Hello there


I am about to move to Sasebo, joining my husband out there. He and I were recently married and this is my very first time leaving the country. He has already secured us a great house 20 mins off base and I am a little concerned about making friends. He and I dont have any children and so I wont really be able to make any friends through school or day care, and I am not thrilled at the thought of only being friends with his friends wives.

I would like to find out what my options are. Are there clubs or social groups on base? Anybody here living in Sasebo and know of anything fun to do?

Any advice would be great

Hi there! Sasebo is WONDERFUL! Congratulations, both on your marriage and on getting to move to Sasebo.

As for making friends, it's really up to you. If you sit at home and wait for someone to knock on your door, you're going to be lonely. But, if you make the effort, you can have LOTS of friends!

Every command has a Family Readiness Group (or at least they are supposed to!) Going to FRG meetings is a good way to meet other spouses in your husband's command. You can also meet people/make friends by going on MWR tours, by attending any one of a number of religious services on or off base, by joining one of the several classes at the gym, by going to the Japanese phrase class Eriko offers at the FFSC each week...the list goes on!

Volunteer work is a fantastic way to make friends. You can volunteer via the FFSC, the Religious Ministries department, the NMCRS, etc. I was a volunteer instructor for the TIME Magazine Reading Club, and made a ton of friends through that -- hell, I made such good friends that my brother ended up meeting, dating, and MARRYING one of the friends I made through that group!

Getting a job on base is a good way to make friends -- there are often jobs available with MWR (recreation and daycare especially) and with Chili's on base.

There are also classes you can take to make friends (American and Japanese) -- I took Japanese calligraphy classes from a Japanese woman in exchange for English conversation lessons for her and several of her friends. I ended up doing a bunch of stuff with them, going on day trips, and even had her and her daughter visit me in the U.S. after we returned! I also got involved with a sumi-e painting class, which was great. You can take classes at a lot of places -- I took a metal embossing class, a silver jewelry class and two parasol-making classes at the Nishizawa department store in the shopping arcade, and made several friends doing that. I also started a Japanese/U.S. Ladies Cooking Class with some Japanese and American friends -- we took turns teaching and learning American and Japanese cooking, and practicing English conversation, and it was lots of fun!

I even have several great friends I met via my blog, and some friends I met simply by striking up a conversation in line at the commissary!

So -- the only ways to be lonely and friendless in Sasebo are 1. to stay in your house and avoid everyone, or 2. be such a mean person that nobody wants to be around you. If you can stay away from those two things, you should have as many friends and wonderful experiences as you can handle!

Feel free to PM me if you'd like, and I can introduce you via FB or e-mail to some people before you get there.

Best of luck!!

OMG reading what ur writing is almost exactly what i came on here to write. My high school sweetheart just got married and i'm starting freak out i have about a month until i should be on my way to sasebo. He's getting us an apartment 5 minutes from base and about 15 from his ship. I'm scared about being all the way in japan alone. I also have no children. Please get ahold of me.

Love you guys soooo much. So glad to be able to say,,,you guys are now my friends
Libby
P.S.
You are a sweetheart Laura