Okinawa Mama

There's a whole lotta shakin' goin' on...

2010-03-01T19:00:00.001+09:00

I know I haven't written in a long time, but honestly...it's time-consuming. I put a lot of myself into everything I write, not the least of which is the following blog...

Luke 21: 11 - And great earthquakes shall be in diverse places, and famines and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

On Saturday morning, February 27, 2010 around 0530 I awoke to violent shaking. At first I thought Lonnie was shaking the bed trying to wake me up. I was about to get mad and start yelling at him to stop when I realized that it wasn't just the bed shaking...it was EVERYTHING in the room and the entire room itself. In mere seconds I realized we were in the middle of an earthquake. I had never experienced any other types of tremors before so I didn't have anything to compare it to. All I knew is that I was scared to death.

So, there we sat in bed holding on to each other until the shaking and noise stopped. And, oh, the noise! It was the most horrible, loud roaring sound. The closet doors were banging on the tracks. My jade grapevine was teetering back and forth on the bookshelf. It was like being on a bad carnival ride. I had never been physically shaken like I had been that morning. Immediately afterward I came close to throwing up and then started crying uncontrollably. It was an incredibly traumatic experience.

After we sat and collected ourselves for a few minutes I said I needed to call my parents. It wasn't long after that our Vonage phone rang. I looked at Lonnie and said, "oh my gosh. It was a bad one. It made the news." I knew no one would be calling at that time of the morning 15 minutes after an earthquake like that and it be a coincidence...or wrong number. Sure enough, it was Mom. It had made FOX News. And, that's about the only time you would've seen it. No one was killed that we know of, so that doesn't make for a good package on the news. Also, as an earthquake expert on FOX reported... He said, "What about Okinawa? They had a 7.0 earthquake and no one is saying anything about it?" He said that's because there's no media coverage. It didn't really click with me what he was saying, but now it all makes sense. There aren't any reporters here like there are in other countries. Everything here is Japanese. They don't have a station that reports anything in English. The only newscasts we get are what you are seeing there.

Since Saturday morning we have had 10 aftershocks according to the U.S. Geological Survey. If you click on the link you can view the list. I've felt a few of them. What I've been feeling is in my head and stomach. My body doesn't feel anything and my eyes don't see anything. When I check the USGS website I've seen that an aftershock has happened right about the time I start feeling that way. I get terribly dizzy and nauseated.

This is the East China Sea on 28 FEB 10.
We were waiting for the tsunami after being evacuated
from Camp Lester housing an hour before.

Here's a video that is eerily accurate as to what our house looked like on the inside and what it sounded like outside. There was a strange, intense roaring sound and it's something I will never forget. The Japanese Meteorological Agency reported the length to be 50 seconds. We woke up about 1/3 of the way in. It went on for at least 30 seconds after we woke up. It was reported that in Chatan, where we live, people felt it as a 5.0.

The infamous concrete double-wide.

It's times like these that you become appreciative of the concrete reinforced double-wides that you live in. It's also times like these that you become remarkably impressed at what they can withstand. I had a painting on the wall that was crooked. Picture frames on bookshelves were moved around. Cans fell off of my pantry shelves and something fell over in the china cabinet.

If you look closely at the top of the picture you can see
some of the ships that were going to "ride out the wave".

Yesterday we went to church and then brunch at the Butler O Club. While we were there they made two emergency announcements about a tsunami warning. We went home and passed through the guard shack. I saw a Marine in addition to the Japanese guards. I thought that was a little strange. Then we pulled into the neighborhood and noticed an awful lot of people getting into their cars...an AWFUL lot. I told Lonnie I thought something was up. Then we saw Marines going door to door and I knew something was wrong. We stopped two Marines to ask what was going on and they said the commanding general was ordering everyone to evacuate Camp Lester by 1400. We had 30 minutes to get what we needed, grab the pets and get off of the base. The only thing sentimental I could think of to grab was a binder of recipes that my grandmother had written in. Nothing else seemed to matter. We really didn't think anything would come of the tsunami anyway and that they were just being cautious. We ended up staying with Lonnie's boss at her house for a little over two hours until we got the all clear around 1720. We do know that they moved the emergency room from the ground floor to the 4th floor.

Hopefully this is the most excitement I'll have to endure for the rest of our stay here. After the whale watching excursion with Dad and our brush with death on that little trip and then the earthquake less than two weeks later I don't think the 'ol ticker can take much more. The whale watching trip? That's another story for another day...

"Attention! Tsunami All Clear! You may now return home."
01 MAR 10

There's a gecko in the galley!

2009-08-25T06:15:00.003+09:00

This morning I padded into the kitchen barefooted and sleep-eyed but that didn't last long. It only took a second to find a little something I didn't leave on the counter last night. That woke me up pretty quick.

Hangin' with the hashi (chopsticks)

He's kinda cute!

He didn't move for the longest time!

With his tail he was about 4 inches...just a baby!

Honestly, I think if he's going to hang out in the galley he could help out and start swabbin' the deck!

Pizza in the Sky

2009-08-22T22:00:00.002+09:00

There's a really neat pizza joint (if you could call it that) about and hour and a half from the house (uchi). It's an hour from my friend's (tomodachi no) house but it took us two hours (ni ji) to get there. Hahaha! I took a little detour. Okay, I took a wrong turn but the pictures (shashin) prove that we made it there. I'm a Pizza Hut kinda girl but this little pie is worth the drive. If you ever come visit and we go there you make think I'm going to kill you and dump your body. They have restaurants and shops here in crevices and on precipices where you almost can't find them.

It was INSANELY hot (atsui) in that little place. Naturally, there are no air conditioners. There were a couple of fans but they seemed more like a consolation prize. They didn't really make us feel any better. They make one kind of pizza in two different sizes. This is not an order-your-choice-of-toppings kind of restaurant (restoran). You get the medium or large. The only other food item on the menu is a salad and it's big enough to feed everyone at the table. It's quite satisfying to tell your waitress..."tsumetai mizu kudasai"...and have her come back with cold water for everyone. Ahh! Those Japanese classes are paying off!

This is what "Pizza in the Sky" looks like in Kanji,

I guess...

It's called "Pizza in the Sky" for a reason.

It's on top of a small mountain (yama)...maybe just

a really high (takai) hill. The view is AMAZING!

I'd bet you never had iced tea served this way before.

This is the pizza. This is the ONLY kind you get.
Yes, that is corn. What you don't see is the garlic!

Note the two bottles of Tabasco in the foreground. Hahaha!

This little bee fascinated me. There was a little garden

outside that had bees and butterflies flying all around.

I put the zoom lens on but it was still cold from

being in the car and it fogged up on me.

Look at the colors on his abdomen. They're gorgeous!

This is the restaurant. Yes, everyone sits on the floor.

There is one table inside and a bistro-type one on the

porch. And, staying true to Japanese (nihongo) custom

everyone takes their shoes (nugatsu) off at the door.

Okinawans Drive NAKED

2009-08-12T20:00:00.000+09:00

I couldn't resist... You know you couldn't have either!

Here it is...the blog with the funny car names. Drum roll, please!

Nissan
Bluebird
Note
Serena
March
Teana

Toyota
Regius
Fielder
Lucida
Delica
Noah
Hiace
RunX
FunCargo
Voxy
Vitz
Granvia
Ipsum
Spacio

Honda
Fit
Marino
Life
Cube

Suzuki
EveryLand
Jimny
Every
Kei
Alto

Daihatsu
Naked
Boon
Esse
Atrai
Mira
Vivio
Gino
Conte
Latte
Storia

Mazda
Demio
Bongo Friendee

Mitsubishi
Canter
Pajero Jr.
Town Box
DeonCedia

There are more than just the ones that I've listed. You won't see any common models here like the ones we consider common in the US. The Honda Odyssey is the one that we see the most. I had to hang a stuffed animal by the rearview mirror to ID which Odyssey was mine. I have to admit there was a time or two I couldn't figure out why my key wouldn't open the car.

Okinawan Fun Facts

2009-08-01T08:30:00.001+09:00

Here's just a couple of little things I've wanted to mention along the way...

Okinawa is 67 miles long. It is 17 miles wide at the widest point and 2 miles wide at the narrowest.

Naha (the capital) is the largest city. Urasoe is second. Ginowan City is third. Then, I believe it's Okinawa City and then Nago.

There are 1.3 million people living on Okinawa. There are 100,000 people that live on the other inhabited islands of the Ryukyu Island chain.

1% of the population of Japan lives on Okinawa.

There is one vending machine for EVERY SEVEN PEOPLE. Do you hear me?!?!?!

Speaking of vending machines...here's something you don't see in the States every day...or ever!

Orion...the beer of Okinawa

Pronounced [OAR ee on] not [or EYE on]

Farm & Fish Market Tour

2009-07-27T20:45:00.002+09:00

Jenna & I went on this tour July 25th. It was our 11th wedding anniversary. We went to two farmer's markets and a little place called "mini mini dobutsuen" or...mini mini zoo. It was a little, little zoo! They care for the animals from the money they raise selling their fresh eggs. The tour guide said that the eggs are so fresh sometimes they're still warm. LOL She was stretching it a little.

The last place we went was a fish market. They had all kinds of neat little fish there...and squid. Mmm, mmm, mmm!

Cleanin' the crabs

Pretty fish...not sure I want to eat it.

I couldn't get Jenna to stop poking their cold, dead eyes.

Rogue water drop on the lens. Oops.

A big, scary monster and a turtle.

No, sorry. That's Jenna and a big, scary turtle monster.

Ladies & gentlemen...a mongoose!

Napoleon - small in stature, made up for in attitude...

2009-07-12T00:00:00.004+09:00

A lot of you may not have known that there was a new addition to the family. Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me... I got an ankle-biter! I swore I would never do it and I did. We got a chihuahua. His name is Napoleon. Why did we name him that? Because this dog has the biggest Napoleon complex of any living creature I've ever seen.

Napoleon - "little man"

Something's not quite right about this...

Boy's got a tongue like a bullfrog!

Napoleon has been a lot of company. Fortunately, he's a lot more my speed. Yoshi has found a new home. Whew! A person with fibromyalgia doesn't need to have a high energy dog like that one!

Sweet & Salty Tour

2009-07-11T15:30:00.000+09:00

Today Jenna and I went on the Sweet & Salty tour. Our first stop was at a sugarcane factory where they showed us how they process the cane into sugar. I've noticed from the tours I've taken how antiquated the machinery is here. I suppose because as long as it works they don't need to upgrade! No part of the sugarcane is wasted, much like it is with no part of the pig around here but...that's another subject for another time.

Aforementioned antiquated machinery

As you can imagine, it takes a whole lotta cane to get just a little sugar. You can look at that in another way too. It took a whole lotta cane (& a little stuffed piggy) to get a picture with my little sugar. Somebody did NOT want to cooperate in the photography department today.

Mommy & Jenna in front of a BUNCH 'o sugarcane

At the salt factory I got to make my own sea salt. That was pretty cool. Actually, it was so hot I thought I was going to pass out at one point. The salt factory has a building with a pipe that runs out to the sea. The pipe pulls in the water and it runs over nets that filter out the impurities. It takes 3 weeks for the first part of the process. When the water is pumped in from the sea the salt content is 3.5%. When the water is ready to go to the next step the salt content is about 21%. I tasted it. It wasn't good. Yuck!

In the middle of the process

Boiling the water down for the salt it reminded me a lot of chemistry labs in years gone by. It also reminded me of how it is to watch the grass grow. :) From beginning to end it was about san juppun or (in English) 30 minutes.

The finished product

We were told that the Okinawans believe that the salt "takes on" the spirit and personality of the person that makes it. They let us taste the salt the factory makes and then what we made. Mine was a lot saltier. I'm not surprised. After all, I am a crusty 'ol sailor's wife. Hahahaha!

Ryukyuan Glass Production

2009-07-10T07:00:00.002+09:00

Going to the glass factory was the main reason I wanted to go on this tour. I had seen the Ryukyuan glass before in gift shops and had never seen anything quite like it.

Ryukuan Glass production is thought to have started around the Meiji Era making it about 100 years old. Until the early Showa Era necessities of life were made such as lamps, medicine bottle and drinking glasses but World War II destroyed all of Okinawa's glass factories. After the war glass production was revived through the use of empty Coke bottles discarded by the US military bases. With its unique shapes, Ryukyu glass is now widely accepted as art that has become an integral part of Okinawa's greatest crafts.

