Jobs and projects...

When we're not enjoying that pretty ocean view, sight-seeing, or eating sushi here in Okinawa, we are definitely staying busy lately with our jobs. For those who only know that Schan is a pilot in the USAF, but don't really know what he does, here's a quick summary. Schan is an aircraft commander for the 961st Airborne Air Control Squadron at Kadena Air Base. The AC is the pilot in command who has overall responsibility for the safety of the aircraft and its crew. The plane he flies is the E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System or AWACS. In general, this aircraft gives a real-time picture of the battle space. The crew manage tactical situations and ensure that all threats are targeted by the appropriate aircraft, all surface targets are destroyed, aircraft are refueled on time and that operations are maintained safely. Along with spending time in his office on the ground and in the sky, Schan is also working on getting his masters degree in Homeland Security. Wow, important stuff!! And Capt. Daniel, please correct me if I'm wrong about the AWACs stuff, haha. Last week, he gave me a quick tour of the E-3 and I was able to sit up in the cockpit and look at all of the gadgets. Very cool!












Okay, no full-time job for me right now, but I'm keeping myself busy juggling 3 different part-time "jobs". I was hired on by the Dept of Defense Dependent Schools in August to be a substitute school nurse and/or teacher for the Kadena school system. If needed, I can also work at the neighboring military schools as well. I did substitute for one of the high school nurses for a few weeks last month, but other than that, I haven't been called into work as much as I expected. It's decent money, but I have to report to work by 0710 and sometimes you don't get called until 0630... and its a 1/2 hour drive from where I live. Short notice! But the hours are flexible and I love working with the kids, so I'm happy that I decided to do this part time.

I'm trying to keep my experience up in nursing, so I volunteered with the Red Cross. I decided to volunteer a few hours/week at the Navy Hospital here. What a long process this has become, haha! After my initial orientation with the Red Cross, I was assigned to finish my training with the coordinator at the hospital. The paperwork started in August and I'm still not done. Computer training, 50 hrs of clinical skills testing (with the Navy corpsmen), team-building activities, background checks, blood titers drawn, etc. It's so much more work to volunteer here than it was for me to get an actual job back in the states. And honestly, due to the lack of communication I'm getting from the hospital about when I can come in for my training on the unit, I'm debating as to whether it's worth the hassle or not.

So my last (and most fun!) job is the art project I'm working on. I had some good networking luck this summer and was contacted about illustrating a children's book. I've been wanting to get some sort of art business going for several years, but never had the time, so I jumped at this opportunity. The author is American and she and I have been working together for the past month or so on the book. The book is in English (not Japanese) but the story is set in Okinawa and is about a shisa dog and her "adventures". All of the sketches are complete and I've finished 4 of the final color illustrations so far. The author is hoping to publish in early January, but we're still figuring out a few design aspects, so it may be later. I'll keep everyone updated!

(The picture above is a Shisa dog... they usually come in pairs and many place them on their rooftops or doorsteps to keep various evils away, according to Okinawa mythology)

American Village

Wow, I have not posted anything in over a month! I've been a little busier than usual lately, but I'll try to do a better job keeping everyone updated on things. So what should I blog about.... hmmm. Schan has been busy with work and classes for his masters degree and I've been keeping myself occupied with a big art project, so unfortunately we have not had time to do any sight-seeing lately. We have been trying out some new restaurants on the weekends though, which is always fun!

