I Made a New Friend!!!

...and she's Japanese! :) Go figure! My English teaching partners-in-crime (hello Jamie, Gwen, and Keli!) will get a kick out of her name. It's Akiko! What a coincidence, eh? :)

When I met her in the parking garage this evening, I was pretty tickled. First, I heard her speak to her husband (who is an AF Captain, BTW--it was getting better by the minute, especially since we were stationed on an AF base in Japan) from a distance and I immediately recognized the language as being Japanese. I thought, "AH-HAH!" So I immediately walked over to introduce myself and that's when she told me her name was Akiko. I thought, "Wow...could the signs be any more obvious???" For those of you who don't know, Akiko was the name of the Japanese lady that Jamie, Gwen, Keli and I taught for in Hachinohe.

So back to Akiko # 2 - She's originally from Tokyo and she and her husband, Brian, live in the townhouses just behind us. They are very nice people and I think they're expecting, although it was hard to tell and I didn't want to ask. Japanese women are so small (and carry so well) that it's hard to be absolutely sure in the early months. She and I chatted it up for a few minutes about the area, the community, etc. and told each other where the other one lives. Just friendly conversation that flowed easily and smoothly--you'd think it was meant to be or something. ;)

Anyway, as soon as we're all settled and actually have furniture, I plan to invite them over for dinner. Heck, I may ask her out to lunch/coffee sooner than that! I'm soooooo excited! A new friend and she's not even attached to the command - Yaaaaaay for me! :)

~Amanda