The glass is melted in a melting jar from 1,300 deg Celsius and above. It is then shaped, starts to harden and is taken to another oven that is 500 deg Celsius. Putting the glass in this oven helps to cool it down gradually. If it cools too quickly it can weaken and crack. It takes 40 hours for the glass to properly cool down.

It was fun to watch what this guy (above) was doing. He was making a goldfish!

It was after World War II that Ryukyuan glass came to be considered as a craft. During the time of material shortage immediately after the war, people cut Coca-Cola bottles in half and used them as glasses.

This entire wall was covered with things made from glass. It was absolutely beautiful! I've never seen anything like it. I've never been in a gift shop this large either. They had just about anything you could think of.

This was the biggest piece I saw. I don't know why in the world I didn't check out the price tag on this one since I was debating asking Santa for it this year.

Cultural Crafts Tour - Mommy Time! Ahhh...

2009-07-09T19:00:00.001+09:00

Today I went on the MCCS Tours Plus Cultural Crafts Tour. Since Lonnie is deployed I have a card from the MCCS (Marine Corps Community Services) that gives me discounts on a lot of things. One discount is 20% off of tours. I sign up at the office and the day of the tour meet the bus and go from there. Today is going to turn into several posts. The first place we went was to a bingata factory. Honestly, it's way too much to go into so I highly recommend the link I've highlighted. I made my own bingata today. It takes several days to process so I won't be able to post pictures of that until later next week. It was soooo much fun!

After that, we had time to squeeze in the awamori factory. It wasn't on the scheduled tour but, it was right next door. It had been a part of the tour and they took it out. While we were there they let us put on kimono and wear the light fixture I've been wanting for the dining room on my head. Hahaha!

It was free! After we got back on the bus I found out there are places that charge up to Y3,000 or $30.00 to do the same picture.

Next on the itinerary was a stop at the mall. Oh...my...gosh! A MALL! I haven't been in a mall in almost a YEAR! And there were stores I recognized! There was Croc, Coach, Salvatore Ferragamo, Swatch, Armani and a bunch of other ones. That was the lunch stop. Then we hit the Ryukyu Glass Factory. I LOVE that place and let me tell you why. They Y300 or $3.00 for 5 ping pong balls. I figured I would go for broke and get 10. The object is to toss the ball into the area where the glasses are and IF your ball lands in a glass then you get to keep it. Well...not only did I have 2 balls land in glasses I had a ball land in the MAC DADDY GRAND SLAM NUMERO UNO PRIZE!! This is what I won...

It's 20 inches tall. So, I came home with a haul of glass worth more than $52.00 and I got it for $6.00. Every time I won a glass they rang a bell. I almost passed out when I won the big one. That's not an easy thing to do! I wish it would've been a blue one. I REALLY hate orange! Sorry Christina. :)

You're right. It's really not my thing. Just a few minutes ago I was looking to see if Larry Hagman was sitting on my couch waiting for Barbara Eden to pop out. Hahahaha!!

Now, we're on our way to the lacquerware factory. This stuff is made out of WOOD! It's from a LACQUER TREE! Who knew?! I'll have to break that down in a later blog too.

The best part about this tour? It was my alone time. Today was about the most fun I've had on Okinawa since we've been here. It was GREAT! I almost felt like I spent a day at the spa, speaking of which...later on in August there is a tour to an Asian spa. Hmm...

Okinawa...the island is your urinal...

2009-06-22T13:45:00.000+09:00

I mean, it must be! When we first moved here I knew that modesty was not at the forefront of a regular Easterner's mind. In a week and a half I'm driving along and on three separate occasions I see three men standing on the side of the road just...just... Well, let's just say there aren't a plethora of restrooms around here. Vending machines, yes. Bathrooms, no.

But why, when you have these...

...would you not answer nature's call at the nearest one? It's in McDonald's for heaven's *sake!

(*Sake - not to be confused with the aforementioned sake [sock aye] in previous blog.)

I mean, c'mon...heated seats? A button you can push to make a flushing sound when you're not even flushing. A bidet? A spray button? A VOLUME button? Why doesn't every household have one of these? Before we leave I'm going to ship a couple of these back for *posterity's sake.

*Posterity - not to be confused with "posterior". Could potentially be misleading.

When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine that's...awamori...

2009-06-21T06:00:00.001+09:00

You gotta lean in close for this one.

A little closer...

There ya go!

Awamori...nectar of the gods or, as some people (namely people like me) would consider...an alternative form of petrol...a gasoline-derivative.

I asked myself why in the world I would want to drink something with this...or...these in it. I couldn't even come up with a bad reason. The best way to describe this is "liquid Viagra" and that's all I have to say about this subject. It's made from rice and is a sake (sock aye) NOT sock eee! It is made from an extract of the Habu snake. Wikipedia doesn't have pictures but...you just saw mine. Those are Habu snakes...Okinawa's native pit viper. Habu + venom = you prolly gonna die! This is NOT something I would want to cross paths with. It's also something I wouldn't want to cross my lips.

They're packaged nicely. After all, presentation is everything! You can ship these bad boys back to the States. I don't know why you'd want to do that...but you can. I mean, what do you do when the only thing left is the snake?

By the way...Happy Father's Day! :)

Vending with no ending...

2009-06-20T19:00:00.000+09:00

I haven't done a blog on vending machines yet. Let's just say they're everywhere and when I mean everywhere...I mean everywhere. They also sell just about anything you need. Take this one at Shuri-jo Castle, for instance. Granted, we've had torrential rains but I never thought I'd ever see...

The scream heard 'round the world

2009-05-02T17:30:00.002+09:00

Yeah, it was me. Last week I knew there were two members from the Gecko Special Forces Unit that used their tiny battering ram to get through my front door. I was outnumbered. My defenses were down, namely...I was barefooted. What was I supposed to do? Jenna and I were on our way in the door. Yoshi met us there and to my utter amazement...ushered one of those insurance salesman right through the threshold. What was he thinking?!

Today I was cleaning the kitchen and decided the plant in the corner needed some lovin'. I started pulling off the old leaves at the bottom and was about to water it when out of nowhere I was ambushed! There he was. I was eyeball to eyeball with the GEICO spokesman. Hanging onto the rim of the planter he finally gave up and let go. He bounced on the kitchen rug a few times and then, startled, ran for the...ran for the...well, he didn't really know what he was running for...he just ran. Yoshi thought that today would be a good time to catch him. He cornered him by the dishwasher (me) and the actual appliance. By that time I had shamelessly bounded onto the stepstool in the middle of the floor that Jenna had so graciously left out for me to trip over only hours before but...I digress. I was screaming. Why? I don't know! They aren't going to hurt me. I know that. I just don't like surprises...or being surveilled in my own kitchen. All I know is that my vocal cords have been happier and, fortunately, the solo I did in church was last Sunday and not tomorrow.

Special thanks to the SOLO plastic cup company for providing the means to escort the suction-footed fast-moving gecko out to the yard so that he may, at the time of his choosing, lay in wait to cross the portal of our concrete double-wide and, once again, compromise my homeland security.

And then, there was one...

At least there's only one left that I know of!

I'm back & I'm tired...

2009-04-26T18:00:00.001+09:00

After a slightly longer than two month sabbatical (I've just always liked that word) I think it's time to get back to writing. With good intention I had started a post about a month ago. There's a gremlin living inside of my laptop and I've gotten so frustrated I've wanted to pitch this thing right across the room of our concrete double-wide. :)

There's been a change in the family here. We are one less member on the island now. Lonnie has completed the Stateside deployment training and is headed over to you-know-where for we-don't-know-how-long for why-we're-not-sure. So, for the past oh, I'd say since the last post...our little island world has been turned upside down. Jenna & I will stay here. She will be attending East-West Montessori School through the summer and the next year. Since she misses the kindergarten cut-off date by 72 HOURS she'll have to "repeat" a year of the Montessori school. It's either that or I keep her at home and that just doesn't make sense since she's been in school for two years now.

My friend that was killed last month would've been 33 today. I know I've mentioned him to a lot of you. Tripp was a very special guy and touched the lives of many. His accident and Lonnie's deployment have been two reasons I haven't written in awhile. I have several new posts that I'll write up soon that promise to be entertaining!

I do not like green eggs and SPAM. I do not like them, Sam I Am!

2009-03-22T17:00:00.001+09:00

C'mon! You know you don't like it either! SPAM seems to be pretty popular around here. I mean, take a look at the first picture. Where else could you go and see so many square centimeters of space devoted to such a delicacy as SPAM? It was created in 1937. I've had it more times than I'm going to admit and I have to tell you I think I had SPAM from the original containers from back in '37! It lasts forever! You know how they say the only things to survive a nuclear bomb are cockroaches and Twinkies? I strongly believe that SPAM should be added to that list. With SPAM and cockroaches you have one source of sodium nitrite and one source of protein. And it goes without saying that most people could live by Twinkie alone...

I think I'm turning Japanese. I think I'm turning Japanese. I really think so!

2009-02-21T15:30:00.001+09:00

Konnichiwa! O genki desu ka. Watashi wa Deanna desu. Anata-no namae wa. Watashi wa kangoshi to shufu. :) Yep. It's coming along.

I'm not quite halfway into my 3 month intensive Japanese course and it's going well! We learned colors this week. Yes, everything seems so elementary at the beginning. I can pop out some pretty long sentences though!

The great thing about this class is that we are learning hiragana and katakana characters. We are learning to read and write them. If you looked up "confusion" in the dictionary you would find my picture there. There are over 100 characters that we have to learn. At some point we will even learn Kanji. In the next week or so the sensei will not be writing in Romaji anymore. Romaji is how I started this post. It will all turn into hiragana and katakana.

Hopefully, I'll have LOTS of time to do nothing but study Japanese in the future. Sayonara!

Dewa kore de.
Bye for now!

Nothing could be funner than to be a red light runner in the...morning

2009-01-26T18:45:00.007+09:00

Yes, I am aware that funner is not a word but, it rhymed! You know...nothing could be finer (feener) that to be in Carolina (caroleena) in the morning...yeah, um...it's a Daffy Duck cartoon.

Anyway, I've learned since we've been here that I will be coming back with at least two bad habits. The one that has the least amount of consequences is slurping your soba right out of the bowl and then picking the bowl up and drinking up what's left. Mmm mmm! The worst thing that could happen there is if you're doing this at the table with your mother. You know you're going to get the fast-as-lightning smack to the back of the head.

The second thing I'll leave here with is an impeccable ability to run red lights with the best of 'em. On Okinawa red lights are more of a...how should I say it? They're more of a suggestion. It's always good to count to 3 when your light turns green. You have to give those stragglers some time to finish racing through the intersection in their little cracker boxes they call cars.

I was thinking of trying red light running while slurping soba from a bowl just to liven things up a bit. What do you think?

What's in a (dog's) name...

2009-01-04T17:15:00.000+09:00

On Friday we added a new member to our family. I was perusing www.okinawayardsales.com/ and found the cutest little dog! He's an Oki mix. That's short for Okinawan mix. That's the Japanese version of a Heinz 57, a mutt...whatever you want to call them. His birthday was actually on Christmas so he's one year old. He's been to obedience school and he's great with kids. He knows a lot of basic commands and won't snatch things out of your hands. He's the polar opposite of Millie, God rest her soul. :( He is so good with Jenna. She can play tug-of-war with him and hand him his bone...whack him on the head and do pretty much what any other 4 year old does to a dog. He doesn't do anything. He loves it!

Probably all of you know that we have a cat. Sidney's pushing 15 come April 1st. We brought The Dog in and he was less than pleased. The loud, low-pitched sound that came out of him was pretty impressive! They scrapped really good once. Poor Sidney was 4 paws off of the floor when he grabbed the dog's neck. He spun around him like the Tasmanian devil. It was hilarious!

The Dog (previously known as Roger) has now been given a Japanese name. Now he's Yoshi which means good luck and joy. It was the favorite one of three that I liked the most. The scary thing about it is I told my best friend, Jenn we were going to give him a Japanese name and she said he looks like a Yoshi. Hmm. That was too weird! Like she said, "great minds think alike!"

I'd like to buy the world a Calpis...

2009-01-04T16:45:00.001+09:00

Well, we've found what seems to be our favorite drink on the island. It's called calpis and is an uncarbonated soft drink manufactured by Calpis Co., Ltd. headquartered in Tokyo.

