Back to School, Zoe Edition

I have always loved back-to-school time.  When I was younger, my Grandmother Maddox always sent me a back-to-school outfit, often an Izod crewneck sweater and a pair of matching socks.  My mom and I would go to the Holyoke Mall in the fashion mecca of Springfield, MA (the closest mall with suitable stores) for more back-to-school clothes.  And I have always loved new notebook paper, freshly sharpened pencils, and a good notebook.  As a teacher, I looked forward to new students, and a chance to be better with each new year.  As a parent, I love the routine that school imposes on our lives. And back-to-school also means the most beautiful time of year in New Hampshire, and some cooler, crisp days in North Carolina.  

First day of 4-year-old preschool in Japan

Back-to-school here feels very different, at the very least because there is no break from the heat and humidity in the near future. It has been fun to watch the girls show their confidence and resilince as they transition to new routines, and for us to find the rhythm to our weeks here.

Zoe attends Tedako Childhood Development Center (CDC) here at OIST.  This is a full-time daycare and preschool setting for employees' children.  It takes us about 3 minutes to walk from our apartment to CDC and because it serves as a daycare, there is no pressure to be there at a precise time.  The morning circle is at 9:15, and we always manage to be there by then.  Zoe's class, Kugani, has 4-6 year olds, which is a great preparation for the Montessori education she will have back in Durham. The classroom is bilingual.  One teacher, Misaki-sensei, is Japanese and primarily speaks Japanese to the students, although she is fluent in English.  Misaki-sensei is the one there in the morning when we arrive; "Ohaiyo gozaimasu, Zoe!" (Good morning, Zoe!) Her other teacher, Miss Charlece is American and speaks only English to the students.  The students are primarily Japanese, although there are some European students, and one other American girl who has quickly become Zoe's BFF. This friend has big brown eyes and brown hair too so they make quite a team.

The longest stretch of our walk to school

For the first few days, Zoe went from about 9 a.m. to noon each day. This was due in part to the fact that I needed to finish her school supply shopping! Her school supply list included getting a sleeve for her water bottle that comes with a strap so she can wear it for field trips (brilliant...plan to buy more of these before we leave here), a personal towel to dry hands, a cup and toothbrush (they brush after lunch!), and a futon/nap set.  Although Zoe hasn't napped in a year (I think? Parenting is all a blur, isn't it?), there is rest time every day for one hour after lunch.  Each child brings their futon on Monday and keeps it at school, and then brings it home on Friday to be washed.  Zoe picked a Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck design.  It comes with a mattress, blanket, pillow, and carry-case.  On Friday of her first week, she went to school until 4:30, and she did take a nap.  When I picked her up, it was like they had given her a double-shot of espresso.  I think it took the final edge off her jet lag!

Hiding from the paparazzi? Modeling futons? Hard to say.

Take your look from preschool to afterschool -this futon can also be used as a fabulous necklace!

This past week, she went to school from 9 until 4:30.  Most days she doesn't nap, but I think the quiet time is a good break, regardless. She loves school and doesn't complain about going or staying all day.  She has learned to write her name in Japanese (yay for 3-letter names!) and is starting to learn some vocabulary and songs.  They have water play every Tuesday and Thursday, so she wears her bathing suit to school and they have some pools that they fill up.  They get lots of outside time despite the heat, and she comes home happy.

The entire school is a very nurturing place, and I am grateful that Zoe will be there.  Not only does it allow Maddox and me time to explore and homeschool, but I think it enriches Zoe's experience here. She is a strong little girl, and no doubt is enriching the experience of her classmates as well.

Look how strong I am, Mama!

Jellyfish, Sharks, and Dolphins! Oh my!

I promise that Maddox is actually wearing shorts.

At the end of our first full week here, another faculty spouse from OIST invited us to go to the Churaumi Aquarium with her and her older son who is in 2nd grade.  Her younger son is 5 and is in Zoe's preschool class.  The family is from Germany and they have been at OIST for 4 years, so they know the lay of the land.

The aquarium is well known, boasting (I think) the largest tank aside from the aquarium in Hotlanta. It is about an hour north of us without traffic, so it may not be a weekly destination, but it will definitely merit a few more trips during our short stay here.