Anyway, I think I'm going to write about "American Village" since I don't think I have posted any pictures of that yet. American Village is a popular hangout for many military members/families living on Okinawa. It's located in Chatan Town, which is near Kadena Air Base (the west side & opposite of where we live), Camp Lester (the Navy Hospital) and Camp Foster (a Marine base). It sort of gives visitors a mix of American and Japanese culture.... food, shopping, etc. The main landmark for the area is the large Ferris wheel, which sits on top of a small shopping area filled with restaurants and retail stores. We did try the Thai restaurant there (Jai Thai) but we weren't really impressed with it. The atmosphere was neat, but the food... ehh, not so much. But if we want an American-style meal, they have a Tony Romas steak house there and it was actually pretty good. In addition to the restaurants, there is a mall within walking distance, a Starbucks, and many shops/bars near the beach. Also, the square outside the Ferris wheel usually has different types of music, local bands, groups of dancers or street performers that come out to show their talents, especially on the weekends. Some are really fun to watch.... others just interesting ;)

Picture info: 1.) View of American Village and the East China Sea... the Naval Hospital is the bldg on the lower left 2.) American village square 3.) The Ferris Wheel 4.) Groups of Okinawan girls performing their hip-hop skills on the square... fun times :)

The Great Tug-of-War!

On Sunday afternoon, I went with some friends down to Naha for the Tug-of-War Festival! And although it's a very interesting event, I'm just going to copy and paste the local news story about it to avoid messing up the actual facts :)

Take a 44-ton rope and wrap 25,000 pair of hands around it, and what happens? Answer: A tug-of-war Sunday afternoon that will attract tens of thousands of spectators wanting to see if the Guinness Book of World Records feat can be topped. The event takes place at Kumoji Crossing in downtown Naha, the centerpiece of the 38th annual Ryukyu Kingdom Festival Tsunahiki. For many who make the annual trek to the tug-of-war, the event is simply the Naha Festival tug-of-war.

This tug-of-war has been ongoing since 1600, when the Ryukyu Kingdom was in its prime, a festival for farmers in the countryside to give thanks for plentiful harvests, and for city dwellers to do likewise for successful international trade. After nearly four centuries of festivities, the tug-of-war was stopped in 1935, then revived by Naha City in 1971 to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Since then, it’s never stopped.

The great tug-of-war grew each year, with the city in 1995 putting together a huge rope that qualified for the Guinness Book of World Records. Festival organizers made it bigger in 1997, and the record jumped. This weekend, they hope to do it again, as eight teams representing Okinawa’s east and another eight standing for the west will lead the tug-of-war. The war pits the east against the west, the two 300-foot-long sections of rope being brought together and pinned with a massive 10-foot wooden peg. Kings symbolizing the supremacy of the two dynasties in Naha centuries ago approach each other atop the rope, each with their royal courts, and issue challenges to one another.

Cries of ‘yoishi’, ‘O Shoi’ and ‘Hai-ya’, meaning heave ho or pull harder, fill the air, motivating stronger efforts from participants. Once the tug-of-war is ended, with or without a winner, it’s all friendship. The best record was in 2004, when the west, in a lightning fast move, hauled the rope the five meters in only six minutes-26 seconds, a new record. Knives come out as everybody begins to relax, cutting away pieces of the tug ropes for souvenirs (to bring good luck for the year).

In the above picture of Cindi and me standing on the rope, I obviously forgot that making the peace sign in photos is the "cool thing" to do here in Okinawa, haha. I was just happy that I got my piece of the rope! And below is a video I took of the "actual" tug-of-war. Our side won!

For more photos of the tug-of war, go to....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27905094@N06/sets/72157607956112706/

Snorkeling...

This post is a little overdue, but we finally bought our own snorkeling gear in late July and went snorkeling for the first time in early August. These photos are from Maeda Point, which is one of the most popular snorkeling sites on the island. The water was so gorgeous and we were able to see so many different types of fish and sea life that day. We even saw a few tiny seahorses, so that was very cool :) Got a little close to one small jellyfish, but managed to avoid it thank goodness! We're definitely looking forward to putting our new snorkeling gear to use again soon.

Cats...