It was first marketed on July 7, 1919. It quickly became popular in pre-war Japan as its concentrated form meant it kept well without refrigeration. The polka dot packaging used to be white dots against a blue background until the colours were inverted in 1953. It was originally themed on the Milky Way, which is in reference to the Japanese festival of tanabata on July 7, a traditional observation seen as the start of the summer. Calpis was first sold on this day.

Calpis has a light, somewhat milky and slightly acidic flavor, similar to plain or vanilla-flavored yogurt. Its ingredients include water, nonfat dry milk and lactic acid. It is produced by lactic acid fermentation. It is sold as a concentrate which is mixed with water or sometimes milk just before consumption. A pre-diluted version known as Calpis Water (カルピスウォーター), or its carbonated variety, known as Calpis Soda（カルピスソーダ, are also available. It is also used to flavor kakigori (shaved ice dessert) and as a mixer for cocktails and chuchai In English-speaking countries the beverage is sometimes called "Calpico," because "Calpis" may sound like something else that doesn't sound so nice. I edited it for you. Quite frankly, the first time someone told me what it was and asked me if I wanted to try it I was shocked at what I thought they had said. :)

A drink, a driver...3 years in the Clink

2008-12-31T14:00:00.000+09:00

I just learned on TV this afternoon that the Japanese are offering an all-inclusive incentive package to prevent DUIs. If you are IN THE CAR and the driver is drunk you...YOU...can face 3 years in prison and a 500,000 yen fine. That's 5,000 USD. If the driver is drunk and there are three passengers in the car...ALL THREE passengers face 3 years in prison and a 500,000 yen fine. It doesn't matter if you've been drinking or not. It only matters if the driver has. Three sober passengers...one drunk driver? Four people going to prison and $20,000 for the government.

Now, I'm thinking if this little plan was implemented in the US that might take care of a lot of things. I don't know...

Tree hugger & canvas bag lugger

2008-12-28T16:15:00.000+09:00

Nope. I'm not. But, it made for a good title! If I've learned anything in the past several months it's that recycling is the responsible thing to do. I always knew that it was, but it's so much easier when given the equipment to do it. Housing was nice enough to provide 4 separate recycling bins which we use for paper, plastic, glass & metal. All we do on recycling day is bag it up separately (in recyclable plastic bags, of course) and put it on the curb.

Now, being the educator that I am, it's quickly become my mission to educate the Not-So-Respectful Neighbor who (with spouse and child in tow) was walking their dog and stopped in front of our house (or, rather, the dog made them stop). It's 0915 on Christmas Eve and our front door is open. They stood there while the aforementioned dog left us an early Christmas present. Here's where the recycling comes in. Those nice little plastic bags you leave with that have your groceries in them? Here's a good chance to recycle them. Pick up after your dog! The Japanese are serious about this...or at least the town of Chatan. You've seen this before...

You're right. Not the best grammar but, a picture is worth a thousand words. I'm thinking of making this poster-sized and planting it in the front yard by the tidy little pile next to the tree. All day long I checked the yard because I knew, I mean I just KNEW that they would at least send their daughter back to pick it up. After all...it was Christmas Eve!

Since we've been strong-armed into doing the right thing by recycling then if you know me you know that I have to do it 100%. What I've found is there is almost NOTHING that can't be recycled. Really! If you have a chart to go by it makes it virtually painless. Within a few weeks you won't even have to look at it anymore. I can tell you that we have about 10% of the trash that we used to.

The commissary has big canvas bags that we bought to reuse every time we go. We've cut down on those little plastic bags quite a bit. Of course, it helps when you remember to take them in with you! And, every now and then I'll use a few because I'm thinking of putting some out by the sign next to the tree.

Naturally, there are more people here that don't recycle to the fullest potential but at least they're putting forth a little effort. Believe it or not, even Jenna is in on the action. So, if a 4 year old can do it...

Merii Kurisumasu!

2008-12-25T00:00:00.001+09:00

Well, we sure hope Santa can find us! This Christmas the Hosea family is on Okinawa, Japan. I say “on” because we are living on an island. Okinawa is the largest of the 161 islands that constitute the Ryukyu Islands with a population of approximately 1.4 million. There are 44 inhabited and 117 uninhabited islands. Okinawa is the name for the island of Okinawa (Okinawa Shima), the name of the 47th prefecture of Japan (Okinawa Ken). The capital city is Naha. The kanji characters for Okinawa mean "offshore rope". Okinawa can be found between mainland Japan and Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean and is considered an International resort destination. It is found in the same latitude zone as Hawaii, Florida and the Bahamas and is the only prefecture that is located in a subtropical climate zone near what I call the Tropic of Skin Cancer. The average annual temperature is 72.3 F. Winter averages 60.8 F and never gets below 50 F. Don’t let that AVERAGE temp fool you. It is so hot and humid here it makes sticking your head in the oven feel comfortable. High temps can be in the upper-90s and lower-100s. Okinawa is 60 miles long, 2 to 28 miles wide and is accessible by air or sea. The island is a 2 ½ hour flight from Tokyo and 2 from Osaka. The Okinawans grow sugarcane, sweet potatoes and rice and live to be 135. LOL Their longevity really is amazing. We live a mere ½ mile from the beach close enough to walk to but too close in the case of a tsunami. I could just go on and on about Okinawa but…I save the best for my blog. The link to that is www.okinawamama.blogspot.com.

We’ve been pretty busy since we got here on July 24th. We were in temporary housing for 15 days until we moved into housing. Lonnie has been working non-stop as a staff nurse in the ICU. Needless to say they are short-staffed and he has been working more than anything else…other than sleeping. Once a week for two years he is taking a class for the Marine Corps Command & Staff College. They’re teaching him about wars…past and present. Taking the class while we’re here is “supposed” to prevent him from having to take it later while having us at a duty station for only one year instead of three. I am still playing stay-at-home mom. Jenna is in the middle of her 2nd year of preschool. We had a hard time deciding where she should go to school but she started the East-West Montessori School in September and loves it! It’s an international school so Americans & Japanese both attend. The teacher and her assistant are fluent in Japanese and English. Three times a month Jenna has Japanese class after school. She has learned a lot of the language just from being in her regular class. We were at the exchange once and she was singing a song. It was the first time I had heard her sing in Japanese. I asked her what she was singing because I couldn’t understand her. She said she didn’t know. The funny thing is that two Japanese ladies just looked at her and smiled when they passed us. Mmm hmm. THEY knew what she was saying! I have been encouraging Jenna to use the words she knows. The gate guards at Camp Lester are all Japanese. I tell her to say “arigato gozaimasu” (that’s ‘thank you’) to them when we go through the gate. Sometimes she doesn’t say it and when I ask her why she says, “I’m too shy!” Right. Other times, on her terms, she wants me to roll down her window and she yells it out. The guards LOVE it! They just smile and laugh and wave at her. It’s so cute. She is the most outgoing child. She runs out the backdoor to the playground and before she’s even off of the porch she’s yelling, “Hi! My name is Jenna!”

Since I am the passionate one for languages I am the one that will really be leaning Japanese. In January I will be starting a 3 month intensive class. It’s 3 two hour classes a week. I can’t wait! At the beginning of December our church started an early service. I am the pianist for that service. We go to Koza Baptist Church which is the only Southern Baptist church on the island. It is a 99% military congregation so people are always coming and going. The new church was built and they started having services there in June. The service is full and parking has fast become a big problem. So many people just keep on coming so we really needed an early service. The big new thing with me this past year is that I’ve become a runner! The picture on the card is from my first race. That was an 8K (4.97 miles). The last race I ran was a 10K (6.2 miles) and I ran the whole thing without stopping to walk…barely. Thank goodness I had my best friend, Jenn, the world’s best motivator to cheer me along. I’ve come a long way from walking with a cane a year ago! In between those races I ran two 5Ks (3.1 miles). I actually won 2nd place in my category in one of those races. Lonnie asked if I was the only one running. Droll…very droll. The only person running…and I still win 2nd. How many of you knew I married a comedian?

I have to mention that the Japanese people are so nice. Their politeness and warmth far outweigh anything you see back in the States. Our first trip to McDonald’s totally took us by surprise. Those people were so happy to see us! I don’t know how many people called out to us when we walked in. When we were leaving there were 7 or 8 employees just bowing and thanking us. It was crazy! Most of the time when we went out to eat in the States you can’t even get anyone to look you in the eye and forget about smiling. And, what’s “thank you”? The uniforms they wear are like what you used to see in our McDonald’s back in the early 80’s. They have cute little skirts with pumps, button-down shirts, pressed pants. There are no stains or bleach marks. And they wear those cute little paper hats! The Japanese let their children run around by themselves. You can see a child Jenna’s age out by themselves and you know what? Nobody’s going to come along and take them. I can leave my car doors unlocked with my iPod, purse, camera, attaché case with all of our millions in it and no one’s going to take it…unless… Yeah. Whenever we’re on base I lock everything up or take things out because, unfortunately, if anyone’s going to take anything…it’s going to be an American. Sad but true.

Lastly, we are living on base in what I affectionately call, The Bunker. These houses are built to withstand tropical cyclone winds that can easily exceed 100 mph. We live on Camp Lester where the military hospital is along with a lot of housing and one of the middle schools. That’s about it. It’s a very small base. It’s really considered to be part of Camp Foster. When we come out of the main gate if we go 1 mile to the left we’re at Camp Foster. If we go right for 2 miles we’re at Kadena Air Base. But, more importantly, if we go straight out the gate Starbuck’s is right on that corner! There are 15 bases on the island. The main Army one is Torii Air Station. The Air Force has Kadena Air Base. The Marines monopolize everything else with Camps Buckner, Bush, Butler, Courtney, Foster, Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, and Camps Hansen, Kinser, Lester, McTureous, Schwab, Shields & then Naval Facility White Beach. Almost every day we have something flying over the house. Whether it’s Marine Harrier jets or Air Force F-15s, KC-10s or KC-135s (the latter two being refuelers) things are never boring. Every now and then we do get the Navy F-18s overhead. Those are the legacy Hornets and not the Super Hornets. I’m 100% sure of that and am quite adept at identifying them now. Thank you, Daniel for helping me make that distinction. Sometimes, if we’re lucky enough, they fly so low that the windows almost rattle. Jenna & I love it! We’re always running out the front door to take pictures of them flying overhead.

We hope everyone has a wonderfully Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! If anyone wants to call us we have a Vonage phone but PLEASE…check the time before you call. We are on JKT which is Japan Korea Time. Daylight Savings is not observed here. If you are on the East coast at this time of the year we are 14 hours AHEAD of you…Central time = 15 hours ahead…Pacific = 17 ahead. It’s hard work living in the land of the rising sun and getting up before the rest of the world but…someone has to do it!

Always remembering the reason for the season…
Lonnie, Jenna’s Mommy (aka Deanna) & Jenna

Revenge is best served cold...or with a headbutt!

2008-12-10T21:30:00.001+09:00

Wikipedia describes it this way:

A headbutt is a strike with the head, typically involving the use of robust parts of the cranium as areas of impact. Effective headbutting revolves around striking a sensitive area with a less sensitive area, such as striking the nose of an opponent with the forehead. It is known as a risky maneuver: a misplaced headbutt can cause more damage to the person delivering the headbutt than to the person receiving it. My little 4 year old is a pro! I'm signing her up for cagefighting at the Y next week!

Ah, yes. For all of those times that Daddy's picked on her Baby Girl got her payback! A couple of weeks ago Lonnie and Jenna were sitting on the loveseat playing when Jenna threw her head back and gave Daddy a good 'ol-fashioned shiner!
It makes a Momma proud! That's my baby!

When what to my wondering eyes did appear...

2008-12-10T21:15:00.002+09:00

...but a member of the

Kingdom:
Animalia

Phylum:
Chordata

Class:
Mammalia

Order:
Chiroptera

Suborder:
Megachiroptera

Family:
Pteropodidae

Genus:
Pteropus

...conjuring up all kinds of fear...

Yep. We got home from church about 2015 and I was the first one to walk to the front door. I felt this sudden gust of wind and was thinking it was going to be a windy night or else I knew what it was like to experience the brush of angel's wings. WOW! I didn't jump 10 feet in the air like I did at the Riverwalk right after we moved to San Antonio and that 20 foot viper slithered in front of me. Hmm...seemed like 20 feet at the time. And it was poisonous. He just had that look about about him. I know these things...

