Next Up: Grandma Jean!

The day after the Dolbows left, Typhoon Vongfong arrived and kept us apartment-bound for nearly three days of soaking rain. We all went a bit stir-crazy, but were grateful that the storm weakened considerably and that we had a subscription to Amazon Prime. After the long weekend inside, we were ready to get out and enjoy the sun and welcome Grandma Jean!

My mom arrived after a week with my sister and her family in Seattle. She had one good night's sleep and was ready to go. If you know my mom, this is not surprising. She stayed at another resort in Onna, with a top- floor room and private balcony.

After relaxing at OIST for a bit, we headed to Cafe Do Ka Do Ka, a restaurant and pottery studio just a few kilometers down the road (btw, can the US please go metric?). The setting and view are perfect and a good place for a filling lunch and a pick-me-up coffee. And there are high stools, always a reason to go to a restaurant according to my kids.

The presentation of food here at cafés is almost always as good as the food itself. Doesn't this make you want to up your game for your morning java? 

The following day, Maddox, my mom, and I headed to some cultural sights. We started the day at another World Heritage site, Nakagusuku Castle. At the beginning of the steep uphill climb, I found these two shisas. I am not sure if either of them is scaring any evil spirits though!

Nakagusuku is a fortress that was built in the mid-15th century by Lord Gosamaru. He and Lord Amawari were having a tiff, and he wanted to protect his power. Gosamaru ended up falling to Amawari, but the fortress remained in use. 

Matthew Perry (the Navy guy, not the actor from "Friends") visited Okinawa when it was the seat of the Ryukyu Kingdom in the mid-19th century. He visited Nakagusuku Castle and commented on its solid construction in his travel memoirs. There also exist several lithographs of Perry's visits to the castle, an important set of records for Okinawan history.

Next we went to Nakamura House which is a well-preserved home from the mid-18th century. You can see Nakagusuku from the Nakamura house. We had a conversation through hand gestures with one of the employees there that told us (I think) that samurai used to stay at Nakamura since it was conveniently located near the center of the island. Following our tour of the house, the woman at the gift shop made us sit down for tea and brown sugar jello. The sense of hospitality here is pervasive.

These pottery figures are outside Nakamura house. I have no idea the story behind them,  but I love them. 

Inside every traditional home is an altar room like the one below. The most prominent religion then, and I think now, is Shinto. Shinto is not a religion in any Western understanding of the word, but is a way of spiritual life and practice that recognizes the natural forces in all things.

Although Shinto recognizes the spirit in all things, it also finds sacred spaces where the common and the spiritual come together. This is where shrines are typically placed. Our final stop on this day of cultural exploration was to the Futenma shrine. The shrine is right off a busy street, and is hard to miss, but we found it! 

I didn't take photos of the shrine itself, but did of the washing area outside the shrine. Before entering the shrine, one takes a ladle of water from the clean basin, and follows a series of steps to wash both hands and mouth before proceeding to the shrine to make your offering. We were able to witness other people presenting offerings and praying. Offerings of course could be money,  but some of the rituals involved trays with various elements, including fresh fruits.

After this whirlwind morning of exploring, we went back to Cafe Milkhall Iramina where I had taken the Dolbows. This time, we were ready for lunch. Again with the lovely presentation! I do enjoy the lunch sets that come with many little side dishes to try. This main dish was larger than usual. I feel like the portion sizes here are usually more in line with what a normal human should eat. 

The solitary vegetable on the right-hand side is goya, also called bitter melon. It seems to be an important part of the Okinawan diet, but I have not acquired a taste for it. I have tried it a few times, but it is far too bitter for my taste. Better than pig's ear though!

I am so glad to be able to adventure with my mom. She has been lucky to see many places in this amazing world, and she is always eager to learn from new places and new people. I am grateful that my parents passed on the value of lifelong learning to my siblings and me. It sure makes for an interesting life!

Resort Living

The part of Okinawa where we live is Onna Village, and it is one of the major resort areas on the island. The Dolbows stayed at the Rizzan Sea Park Hotel, just about 5 minutes from OIST.  The beach area at the hotel was netted, protecting swimmers from box jellyfish, and the hotel also had both an indoor and outdoor pool. Like many resorts, there were several water and pool activities to enjoy.

