Also be aware that all is written in the prospective of someone who has new left Daytona Beach, Florida until about 1 1/2 years ago. So this is all from the prospective of a Florida Born Cracker submerged in the Japanese culture.

-Environmentally friendly
In Japan it is rude to eat in public. There are a very select types of food that is OK to eat in public. And they do not have trash cans out in Japan. This prevents littering. They recycle ♻️ everything! Restaurants and businesses that do you have trash cans are not playing trash cans. They are separated by plastic, aluminum, paper, glass, and then waste. Making Japan a very clean country.

- Kid/Parent friendly
Everywhere you go they have something that makes it kid friendly. From mini grocery carts in the grocery store. To play areas in grocery stores, malls, and airports. They have training bathrooms in areas. For toddlers train to use the bathrooms. This makes it very parent friendly. And they have training urinals and toilets in the women's bathrooms. As well as nursing and changing rooms doubled as one and it's amazing.
A lot of women in the states complain about how their husbands can't change a diaper because there's no changing table in the men's room. In Japan don't be surprised if you don't find a changing table in the women's room. Because the changing table is normally in the handicap/family room or the babies have a room entirely to themselves.

- Transportation
In Japan you see bikes everywhere. If you live in the Daytona area the best way I can describe it is it's like looking at Embry Riddle. If you ride a bike you have to get it registered and tagged. Other forms of transportation are driving, the train, the subway, and bus or taxi.
Start off driving is considered a profession in Japan. Not everyone does it. It cost $300 to take the test and get your license in Japan. And for the first year you're considered a new driver and you are required to have a magnet or sticker on your car telling people that you are a new driver.
🔰(That's what this emoji is. Btw)
On the train there is a priorities first Rall where are you let the elderly you're the pregnant or anyone that handicap have the seats first. I know that this is a role in the state in most other countries to, but they actually listen to this rule in Japan. That's not to say that young people don't sit on the train. But they are VERY likely to get up if they see someone walk into the train that needs it.
The subway is very much like the train.
I've never been on a bus in Japan so I can't tell you that experience.
And because driving is a profession in Japan taxi drivers are looked upon as a high status. They literally wear suits and white gloves when driving a taxi.

1. Accommodations
When you have company staying with you you have to accommodate to them. For instance when people visit us they don't have cars. So we have to drive them everywhere. Living on a military base we have to make sure they have special passes to get around. We also have to be with them at all times.
We have different eating habit and so grocery shopping is an accommodation as well.
All of our guests have slept on the couch but if we ever have any more then one at a time we may have to purchase a blow up mattress.
2. Entertainment
When people visit us it's probably a lot different then when other people get visitors. Living in Japan people normally want to see a bit of the country. Of course this didn't sound so bad but after our second visitor I can't imagine taking more people to these same places again. It's new to them but it'll be my 4th-5th time to the same place. It also sucks because I have a lot of days where I do nothing but binge TV and I can't because I need to entertain our guest. I've DONE the binge-rest-day thing and I just feel bad for making someone watch my show with such boredom and ask questions because I'm on season six and they haven't even seen season one. Lol.
3. Money
Spending money! When people visit we spend soo much more money in take out. When we're out all day we end up buying both lunch AND dinner. And then you have to pay for transportation everywhere. If it's not gas it's the train and if we take the car its parking. By train, my husband and myself, there and back is an average of $40 vs the $25-30 when driving. But driving can take longer. It all depends on the day and place. Then you also have other spending like if you go to any museums, parks, or movies. It all adds up and you still got your bills.
4. Personal Space
I didn't even know I was territorial until people started to visit my home. Like, "Why are they in my spot? That's my spot." Of course with my personality I'd NEVER tell them. Or I wanna watch what I want to watch on TV. Let me binge my Gilmore Girls. And those are those types of things. I hate how I can't walk around half naked or without a bra. It feels so strange. I feel like the PDA and perverted talk needs to be put on hold between my husband and I.

1. It's New
It's awesome to have people visit us because it adds something new to our every day lives. Normally this wouldn't be the case because most people still live close to home when they move out. Typically family and friends have already been incorporated into our daily lives. That's not the case here. The people who visit us don't see us everyday and having them in our home is new and exciting. Having them in Japan is new and exciting. My husband and I are always excited to show off our lives and where we live.
2. Showing Off
Speaking of showing off. It's not just showing off JAPAN and that we live in JAPAN. Its showing off the house and our daily routine. It's showing off that we have it all together. That we're happy. That may sound strange but being married, having a baby, and moving to Japan at  such a young age a lot of friends and family didn't see the positive in it. With that said I LOVE to show off what we have. I like people seeing how I've decorated the house. And going to the places we always go to and SHARING with them that.
3. Having Company
Though there are times that having company can feel like a lot of work and stress on our daily lives; it is really nice. It's nice to have someone else around. To eat dinners together. To ride the train together. To have that extra body and opinion. It's nice to watch how my daughter interacts and expresses herself around them. I love feeling like a host and planning the day/week. It's nice to have that extra person around sometimes. If you're like me having the extra person around gives you different perspectives on things that you never thought of. And that's something to always be grateful for.

This year Thanksgiving was different for a number of reasons. But the main ones were: it was my first one with my own family, it was the first one away from home, and it was my first military Thanksgiving.

The past four Thanksgivings I have been with my husband. The first one we had still just been going out and he went away for the holidays and that was fine. I was home with my parents and siblings. The next two holidays after that we split them because our family traditions just so happen to cooperate with each other with morning and evening hours.
Last year my daughter was just recently born and my husband was in Japan so we didn't get to spend it together.
That's why this Thanksgiving was special. It was the first time my husband, my daughter, and myself got to spend it together. Just us and the little family that we have.
Some may say that because we were with friends we didn't get to spend it ourselves. But I think the fact that it was just ourselves and not any extended family made a huge difference.

So my whole life I've always had Thanksgiving with my parents. Which is why it made it very difficult on Thanksgiving. Because I had no idea how to do a Thanksgiving dinner.
Luckily we split the different tasks among us girls. But I still had to do the turkey. I volunteered but I still had to do it. Did not take long for me to wish that I had volunteered.
A good friend of mine had done the turkey two years prior to this Thanksgiving so she knew how to do a turkey. But she did prepare it very different then I'd seen my parents do it.
​My point is, this was my first Thanksgiving away from home and I had taken all of the preparation my mother had done for the holidays for granted. My friend Chandel had decorated her house and she help me with the turkey.
​I'm grateful for her doing this because now I feel more prepared for next year and the years to come to provide a successful Thanksgiving for my own family.

My first Thanksgiving as a military spouse was interesting.
My husband had a Squadron Thanksgiving dinner and he also had a Flight Thanksgiving dinner.
This is great for all of those guys my husband works with, and girls, who are like 18-19 years old who are away from home for the first time and they live in the dorms in they're by themselves.
You also have those families where it's just a husband and wife. And let's be honest if it's just you and your spouse you don't really want to cook this giant meal when is just the two of you.
You also have those families where is just a husband and wife and one child. That's like me and my husband. I personally did not want to cook a giant meal if it was going to be just the three of us.
When it came down to Thanksgiving day people were invited everywhere.
There was a girl that came to our Thanksgiving dinner and I knew she was in the military. What I didn't know is that her husband was also in the military and that he is currently deployed.
i'm happy that we were able to provide her with somewhere to be for Thanksgiving.
So that was my first military Thanksgiving experience. And there is nothing else like it that I've experienced in my life I have never experienced such a community feeling before.