The aquarium also has botanical gardens, play structures, and plenty of activities both indoors and out. Maddox was obsessed with the exhibit about poisonous creatures (including the box jellyfish) given our first ocean visit. Her curiosity about this is likely going to guide our homeschool science for the next few months. In fact, the diversity of ocean life here provides lots of good content.

This was our view from the cafe during lunch; not the largest viewing window, but still impressive.

This guy cracked me up.  You lookin' at me?

After lunch, we saw a great dolphin show with an incredible view. We now know where the splash zone is, and will be headed there next time!

Then we were off to the shark tank which mesmerized the kids. The whole aquarium was extremely busy the day we went, I think due to the Japanese holiday Obon.  We will definitely be back soon. Grandparents, get ready!

Zoe kept seeking reassurance that the sharks were "caged in".

The weekend continued with trips to new grocery stores and farmers' markets, as well as a failed attempt at finding parking at a huge Eisa and Beer festival. But we found yogurt "without seeds" so Zoe finds it acceptable, tried dragon fruit (meh), and made it to the OIST fitness center for the first time (aside: Mommy is nicer when she exercises).

Last Monday, we brought our sad laptops to a guy who runs a laptop repair business and then had lunch at an A&W.  The A&W chain is ubiquitous here ("All-American Food!") which is interesting given that I have not once seen one in the U.S. Regardless, I had root beer and was happy.

We then found a very cool playground that we had passed on the highway. The girls especially loved the super-tall, though not super-fast, slide.

The playground also had these swings that looked like they were part of a 7th grade macrame lesson, though sturdier.  They were perfect for practicing meditation (or giggling hysterically).  I took the photo below for Maddox's teacher back in Durham, and thought her classmates from Mr. C-W's class would appreciate it.

And finally, not only do we have beautiful sunsets, but we have lots of rainbows, too.  Look closely to see the faint double below. Peace out, y'all.

A Few Ordinary Days

I spent a lot of time the first week just trying to figure out where to buy food and get cash. (Most places do not accept credit cards, so I am becoming accustomed to carrying around a lot of yen.) When you can't read most of the signs and you don't have a smart phone, finding your way around takes a lot of mental energy. This energy is in short supply when there are 2 jet-lagged passengers in the backseat. We do have a GPS in our car, but we have only figured out how to enter a destination using phone numbers. This is usually, though not always, reliable. Thankfully, the GPS can always find OIST so I can always find my way back, even if I don't find my way there! Actually, I have been pretty successful finding where we are trying to go, mostly from sheer will since staying in an apartment all day with hungry kids is not really an option.

Also, I get places with my BOSS.

Each day, I tried to do some errands followed by something fun. Last Tuesday, our fun destination was Maeda Flats. This area is not too far from where we are, and offers great snorkeling for beginners. We only had Keens, goggles and our bath towels rather than ideal supplies for snorkeling, but I figured we'd be fine. The kids were excited, until they saw the sea creatures. And until another girl came and told us there were poisonous fish so we better be careful (right before she splashed and ran through the water without a care). Thanks, kid!

I "uppy-uppied" Zoe through the water, and Maddox stepped carefully. But the plethora of dark purple sea cucumbers and spiky sea urchins combined with the possible poisonous fish meant our time in the water was short. Maddox did handstands, Zoe dug for five minutes, and someone dropped a sandwich in the sand. There was a lot of protesting about sandy shoes and wet bathing suits, but we made it back to the car and home in one piece. It didn't feel like a success in the moment, but I got a cool photo of Maddox, found my way to a new place, and know what to buy and bring next time!

On Wednesday, we started our day at the resource center at OIST which is a lovely space for family members to get their questions answered. The woman who runs the resource center is from Ohio, of course. (To my admissions friends, I did find out that she is from Dayton, but did not press her on her high school. You know I love the conversation game regarding where people went to high school!) Maddox found a nanoblock model of  La Sagrada Familia in the resource center that she has been working on there, and there is a play area with toys that Zoe loves. We stop in there just about every other day to ask a question or play. On this day, we got directions to the closest 100 yen store in nearby Ishikawa. We found ¥3500 worth of happiness, including dishwasher detergent, grocery bags, and beads to make necklaces. Our shoppers' high ended fairly quickly once we went to the grocery store where shenanigans and crying earned me many looks. I choose to believe all of those looks were sympathetic ones. On a related note, I bought wine glasses at the ¥100 store. 

