Happy New Year from Okinawa!

It's been almost a full year since the last time I posted. Haha. Crazy, crazy. So many things have happened since then, which is maybe why I kind of forgot about this blog. But I guess the biggest thing to happen was that I moved to Okinawa! Dallin and I had visited my parents in Okinawa in May 2015, which I talked about in this post, and I loved it. I tell everyone that Okinawa reminds me of a Japanese Hawaii. Hmm. Anyway, a job opened up here that was pretty much the same thing that I was already doing in Charleston. Thought it was fate. I decided to apply for it and got it. I've been here 6 months already, since July 2016! I almost can't believe it.

Honestly, it's been really tough. I left Dallin in Charleston. He's still with the Navy and also currently going to school to get his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. So, I mean, he kind of had no choice. We talked about it before I accepted the job offer and we both agreed for me to go. My parents are currently here and I thought it'd be so nice to be close to them for once. And it is! Also, I think that I want children one day, and I knew that it would be hard to do this overseas thing once they came into the picture. I kind of convinced myself that this was my perfect chance.

I have enjoyed my time so far here. Experienced a lot of cool things and ate a lot of food. Plus, I live by the ocean, which is a dream for me. Perfect. But I think that I had higher, and maybe unrealistic, expectations about how work was going to be. Which is probably why I'm so disappointed with my work situation right now. Lol. Sometimes I think about it and I think to myself, "I left Charleston and gambled my marriage for this?!" I don't want to say that I regret it, because I don't exactly. But it's been really fucking difficult at times and I have learned some really tough lessons. I didn't consider myself an optimist before or anything, but damn. I guess you can adjust and have low expectations and still be disappointed. I'm still learning to deal with that. :)

Dallin visited during the holidays, which I am so, so grateful for. We woke up early to experience hatsuhinode, which is welcoming the first sunrise of the new year, a tradition in Japan. Totally not a morning person at all, but it's supposed to be good luck and I'll take what I can get at this point. Haha. I drove us east to Hamahiga Island, which is connected to the main island of Okinawa by a bridge. I had no idea that this giant rock would be partially blocking our view. Haha. But I thought it was kind of funny and the view was still beautiful. As we watched the sky slowly light up from darkness, I thought about what I wanted for the upcoming year. By the time the sun rose above the horizon and the rock, I had set my intention, and it was simple: be happy.

Hope you all have a great year! :) We might not all get exactly what we want, but we keep on living!