Sushi. Sushi. Sushi.

Ok, so you would think that we would have eaten a ton of sushi by now, but we really haven't.  There has been the quick sushi lunches from the commissary that you would find in a store like Byerly's or Whole Foods back home, but that's about it (which was still awesome). There has been an abundance of sticky rice, however and other amazing food that we needed to experience!
Tonight, we finally went to a real sushi place called "Sushi Minami" and it was deeeelicious.
The owner lived in L.A. for 7 years and ran a sushi place - so we had an idea this was going to pretty good.  A local, who lived in LA, who knows his sushi.  Done.

the back room - true style

my favorite - eel.

Tony's favorite was the baked salmon. 

the Sake was good, too :)

My Kindergarten Class

Yes, you read that right.  As of last Thursday - I am a Kindergarten teacher at Santa Monica International school here in Okinawa.  It's been quite the week!

About 3 weeks ago I submitted my resume to a bunch of schools around here thinking that I could potentially work as an aide, teach english, PE - or something along those lines.  Last Thursday I got a call at 11am from Santa Monica asking if I would be interesting in coming in at 2pm that day for an interview.  Without hesitation, I agreed.  The interview went well and at 4:45pm I was offered the job.  Now you're probably wondering how in the world this is all happening.

No, I do not have an education degree - but apparently you don't need one here.  I do have a bachelor's degree and a whole lot of experience in (tennis) lesson planning, preparing activities, communicating with children and their parents, etc...however, NOT an education background.  After accepting the position I wondered what I got myself into!  More importantly, what I got the kids into!!!

Here are my REAL thoughts about it all.  I am excited for the challenge, but I have great feelings about our system back in the states.  As I know I will do a fine job, it's also a fact that I would NEVER get this job back in the states without the required degree.  Rightfully so - and all more confidence I and you, the reader, should have in our education back home.  Thinking about this for the entire weekend I started to doubt myself...but realized that if my kids had a teacher with the energy and love I have for kids and education of all sorts, I would be confident he/she would be in good hands.

That being said, I feel great being a teacher.  I love kids, I love when I can "see" the lightbulb go off whether that's on the tennis court - and now, in the classroom.  I am an organized person and enjoy the good feeling I have when leaving work knowing I did the best I could.. because that's all I have.

Today was my first day and it went very well.  I think I set the tone that I can be fun and very serious all in the same day.  I hope I captured their respect from the get-go!  There was a whole lot of nose blowing, water spilling (we eat lunch in the classroom - no cafeteria).. tattling, some crying, same questions asked by the same person about 12 times in 2 minutes, "Samantha, pay attention" about a million times, "Saburo, what is rule #1 on the board!!! FOLLOW DIRECTIONS QUICKLY!!!" about 50 times today... the list goes on and on :)  oh - and the first thing I did when I got home tonight? Washed my hands and took a shower :)

Tony is very excited that I am staying busy these days ;).. not too fun going to work while I'm sitting at home all day, I'm sure!  I know he felt bad, but now we are both so busy and I foresee our weeknights ending a bit earlier than before - and reeeeally looking forward to the weekend :)  He has been absolutely amazing with the support he's shown for the overwhelming feelings I've been having over the last week.  Another reminder as to why I married this guy.

That is all for now.  I'm sure I will be venting about the rugrats every now and then on the blog :0)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLnkBejl278&list=HL1379414430&feature=mh_lolz

not sure if this will work - but it's a short video clip of some of the kids dancing in the classroom after school today! (might need to copy and paste the link above - haven't figured all this out yet...)

the pretty cute view I have from my desk!!!

Our stuff is here!!!

So we have been anxiously awaiting our 3000lb shipment of our stuff for a while and on Monday I got an email saying that it officially made it to Japan!!  We got rid of our temporary Gov furniture on Thursday and the movers dropped off our household goods on Friday.  As you can see from the pics below it was a disaster right away but we are getting pretty good at this moving thing.  After about 15 hours of setup we feel very at home!  Our stuff fits well with the layout and size of the house and that is a huge relief.  Also below are some pics that I cannot remember if I have sent or Tara instagramed.

This is pretty much the forecast all the time.  The temps do not vary much at all, there is always a chance of rain, and 91 is "feels like 108" once the humidity is factored in.  Should be cooling down soon.

