Kiya!

At the beginning of March, Adam started taking karate.  This is, after all, Okinawa - the actual birthplace of karate - so how could we leave here without someone actually learning the art?  We just had to wait until he was old enough to take a class.  So every Tuesday and Thursday night we head down the street about two blocks to the Youth Center and Adam takes on the role of karateka, learning Shorei-Goju karate.  While he was very excited about starting the class, I was perhaps a little more excited.  I had visions of a very intimidating Japanese Sensei scaring the daylight out of Adam, turning him into an obedient, disciplined version of himself, who would be able to ward off any bully (let's face it - between his father and myself in our youth, he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of being anything but scrawny).  I thought my problems would be solved for $45 a month.

Well, the Sensei is not Japanese.  And he's also not very intimidating.  In fact, the kids laugh at him more than anything.  It didn't take Adam very long to figure out that his normal M.O. of playing "class clown" would work out just fine here.  So that's the role he played.  I tried to be patient, thinking the discipline that other kids showed would somehow rub off on him.  But after the first month, I wasn't so sure.  So I asked him if he wanted to learn karate, to which he professed that he did.  But, still, the behavior stunk.  He was the first of any student to get called into the "time-out" position - a high plank.  He was constantly asked questions to which he didn't know the answer.  He could never stand still.  I never even bothered taking my camera because this was standard.  He started complaining that the class was boring because all they did was learn stances, so I explained the importance of the stances.  He still didn't seem interested, yet always protested when I told him we were going to stop taking the class.  I was at my wit's end.  Two nights a week, I have to be ahead of the game enough to either have dinner in the crock pot by 10 a.m. or start preparing it by 4:30 for it to be ready at 5:30 so we can walk out the door at 6:00 to watch Adam act like a fool by 6:15.  I'd had it.  To top it off, he had a test looming sometime in the near future for his White belt.  He had to memorize all 15 stances to earn it.  He knew about six.  Or so I thought...

Two Thursdays ago, we did our normal routine and got to karate right on time.  For some reason that day, I figured I should take the camera and maybe catch him in a few moments of actual obedience and effort.  But that night, Alan had to work late so he never made it to karate and I was left with not only observing Adam, but keeping Thing 1 and Thing 2 from disturbing every karate, gymnastics, dance, piano and guitar class going on in the building that night.  I didn't get a single picture of Adam.  Not that there seemed to be one to take, as I constantly heard Sensei yelling his name while I chased the Things around.  I didn't figure he did well.  Then, right before the end of class, he had everyone sit down.  Then he started calling out a few names, telling them to stand up.  I heard him call Adam's name (he actually said "This kills me...Adam", so I turned my attention to the dojo.  I looked around, confused, at the group of kids standing at attention...I couldn't figure out why he had chosen these nine kids to stand.  Adam and two others were the usual suspects, but then there were some others who were always on top of things.  What was up?  The next thing Sensei said made me drop my jaw (and almost Anaya): "These nine kids have just earned their White belt!" 

WHAT??  ANAYA, GET DOWN!  I HAVE TO TAKE A PICTURE!!

I could not believe it!  I guess he was listening, after all.  That's kind of scary, actually, that he can clown around and still semi-know what's going on.  He's not perfect and there is a lot of room for improvement, but he's one step closer.  The following class, they received their belts.  Here he is, just after having it tied on:

I love that clown.  We'll try one more month, I guess.

     

It Better Be The Great Pumpkin

That's about $25 a pumpkin.  We can't afford Halloween in Okinawa.

*I know you're thinking that this is really lame, since I haven't posted anything since September 17th.  I'm working on a few posts (Adam's 5th Birthday, Twins Update, Tokyo adventure, an amazing FREE concert we went to...), so they're coming soon!  I know you're on pins and needles.*

Thirsty?