Anyway...the bat. This is no small mammal and apparently he's essential to the new version of the cardiac stress test they're trying out on this very island! The average wingspan is 5 feet and he was pushing right up against that. It was very, VERY impressive. I would love to get a picture of one of these little guys. Apparently, they hang out in droves in some of the trees here on the base. You know, what do they call a group of bats anyway? Is it a herd...like cows? A murder...like crows? Or how about a pride...like lions? Nah. They're just a colony. That's not nearly as impressive as a murder. I think they should change the name. I'll work on that.

You know the jury's still out where sushi is concerned, but what about bat? I hear they taste just like chicken! Mmm, mmm! Nothin' like a little deep-fried bat-on-a-stick at the county fair. It's just a little chewy. Hey, would you pass the salt?

Efficiency vs. proficiency

2008-11-21T17:30:00.002+09:00

Yesterday was ice cream day. Not only was it ice cream day...it was BIG DIP DAY! Mmm mmm! On the 20th and 30th of the month the ice cream shop here has 2 scoops for one. You just can't beat it.

Notice the small ham at the front door...

I had the usual ube (purple sweet potato) flavor and something called Okinawa salt cookies. It was sooo good! Lonnie got the ube plus something called Shiiquasa. I don't know what it is but it tastes a lot like lime. It's amazing the things I'll try without really knowing what they are. Let's clarify...I'll try something in the ice cream family without really knowing what it is. If it used to swim and it's still raw...I don't need to taste it. Simple.

Now if there's one thing I've learned since we've been here is that the Japanese are efficient. I mean, they're really more efficient than any American I've come across...except possibly me. But do you know what makes them so efficient? Well, we know that this is the land of the rising sun and everything, right? Well...did you know that this is also the land of the 26 hour day? You think I'm kidding? Take a look...

Need a closer look?

Yep. There are 26 hours in a day here. I don't know if the baristas are downin' a few too many Venti Sumatras or not, but I think somebody oughta tell them that sign is wrong! LOL Efficient with many things, not so proficient with others.

Before someone comments about it I'll go ahead and ruin the fun. Technically, this is supposed to mean that they close at 0200...or 2 AM for all of you non-military folk. It's still funny!

Jenna had a fun time. She looks forward to those Big Dip Days. I told her they named them after Daddy. Hahaha! At least those days are only twice a month. Would you like to deal with this?...

A reasonably respectful ranting

2008-11-09T15:30:00.000+09:00

I met a lady online that I've been chatting with and this was in one of her emails:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Speaking of Obama...my husband knows some pilots who were in the group that ferried him around in Afghanistan and they said he was TERRIBLE to the troops. He got photographed playing basketball at the gym in Bagram I think, but refused to shake hands or take photos with anyone away from the cameras. The way they talked, he seemed openly scornful of them. In contrast, when Laura Bush came to visit she was exceptionally friendly and took photos with anyone who asked and spoke to everyone. My husband has some great pictures with him and the pilots from his company shaking hands with her.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think he just used visits like that for photo-ops. As I said...this is not going to be good for the military. It's awfully hard to respect someone that I have no respect for. He's going to have to earn that from me. Fortunately, thanks to the 1st Amendment I have the right express my opinion!

You know what? If Obama and McCain's beliefs had been switched and Obama was Republican, right wing, conservative (or whatever you wish to call it) and McCain was Democrat, left wing, liberal (or whatever you wish to call it) then I would've voted for Obama. Color and race is not the issue. Making history was not important. And certainly no American out there voted solely based on color, race and the chance to be a part of making history and not the issues at hand, did they?

I suppose I must congratulate the American public that got exactly what they wanted. Well done. Just think, if our Presidents were chosen based on merit alone a different man would be in the White House. There's nothing that can be done about it now unless Florida has something to say like the last time. :) So, I'll just be sitting here watching and listening for the next 4 years. In between doing that I'll be praying for God to bless America because we are surely going to need it now.

And, lastly, as I said on Facebook -

I would like to thank each and every one of the Obama supporters that are now standing in line to join the military.

Well...that shouldn't take very long.

An election foreshadowing?

2008-11-07T15:15:00.000+09:00

A wise man's heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man's heart directs him toward the left.

Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NASV)

Hmm...

Did my vote make a difference?

2008-11-05T13:15:00.003+09:00

A few minutes ago I asked myself, "Did my vote make a difference?" The answer? Apparently not. I'm telling you if people have never prayed for this country, now's a good time to start. Now, I'm not one to mention names or convey my political views but being the conservative, right wing Republican that I am I don't know what's going to happen once Obama is at the helm. I feel that McCain & Palin would've been the better choice. Why am I telling you this? Because my goal is to exercise three times a week. I didn't get to run this morning so I decided that today I'm going to exercise my right to freedom of speech according to the First Amendment.

Reservations are still being accepted at The Bunker. You will be accommodated based on the availability of the twin futon in the play room and the sleeper sofa in the living room. If the need arises Jenna can sleep on a mattress on our floor. That will open up a double bed. Keep in mind before you get here that these are, in fact, Space-A reservations that you will be making meaning that you will have a place to stay when space is "available". There is a half bath downstairs and only one shower and the tiniest of sinks in the main bath; however, we do have a second shower located in the backyard which is partially obstructed from the neighbors' view by a Chinese Banyan tree. It's only a garden hose but it does have a massaging sprayer. We do what we can with what we have here.

Upon your initial inquiry you will be placed into one of five categories based on whether or not you are family, friend or U.S citizen seeking political asylum. Please take the time to check all paperwork before planning your stay at The Bunker. If there is something out of order then you may have to sleep under the aforementioned Banyan tree with the geckos, the shrews and the occasional Habu.

Another option for you could be Canada. There's a really nice old lady that runs the place. I hear that dual citizenship isn't that hard to come by. See, that works when you want to leave the country until a Republican is elected back into office. Look at the bright side...make a move to Canada for 4 years. It's close to Alaska. You could just drop in on Todd & Sarah. I hear you can see Russia from their house!

The great critter caper

2008-11-02T11:00:00.000+09:00

Last week I cleaned out the storage area. Area. Have you ever really thought about what that word encompasses? I mean does there have to be a certain amount of space before you can say that length x width = area? Because if you do you can't call what we have a storage "area". We are in the market for a Rubbermaid storage shed. Those appear to be fairly popular here. At least they're a safer projectile in tropical cyclone winds than their counterparts.

Our storage "place"...that's what we'll call it...barely has enough room for our two bikes, lawn mower and folded bike trailer for Jenna. In the corner we can fit our lawn chairs and some tools. Not much else to is going to fit in there except perhaps...two geckos and their baby. Yes, it was to be an eventful afternoon. Fortunately, no one was watching. At least Ashton Kutcher didn't pop out from behind our Chinese Banyan tree saying that I'd been "Punk'd". For those of you that don't know he's the modern Allen Funt of "Candid Camera".

Honestly, things were going well right up until the time I put my hand on the doorknob to open the door to go in. It was all downhill after that. I pulled out the gas can and was rearranging the lawn mower when a gecko ran out from under it. I was barely standing there on the step. He startled me so badly I leaned back and was teetering on the step trying to keep my balance. I didn't. I fell backwards and knocked over the gas can which promptly started leaking gas all over the lawn. At least I didn't fall down. I managed to grab the door and made the decision to go back in and confront my fears when from out of nowhere this same gigantic gecko (he was 2 times larger this time) comes running out and parks himself on the handlebars of the bike I was moving...and looks at me. He just stares at me! He ran off but, don't forget about him. He comes back at the end of the story. Next I see his friend up on the wall and she's just staring at me too! After all of the staring I decided it was time to hack off some limbs on the Chinese Banyan. Two of the limbs were so large I had to use a saw. When I went to go get that saw (that's kept in a cover in a bucket in the storage place) a baby gecko came running out of the cover onto the handle of the saw. They're everywhere! There were two more on the porch when I moved the chairs. I'm going to have to remember to shake things before I sit.

Finally, I decided since I had the perfect camera and you must remember what that is (the one you have with you) I was going to take a picture of the cause of my frustration. I went back into the storage place and again, that same gecko (only 5 times larger than the last time) was on the ceiling. Those little guys are like the man in the Super Glue commercial with the hard hat. With their little suctioned feet they can hold on to any surface. I tried several times to get a good picture of him and then...he fell. He fell straight from the ceiling onto the floor. The whole encounter was pretty funny. I'm not afraid of them. I just don't like things that move so fast. It makes me scream every time I see them...which reminds me of another commerial...

Sunglasses = $32
Lawn Chair = $17
Glass of iced tea = $1
Relaxing and witnessing Deanna react to a family of harmless geckos = priceless!

Mail Deadlines

2008-10-30T15:05:00.002+09:00

I just saw the deadline for mailing packages to APO/FPO addresses. Here they are:

November 13 - Parcel Post

December 11 - First Class & Priority Mail

December 18 - Express Mail

The claim is that if you get your package in the mail by that date then we will get it by Chrismas.

Raw fish...so hard to get past the thought

2008-10-29T07:45:00.003+09:00

So I decided to live life on the edge last night. We went out to Kitakaisen for dinner with a group from the critical care nursing conference. Kitakaisen is the first restaurant we went to on the island the night after we arrived. The people at the table ordered a bunch of sushi and soybeans to pass around. Jenna ate her weight in the soybeans. I don't think they're that special. The sushi's another thing...

Sushi is something that I've never tried in my life and really had no pressing reason to ever go there. There are several types of sushi connoisseurs. Okay, two. There are those that like it and those that don't. I fall into that last category. I tried two different kinds. One was salmon and the other was spicy tuna. I didn't know how it would go so I made sure I had two napkins in one hand in case I needed to expel any foul substance from my mouth. The first one wasn't too bad. Of course, I'm not going to run out to a sushi bar on Friday night, but it really wasn't the worst thing I've ever eaten. I thought to myself, "well, you've tried one so the other one's probably okay. Go ahead!" Well, the spicy tuna wasn't quite the same. There was a whole lotta raw tuna in that one huge bite. In the first one there was so much cream cheese and rice that you couldn't really taste the fish. That second piece almost caused psychological consequences. I didn't quite gag but I was toying with the idea. Naturally, right in the middle of the bite this little voice kept chanting in my head, "RAW fish! RAW fish!" Well, I had to listen. I had almost made it all the way. Half of it was gone and I thought I was home free until I realized the half that was left in my mouth was actually most of the tuna. The rice, avocado, wasabe and ginger were gone. So, there's the first experience. I know everyone's been wanting to know when I was going to try it. The one thing I found out about it is I can't eat it without making a face or closing my eyes. LOL

The company last night was great! I sat next to a guy that's a medic on a KC-135 Stratotanker. That's a plane, people. Keep up! It's an Air Force plane and, more specifically, a refueler. I see them fly over the house a lot with the refueling boom down. I could've had a tour of that plane with everyone else after the conference but I didn't make it.

One girl at our table graduated from NLU/ULM in 2000 and is from Bastrop! Can you believe it? Well, if you're not a close friend, not from Louisiana or not a member of my family then you probably can't. But it was something so cool to hear! We're halfway around the world and meet her. She's in the Air Force and was in San Antonio when we were. Jenna was born in Wilford Hall on September 04 and her son was born there on the 13th. We were just missing each other! Imagine that. Two people here from Bastrop. The other person is our Sunday School teacher!

Japanese car names and meanings

2008-10-25T21:30:00.000+09:00

I found these on a website.

Toyota = Toyo means, East Orient.

Ta = Rice Field

Mitsubishi = Mitsubashi means Honeybee...close enough.

Subaru = means to slip and slide or to fail. LOL

Suzuki = suzu means either tin, or a small bed.

Nissan = nisan means two or three. Actually, ni = two and san = three. That's what they mean.

Tata = it is a sort of prefix for words like fight, battle, curse, things like that...tatataru tatari, tatakau etc.

So, now you know a little more worthless trivia. But, hey! You're learning from the best teacher. I love worthless trivia! There will be another fun blog about vehicles in the future. I'm collecting names of some of the cars. The ones you see here you won't find in the U.S.

Much ado about the zoo

2008-10-24T11:00:00.000+09:00

On Thursday Jenna had her first school field trip. She was so excited! Not only did she get to ride the bus but Mommy & Daddy both got to go along! In one way the Okinawa Zoo is a lot like Lincoln Park. Lincoln Park is the free zoo that's right smack in the middle of Chicago. It's very impressive considering where it's located and the quality of the cages.

Fast forward to Okinawa zoo...