On Thursday, we found a playground in Onna Village not too far from our apartment. This seemed to be a tame playground by Okinawan standards, and gave us an hour to get some energy out despite the heat.

After working up a sweat, we of course needed some more kakigori. I mean, what's a blog post of mine without a photo of my kids' unhealthy eating habits?

We bought the kakigori at our closest Farmers' Market, Onna no Eki. There are lots of prepared food options, as well as a store with fresh produce, and a boulangerie. Yes, people, we bought French pastries at the Okinawan Farmers' Market. Really no different than getting French pastries at an American market, true?  

In some ways, these were ordinary days filled with grocery shopping, bribing kids with treats, and hanging out at the playground. Some days, it feels stressful to do these typical activities in an unfamiliar place, but mostly I welcome the change of scenery. Coming up next: dolphins, sharks, and jellyfish, oh my!

Make New Friends, But Keep the Old

Can I still use the old "broken laptop" excuse for my infrequent posts? That is indeed the reason, but thankfully (hopefully), the laptop is at the repair shop awaiting its new life; cross your fingers for a safe return.

John started work on Monday the 11th, so the girls and I were prepared to have some adventures and find our way around some more. Thankfully, Monday's plan was to attend the Keene High School Class of 1991 reunion! It is a crazy coincidence for which I am incredibly grateful that my high school classmate, Meredith Askey aka Meredith Novario, lives here in Okinawa. We had not seen each other since graduation, but Facebook has kept us connected in recent years. When John floated the idea of coming to Okinawa, I could imagine doing it because I knew I would see Meredith. She was a spirited cheerleader and supplier of knowledge in the months leading up to our arrival. We decided to meet at  Murasaki Mura  for the afternoon. Meredith's blog,  Meredith Novario Photography , will show you some of the fun we had. We sprayed sugar water on our arms in the butterfly house, boiled cane syrup to make sugar, and painted Shisas. A Shisa is a Lion-Dog figure. Often in pairs, one wards against evil spirits entering a home, while the other keeps the good stuff in. And the kids ate kakigori. This makes them sound like adventurous eaters, but it is really just shave ice.

Maddox boils cane syrup. Not the ideal choice of activity in the heat.

Making "sugar pie". Like a rock.

And finally, the stars of our own reality show, "Blackbirds on Okinawa":

Orientation Weekend

Last Saturday was our first day with our rental car, and our first day on our own, so we decided to figure out how to drive on the left side of the road by driving North on the main North/South drag on the Western side of Okinawa.  Driving on the left isn't so bad until you need to turn on your blinker, at which time you will inevitably turn on your windshield wipers.  You can bet that if there is a sunny day in Okinawa and you see a car with its windshield wipers on, there is an American behind the wheel. We made it about an hour North to the city of Nago where a Blue Seal Ice Cream store magically appeared.  They served the ice cream in crepes.  Yum!

Our kids eat vegetables sometimes too.  But they are cuter when they eat ice cream.

On Sunday, our first adventure was trying out the restaurant at the bottom of the road that leads to OIST, the Mermaid Cafe.  There was a chalkboard in front with some words in English and a drawing of pancakes so we figured it was a safe bet. 

The pancakes were made from scratch to order (the price reflected this) and were delicious.  Not a weekly breakfast joint because it was a bit pricey for the 4 of us, but the fresh whipped cream, local cane syrup, and purple yam ice cream make it worth a trip when the grandparents visit!

With our full bellies, we drove South to American Village, a large shopping and restaurant complex in Chatan.  The girls had in their minds that they wanted to buy some doll house furniture that would fit their Calico Critters. Their Calico Critters and some furniture were among the few play items that made it in their suitcases. Lo and behold, one department store had a toy section with "Sylvanian Families" which is the same line as Calico Critters.  The girls were thrilled and they each bought a small item.  (I went to Japan and bought more of the same stuff I can get in America! Yay!)

One main attraction in American Village is a large Ferris Wheel. It is an incredibly slow-moving Ferris Wheel, so slow that sometimes it doesn't appear to be moving.  Combine that with the sauna-like heat of the day, and it can make one feel a bit delusional.  Or maybe that's just me. The girls were unfazed and were happy to see Okinawa from on high. 

