing his own patients until this Tuesday, July 24. However, he has been very busy the past two weeks not only In-Processing, but completing official business and paperwork at the hospital so he will be logicistically ready to care for patients. Now that he has received his Hospital credentials, has his pager, has his temporary office set up, he has navigated thru a new computer system, seen a couple patients and scrubbed into a hysterectomy and is familiar with the Labor and Delivery and Operating Rooms...he is ready for take off!

10. Is it what you expected/are you having fun?
So far everything has been better than we had expected! We've been settling in so nicely that it's hard to believe that we have been here for less than 2 weeks. We hope that the next 3 years are as smooth and exciting as the past 12 days!

Lions and Typhoons and Earthquakes, OH MY!!!!!

Konichiwa all,
Thank you for the concern and multiple emails regarding the earthquake and typhoon that recently struck Japan.
Fortunately, the typhoon hit Toyko and the islands South of us. By the time it got to Northern Japan, it was mist and fog for 4 days but not much else.
There were 2 earthquakes. The real big on (6.6) was South as well and we didn't feel any effects from it. The one in NW japan that affected the power plant was still about 200 miles away from us. Suz woke me up on our first night in our new base town house (Monday night) because we did have about a 2 minute mild earthquake. It was barely noticeable.
This area gets about 10-12 earthquakes a year. The last real serious earthquake and typhoon to the Misawa area was well over 20 years ago.
All is well otherwise. We will be without internet for a few days while our phones and such get set up.
Take care and keep in touch.
J&S

Our New (well, new to us) Cars and House

Greetings. Today we finalized the purchase of our two cars. Jason's is a 1992 Toyota Surf (4 Runner-ish) that we bought for roughly $3100.

Suzy's is a 1993 Mitsubishi Diamante that we got for $2400. We had to buy Japanese liability insurance as as the US insurance companies do not cover us over here. Now we are now cruising around in style in our new cars and not dependent on our sponsors driving us around or walking the crazy 36week prego around all over the place.

We also moved into our base housing. It is a 3 bedroom town house with 3 other units. Our cul-de-sac is made up of several similar buildings. Plenty of closet space and A HUGE kitchen. We also received a whole extra bedroom than we were anticipating. (It is just waiting for it's first occupant to visit from the USA.) Although we would not chose to live in this place if it were in the States, we feel like we're living the high life here in Misawa. You'd think we were living on Wisteria Lane though.... new tenants prove to be quite the spectacle and we feel like we have been providing plenty of speculation as we move in. Everyone has been very sweet though and we have received several well wishers and gift baskets. It is clear though that we will have to get accustomed with our lovely neighbors popping in at the drop of a hat.

Our household shipments have not arrived yet. Hopefully they did not fall off the ship on the way over. The base loaned us some furniture including a kitchen table, a living room set, and a bedroom set. We bought our crib last week and will put it together this weekend after we paint his nursery. Otherwise, we are just waiting....for our things to arrive or for him to arrive. God knows both will keep us busy. Stay tuned and enjoy the pics.

July 4th at Tennessee

Our last week in the states was spent in Tennessee at the lake house. Our groupee consisted of the Boyces, us and our dear friend Jenn. We had great weather, a ton of laughs, and came away with many stories to tell.

The boys and Jenn got lots of work done. The pile of gravel was finally conquered. They also re-dug and built the retaining wall holding up the house. Casey and Suzy reorganized the kitchen and laundry room.



We will never forget "the show" as they fished for the lost gas cap.

We lounged on the boat like it was our job, drank plenty of beer, and skied to the point of bruises and broken ribs. Jenn was a ski pro by the end of the week and Scott finally slalomed. We missed the Suzy and Casey show on slalom skis but Jacob was thankful she didn't try.

We had a ton of fun and we all were "dark as sharks." That will be the last trip to the lake until next summer.

Fish Market Fun

Friday, we began our day with a tour of the city just South of Misawa, Hachinohe. First stop, the fish market.

For those of you who do not like sea food or have queasy stomachs at 9:00am....this might not be the place for you!




Jason was more brave than I, but we both tried numerous samples like raw squid, a raw octopus relish with wasabi, and smoked herring. Jason took one more adverterous step and sampled Sea Pineapple...yes, sounds good but apparently, not so much. I chose to skip that part of the breakfast samples! We actually decided that buying a fresh salmon that they have already sliced open would be a fun meal to try on the grill one day with a dinner party! Enjoy the pics!!

Our first week in Japan

Friday evening
July 13, 2007
6:00pm
(well, that’s when we started writing this email!! It’s now):

Saturday EARLY morning
July 14, 2007
1:35am –on our way to bed!


Hello Everyone!

We were just walking back to our Temporary Housing Room after a little shopping when we started to reflect how much has happened this past week. Just a week ago, we were getting ready to board our first leg of our flight to Japan. So much has happened this past week! We have: (in no particular order)

-traveled over 10,500 miles
-successfully navigated 3 Japanese Airports
-stayed overnight in Tokyo
-recovered from Jet lag (barley)
-had “the best pizza on base” twice
(zesty bbq chicken pizza)
-spent an evening chatting with our Sponsor and his wife
-taken 2 walks/jogs at 4:30am as a result of jet lag
-gotten Jason’s paperwork process at the hospital started including getting credentialed
-Jason got an office, well, a desk in the break room he’s using as an office until Dr. Peterson leaves in Dec
-Suz had her first Dr.’s apt here
-We’ve purchased 1.5 cars (we’re trying to finalize the deal of the second car as I type)
-got our house assigned, 3 bedroom, spacious, no really, townhouse just seconds away from the hospital and commissary (move in on Monday)
-got our driver’s licenses so we can now legally drive on the “wrong” side of the road
-toured a Shinto and a Buddhist temple
-toured 2 cities of Japan
-sampled squid, smoked herring and sea pineapples at the fish market
-bought Baby Jacob a crib and dresser
-found the post office and got our mail
-bumped into at least 3 different people from Indiana or IU, seen 2 Colts tee shirts, and one OSU football sweatshirt.
-signed up to get our telephone and internet service hooked up in our new house
-made some new friends
-got recruited to play on the hospital Softball team
-signed up for the Base movie rental card and rented a couple movies
-received security briefings from the OSI (FBI of the Air Force) officer
-learned that the Japan and Base Blood Alcohol limit is .03
-eaten at a Indian lunch buffet for lunch
-eaten Japanese soft serve ice cream….one cone sesame flavored and one pineapple flavored
-eaten Burger King, Taco Bell, Subway, Charlie’s Grill and pizza twice before eating sushi. (In our defense, it’s hard to explore the local cuisine when one does not have a car to drive off Base, and….we have eaten a couple noodle bowls while we’ve been out and about and HELLO, we did try squid!)
-signed up for msn instant messenger so we can all im at any time!
-met 1 person who knows Ian Baxter (that’s for all of our Dayton friends!)
-watched Sports Center at least 5 times (It’s just one day behind for us!)
-seen beautiful 500 year old Japanese cedar trees and so many gorgeous hydrangeas EVERYWHERE in Japan! Most of them are blue but they are certainly the flower of choice in and around northern Japan.
-worn the same outfit several times since it has been chilly and raining here the last few days and we only brought tee shirts, shorts and sandals! (Apparently, by the end of the month, we’ll be wishing it were this mild again!)

There are so many more things too, but we just can’t remember them all! Hope you are doing well and miss you all! When we get “settled” (as “Settled”, I mean in our new house with loaner furniture until our shipments start to arrive) next week, we’ll send out our phone number for more contact info. For right now though…emailing has been perfect!

Love to you all and take care!
Jason and Suz