Gotta love pets... especially our cat, Darby. She is actually more like a dog than a cat, which is great because some cats are well, not very entertaining. We do have another cat, Sam, who isn't as playful or active probably because she weighs about 22 lbs, ughh! She's sweet, but skittish and sometimes hisses at you for no reason at all. And she really only wanders downstairs at night or if she's desperate for food to curb her big ol appetite. Anyway, most of the time Sam hides upstairs, but not Darby. While Schan is at work, Darby will follow me around the house like a shadow. I walk outside to get something out of the car and there she is waiting at the door for me to get back. I make dinner and she's always right by my feet, staring up at me as though she's waiting for food to fall on the floor. She never eats it though, unless it happens to be tuna. And I cannot even go to the bathroom or take a shower without hearing her meow and paw at the door, haha! Crazy cat. Anyway, she loves to play fetch with my hair bands and with her little rabbits foot toy. Sometimes she's good at bringing it back to you and sometimes she isn't. I think she's camera shy, so she didn't do as well when I was taping her this time. Still funny though :)




And here's another... of both Darby and Sam. If you have the volume up at the end, you can hear Sam get irritated and hiss at Darby. Who knows why, it's just what she does, LOL!

Video tour of the house...

While we were home visiting family & friends a few weeks ago, a couple of people asked me if I had done any videotaping lately (which I haven't) and they also mentioned something about me maybe doing a quick video tour of our house. I've posted several pictures, but this gives you a better idea of the layout. So here it is! :) I had to upload it in 3 separate videos due to an error with the file, but they should be in order.

Home Sweet Okinawa Home...

I think we've finally reached the point where our house and our neighborhood are feeling more like "home". Of course, it's not the good old USA, but we now know our way around the general area without having to carefully study those helpful phone book maps while driving ;) And although I still have a little bit more decorating to do, I think the house is looking pretty good. We were lucky to find a house that was very American-ish, aside from the fact that we don't really have a "dining room" area. Yeah, we could have squeezed our table behind the couch, but it would have been too cramped. So we ordered a couple of nice bar stools online and have been using those for seats next to the breakfast bar and it works great for us! Schan and I are both glad that we decided not to live in on-base housing. While some are nice, it's just not that same feeling of having your own place. Most on-base housing is set up like duplexes or small apartment complexes and you're very close to your neighbors, so you had better get along! No really, I do think that it's a good choice for people with children because the schools are nearby and it would be easier for school age kids to make friends in their base neighborhood. And those living on base are able to paint their walls... definitely a bonus there, sighhh. Someday I'll finally be able to paint my walls and be able to look at something other than plain white. I don't think we'll regret our decision though. We are experiencing more of Okinawa's culture by living right in the middle of it!

Here are some updated pictures of our house and my car...

Shuri Castle

This was such an interesting place to visit! Some history below...

Shuri Castle (in Japanese 首里城 Shurijō) is a gusuku (Ryūkyūan castle) in Shuri, Okinawa. It was the palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom. In 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, it was almost completely destroyed, with only a few walls standing not even one meter high. In 1992, it was reconstructed on the original site based on photographs, historical records, and memory. For 450 years from the beginning of the 15th century, it was the royal court and administrative center of the Ryūkyūan Kingdom. It was the focal point of foreign trade, as well as the political, economical and cultural heart of the Ryūkyūs.



According to records, Shuri Castle burned several times, and was reconstructed each time. Before the war, it was designated a National Treasure, but during the war, the Japanese military set up its headquarters underground at the castle, and beginning on May 25, 1945, the American battleship Missouri and others shelled it for three days. On May 27 it burned.


After the war, the University of the Ryūkyūs moved to the castle site. In 1958, the Shureimon gate was rebuilt, and in 1992, the main building of the castle was reconstructed. At present, the entire area around the castle has been established as Shuri Castle Park.

P.S. For you Lindsborg people... yep, that's the Lindsborg News Record I'm holding... this same pic may be in the paper in late September :)

Neo Park

A week or so ago I went with some friends to Neo Park Okinawa, a nature park/zoo sort of place. They did have a big variety of plants and birds there and also some lemurs and monkeys. Like most parks, it was divided into different areas like the Amazon jungle, the African Savanna (they spelled it Afurican, haha), Flamingo lake, Spider Monkey island, Lemur islands, Tortoise farm, and petting zoo.