We left so depressed that we decided if we do go back it will only be to take pictures of the condition of the whole place. The cages were so...concrete. The poor little chimpanzee had nothing but concrete in his cage. Give the poor little guy a tree! The Bengal tiger, lionness and lion were directly next to each other in comparably concrete cages. The only exciting thing is that you could lean forward, stick your hand through the bars and touch the lion. I mean if you really want to do that and pull back a nub then this is the place for you! The anteaters were pretty neat to see. The hippos enclosure was different. Whether or not the over-sized trough the keeper was cleaning out is actually their pool we don't know. I've never seen hippos out of the water. I don't see how you could fit one hippo at a time in that little pool. Poor things.

The only thing we didn't get to see was the Hokkaido brown bear. That happened to be the one thing that I did want to see. There were tons of snakes in the reptile house. We did see a variation of the Habu. It's the Himehabu. Still a viper! Honestly, the reptile house was one of the better ones I've seen. Maybe that's because the snakes here are quite impressive.

Before we got to the zoo I saw that the season pass was only 2,000 yen which is 20 USD. That's a great price for a season pass but...we won't be going back.

In pursuit of perfection

2008-10-23T16:30:00.003+09:00

Have you ever had that moment you felt as if everything was right in the world? That it was all perfect? That's how I felt yesterday afternoon on the way to the BX. Again, with the camera safely tucked away in a drawer at home, I looked up at just the right moment as an E-3C Sentry broke over the trees in front of me followed by 2 F-15's. What made this so perfect was the sky. It was as blue as I've ever seen it against the thickest, whitest clouds. It would have made the perfect picture. Yeah...it all would've been so perfect. Too bad I don't have the perfect camera. Do you know what the perfect camera is? It's the one you have with you! I'm going to learn. It stands to reason though that when I actually have camera in hand that the jets will be grounded. That's just the way it works with me. Some people call it Murphy's Law. I call it...McAlister's Law.

On the way off of Kadena there's a hill that just as you crest it you can see the East China Sea. There was almost no haze and the sea was this amazing navy blue color. Off in the distance you could see one of islands that is almost invisible any other time unless visibility is almost clear. Again, the scenery was magnificent and there was even a commercial jet flying over the sea that would've completed the picture...perfectly. If only I had that camera... You know, it's not that I don't have a camera with me 100% of the time. Our cell phones have great cameras! The problem is getting them off of the phone and onto the computer. Sure we have a general idea of the way it works but there are those pesky little things we need to know. It's those little things we could find out and do...if only the instructions were written in English!

So, now in the pursuit of perfection I have learned my lesson. The camera bag will be with me EVERY time I go onto Kadena. There's someone I'm dying to one-up where that perfect picture is concerned but, I'm not sure I can do it. My jealous streak is showing but I give... This is your best picture ever!
Happy Birthday, Daniel! :) Now, I need a favor...

Combat Parking & Reflective Reinforcement

2008-10-21T14:00:00.005+09:00

Combat parking. You've all seen it. Some of you do it.

Combat parking. Women have trouble doing it. Men can't control the urge.

Combat parking. Few know the correct term. How else can one explain the burning desire to BACK into a parking space instead of pulling straight into it thereby causing the gnashing of teeth of the driver behind you?

I live in the land of 90% combat parkers. Even the women do it! They can skillfully whip that Toyota Voxy into the smallest of parking spaces. And boy, are they small! The spaces are small. The vehicles are small. Even so, can you believe most vehicles have side mirrors that you can just flip a switch and the mirrors retract? If you have to do that then you're parked too close! Honestly, I have enough trouble trying to park with the nose in. I don't know if it's being on the other side of the car or what, but I CANNOT stay off of the lines! I don't pull in far enough. I pull in too far. I park too close to the left line. I park too close to the right line.

There's one new thing I've learned about driving here. Okay, there's about 3 dozen new things I've learned about driving here but this one sticks out the most. There are a lot of blind spots on the island and some of them are at intersections, around curves and in alleys. In order to lessen collisions (or else to contribute to the vanity of drivers) there are mirrors placed at strategic points along the way. These mirrors are about 2 feet in diameter. At one particular intersection on the way to Jenna's school there is a 2-way stop. I stop at the stop sign but have to watch the mirrors to see if any cars are coming. You quickly learn that if you see the ends of cars in the opposite mirror you're good to go. It's not too bad. Twice a day it goes a lot like this...

1. Come to a complete stop at stop sign.

2. Look at mirror on the left and right to determine where traffic is.

3. Say a prayer.

4. Close eyes.

5. Floor it.

Yeah. It's worked so far. I'm about to try it again in 20 minutes.

If some of you are puzzled by the Toyota Voxy I mentioned earlier then keep a watch for a blog I'll be writing about vehicle names.

Wild dogs on rampage costing Okinawa City

2008-10-16T12:30:00.006+09:00

Every day I look at Japan Update to see what the latest news is. This one was pretty interesting. My solution...if you could get the wild dogs to kill the Habu then we'd be in business! Hmm...I wonder what the rabies stats are here...

Wild dogs on rampage costing Okinawa City

Date Posted: 2008-10-16

The toll is high; dozens of pigs and goats mauled and killed by wild dogs, and no chance of compensation by farmers for their losses.

Okinawa City is experiencing a rash attacks on farm animals by wild dogs, with 95 pigs and 13 goats killed since the incidents began in April. On a single day, one farmer says, 25 pigs were killed by the wild dogs. The dogs are running as a pack, attacking during nighttime hours between midnight and sunrise. One farmer says he’s lost 50 pigs to the intruders.

Farmers say they’ve tried to protect their animals, setting up fence around the farmyards and barns, but note the dogs burrow beneath the fences to attack. Frustrated farmers are asking the government for protection and the capture of the wild dogs, and for some form of compensation for their losses. They say the wild dogs are depleting their stocks and costing them a lot of money. The government, for its part, is encouraging pet owners to keep their dogs at home, under control, so they don’t wander off and become part of the packs running wild.

Look before you leap & say a prayer before you sleep

2008-10-14T18:45:00.000+09:00

Well, it's come to my attention this evening that there appears to be at least one snake in the neighborhood. Several houses down from us a woman was coming out of her house and there was a snake at the doorstep. While it was not a Habu it was still a poisonous snake. We have two front doors and one back door. The one front door leads from the utility room to the space where we keep the trash can and recycling bins outside. I've never been too excited to have to take the trash out after dark so...I don't. It's just too creepy. Then there's the banyan tree in the backyard. I don't even like to be under it at all. I've never been under it enough to touch the trunk. All I can think about is that Habus like trees and they tend to come out after it rains. Yikes! Every day I look before I leap!

Other than a couple of geckos that have gotten in and dropped their tails when Lonnie caught them, there has only been one other creepy-crawlie in the house. It was some ugly spider and that thing was aggressive! Nightlights are in every room in the house and they're not for Jenna. They're more for me. That started when I lived in Louisiana and didn't want to step on roaches. Now we need them to avoid those geckos (I would DIE if I squished one) and those aggressive spiders. One of my prayers before I go to bed...

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the critters outside you'll keep.
The spiders, the shrews, the geckos too,
And especially things that belong in the zoo.
If I should die before I wake,
It'll probably be from a Habu snake!
So please, dear Lord, have mercy on me,
Keep those nightlights burnin' so I can see!
For if my feet step on something... No! They couldn't!
I don't want to say something I shouldn't!

Simple...yet effective.

The next Yogi Berra...

2008-10-04T09:45:00.000+09:00

This morning Jenna said, "Hey. If you don't win the game...you lose." Hmm...

I'm gonna BUY a sister!

2008-10-02T15:15:00.004+09:00

Today Jenna was sitting in the rocking chair and said...

"There's Mommy in a picture with my little sister."

She wasn't even looking at a picture...ANY picture, so I said...

"You don't have a little sister."

Jenna said, "I'm gonna BUY a little sister! Let's look for a sister!

Had I known you could've gotten one that way it would've saved me a lot of time, not to mention the fact that it would've been pain-free! I know this is a different country and everything but I don't remember walking down any aisles in the stores here and seeing any kids for sale. I'm surprised she didn't say they have them at the AX-change or Wal-Mart.

My baby in braids...

2008-10-01T14:00:00.000+09:00

Yesterday I went to pick Jenna up at school and almost didn't recognize her. She had braids!

What in the world! She doesn't let me put anything in her hair. It may last 5 minutes if I'm lucky. Ms. Sabrina, the teacher's assistant braided the girls' hair...and some of the boys. Yeah, there are some boys in Jenna's class that have hair longer than hers!

My sweet little girl is loving school. She goes to East-West Montessori School and has learned so much in just a few weeks. At the open house last week she showed us she can use chopsticks!

Okinawa Mama's Perfect Sticky Rice

2008-09-30T10:00:00.000+09:00

After intensive investigation into how you make sticky rice sticky, I found the secret! It's so easy! I'll be rolling sushi in no time. No I won't. I don't even like sushi. Why would I waste my time? Here's one secret I'll reveal and don't expect many more.

Okinawa Mama's (that's me) Perfect Sticky Rice (every time)

Rice Cooker Method:

Rinse rice well in a strainer cold water to remove talc and dust. Make sure you rinse until the water runs clear. Not all rice has talc or dust but the kinds I buy do. We use Basmati rice and another type of rice from Japan. I don't use Basmati rice for sticky rice although it would probably work.

Put rice in the rice cooker and cover with given amount of water. I usually have 2 cups of rice and let it soak for 1 hour in 3 cups of water. My rice cooker has the lid with the handle that seals the cooker. It "knows" exactly how long to cook whatever amount of rice and it comes out perfectly every time.

2 cups rice
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt

This will yield 4 cups.

Use short or medium grain white rice. It's a 1 1/4 cups water per 1 cup of rice ratio. Do NOT use instant or Minute rice.

1 cup uncooked rice yields approximately 2 cups cooked rice. I know you already knew that.

So, it would look a lot like this...

3 cups rice
3 3/4 cups water
3/4 tsp. salt

4 cups rice
5 cups water
1 tsp. salt

Super Typhoons vs. Major Hurricanes

2008-09-29T12:00:00.000+09:00

I was watching the weather yesterday and I took a long look at Super Typhoon Jangmi that hit Taipei yesterday. Somehow Taiwan seems to be a lot closer here. Hmm... Jangmi had reached winds of 180 mph and its radius was 174 MILES WIDE. By the time it struck Taipei it was down to 135-140 mph. Whew! What a relief. That's got to be better than 180, although not by much.

We check our weather on the Kadena Air Base website. The picture below is of a hurricane and it's one of the best ones I've seen.

So, here are explanations of the two storms...

Super-typhoon" is a term utilized by the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center for typhoons that reach maximum sustained 1-minute surface winds of at least 150 mph. This is the equivalent of a strong Saffir-Simpson category 4 or category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic basin or a category 5 severe tropical cyclone in the Australian basin.

"Major hurricane" is a term utilized by the National Hurricane Center for hurricanes that reach maximum sustained 1-minute surface winds of at least 111 mph. This is the equivalent of category 3, 4, and 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

You know, the buildings might be really ugly here...and they are...but, apparently there's a pretty good reason everything is built out of concrete. Yesiree, The Bunker's going to be a safe place to wait out a super typhoon. I do have some concerns about the windows. I wish there were bars on them. Of course, that would be bad in a fire but with a super typhoon it can block those big pieces of what I can't call "debris" because that seems to cheapen it a little. But the bars would block those large trees and other things from shattering the window. Then we'd be in serious trouble with the wind and rain after that.

All bases are under what is called TCCOR-4 during typhoon season. That means Tropical Cyclone Condition Of Readiness. When Typhoon Sinlaku was expected to hit Okinawa two weeks ago we were bumped to TCCOR-3. Now, there are several things you are supposed to do to ready your house and family for the storm. From what I heard it's more of an order than a suggestion. The TCCOR changes with the severity of the storm and the recovery period following. Fortunately, Typhoon Sinlaku decided to go on a different course and we only received 2 mornings of heavy rain. But, I know the big one's comin'...

After a Google Investigation...

2008-09-20T20:30:00.000+09:00

After a Google investigation I'm adding a little info on one of the plants. The mother-in-law's tongue is, in fact, NOT a member of the Dracaena family. I didn't take Botany in college. It is a member of the Sansevieria species. Also, the name "mother-in-law's tongue" comes from the sharpness of the leaves. Only the messenger. Don't shoot the messenger. If it makes all of you mothers-in-law feel better then we'll just call it the snake plant (because of the shape of the leaves) or Tiger's Tail which is what they call it in Japan. When in Rome... or Okinawa...