In keeping with her character, Maddox chose the most ridiculous activity to try. I don't know the official name, but it was akin to a plastic ball that you would buy for a hamster or a rat. You know, the small pet runs around inside and  moves around the cage? This was an inflatable ball that floated on the water, which required Maddox to get in the uninflated ball, get zipped in, and have the equivalent of a leaf blower blowing air in to inflate the ball. I might have been a little nervous to try this, but not Maddox. Never Maddox.

It was hard to get an action photo, but the photo above shows the idea. She could run in it with some practice, and enjoyed trying handstands and cartwheels. We are thinking of purchasing one for the backyard in Durham. Garrett Farms neighbors: wouldn't it be fun? Maybe I will speak to the HOA about purchasing one for the pool. 

Also keeping in character, Zoe chose a calm paddle boat ride. This boat was actually powered by paddles that you turned with your arms. She was perfectly content, and mostly tried to run over Poppy.

One great thing about this resort was the all-in-one cultural performance each night. After eating at a massive buffet, we headed to this program which the girls loved. They could get their own drums and castanets to join in with the music.

And there was gingerale which makes any night out a fancy one...

This show was all women, and they were really impressive. The fitness they had to maintain to do the Eisa part of the show was enviable.

At the end of the show, they invited people to come to the front. Maddox was a bit shy, but Grandma coaxed her on stage for some dancing participation.

Meanwhile, Zoe kept banging the drum. "Mom, can you guess this song?" Um, no, Zoe, I can't. She often seems baffled that I don't quite hear what's in her head.

I didn't take the time to edit the photo below (trying not to let the perfect be the enemy of the done), but was glad the girls had a chance to have a photo with one of the great performers.

We are really grateful that John's parents came to visit. Despite blogs and photos, it's pretty hard to describe this place and to explain what our life has been like here. And of course the girls were thrilled to see them and to get a little dose of home. The bright side of the long trip from NC? As Maggie said, it doesn't make Albuquerque seem so far anymore!

Nature, Nature, Everywhere!

There are so many beautiful places in Okinawa, some of which are a bit hard to find. The beauty here is not the kind I think of when I think "subtropical island". It is more rugged than your typical island getaway. Over the past decade or so Okinawa has increased its presence as a travel destination, especially for Japanese from the mainland. After being here for the last four months, I can see why.

I wanted to take the Dolbows to someplace a little more off the beaten path, and so we headed to Maeda Flats. I had been here with the girls shortly after we arrived, so was prepared. Like many destinations on Okinawa, getting there is half the fun. The roads in some places barely seem wide enough for one car, let alone two. And the "parking" was really just pulling over on a road side across from a field of sugar cane, hoping I was far enough over not to get side-swiped if another car came along.

Zoe was brave for a few minutes, as long as Grandma Maggie was with her. But once she started to see sea creatures, she wanted to bolt. Fair enough.  She found a spot on the sand next to Poppy and was happy burying her feet. Maddox, on the other hand, led the way and can never quite understand why I won't let her go snorkeling on her own in an out-of-sight cave. The water here is so clear, and the sea life is amazing to watch. If we had planned to be here for the year, learning to scuba dive would have been on the bucket list.

On one of the last days that the Dolbows were here, we wanted to go somewhere close by that all could enjoy. I had heard about the orchids at Bios on the Hill, and knew this would be a good bet with my mother-in-law, the Master Gardener. Bios was absolutely perfect - fun for the kids and adults, and a cafe that served shave ice and Blue Seal ice cream, an Okinawan staple.

We spent most of our time watching the girls climb this amazing play structure, and bailing them out when they got stuck in a precarious spot. Can you imagine this play structure in the States? It was really well-constructed, but not exactly loaded with safety features. No shredded rubber "mulch" here. An occasional water buffalo turd, yes, but that wasn't a part of the safety measures.

The girls were playing American Girl, which involved Zoe playing Kit Kittredge and Maddox pretending to be her BFF Ruthie. They thought this play structure looked like what people lived in during old-fashioned times. True, if you consider the waaaaaay old-fashioned times when people were not yet people, and still lived in trees.

Bios has lots of hidden spots for relaxing, and giant swings that the girls loved. Sitting in the swing together was a rare moment of sisterly harmony. I thought about setting up camp and just letting them enjoy the love. If it weren't for venomous Habu snakes at night, I might have tried it.