Ahhhh the petting zoo!! Sigh. This little zoo had the usual goats, llama, and rabbits, but they also had dogs there tied to little posts. They even had a little tiny picnic basket with a chihuahua in it, wearing a pink shirt. All of our American celebrities carrying around dogs in their purses must have inspired the Okinawans. I am a huge animal lover, so I all but broke down in tears looking at the poor dogs. They looked healthy enough, but I wanted to see all of them go to good homes! I almost tried to adopt the little long-haired dachshund they had wandering around in the fenced in area, but Schan (and our 2 cats) wouldn't have appreciated that very much.


I did love feeding the lemurs though :) They were so adorable and would just take the food out of your hand like a little person. The spider monkeys were cute too. I really wasn't supposed to feed those, but I had an extra Kashi granola bar in my purse. That's natural enough for them, ha!

At the end of the day, we stopped by their little photo shop to take a group photo in Okinawan garments. They even had props for us... instruments, umbrellas, etc. I think we looked pretty good! :)

Obon Eisa Dancers

Just before going to bed tonight, I heard the beating of drums and singing outside my window... not the normal occurrence, hehe. I hadn't heard anything earlier while downstairs because the TV was up pretty loud with Olympic coverage on. Well, there is an annual event in Okinawa called Obon and it is being celebrated this week. If I wouldn't have noticed it so late, we may have walked down the street to check it out, but Americans have a curfew off-base after midnight and I wasn't really in the mood to stir up trouble with the local police (worst case scenario) or get those "you're not welcome here" looks from our Okinawan neighbors.



Obon was first celebrated during the Middle Ages and on Okinawa, it is celebrated according to the lunar calendar. Ever since those times, Okinawans have followed tradition and prayed, eaten, sung and danced with the spirits of their ancestors during this annual event. The spirits are alerted of the arrival of Obon by the cleaning of tombs several days before the event begins. Family members get together at their family tomb to clean it which lets the ancestors know they will soon be called forth to rejoin their family for a short visit. Eisa dancing is performed to please and console the ancestors and dispel any bad spirits.

Driving around the island, you will see these Okinawa family tombs alongside the road everywhere. Some date back hundreds of years and are shaped like the backs of turtles, which resemble a mother's womb, and to them it symbolizes from where everyone is born and from there everyone returns (something like that). Inside are the bones of generations of their ancestors. Families gather there during this time and also during "shimi" in April and offer food and drinks to their ancestors while entertaining themselves and honoring their lost loved ones. Very different from our American culture, but it is an interesting tradition. You can't see the Eisa dancers in the video I took, but you can hear them very well!



The 2 photos were taken by another American resident who saw these dancers by his home a few nights ago.

AFN...

Ahhh AFN... the good old Armed Forces Network providing entertainment for military audiences around the world. Woohoo!! Of course, the sports channel is our favorite, even though you can get updates on games from ESPN.com before they are shown here, but oh well. The time difference is only 1 hour from here to Beijing and we're still seeing the Olympics late, so don't think we're lucky :) If we really want to catch a favorite show from the states, we do have a Slingbox (much thanks to Schan's parents) that allows us to watch US television through our computer, so I DVR the shows that I don't want to miss. Isn't technology great??

Anyway, that being said, I doubt that I will ever get through even 30 minutes of AFN viewing time without bursting out laughing. Why?? Well, instead of the commercials that you see stateside, AFN inserts public service announcements on various subjects, usually dealing with public health, safety, anti-terrorism, pride in military service, sexual harassment "no-no's" and other messages to the troops. Yeah, this all sounds okay, but you just have to experience some of these ads to see what I mean, haha. Here are a few of my favorites....





I'm a styrofoam cup yo... :)




Don't forget to wash those hands!