("Girls, please look like you are having fun." This is Zoe's 'having fun' face; it's still a little bit mad.)

We went home and I cooked our first dinner in our apartment - spaghetti!  Baby steps, people, baby steps.  So the first weekend was a success, and prepared me to be on my own with the girls in this new land. Stay tuned!

Room with a View

So this is the view from our kitchen / living area. Pretty sweet! This is facing West, looking out over the East China Sea. The Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology (OIST) is on a hill, and our apartment is on the third floor so our vantage point is great. 

Our apartment is lovely. OIST is only a few years old, so the building is fairly new. We have 3 bedrooms and a bathroom, and the craziest Japanese toilet you ever did see. Bidets, heated seats, and optional sound effects seem to be the norm for toilets here! Until yesterday, we were sitting on the literal hot seat until a colleague of John's came to change the heat setting to low. 

Maddox is thrilled to have a desk of her own.

We have an elevator in the building, a combination lock on our mailbox, very strict recycling guidelines, and a clown car with its own parking space. Said clown car also is driven on the left side of the road. Appliances are of course all in Japanese so I am still figuring out how to use them. The washer / dryer is one unit, so it washes and then dries all in the same tub. All of these things make life interesting.

Despite the lovely bed, Zoe tried to sleep in the closet the first night.

We were so grateful to have had a lovely hostess help us through the first day. Naomi is the assistant who has been helping arrange our stay and she took us to lunch, to the village office for our resident cards, the bank, and the grocery store. Best part of our trip to the bank? We arrived just past 3 o'clock (closing time!), but Naomi knocked on the side door and they let us in. And the best part of the grocery store? The guy in the parking lot directing us to a space for our clown car. No parking lot rage allowed!

We have already adventured some - future blog posts, I promise - but my days have a similar rhythm to our days back in non-sabbatical life. Groceries, laundry, feeding kids, dishes, and mediating frequent sister squabbles occupy much of my day. Tasks take longer because I live in a world here where I am mostly illiterate. There are plenty of people at OIST who are helpful (the housing lady came up to my apartment yesterday to help with the mailbox and to translate the dishwasher) and an impressive array of resources online (especially Facebook) primarily maintained by military spouses. And an English-speaking GPS lady who tells me things like, "Shortly after, turn left" or "Follow this road for a while." And my friend Meredith from high school who has been generous with her time and advice for many months. So we are finding our way slowly, but surely.  It's hard to believe we haven't even been here for one week.

Besides, there is iced coffee in every vending machine.  It makes me feel like I can do anything.

Also, this.

Oyasuminasai, y'all!

A few more photos of our surroundings for those interested:

Really bad photo of our kitchen

Living Area

From outside our front door

Aloha and Konichiwa!

At Narita Tokyo airport after the 8-hour flight from Honolulu

We made it. We are really doing this thing.

We left our hotel in Honolulu around 6 am on Wednesday, grateful to be leaving before storms Iselle and Julio were predicted to arrive in Hawaii. We had plenty of time at the airport before the flight, so the girls made good use of some spending money to enjoy a massage. The giggles were worth well more than the $ 1 they spent.

The Honolulu airport has many portions that are open air. It is a pretty nice place to have to hang out for a few hours.

We checked out our plane - yes, girls, there is an upstairs; no, girls, we will not be sitting up there - and charged our electronics for a few final minutes before settling in for our 8 hour flight to Tokyo.  

The girls were great.  To be honest, they were far better on the 8-hour flight than they are on a 2-hour car trip.  Zoe slept for a couple hours right from take-off, and Maddox snoozed for a few minutes as well.  Then, Maddox enjoyed listening to the radio channels, especially once she found the pop station that played "All of Me" every 3rd song or so.  Somewhere over the Pacific, we crossed the dateline, it was suddenly Thursday, and I got two new wrinkles.  I expect them to disappear when we fly from Tokyo to Seattle in December. 

Once at the Tokyo airport, we were able to go through customs without too much trouble.  We did have to get a residence card since we are here for longer than a typical tourist, but all of that went off without a hitch, even with Zoe giving the stink-eye to the gentleman in charge of our paperwork.  I repeated "arigato gozaimasu" as many times as possible since it was the only phrase I could comfortably say, and hoped my excessive gratitude would be enough.