Meet the Money-Saving Maven...

2008-09-20T19:30:00.001+09:00

Ah, yes. That's me! But, where has she been for the past two weeks? Well...I've been unpacking boxes. Incredibly enough, when Lonnie called to see where our household goods were on September 02 it's as if all 6, 200 lbs. (we were 1 ton over our weight. Oops!) just materialized from out of nowhere in that warehouse. Believe it or not, they were on our doorstep delivering everything the very next morning at oh-800. That's a miracle of Biblical proportions, friends. It either popped up out of nowhere or it had been sitting there for who knows how long and they were just waiting for us to call begging for it. Hahaha!

I have surpassed my most impressive personal best at the commissary. This week I saved 21% of the total bill. That was over $51.00! Wow! Coupons are a wonderful thing! The best I had ever done before that was 18% of the total. It's just a big game for me. It's pretty helpful that the commissaries take coupons that are up to 6 months past their expiration date. I don't believe I had a single coupon in the pile that wasn't expired. The lady behind me said, "oh, my goodness! You're such a great coupon shopper." You could see it in her eyes. She hated me. She didn't have one single coupon to offer. Tsk, tsk, tsk. At the end of checking out the cashier did something wrong and the manager had to come with the key before the payment was processed. Then the woman behind me said that I must've reached the maximum number of coupons allowed. LOL

I've had people make comments about my coupons several times in...now, what's the name of that little store I used to go to?...starts with a "W"...Wa...Wal...Wal-Mart? Oh yeah! THAT'S the name of it. I almost forgot. I had the DT's after several weeks of no Wal-Mart. I go to a support group three times a week now at the grief center. "Hi, my name is Deanna and I'm a 'What-am-I-going-to-do-for-3-years Without Wal-Mart Wailer'". Hyperventilators are given those white plastic bags to breathe into. The first thing we're going to do when we come back to visit is eat at Chick-Fil-A (in the South) or In-n-Out Burger (if we stop in CA) and go to Wal-Mart. I just want to stand there and take it all in. Oh...and a mall...I'd like to go to a mall...

Also, there is a family moving out of housing that will be condemned and torn down at the end of the year. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. I wouldn't have wanted to live there either. You've got to think...the end of the year is how many months away? Well, she had these gorgeous, and I do mean gorgeous, plants that she didn't want to see destroyed when the buildings were torn down. Well, she wouldn't have seen it but you know what I mean. I had posted a wanted ad on JapanUpdate.com for plants and she emailed me. I have 4 of the largest aloe plants you've ever seen. There are 4 HUGE elephant ear plants and a bunch of what I believe is in the Dracaena family..."mother-in-law's tongue" is the more common name. Apparently, they're hard to kill. Look, don't lecture me about it I didn't come up with the name. Let's see what else... Oh yeah! There's this incredibly large palm-type tree. She said that she saw one that was less than half of the size of this one at Makeman's and it was $750. Wow! Look at all the money I saved this week! LOL

So...we all know that the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. Most people say that MONEY is the root of all evil. They must be reading a different version. So, if I'm saving all of this money what category does that put me in? Hmm. You could say that I love money so much I want to be miserly with it; however, I just look at what else you can buy with the money you just saved! Look, honey! I just saved $50! Now we can go get that rug at the exchange I've been wanting for the hallway... It's just what we do. Men don't understand it. Most women do, but those that don't take the time to use the scissors pay the consequences...and the extra money!

Where East Meets West

2008-08-31T16:00:00.001+09:00

Yesterday we went for a ride. Our intentions were to head to the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. The aquarium here on the island was the largest one in the world until Atlanta opened its aquarium in 2005. We inadvertently put that off for a spontaneous trip to the northern cape of Okinawa. You guessed it. We got lost. How can you get lost on an island? You can. When I pulled out the map to see where we were it was closer to head on to Cape Hedo than to turn around. We stopped there for a few minutes and saw where the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet. It was absolutely beautiful!

East China Sea

Pacific Ocean

Since the cape was a long drive we had to scope out "the facilities" which brings me to the introduction of a somewhat delicate topic. Bathrooms. The bathrooms here are...well...they're different. Depending where you are there is only what looks like a urinal buried in the floor of the bathroom. I don't know how else to explain it. That's what it is. It flushes...from what I've seen. Logistically speaking, I just don't get it. This is how it works with me...I walk in, see a hole in the ground, turn around and leave all the while muttering that it's just not worth the trouble. It's one of those things that I'm just not ready for yet. I've got 35 months left. Why rush? Plus, the handicapped bathrooms are normal. As long as those are around life is good. Oh yeah...and I have heard there are bathrooms like I just described in some places that are not gender specific. So, yes...men & women...in the same bathroom. If I walk up and see one sign with two people on it then there's really no need to even go in, is there? And that's your Japanese culture lesson of the day. You know what? Why stop there? I know people are going to want pictures so I took the liberty of Googling one. Here you go...

Can you say awkward?

Well, we did finally make it to the aquarium but, I'm going to save that for another day. We're going back on Jenna's 4th birthday...this Thursday. I have to devote a whole post just to the aquarium. It's pretty awesome!

The Commissary: Commodity & Oddity

2008-08-26T20:00:00.000+09:00

An easy way to describe a commissary is that it's a military grocery store. In order to even enter the building you have to have a valid government ID or be with someone that does. Your ID is checked at the door and then it's off to the proverbial races. I say that because if you end up going on the 1st or 15th of the month (paydays) you will never make that mistake again. Nor will you decide to go after 1500 when school is out and all of the kids are in tow with frustrated mothers of four trying to steer two grocery carts filled to overflowing.

Don't get me wrong. The commissary is a wonderful commodity to take advantage of. Prices may only be a few cents cheaper but the wonderful thing about it is the commissary takes coupons up to 6 months after their expiration date. Don't throw them away! Send them this way! One time when I was on top of my game I was able to save 18% on one grocery bill. There were even a couple of items they paid ME to take away. If they had a double coupon day then it would be on! Another wonderful thing about it is that you don't pay any sales tax. If it's $2.49 then you pay $2.49.

There's a downside to the commissary here. The bread is just not good. I think they ship it frozen. There's always a weird smell to it when you open the bag and it's always a little stale. The other thing is what I thought I had been missing every time I looked for it. It's the biggest oddity since our arrival here. Our favorite thing to eat for dinner is chicken. It doesn't matter what kind. Just chicken. I went up and down the meat counter of both commissaries here and made a monumental discovery. NO FRESH CHICKEN! Can you believe it?! There is plenty of Tastybird, Tyson, & Foster Farms frozen chicken but you aren't going to find any fresh birds here. I say it's because there's not a good way to ship it here since they obviously have problems with the bread and that should be easier than chicken. Lonnie brought up avian flu. They're kinda up-in-arms about that here...in case you hadn't heard. You know, every now and then when you look around you'll still see people in surgical masks. It's apparent that they haven't just closed on a triple bypass so...there must be another reason.

The other odd thing here? You can't get a gallon of milk. Look all you want...it's not there. What could be the explanation for that? I don't know. The dates are all pretty...well, I think pretty incredible. I had to get milk this morning (27 AUG) and the expiration date is 22 SEP. I think we can go through a 1/2 gallon by then. I think it may be because the 1/2 gallon cartons ship easier and take up less space than the gallon jugs. Oh yes. And hairspray. Where do you get the stuff? It is so slim pickins over here you really wouldn't believe it. Even Lonnie was surprised when I told him that. When we were together at the exchange one day I mentioned it and he went to look saying, "they have to have hair spray!" No, apparently they don't. They do have some but it doesn't hold a candle to the shampoo and conditioner inventory.

So, all I can say about that is this...we miss Chick-Fil-A and fresh chicken. Where's the first place we're going to go when we come back? Chick-Fil-A. I'm going to go to Wal-Mart Super Center just to look at the dates on the milk cartons and pick up a fresh loaf of bread. Then I'm going to go stand in awe looking at the hairspray selection in the Health & Beauty department. After I get what I need I'll hand my expired coupons to the cashier, she'll snicker and say, "these expired 6 months ago!", then I'll pay the total PLUS SALES TAX and be on my way thinking I should've picked up that package of fresh chicken!

We're not suffering...too much.

2008-08-25T04:30:00.001+09:00

In the fast food department we've pretty much got it made. I'm sure I can't remember everything but here are the majority of places found in the exchanges (or, as Jenna calls them AX...changes) and the shoppettes. Burger King seems to be popular. There are 3 of them on one base here. Then there's Chili's and Chili's Too. The interesting thing about Chili's is that this restaurant is the one (or one of the ones) where they do all of the "experimentation". It's where they try out new food to test its popularity and determine whether or not it makes the menu you'll be looking at back in the states. Interesting!

Continuing on...there's Subway, Taco Bell, Manchu Wok, Popeye's, Captain D's, O'Charley's, Anthony's Pizza, Baskin Robbins, Dunkin' Donuts, Pizza Hut, Starbuck's (off base), a club on Kadena serves The Cheesecake Factory cheesecake. It's not the full menu and each piece is $4.50. It's cheaper here! Right outside the club there's a little coffee shop that sells the cheesecake by the slice or the whole thing. We avoid this place AT ALL COST! That is a dangerous place for two people that love cheesecake so much. There is one Wendy's here that we haven't seen yet. Something big here is A&W. Do you remember that? They're everywhere here! They have sit-down restaurants with a drive-in. It's all the rage...no kidding.

Now, out on the economy there's McDonald's. These are not the kind that you go to over there. The male employees are dressed in pants with a BELT, their shirt is a button-up that's TUCKED IN and they wear a TIE. The female employees have a button-up shirt with a short kind of ascot tie, a jumper with nylons and PUMPS! Are you hearing this? Everyone wears those paper hats you never see anymore and they all smile and talk to you politely like it's their first day on the job. When you're finished there's a girl that will carry your trash to the dustbox (that's what they're called here). We think there was an inspection of some kind going on that day but, you know, the thing about it is they're always that polite even on a normal day. When we left there were about 8 employees outside having their pictures taken. Everyone stopped what they were doing and smiled, bowed and said arigato, arigato, domo arigato gonzaimasu! I told Lonnie that felt so bizarre! It's like they were really glad we were there.

Here is what a McDonald's menu looks like:

This obviously doesn't show everything. The prices are in Yen and one of those is still almost equal to $1. They keep a laminated one on the counter that looks like this...all in Kanji. On the backside is the same thing with Kanji and Yen but there's an English description. To order you point (which is considered rude in Japan) to what you want. Oh yeah! Everything does taste almost exactly the same here. Sizes are a little different. If you get a large drink it comes in the medium-sized cup. If you get a medium it comes in the small-sized cup. Naturally, here you can get a Teriyaki burger and a McPork. Lonnie got something that must've been a McShrimp or something. It was like fried shrimp on a bun.

I at least have to tell you about the apples here. Jenna LOVES apples so when we were in the commissary last week I picked up two. When we were doing the self-checkout and I weighed them I almost passed out. Two apples were $4.95. They're good but for heaven's sake they don't have gold seeds or stems that I could see!

Bats are big, shrews are small, but geckos are the cutest of all!

2008-08-22T10:30:00.000+09:00

The geckos really are cute here. No, they look nothing like the GEICO gecko. Last night there was a little excitement in the house with one of these guys. I was taking Jenna upstairs and saw a little baby gecko no longer than 2 inches even with his tail...on second floor. Hmm. I wonder how long he had been in here. Lonnie had a hard time chasing him down.

Just last week one hitched a ride on the leg of Lonnie's uniform. It fell on the floor so Lonnie trapped its tail under his shoe. Well...his tail CAME OFF! He got the little guy outside but, not to be outdone...he ran back in. When Lonnie finally got him back out he noticed that part of his insides were on his outside (just trying to be tactful). So...Lonnie did what he always does to creatures in distress or facing imminent death. He stomped on it. Yep. He did that when we were walking on the campus of Northwestern in Evanston. There was a pigeon laying on the sidewalk obviously dying. He looked around for something to kill it with but there wasn't anything. He told me he had to kill it because he couldn't stand to see it suffer. I walked several yards ahead. I didn't want to see that! Well, hearing the sound of tennis shoe to feathered animal isn't a sound you ever want to hear again. Yep. One day I'm going to sick and he's just going to stomp on me.

As for the banana spider I've told some of you about...here's an excellent picture to describe its size.