Poppy was deemed the best swing-pusher. I am apparently not. This meant that I had to lie down in a nearby hammock. Talk about needing to rethink incentives. I am gunning for the World's Worst Swing Pusher. Don't even try to compete.

There is much more to explore at Bios, which I will write about in a future post since we returned for John's birthday. But for now, let me close with the photo below. The former Cheshire County Fair sheep show participant in me loved watching Maddox battle the goat. She named him something like 'Speedy' which made it that much more enjoyable to witness.

Kokusai Street

One Sunday while the Dolbows were visiting, we headed to Kokusai Street which is a strip of souvenir shops and restaurants in downtown Naha. On Sundays, the street is blocked off to traffic so we figured that was an ideal time to bring the girls. I was excited to go to Kokusai Street to see all the vendors and stores. This enormous Shisa greeted us near one end of Kokusai. I have to say that I did not much care for the shisas when we arrived, but they have grown on me . This guy just makes me smile, just chillin 'and letting the good spirits in.

One of our first stops was a jewelry store because Maddox was on the hunt for screw-on earrings. She saw them at one store the first weekend we were here, and was convinced they are a uniquely Okinawan invention and she must have them. However , upon arriving at the silver store, we were immediately distracted by the Porsche sitting in the entrance. This, my friends, is what you call double trouble.

There were a couple of side arcades off the main drag that were also very colorful and full of fun stuff. John took the photo below while headed to Makishi meat market where he could drool at the wagyu beef, and shed a tear of homesickness for the Big Green Egg.

After burning rubber getting out of the jewelry store, the girls peformed some Taylor Swift on these ukuleles (or are they just mini-guitars?). They amused the passers-by, no doubt.

Beware the giant sanshin! 

When we returned to the cars after a couple hours of aimless wandering, one of our rentals had a dead battery. Thankfully, because we had a tiny rental car, we had to rent a second car when the Dolbows came to visit. So we had one good battery and just needed jumper cables. Thanks to the magic of Google translate, John went to the hotel next to the parking lot and they loaned us the cables. They were in a bag labeled "jump up cables." And jump up we did whe the engine on our sweet Mazda Demio started purring. 

Just another Sunday in Okinawa - fun things to see and kind people everywhere.

Undokai

Undokai, or Sports Day, is a tradition in Japanese schools. The day is equivalent to field day, except that events are practiced ahead of time and performed for parents and family members. Zoe's preschool held their Undokai celebration in early October. This happened to be close to the Japanese national Sports Day holiday which commemorates the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, but I don't think Undokai has to be celebrated in conjunction with the national holiday.

Undokai was scheduled to be outside, but we were experiencing a huge rainstorm, and so it was moved to the auditorium. It was actually a relief that it wasn't outside on a blazing hot day, and the indoor venue allowed us to see and hear a bit better. You can see Zoe's class above. Her class is called Kugani and has children ages 4-6. I would say just over 1/2 of her class speaks Japanese as one of their languages. There are students in the class who are trilingual, and a few like Zoe who are bringing down the curve with monolingual skills.

The best part about Undokai is that every class participates. The preschool also serves as the main daycare facility for OIST employees, so there is one class of infants. The teachers wheeled them out in their baby buggy limos, and lined them up three at a time. A RACE! A crawling race! It was one of the best laughs I have had during my time in Okinawa. Some of the babies were just learning to crawl. A few, like the one in the background of this photo, couldn't yet crawl. Those babies sat in a bouncy seat that was placed in a large box. The box was then pulled by a parent. You could almost see the parent calculating his moves: do I run so my kid wins? Do I go as slowly as possible since I am kind of cheating? Am I embarrassed that my kid can't crawl and is already behind in the race of life?!?!? Okay, so it wasn't high stakes, but it made for good comedy. The best was the one kid in class who could walk. He started crawling, but then he stood up and made a run for it. Ain't no use in pretending just to make your friends feel better about their crawling skillz.

Zoe's class had two "events". The first was a basketball game. Her class was divided into teams, each team with their own basket. Zoe is in the photo above in hot pink biker shirts, of course. All I have to say about this event is that we won't be relying on athletic scholarships for her future plans.