John took the girls to the currency exchange so they could exchange their spending money.  Maddox is as loaded as a 7-year-old should ever be because she got some early birthday cash.  

The exchange rate is roughly 100 yen to 1 U.S. dollar, but seven thousand of anything looks pretty cool.  The exchange rate also gives Maddox a great opportunity to practice some basic division.  They also use the 24-hour clock here (like the military) which is another good opportunity for basic math all day long.  Next week? Mastering the kilometers to miles conversion. This is what homeschooling looks like for now!

We also found a McDonald's at the airport.  There will be time for adventurous eating, but not when two kids just need some calories to make it through the long day. We were a bit flustered, and had a hard time finding a place to sit, so we had taken our food and gone around the corner, outside the restaurant, to eat on a bench.  We noticed that we only had one Happy Meal, but chalked it up to something lost in translation.  A few minutes later, one of the women from McDonald's came and found us with the other Happy Meal.  We love helpful people (who doesn't?) and we are starting to see this as the cultural norm here.  It's refreshing.

Our flight to Okinawa was uneventful, despite some concern about a typhoon earlier in the week.  We made it to a lovely hotel near the airport, and collapsed in bed.  We had been up for about 22 hours, a feat I am not sure I accomplished even in college.  Tune in next time to see where we are living, and what our first few days on this island have been like. (Spoiler alert: it's all good.) 

Oyasuminasai! Good night! (We are 13 hours ahead of those of you on the East Coast. We are 16 hours ahead of those of you on the West Coast.  One train leaves the station at 5 p.m. and continues at a constant speed for 3 hours.  A boat chugs ENE at 20 knots. How many apples does Sally have?)

At baggage claim in Okinawa, finally and officially tuckered out.

Zoe vs. Water Slide

Many apologies for the lack of recent updates. My computer is on the fritz and then I crossed the date line which aged me immediately and without warning. We stayed awake longer than advisable (unless you are a medical resident) and tonight Blogger seems to think that my blog is in Japanese and asked to translate it. I am blaming all grammatical errors on the "translate" setting. But enough excuses from my vacation life ...

One more point of note: I originally conceived of this blog as a way to keep a journal, and a way to keep in touch with family, including many who are not on Facebook Apologies for mundane detail or for photos that you have already seen via Facebook, but I have to make Grandma Jean gets the whole story!

Tuesday was our last day at Aulani, and Zoe had yet to tackle a water slide, even the smaller ones aimed at the preschool set. Zoe has always been more reticent about physical feats than Maddox, so her lack of interest in a water slide didn 't surprise us. As seasoned parents, however, we knew that there was a distinct possibility that Zoe would get to Japan, and throw a fit that she never had a chance to go on the water slide in Hawaii. So, we asked one last time if she wanted to go on the water slide. She did not hesitate, slipped on the complimentary life jacket, and marched up the stairs to wait in line for the larger water slides. She went down the first time with me and loved it . She and Maddox then had a great time going together, especially when they schemed to do the craziest thing ever and stick their tongues out at the camera. Let's hope this remains the craziest thing they ever do. On the last ride down for the day , the girls went first, followed by John and me in our own double tube. Somehow, we managed to flip our tube or rather, I was unceremoniously dumped from the tube, at the bottom of the slide. I was laughing so hard the lifeguard had to check on my well-being, but I gave him the thumbs up and headed down the lazy river.

John and Maddox did one last snorkeling adventure at Rainbow Reef, Aulani's private snorkeling lagoon. Maddox mostly commented on the chilly temperature of the water, but she got the hang of snorkeling with a life jacket. Hopefully in Okinawa she will have a chance to try it in the ocean.

Shaka Sign Snorkel

For our last evening, we went to a restaurant across from the resort for a great dinner, including chocolate cream pie for dessert. We then wrangled the kids into bed, finished the beer we had bought (can not take it with you!) and set the alarm for 5 a.m. We are so grateful for our stop in Hawaii. It allowed us to catch our breath after a frenetic summer and before the larger adventure ahead. A few more pictures from our pit stop ...

Zoe flashing her shaka sign after conquering the water slide

Maddox's moment of Zen

I'm pretty sure this kid is going to college near a beach.

Zo-Zo loved the hot tub. It's hot in the hot tub!