Get ready...

It's a pretty safe bet to say that when I do see one of these...I'm going to lose it! Moving on...

Centipedes? REALLY not into those either...

Yeah...up to 6 inches long. The chair leg is a pretty good point of reference. We haven't seen one yet. Not just creepy but...POISONOUS too. Nice.

Shrews. Cute. Probably destructive. I can live with those though as long as they stay outside. They love to run all over the front yard at night when it's dark. When we pull in the driveway the headlights tell the story.

And last, but certainly NOT least...the dreadful Habu. It's a pit viper. Viper. Viper = venomous. Should you happen to come crashing through the ER doors in a panic from a snake having bitten you they will ask you this one question..."were you bitten on land or in the sea?" That'll determine the anti-venin you receive. Apparently, there is at least one venomous sea snake here. And, the jellyfish are pretty impressive too.

Still wanna come visit?

Ube, you say?

2008-08-19T20:00:00.003+09:00

Jenna & I were out shopping at the local Japanese Home Depot. It's called Makeman's and the logo has a monkey on it. I can't get a straight answer on the pronunciation. Some people call it Makeman's, others say MOCK ay mohn and some people just call it the monkey store. We perused the plants first. They sell orchids there for almost $200! After that, we went into the back. Let me tell you...they sell toilets & toilet seats that must come with a 200 page manual and a mandatory inservice to obtain an operator's license. I have never seen so many buttons! You can even get a bun warmer! No kidding! Just like you can get car seat warmers in your SUV, you can get them on toilet seats here. Naturally, it was time to go to the 100 Yen store. Now, 100 Yen = 1 USD. Mmm hmm. Can you say Dollar Tree?

After shopping I had the worst idea you could possibly have in 90-ish deg weather and 100% humidity. I announced to Jenna that we would get ice cream. I have never in my life seen an ice cream cone melt so fast! Both of them were all over everything and the only thing to clean up with was a box of Kleenex sitting on the table. Hmm. Kleenex + ice cream = what were you thinking?

Different country. Different flavors. I had heard about ube ice cream ever since we got here. Ube = ooh bay. Ube = purple yam from the Philippines. On a whim I thought, "Why not? Let's try it". It was sooooo good! My two favorites here so far are Mango Tango and Ube. The thought of eating a purple yam made into ice cream was pretty unappealing. Who knew it would be one of the best things I've ever tried?! Hey. At least I know for sure there's no shellfish in it!

Pass the EpiPen, please!

2008-08-18T16:30:00.006+09:00

Mmm! We had yakisoba last night. Yaki = fried and soba = noodle. This would be the 3rd time I've had it since we've been here. Here's the thing...once I find something I like I don't really venture out to anything different. I've told many of you that Japanese food is the one kind of food I just don't like. I've changed my opinion on that. The yakisoba is amazing...until last night.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakisoba

I think Lonnie had this fact or fiction/Mythbusters thing going on with my shellfish allergy. Unbeknownst to me I chose the yakisoba not knowing what the future held. This dish usually has pork in it. Now, I've heard there are some places that cook the noodles in crab broth. Being the bloodhound I am (thanks to the fibro) I can usually detect things like that either by smell or taste. I don't like the seafood taste and I definitely don't like the way it tastes.

Shortly after I finished eating the roof of my mouth started itching like crazy! Then my nose was running and itching so bad I could hardly stand it. I started coughing and then my head and eyes started itching. Now, seems to me like that yakisoba must've been near some shellfish or cooked in crab broth. I don't know. What I do know is that we have leftovers and when Lonnie gets home I'm going to test it...just to see. I have EpiPen in hand and the hospital is a 5 minute walk from the house (not that we would be walking to the ER). I want to be sure that's what it was so we can go back if it's not. And yes, when the reaction is bad enough you don't have to worry about giving the shot through your clothes.

My Blue Angel Odyssey

2008-08-13T21:00:00.003+09:00

Well, it's official! I am now co-owner and primary pilot...I mean, DRIVER...of a 1996 Honda Odyssey now previously owned by a Blue Angel. Look for Eddie, the pilot that flies Fat Albert. He's the one! When I met him today I told him that the only thing I was hoping for that the car didn't have was Jet Assisted Take-Off or JATO. He got a kick out of that. For those you that don't know what JATO means...or looks like...just check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLFB7q8tyd8

Apparently, Eddie did not know the depth of my knowledge of the Blue Angels. After we talked about it for a while he said, "Wow! You really DO know a lot about the Blue Angels." Lonnie had to drive him back to the hotel and told me Eddie said he was pretty impressed and that I must be a big fan. I figure you can't really be interested in something and not know anything about it!

This picture is from the air show at Langley AFB in June. These are the British Red Arrows. I've tried and tried to get a picture just like this and...

...it looks like I did!

Look closely now because that's not one plane...it's two!

Fortunately, with digital photography technology being what it is I was able to take OVER 1,300 pictures at 2 days at the Langley AFB air show. Taking pictures of aircraft in flight is pretty challenging. It's a passion! Daniel, you know what I'm talking about!

Subscribing to Okinawa Mama

2008-08-11T08:45:00.000+09:00

Several people have asked me how to subscribe to my blog. Well, I just found out by subscribing to a friend's just now! I thought I had already subscribed but I didn't do it the right way. Here's how. Look for the "feed icon" on your computer. It should look something like the picture below.

Now, when you click on this it'll take you to another page that will have you click on the "subscribe" link. If you are asked about what type of feed choose RSS. That should do it! That way you don't have to keep checking to see when I've posted something new!

Street signs anyone?

2008-08-11T08:00:00.005+09:00

Well, I did it. I drove. And it wasn't bad at all! The worst part wasn't even the fact that I was driving a mini-van (which I've never done before) or that I was driving on the wrong side of the road. Of course, maybe it's just that in America we are the ones that drive on the wrong side and every other country is right. Hmm. The worst part was trying to judge where you are in the lane when you're sitting on the other side of the car. It's different, that's for sure. It feels like I'm driving too close to the center line and Lonnie's on the other side pulling in his elbows because he says I'm over too far.

Let's talk about street signs. Street signs would be helpful. Street signs could point you in the right direction. Street signs could be an anti-hypertensive here on this island. How many times can you circle the same thing in a 10 minute period? Many of our excursions have reminded me of National Lampoon's European Vacation..."Look kids! Big Ben! Parliament!"...that's what it feels like. While we had good intentions to go to church yesterday it just didn't happen. Why? Because we couldn't find it! From the time we left the house until we returned, spirits crushed and considerably less on gas, we had been gone for 90 minutes.

Whiteliners are something that's different here. You may or may not know what they are. It was easy to figure out. By the time we went to orientation and learned the "technical" term we knew what they are. Here mopeds and motorcycles do not have to drive in a lane. They can ride the...you guessed it...white line straight down the road. They materialize out of the smallest spaces between the cars. What happens if you hit them? It's YOUR FAULT!

MacGyver mentality...island ingenuity

2008-08-07T17:00:00.003+09:00

You know me! I'll resort to anything just to save a couple hundred yen. Seems as if everyone on Oki dries their clothes courtesy of the island winds. Not to be outdone, I went to the base exchange (PX, BX, NEX, just end it with an -X) with a plan in mind. Now, if you knew me back in the 90's then you KNOW how much I adored MacGyver! There are few people that even know his first name. I do. Do you? Are you asking yourself if you really care? Well, you may laugh. You may criticize. You may scoff at the mere idea of a Swiss Army knife but that man taught me more in one hour a week than I learned in 6 weeks of shop class in the 7th grade.

So, during my exchange excursion I thought all hope was lost when all I could find for clothesline was...dental floss. And, the mint kind, no less! The only thing I could find to lash it to were those little coffee cup hooks you put in your kitchen cabinets. After realizing those hooks probably wouldn't go through cinder block I opted for other materials. Let's see...fishing line and super glue? Nah. Sewing thread and picture hangers? No good. Imagine my dismay when I walked down the laundry aisle and found...clothesline and clothespins! Yep. If only I had thought to look there first. It could've saved me a little time. Ah well. I wouldn't have been able to reminisce about one of my favorite TV shows of all time...next to the A-team, of course! Do you remember the theme song?

Driving Miss Daisy-san

2008-08-06T13:00:00.001+09:00

You know, you may complain "over there in the U.S." about how much your driver's license costs or how much that speeding ticket set you back. Let me just say this...if you have any problems speeding...do NOT come here!

Just to get a Japanese driver's license it costs $3,000 USD or ¥ 30,000. No, that is NOT a typo. Naturally, for the government folk with SOFA-status (that's State-Of-Forces Agreement) it doesn't cost a dime...or ¥10. If you get caught for speeding (which you will) or think you didn't get caught (which you did) you'll be paying $740 USD or ¥74,000. Here's how they do it. With a maximum island-wide speed of a breezy 60 KPH...translate that into MPH and you're going a NASCAR-worthy 37 MPH on the not-so-expressway...it's easier than you think it is to speed. Now, there are these little cameras on the traffic lights like they have "over there". Not only do these nifty gadgets take pictures of your license plate...they take Olan Mills-esque pictures of YOU. Yep. I'm guessing it's a lot harder to get a ticket fixed here than it is in Louisiana! There's nothing like getting a ticket in the mail with your mug shot on it.

Basically, you have to have a valid U.S. driver's license and have to sit for a test before you get this little piece of laminated paper that gives you the authority to drive a death-trap around the island. I'm looking for the perfect bumper sticker but I just can't seem to find: "Accident Waiting to Happen" anywhere!

Here are some fun rules of the road:

Buses, taxis and pedestrians have the right-of-way...at all times.

If a Yankee (that's an American whether you're from the South or not) is in an accident with an Okinawan. It's their fault. Period. Here it doesn't matter if someone pulled out in front of you. It's your fault. Got rear-ended? Your fault. Bicycle rode out in front of you? YOUR FAULT!

When Japanese school children wish to cross the street, they will hold their hand up, palm toward the traffic, and proceed to cross the street. If you hit one? Your fault.

Drivers with less than 1 year of driving experience have a green and yellow sticker on their car. Drivers 65 and older have a red and yellow sticker on their car.

If you're in an accident with either of the aforementioned?

Yes, you're getting it!

It's YOUR FAULT!

Oh yeah, did I mention the steering wheel is on the right side, the controls are reversed and we drive on the left side of the road?

It's gonna be a long three years...

We want a real pizza!

2008-08-05T23:00:00.002+09:00

Last night we had our first pizza on Okinawa. Wah! We want to come home!! This place is called Pizza House. One would think upon entering that one would see pizza on the menu. Is that too far off? Well, sure they had pizza. It was a tiny little menu on the wall to the right. We went with the large "everything" pizza to find that large was the size of a dinner plate and "everything" meant a piece of pepperoni, 3 canned mushrooms, a sliver of salami, several tiny onion pieces and 6 little things they called bell peppers. What?! It's not like they don't have at least 2 Pizza Huts on the island but we thought (our first mistake) that we would try something different. My advice? Stick with what you know.

After the appetizer-sized pizza we went in search of the perfect dairy dessert. Well, I had forgotten that one little ice cream place was a good mile walk down from the hotel. Ixnay that trip. We ended up going to Lawson Station which is basically a 7-Eleven. Of course, everything in it is Japanese. The only thing that wasn't in Japanese was Haagen-Dazs and that's just some nonsensical word that's supposed to look Scandinavian they came up with to sell ice cream that doesn't even mean anything! After perusing the little store where you can get your fireworks on the stand next to the ice cream freezer we decided to look around a little more. Do you know you can get squid tentacles in a plastic package? Just like beef jerky! I'm not saying that's what it tastes like. I'm just saying that's how it's packaged.

My pick for the trip was "Royal Milk Tea". Hmm. I figured since it had "Coca-Cola Company" and PET on it that it couldn't be all that bad. And...it's not. It's different. It does have 100% on the front. For all that means there could be 100% Okinawan alcohol in it! I hope not. I'd have to send Lonnie out for some Okinawan aspirin. No tellin' what he'd come back with. At least this stuff tastes better than that dead cow water they have in Tennessee. Whoo! You leave the table for one minute and when you come back? Well...it's bad. Just ask my uncle Glenn. Haha!

Hey you! We've got Au!

