I refuse to be bitter about Okinawa being Okinawa. I am a visitor here, and this is a really cool opportunity for my family and me. I won't sneer at Okinawans speaking Japanese. This is THEIR home. They are fully entitled to speak their own language in their own country. I won't get road rage about the overcautious Okinawan drivers. I won't drive over their low speed limits (much) and I won't be a nuisance. I will eat as much authentic food as I can stomach, and damnit I'll savor it.

It's very likely that we will never again have an opportunity like this one, where we are able to live in another country and soak up the culture. I intend to do, see, appreciate and enjoy as much as I possibly can. And nobody is going to talk me out of it.

Each duty station is what you make it. I'm not going to be miserable for the next 3 years. And that's that.