One of the first things we noticed when we arrived in Okinawa was that there were a lot of vending machines.  A lot.  You can find them everywhere you go, and they are stocked full of anything you might want.  Water, juice, soda?  Check.  Coffee?  Hot or cold?  Milk or no milk added?  No matter what - Check!  Tea?  What flavor?  Hot or cold?  Check!  Juice with actual bits of fruit floating in it?  Check!  When my Mom was here, she loved trying all the different coffees.  Since then, we've grown accustomed to the convenience of the vending machine.  I actually enjoy some of the hot coffees and one tea in particular, and Adam has gotten adventurous, trying a few different juices.  These machines are not only found in common, public places, but often on the side of the road.  And it doesn't even have to be near a business!  Literally on the side of a road, all by itself!  Sometimes, they're just on the sidewalk, right outside the front door of a home!  I decided to snap a few pictures over the last couple of months of interesting vending machines we saw.  Here's what I've got so far:

These three pictures are a few that I see just between the base gate and Adam's school (probably about a mile, and only on two roads)

(those two above are actually right across the street from each other)

So easy, a four-year-old can do it!

 One is hardly ever enough - they like variety!

Literally in the middle of nowhere.  How is it even plugged in??

(Kudos to my friend, Amanda, for this pic!  We actually saw one like this driving out to Miyagi Island, but it was before I had the desire to snap pictures, so I'm glad Amanda did!)

In an abandoned parking lot.  I guess the guests of that hotel could walk on over for a coffee...

Again, nothing around but the road...

Another abandoned lot along a road... 

Again - where's the power?  Judging by the lean on this one, Songda probably relocated it.

For the shopper who really wants options - this was in the corner of a random parking lot:

Along a road - the cement structure appears to have been built for the sole purpose of housing the

vending machine. 

If you haven't had the urge to try a drink yet, then maybe this will help:  BOSS Coffee is endorsed by the one and only Tommy Lee Jones

 

What a year!

One year ago today we arrived on this Rock.  An exhausted family of three and our dog.  My, what a year it has been!  We've seen things we never thought we would see in our life.  We've experienced the uniqueness that is this island, but still have so much more to do.  We've dipped our toes in the East China Sea, as well as the Pacific Ocean from this end.  We celebrated the holidays here, with new friends and Air Force family.  We delivered twins!  We've learned a little Japanese (arigato gozaimaaaaaasu!).  We've shopped in Japanese grocery stores, kids stores, department stores and furniture stores and we've fallen in love with the Japanese style of karaoke.  We eat the food and drink the drinks and have rice a lot more often than we ever have.  We have chopsticks in our silverware drawer.  We know to dial 0071 to call our family.  We no longer accidentally walk to the left side of the car to drive and we no longer turn on the windshield wipers when we're looking for the blinker.  Driving on the left side of the road is now second-nature.  Recently, Alan and I became scuba-certified and have completed four dives, witnessing the amazing beauty that is our underwater world.  My mom lived here for THREE MONTHS!  Alan ran a marathon in a country that wasn't America.  We have made great friends (a few of them have even been aggies!), and have had to bid a few farewell...only until we meet again.  We've been through a typhoon and a major earthquake (and a tsunami, if it even counts).  We've jumped on-board with the Okinawan obsession with vending machines (seriously, people, you even use a vending machine to order food at some restaurants!).  We've learned which online shopping sites ship to APOs and which do not.  We've learned that the early bird catches the worm at the BX and Commissary (even if you have to buy your seasonal stuff three months early).  We've learned to get used to those bats flying overhead, but still don't appreciate close encounters.  We've learned the feeling of loneliness, though, too.  Although we know we have each other and our Air Force family, nothing replaces our families and friends we've left behind.  We wish we were sharing all of these experiences with all of you.  Nothing replaces that quick phone call or that last-minute decision to meet for lunch or drinks.  Nothing replaces holidays with your family and nothing replaces missing the birth of your best friends' babies.  Although we have loved this year and we look forward to the time we still have left here, we always miss home and the feeling that home gives you.  In celebration of our time here, I give you this year, in pictures.

Our first Thanksgiving here:

Our first Christmas here:

My Mom arrived!