2008-08-04T19:30:00.001+09:00

So, in order to keep up with the rest of the world...we now have cell phones! It's not like it matters to any of you reading this. You all have access to the Vonage number; thereby saving you many, many yen. Cell phone service here is different than in "the States". Believe it or not, all incoming calls are FREE. I still don't understand that. We didn't get the basic plan which gives you 25 (that's TWENTY-FIVE) minutes. We went one step above that and we each have 62 minutes per phone. We're paying about $ 24/month for both phones. Yeah. I said...it's different!

There are 3 cell phone services that we've seen here on the island. Our cell service is Au...pronounced A-U. I think instead of copying Verizon's catchy line, "can you hear me now?" they went with Au since it sounds like "hey you!". Seemed plausible to me. At least I can come up with something for that. If you think you can do better then please...let me know what you come up with for SoftBank and DoCoMo.

There's a new angel in heaven!

2008-08-03T15:30:00.009+09:00

Upon returning for the day I checked my inbox to find a shocking email. A good friend from Mosaic Hampton Roads, Conrad Porter, died Saturday morning apparently from a massive heart attack. He just turned 50 this year. He leaves behind his wife Esther, son Remy and daughter Mia. Conrad was an elder of the church and a wonderful Christian man. No news could have shocked us more. If you have a moment, please remember the Porter family.

This was June 29, 2008 at the commissioning ceremony Mosaic had for us on our last Sunday. An elder of the church prayed over each one of us. Conrad prayed over Jenna.

To our Mosaic family - We know there's nothing we can do from such a great distance but prayer is everything! If there is anything we could do to help from here, please let us know. We miss each and every one of you.

More things I know for sure...

2008-08-02T16:00:00.000+09:00

1) It didn't take as long as I thought for us to be in an accident! I saw the whole thing! We were in the parking lot backing out and this orange van (neatly parked in its own space and stationary as the Statue of Liberty) just jumped right out and rammed into the back of us. True story. Any further elaboration on the subject may result in familial tension lasting up to 3 years. But, shhh!...I wasn't the one driving.

2) If you don't have flip flops or sandals...you don't need to be here.

3) It's really not necessary to wear 6 inch heels to the beach. Seen it at a festival dozens of times. Enough said.

4) It's best to keep your eyes and mouth shut when you're on the beach and the winds kick up. Sand does not discriminate what orifices it wishes to inhabit.

5) It's unreasonable to wear a jacket, gloves, hat, and jeans when it's pushing 90 degrees. Seen it. Still don't believe it.

6) You really can get the gist of a Japanese children's show even when you don't know what they're saying.

7) If you bow and smile a lot...everything will be okay.

8) Pasta dishes are the only good things that come out of a hotel kitchenette. There'll be no gumbo-making day during this stay! Spaghetti with Ragu...Hamburger Helper... The only thing that would make cooking more difficult in this room is if I had to make my own fire with flint rock and a hatchet. I feel like I'm taking Pioneer Cooking 101: Kitchenette Kuisine - no prerequisite required. During this course you will learn to feed your family...one noodle at a time.

9) I'm glad we got out of L.A. before the earthquakes hit. Whew!

10) When we're awake...you're SLEEPING!

Blue Angel: A Honda Odyssey

2008-08-01T09:00:00.000+09:00

A few days ago we looked at Vehicle #2, a 1996 Honda Odyssey which, heretofore, shall be called MY car. Unlike the minivan version today the 1996 looks much more like a car. It drives a lot like a car. Well, who am I to say? I haven't driven anything here yet. It is in outstanding shape! The cars here are unbelievable. If you didn't know it was a 1996 you would swear it's a 2006. It's in such great shape.

The owners are leaving Okinawa after a 3 year tour cut short. The woman we spoke with said they were leaving this month after being here just one year. Her husband just got picked up for the Blue Angels. HELLO?! Do any of you know how much I LOVE the Blue Angels?! And, if you don't have you not been paying attention?! I asked if he is a Marine...he is. The Blue Angels are the U.S. Naval Flight Demonstration Squadron but there are also Marines on the team. Am I smart, or what? Actually, he would've had to be a Marine since there's no naval air station here. He's going to be flying Fat Albert...the Blue Angels' C-130. You can check that out at http://www.blueangels.com/. It's a pretty impressive plane. The only thing cooler than this would be if the guy was the opposing solo or the Boss. Hey...I'll take what I can get!

It's a funny thing. Lonnie's Honda Accord was previously owned by NLU's basketball coach, Mike Vining and now MY car from one of the Blue Angels! Ooh-rah!

Fruit bats, muriatic acid and mini-vans, oh my!

2008-07-30T19:10:00.002+09:00

Last night we were out in the parking lot and our first fruit bat came flying by. I can't let that go without the proper description so, again, after consulting Wikipedia I came up with this...

Don't let the name "fruit bat" fool you. Ordinarily, when you hear "fruit bat" you think tiny. Well, there's another name for this little cutie...it's called a "flying fox" or, more specifically...Ryukyu Flying Foxes of Kuchinoerabu. That should give you a pretty good idea about the size. Yep. He's a big 'un! They have wingspans of up to 35 inches. When it locates food, the flying fox "crashes" into foliage and grabs for it. It may also attempt to catch hold of small children with its hind feet, then swing them upside down — once attached and hanging, the fox draws food to its mouth with one of its hind feet or with the clawed thumbs at the top of its wings. After a bit of problem-solving I decided to super glue 5lb. weights in Jenna's sandals so the bats won't carry her off. Just a bit of dramatic license for the readers. Truthfully, Wikipedia says they catch hold of branches but...I thought that would be too boring.

I wish I would've had the camera last night. It was amazing! I mean what do you do when you see something coming at you the size of the Navy's newest strike fighter and it whizzes past your ear? Well...you gotta respect that.

Orientation today was LONG. The bus picked us up at 0600 and we got back at 1830. It was a 12 1/2 hour day. Unbearable. Painful. Torturous! So much so, I liken it to the pain one would feel when pouring muriatic acid directly on one's eyeballs. Anybody and Everybody spoke. Things would've gone faster had Nobody spoke. At least it was only one day.

Tomorrow we should have a...I can't say it...don't make me...ugh!...a MINI-VAN!! I'm going to be a MINI-VAN mama...two times over! We're looking at another one. If we get both of them it will be less than $4,000...total...for BOTH. Can't beat it! One is a Toyota Lucida and the other one is also something else you've never heard of. Tomorrow we also pick up our Japanese driver's licenses. We took the test yesterday and it was in Japanese! Boy was it tough reading all of those Kanjis! Nah...it was in English. It was easier than expected. Now, having passed the test, that makes us "professional drivers". Isn't that what those Formula One guys are? Could I drive one of them there fancy VEE-hickles now?

Housing...you'll like it...or else!!

2008-07-29T19:00:00.002+09:00

Well, who in the world would've known we would be so welcomed into Okinawa? I mean, they really didn't have to go to all of that trouble for the fireworks display this past weekend!

Actually, this weekend was the 22th (and I REALLY mean 22 with a TH) Seaport Chatan Festival. Sometimes the Japanese get a little lost in translation. There were some dragon boat races on Sunday. I wish I could tell you how wonderful they were but...the races were one of the most boring things we've ever been to.

It appears that we live on Okinawa in Chatan (chah tawn) which is a village. There are 12 military installations on the island and Marines roam here freely. They are EVERYWHERE! The Naval Hospital is on Camp Lester which is probably where we'll end up with housing. On Thursday we're going to look at the unit. I don't know why. We pretty much have to take it. Just wait until I post pictures of this mansion. Whoo-ee! It's a bunker. Built to stand the test of time. Able to withstand typhoons. Guaranteed to cause clinical depression. But, more on that later!

Doctor fish? Oki Doki...

2008-07-27T19:50:00.004+09:00

Today we stopped by this little spa where for $13.00 and 10 minutes of your time you can do this...

These little guys are Garra Rufa or "doctor fish".

The are found in Turkey in hot springs...not Arkansas.

They nibble off the dead skin cells on your feet.

Cleopatra was known to have used these fish to help keep her skin beautiful.

Let's talk ticklish.

If your feet are ticklish like mine, you're going to freak out in the beginning. After a few minutes it wasn't so bad...until they started going in between my toes.

The fish provide what is called an infrasonic massage.

So...how do my feet look?

You have to hand it to Wikipedia to give a great definition for such an odd activity!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_fish

Our 10th anniversary...could be worse...ary!

2008-07-26T09:30:00.000+09:00

I know. I know. Bad joke! It's July 25th...our 10th anniversary. I'm not exactly sure when we were supposed to recognize it with the time change and everything. There's nothing like having an anniversary dinner of spaghetti made in a tiny kitchenette. I'm not sure what we're going to be eating here in the room. Hopefully, we'll get a house sooner rather than later.

I'll have to post some pictures of the bathtub here. If you are an average-sized person and want to take a bath it would be perfect if you prefer your knees touching your chin. It's so small! The pipes look like an afterthought. We have a toilet named Toto. LOL Actually, the sink is too.

Soon after getting here we tried to work the remote controls for the air conditioners. I say 'air conditioners' because there is a unit in every room. It's not a window unit...just one on the wall. So, the problems begin shortly after picking up the remote. We fiddled around and set it to the perfect temperature. A few minutes later I realized it would've been the perfect temperature for ANTARCTICA. My interpretation of Kanji characters being what it is did not allow me to decipher them correctly. So, we had to deal with the heater for awhile.

Tomorrow I tackle the washing machine. There are 5 English words on it and one is SANYO. I have no idea how to run it. Maybe someone should start a pool to see what our clothes are going to look like the first time I wash them. :)

We made it!

2008-07-26T07:15:00.004+09:00

It's Saturday, July 26th at 0630 here in Okinawa. If you're on the East coast it's 1740. Central time is 1640.

We're still working out the bugs with the time change. We were awake at 0430. Poor little Jenna slept from noon-1930, had dinner and was back in bed by 2100. She was up when we were this morning.

Anyone who watches Oprah knows she always asks her guests this question. "What do you know for sure?"

Well, here's what I know for sure...

1) The peephole in the door is WAY too low. Even I have to bend down to see out of it.

2) I can't read the Japanese Kanji characters on the A/C remotes or the washing machine.

3) The cabinets are way too high. I have to get on a chair to get in them. Low peephole. High cabinets. I don't get it.

4) The bathtub is the size of the bowl I had my cereal in this morning.

5) The mamasans will bustle through the door before you even know they're there.

6) A three bedroom, 1 bath lodge/motel room with kitchenette can be cleaned by two mamasans in less than 4 minutes FLAT! That is not an exaggeration.

7) And, my daughter is a clown. She's sitting on the couch saying, "Let's rock this clubhouse. Get to it!" and now..."I'm gonna rock this hotel!" I don't know where she gets this stuff. New material every day. Next thing I know she's going to be saying, "Thank you! I'll be here all week!"

A little sun...a little SeaWorld

2008-07-22T21:30:00.005+09:00

Today we went to SeaWorld in San Diego. Now my visits to all SeaWorlds are complete! This was the last one I needed to go to. I've been to the ones in Orlando and San Antonio several times...now this one.

So, on the way to SeaWorld we stopped in Oceanside at Denny's for breakfast. Lonnie asked if they had a military discount. The cashier said there was no charge. There was a man in the restaurant who wished to remain anonymous that was picking up the checks for military members. Wow! That was so nice! And, the anonymity makes it intriguing.

It's off to bed for another early start in the morning. Tomorrow is the "big day". And, big in a lot of ways. It's a big move out of the country and it's a big trip...an entire day. It's also a BIG LONG WAY OVER THE OCEAN!! Whew! Tomorrow we cross the International Date Line.

We're off!

2008-07-21T22:00:00.008+09:00

Yesterday we drove to Atlanta to spend the night. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 0730. We had to be there 90 minutes before to check in our SIX just-shy-of-70 lb. bags, the 3 of us and...the cat.

This morning found the 3 of us standing at the security checkpoint with Mom & Dad. After a tearful goodbye and a prayer for the road...or sky in our case...we were off. The flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles was about 4 1/2 hours.

We arrived in L.A. around 0900, picked up our bags and went to the curb so we could immediately get on the wrong hotel shuttle to drive us around a little piece of LAX. Fortunately, the driver was able to drop us at the right place. Who would've known there's more than one Sheraton so close to the airport!

Several hours later we met our friend, Kunwar (who was in the Navy when we were at Great Lakes) and his son, Ronak. We went to the Santa Monica Promenade and then drove up to Malibu. Later that evening we had some South Indian food and went to Venice Beach...more or less to check out the local um, colorful people.