This is an old one, but they have several updated GI Jerome ads that air several times a day here. He has a lot to say about camping and hiking safety in the newest one! ;)

Ocean Expo Park

We have been wanting to go to Ocean Expo Park and the Churami Aquarium for awhile now and finally made it there on Sunday afternoon. This park is not only the aquarium, it also has a dolphin studio, a botanical/tropical garden, 2 different Okinawan culture museums, and a white sand beach next door.

The aquarium itself was awesome and they have a great facility to display all of the marine life that is found in Okinawa's waters. The complex (which sits right on the NW coast) obtains it's seawater through an intake pipe and generates some of it's own power. This island is very eco-friendly and efficient, so this wasn't surprising at all. One of the most popular sights (and one of our favorites too) was the large tank that held the huge whale sharks, manta and sting rays, and other types of sea critters. A little cafe sits inside just next to the tank, so we ate lunch while watching the 8 meter long whale sharks swim right by us. These sharks are not carnivorous, so my little fear of "Jaws" was not a problem here :) There are some places on the island where you can actually scuba dive with these sharks and that would definitely be an experience! We still have not become scuba certified yet, but maybe later on this year.

After we toured the aquarium, we went outside to see the dolphin performance. It was in Japanese, of course, but we got the general idea. Dolphins are just amazing animals! I was disappointed that they had part of the dolphin exhibit closed, because it is home to Fuji, a bottle-nose dolphin wearing an artificial tail fin especially designed here at Churaumi. Maybe some of you heard about that on the news awhile back. We bought season passes though, so maybe it will be open next time and we can see Fuji!

We also toured the Tropical Dream Center, a tropical botanical garden with a neat observation tower in the middle. As usual, orchids were everywhere and there were some interesting flowers and plants that I had never seen before. They even had little venus fly traps... tiny ones, but pretty cool :) After catching a nice view from the top of the observation tower, we decided to call it a day. Might have stayed longer, but it was so hot that day and it was hard to enjoy the outdoor part when you are sweating like crazy. The weather here is great in the late fall, from what I hear, so we'll probably try to come back then.



Here is a link to all of the photos I took at Ocean Expo Park...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27905094@N06/sets/72157606290572045

Okinawa Hollywood

This past weekend we decided to head north to try out a new restaurant I had found in one of our island guide books. It was a steak/lobster house called the Malibu House and it was also a little movie poster museum as well. The ad said that it held over 1,300 historic movie posters or something like that. We found it without any problems (whew), but we weren't expecting it too be that difficult since it is right next to Okinawa's Renaissance Resort Hotel. The area surrounding the hotel is really nice and they even have a little mini Hollywood sign on the side of a small hill. Not quite California, but it's a nice attempt at capturing the American culture :)

The restaurant was a fun place to go... neat atmosphere, an ocean view and pretty good food, although not the greatest lobster ever. Seafood is prepared differently here than in the states and just has a different flavor that will take awhile to get used to. Maybe it's because they don't saturate it with butter and seasoning, so we're tasting the actual fish, haha. Fun place to try though and Schan really liked all of the movie posters since he's a big collector of them. Also, right next door is a little ocean side bar that looked like fun, as well as a place called Al's Yum Yum Tree. Haha! Not really sure what Al is selling at his "tree", but I'm guessing it's a bar/club sort of thing.

Best pedicures ever!

Okay, this is a Carmen update only.... Schan was not involved at all in the pedicure scene, haha. Right after we arrived in Okinawa, all the women just raved over this beauty/nail/spa place called CocoK's (silent "k" just so you know). There are two locations on the island, one which overlooks the west coast so you get a nice ocean view as a bonus. The past few months it just hasn't been up there on my list of priorities, even though I always admired all the other gals spiffy decorated feet at picnics and such. Now, I am not the pedicure expert at all, but this place is WONDERFUL. Full pedicure, foot massage, toe nail art, plus a little tea drink for 3990 yen or about $40 or so. The pedicure lasted over an hour too and it is worth every penny. So when everyone comes to visit us (hint hint), it will be a good place to go for some pampering.... well, the girls can go at least :)

http://www.cocok.net/menu_e.html