The twins are one month old!

Springtime in Okinawa:

My 31st birthday:

Our first formal event here:

Alan's birthday:

Rosie's first pedi:

The Air Force Birthday Ball:

Start of SCUBA class and Spouses' Dining In:

What?  You were expecting a different sort of "year in pictures"?  There are only 11 works of art here - number 12 comes tomorrow - my "One year anniversary" pedi.  So excited!  Seriously, though, it has been a great year and we are excited for our next year here and the adventures it will bring.  We know our time here will pass quickly and we hope we leave with no regrets. 

Adam's about to be home from preschool and he'll want a snack.  Just before he eats it he'll say, as he does before he eats anything, "ducky mas," which should be "itadaki masu" (the "u" is silent).  I can only hope that one day he is able to recognize how lucky he was when he was four.

Konnichiwa!

Do it Like the Germans Do

Who would have thought that the tiny Japanese island of Okinawa could throw one awesome beer fest?  Well, they do!  And the timing was perfect, because no one needed to cut loose more than us last week.  Orion Beer Fest 2010 was last weekend and we decided to check it out.  Orion is a beer brewed here on the island and is damn good - this coming from a picky beer-drinker.  The best part of all?  The festival was just outside Gate 2, which is walking distance from our house.  We got a little exercise on the way there because we followed a bunch of people who ended up going the long way (someone in our group may or may not have "mooed" along the way), but it's all good.

When we first arrived, it looked more like a carnival than a beer festival.  There were games and food and just a tiny, little keg of beer that was way too expensive to have been at a beer festival.  But since everything was written in Japanese and the great majority of the people there were Japanese, we just had to go with it.  We figured we'd spend the yen we brought and make the best of it.  Here we are shortly after arriving, with our expensive beer:

We wandered around for a while, looking at the food and games and Eisa drummers doing their thing.  Here is a picture of one of the food booths.  I'm pretty sure it says something like, "Fried Rice, Yakisoba, Mystery Meat...Cheaper if you can read this - we gouge Americans - don't tell them"

We had yakisoba noodles:

Shortly after the noodles, we ran in to some people we knew, who pointed us toward the Beer Fest (As we previously suspected, we were not there, but at an Eisa Festival that coincides with it).  Here is Alan, excited to have found it:

Now, we knew we were in the right place because the ground was all dirt - no grass, there was a Japanese band playing rock music, and there were beer booths surrounding the perimeter.  Here we are, upon finding out the beer in here was cheaper.  We appear really happy.  We might have enough yen to last all night, after all!

We met this guy, who pulled a Hangover move.

After the Hangover guy, M and I recognized a Japanese woman we knew!  One of the girls that works at Cocok's, our pedicure place.  Yay!  It's a great feeling to recognize a local out in public.  We didn't get a picture with her, though.  Drat.  We did, however, see these Japanese women in their summer kimonos and ask to take a picture with them...then three of them handed cameras to the guys because they also wanted pictures with us!

The crowd seemed to love the band, and went really crazy when one particular song came on.  I decided to join in a little.  When in Rome...

Here, Michelle and I found "Japanese wine coolers," which were really tasty.  That's what the sign said - "Japanese wine cooler."  However, we have since found out that it is not wine at all, but a "cocktail," with something "like vodka" in it.  No wonder it had some bite!

Here we are, still happy from our "wine coolers"

Orion Beer Fest is a must-do for anyone on Okinawa.  If you plan to visit, do it around Labor Day and go to the festival, take it all in - the food, the music, the people...what an experience.  It really made me step back and take a minute to wonder how I got here?  I'm sure several of the Japanese people were wondering how I got here, too.  Not M, though.  She fits right in ;-)  It was our little version of Oktoberfest, and it was pretty stinkin' fun.  You gotta love you some Orion.  After all, it is "for your happy time"

*Special thanks to TD and MD for their (possibly nonconsensual, but I doubt they'll raise charges) photo contributions