We can do anything, we can be anything...

Quick summary of my recent events in Okinawa:

• Visited the seawall for breakfast at Coffee Casa..home of the best homemade whip cream. 

• Experienced a Japanese movie theater..3D, Jap subtitles, Jap commericials.. the whole shebang.

Precisely 2 weeks ago I had to say goodbye to one of my favorite childhood friends….Harry Potter. Harry and I go waaaay back, and sitting in that Japanese movie theater watching the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was a very bittersweet moment for me; tears were shed. Harry and friends, you will be greatly missed.

• Greenlined it to Camp Schwab to hit up the beach and barbeque with a battalion of Marines who made us awesome steak and burgers. The waves were huge due to the Typhoon that was hitting mainland Japan...However, Oki was only grazed by the edge of the storm so it stayed pretty tame in my area.

• Traveled to Naha for some shopping on Kokusai Street. The Foster boys went as well and played music on the street. A group of giggling Japanese girls wanted their picture taken with the American boys singing on the corner..new Japanese boy band?

• Finished session 2 of swim lessons, ending it with another fantastic Thrilling Thursday. I probably coaxed about 20 preschoolers off the diving board for the first time and ate enough delicious pot luck food to last me a lifetime; LOVE my Kadena moms.

• Took up one of my swim lessons moms’ offer to go snorkeling at Maeda Point. She rented us gear and took my roommate and I to the best reef I’ve seen so far. I felt as if I was swimming in an aquarium, it was amazing and we even got to snorkel deep into a cave off the coast.

• Ferried to Tokashiki Island from the Tomari Port in Naha. We camped in a jungle-like area right off the beach and it was absolutely gorgeous. Definitely the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen in my life. The Annual Tokashiki Festival happened to be the same weekend so we were able to see Taiko drumming, a Shisha dance, and an incredible fireworks display which including flames and a laser show. While hiking here at the Keramas, I had a near death experience. I literally ran underneath a BANANA SPIDER! Yes, that’s right, a full blown, black and yellow, massive arachnid that was just dying to jump off its web to bite me and inject me with its deadly venom. However, I successfully survived the encounter and am able to tell the tale.

Ferry  from Naha to Tokashiki.

Paradise :)

Taiko Drumming at the Tokashiki Festival

Shisha

• Tropic Thunder 2011. All the CampA on Oki gathered together on Kinser for a little friendly competition. We were split off into teams and got down and dirty while fighting for a victory. 

Okinawa Camp Adventure Crew 2011

4 weeks, 3 weekends and 4 plane rides until I’m back to Iowa. I’ll have to trade in my swim suit for text books and the beach for classrooms and lecture halls..can’t say that I’m really ready for that life change. Therefore, this is me making a request to all my family and friends: COME TO OKINAWA!

Live Free. Play Hard.

My summer in Okinawa has reached its halfway point. 

I’ve spent a good portion of my living stipend and have basically nothing to show for it, 

thanks to taxis and delicious Japanese food. I’m proud to say my Japanese vocabulary has 

increased to about 10 words/phrases which basically only allow me to thank the Okinawans, and often apologize for my lack of understanding and general American-ness.

I wonder how many people can say that they've
ridden in a pineapple shaped golf cart?

Throughout the last couple of weeks we’ve gotten braver on our bikes and have allowed ourselves to get lost in downtown Japan a few more times, always feeling extremely accomplished and pleased with ourselves when we make it back safely. Via the Greenline (the MCCS bus system) and taxis, we traveled north to Pineapple Park and Expo Park, which holds the world’s 2^nd largest aquarium. During this trip I was able to see dolphins jumping 30 feet out of a pool, successfully used my small vocabulary to argue with the crankiest cab driver in all of Okinawa, and tried every possible type of pineapple baked goods in existence after cruising through the pineapple field in our sweet pineapple cart. 

This was the first 4^th of July that I spend out of Iowa, so Independence Day in Okinawa was definitely out of the ordinary. Rather than riding a Jet Ski or tubing down the Mississippi, I went to Kadena’s Americafest, a festival similar to a county fair that could be found back in the States. Huge planes and fighter jets were lined up along the air base’s flight line for everyone to see and tour. Carnival booths filled the air with scents of corndogs and funnel cake, the Jessie James concert could be heard from miles around, and gorgeous fireworks filled the night sky. The next day was spent relaxing on Araha Beach, playing sand volleyball and swimming in the beautiful ocean.

I may be in Japan, but Okinawa is one of the most tourist centered places I’ve ever seen. They strive to make everything as Americanized as they can, but their “American” merchandise isn’t very impressive. They literally pick out random English words and stamp them on a t-shirt, not worrying about if they make sense of not. However, I really want to experience some actual Japanese culture while I’m here, so we decided to hit up the Peaceful Love Rock Festival last weekend. Although I couldn’t understand the lyrics, the 10 Japanese bands I heard were awesome, and it was a blast to see both Japanese and Americans rocking out together at this concert. Also, I never realized how vertically challenged  Japanese people are until I was about 10 rows back and noticed that every single person (male or female) in front of my group was shorter than me. For the first time at a concert, I had NO problem seeing the stage. Needless to say, it was fantastic.

Peaceful Love Rock Festival

A few fun facts: 

• To anyone who may have forgotten, my half birthday was July 12^th which means that I have precisely 6 months until I turn 21.
• I completely biffed it on a huge boulder-like-rock at Sunset Beach the other day, and as I saw my life flash before my eyes, it reminded to tell everyone back home that I love them. ;) haha, but seriously, I couldn’t sit on my butt without wincing for about 2 days, my poor, poor tailbone…
• Claire and I FINALLY met Yoko. After 4 weeks of talking about our maid like she was a long time friend, we actually set eyes on her for the first time. She was an intimidating older Japanese lady, and honesty, she inspires me to keep my room clean because I have no desire to face that woman’s wrath.