Just Another Day

Last Sunday it rained all day, the wind whipped around the building I work in as if we were in the middle of a race track.  And when I say we, I mean the building and myself…I was there all alone!  At one point I thought the roof was going to be ripped from the building.  Of course one of my first thoughts was could there be a hurricane or maybe a typhoon brewing out there?  Would I have heard a siren or at least the MP’s would have checked the building, right? Needless to say, it was only some heavy rain, frightful, but just rain.  As I walked outside of the building today, directly to my right I can see the Pacific Ocean…it’s beautiful.  The sun is shining; the temperature feels like 65 with a light breeze, just prefect.  It’s easy to get caught up watching the whitecaps, some rolling in slowly, some dissipating before reaching the beach, but I love those that just crash on the beach….it’s almost an exhaling moment.  But I guess for some today was just another day, not the perfect weather day it has been for me.

Had a chance to visit American Village this past week, there was definitely more Asian flavor than American, but it was really nice.  They have a cinema, a Tony Roma’s, Yogurtland and a A & W restaurant, that’s about it for the American emphasis on “American Village” J  Went  to this burger spot for what is considered a great vegetarian burger…it was okay, not J. Alexander great, but still okay.  The place is called Freshness Burger, but what was most tasteful to me…coconut coco.   I think I heard someone crack open a fresh coconut and then shaved flakes of coconut right on top of my coco.  This may be a beverage that others have partaken in already, but it’s not the same if you’re not in Okinawa wishing you could read all the Kanji and Kana that surrounds you as you sip your coconut coco.

Until next time…

Marathon...Not a Sprint!

Okay, it’s been 16 days since I’ve arrived and it’s still raining!  Maybe my idea of “hitting the ground running” was that by now I would be knee deep into my cultural experience…seeing the country side, ordering a kimono with the wooden shoes to match or at least by now I would have taken a walking tour somewhere!  Sorry to say I don’t have much to share right now…I’m not on vacation, right?  But I have registered of classes, which start on Tuesday…YEA!  Found a car, with AC…pewwww and thank you Lord.  My Dad is happy to hear I’ve found a job, part-time but a job and I’m not an extra expense to my friends here.  Have visited several churches and it’s the same experience in this country, only different people.

Now I’m more than sure you could really care less about the normal day to day activities and without having done much yet I can only fill you in on what’s penciled in on my calendar.  Oh, I forgot to tell you about last Saturday night.  I went to this really nice resort called Hotel Nikko Alivila and it’s on the beach. Went to this piano bar where they served finger foods…now everybody knows that I love chips…any kind, except cheddar cheese and only sour cream/onion if that’s all there is, but the lounge served purple sweet potato chips.  My palette was not in alignment with my brain…my brain thought chips, but my palette said “what the heck”.   The chips were different, but I will try them again, maybe with my eyes closed J  All of the food was a presentation in itself…the fruit was cut into pieces then placed back into its skin…dessert was served with tea and the dessert’s aren’t as sweet, but it was good.  I had pizza on a crack…that was interesting if I had to describe it, but it was loaded with vegetables.  The artist was a gentleman named Machu, he wore a goldish kinda sports jacket, a black skully and some John Lennon style frames with purple lenses…the guy could play.  It was a great evening, but must visit the resort during the day…its gorgeous!

Has anyone heard of zip lining?  Some of you may know and for those of you that don’t now you do…I’ve always wanted to experience bungee jumping and can you believe I can’t get anyone to jump with me?  Shocking I know…LOL  Well, there’s this park here, Forest Adventure Park  that has an obstacle course thru a jungle and you can zip from tree top to tree top, the course also has rope ladders, bridges, nets to climb…you get the picture.  With all that said, there’s a little bungee jumping at the end J  As you can read, it’s not for the faint at heart…so I have to get busy training.  I’ll keep you updated on the training process and when I sign up.

This month is the Cherry Blossom Festival…I’ll let the pictures speak for me.

So, I'm now preparing for the marathon...could take a minute...later!

Starting to move...

As I prepared for this transition from the States to Japan, jet lag as I now know it was not figured in the plans. 2011 would start with a bang!  I wanted to toast with the best of them, decide on those New Year resolutions that I would not keep and spend time reflecting on high and low points of 2010…other than my location, how could 2011 be different?  Well, let’s just say I didn’t see 2010 make it’s exit and much of 2011 is still a blur…I’m just coming out of what has been a foggy existence…let’s see what Okinawa has to offer!