The Kugani class then performed the final event, which was a traditional Okinawan dance that they had learned with the help of some talented and kind OIST volunteers. The dance was accompanied by sanshin musicians which was really neat. I love that people cared enough about their traditions to share them with a group of young kids on a Saturday morning.

The dance move shown above is Zoe's best skill. It involved, according to her, sneaking like a monster. I don't have proper documentation that this was indeed the authentic interpretation.

Big Sister was proud of Zoe and excited to see her after the performance. Maddox never got to see Zoe's preschool performances when we were in NC, so it was a treat for her to see this one.

We ended the day at Thai Food, a restaurant in nearby Yomitan. The girls chose the seating arrangement which placed all the ladies at our own table. That's a whole lotta strong and smart ladies in one photo! Tune in next time for more adventures...

Churaumi Aquarium, the Sequel

There are many, many things to do on Okinawa, but most people agree that Churaumi ("beautiful/graceful ocean") Aquarium is one of the "must see" destinations. The girls and I had been a couple of times, but John and his parents were looking forward to their first and only visit. It is about 90 minutes from where we are in Onna, and we figured that both the kids and the grown-ups would appreciate a pit stop along the way. A friend told us about Pain de Kaito, a wonderful bakery in Nago about halfway to the aquarium. It is the same bakery that runs the cafe at OIST, but the store in Nago has a wider selection. Poppy has never met a pastry he didn't like, so this rest stop was a crowd-pleaser.

This "cutout head" photo opportunity is a popular item at many destinations here. What I love is that it often includes the date and so I can keep things in order! 

The first stop in the aquarium was the touch tank. Maddox had been brave with her exploration the last time she and I went to the aquarium and she was eager to show Grandma and Zoe what they could touch. She says the sea cucumber is soft like petting a cat. I wouldn't go that far, but it is much softer than you would think. 

Zoe likes the aquarium the best when she is being carried by someone, preferably me. Sometimes she is exceptionally whiny about it, but on this particular day she was actually pretty good. We look cuter when we are smiling. By the way, am I getting any better at selfies? Methinks not.

Zoe did tell me a joke this morning, perhaps inspired by the aquarium.

Zoe:  "Mom, what did the octopus say to the shark?"

Me: "Please don't eat me?"

Zoe: "Correct. Good job, Mom."

I think the part that was supposed to be funny was when she told me I was right and that I was doing a good job. She must have declared it Opposite Day. (That reads like a plea for compliments; it is not. I know I'm awesome, but Zoe doesn't always recognize how amazing I am.)

The main attraction at the aquarium is the Kuroshio Sea tank. The name is from the warm current that supports the diverse and unique marine life in the waters around Okinawa. The tank is amazing - it was the largest in the world until Atlanta opened their aquarium. We Americans like things to be the best and biggest, don't we? The walls in this tank are two feet thick. That actually doesn't seem thick enough when you are looking at three whale sharks.

The Ocean Expo Park, of which the aquarium is a part, was actually built for the 1975 World's Fair. The aquarium was recently built, just in 2002, as a way to renew the park and give it increased visibility. It definitely worked as it has become a major tourist destination, and rightly so. The photo below gives you a sense of the size of the aquarium.  The Expo Park has many other parts to it, including an arboretum, playgrounds, and a traditional Okinawan village. We haven't been to much of the rest of it since the aquarium always offers something we haven't seen before.

Towards the end of the day, we ended up at the Dolphin Theater. One of John's graduate students had just arrived in Okinawa the day before and was with us on this day trip. Right before the Dolphin Show, he had a coffee float. During the Dolphin Show, he had a beer. He is very smart, and quickly learned the coping mechanisms we use to survive parenting young children. 

I don't think Zoe cared about the dolphin show. She was mostly happy to be sitting in Grandma's lap.

My favorite fact that Maddox taught me after reading the information at the aquarium is that there are some kinds of fish that change color after they have finished eating. They are one color when they are hungry, another color after they have eaten. I am looking into have some kind of color-coded sensor implanted on my kids' wrists or something. Are you whining because you are hungry? Are you really full or are you just trying to be excused so you don't have to sit at the table? Perhaps John can make an app for that. Isn't that the kind of thing sabbatical is for?

Until next time...