Ice cream is a huge thing out here which is great news.  This picture is shaved cream I believe...not bad but not our favorite.  But Tara and I have found a great place down the road that serves sea salt caramel (sea salt is made on sight) with a great view of the ocean.  It's our Sunday thing.

Tara's 05 Dihatsu Move (660cc!!) works well for bopping around the island.

My 05 Honda Fit.  Both cars get great gas mileage (41.2 last tank on mine) and gas has stayed at about $3.50 a gallon on base here.  My commute is 16 miles but because of the low speed limit it takes 25-30 mins.  I don't mind because 90% of that I can see either the East China Sea or Pacific Ocean. 

Near the #6 teebox at Taiyo Golf Course I saw a decent sized spider and made my boss put his hand close for a picture!  If he would have trusted me you would have seen it was larger than his hand.  It is a golden orb spider or banana spider depending on who you talk to...it is poisonous but not deadly. 

Great meal from a tiny restaurant a mile from our house.  No lie, some of the best pork I have ever had!

Movers

Hopefully this is the last time we do this for a while.

Tons of trash and because it is a small island there are a ton of rules to getting rid of it.

Starting to get there!  We bought a new table and chairs but it wont be here for a few weeks.

I think the plant count is somewhere in the 20's already!

We got a new tempurpedic mattress but no box spring yet (waiting on stuff seems to be very normal on the island).

Home Sweet Home

Looking over my shoulder

A small reaction (or lack thereof) I've been having during my runs in Japan

Growing up in small town of Decorah, we never truly worried about our safety.  Unless it was the one-armed amish man or Wesley Omens, I never thought twice about locking doors, running at night, etc.  I remember my greatest runs were at 10:30pm during the college days.  No one was out, it was quiet, peaceful, and safe.

Then there was Minneapolis.  Without knowing otherwise, I brought my small town, naive, self to the city.  I remember for the first month I was there (at least) I would forget to lock my doors to my car and to my apartment.  It just wasn't something I ever had to remember growing up!  But the first night I decided to go for a summer night run around Lake Calhoun...just about everything changed.  For the better I guess. Not only did I get an uneasy feeling on that run, but a couple months later I heard there was a shooting around Calhoun and then later on that year, a woman beaten down while running alone near the neighborhood I was living.  Boy, what a change.  So I started locking my doors, running in the daylight around populated areas, and running with a friend on the trails.

Years later, I moved to Murrieta, CA.  One of the safest cities in the country (I read it in some article) --
Great...now I could run at night or do trails on my own.... Granted, I don't think I would do night runs by myself to this day no matter where I live, but even in Murrieta I could have.  Often times during the afternoons, before Tony would get home from work, I would run the trails near our house.  Every time I would pass by someone, I would hold my breath a little and always look behind me after I passed by (just in case they were running after me?) I don't know - but that's the truth.  After 5 months of living in one of the safest areas in the country, I hear on the news that on the SAME path I had been running on for months, there was a stabbing.  Great, there goes that.

Now, I live in Okinawa, Japan - and this is why I wanted to write this blog.  Behind our house, down towards the water, we have a beautiful road (hardly traveled on) that is snuggled between fields and trees.  It is a good run and easy to navigate - and very, very pretty.  After the first week of being here, I realized something that I haven't felt since leaving Decorah.  I felt safe.  I pass by people that practically bow to me, saying hello (In Japanese, of course).. and I never, ever turn my back wondering if they're going to chase after me.

So this is why I hear of so many families with kids asking to come back here for another 3 years.  It's safe and they never have to worry about anything.  Guns are not allowed on the island and the people are just simply nice.  Now, I won't be naive (truly, mom) but there is something to be said that I don't have the feeling to crank my neck around to see "just in case"



PS. Minneapolis is still my favorite city in the world.  Just to clarify ;)

What's been going on.....

The Organic Cafe that I have NOT visited yet.  But apparently the fresh ginger ale and breads are unreal!

Yomitan Pottery Village.  This is what I was very excited for - rightfully so.  The pottery is beautifully done and I was able to scope out what I really wanted to spend the money on.  There are some things that are reasonable, but others that are super pricey.  I told Tony I was going to get the nice(r) things, but just fewer of them!  

Loved the mugs on the upper right.  $25/mug

there were about 5 of these types of buildings all in a small village...

FUN!!!!!

a different view from the first picture

where it all happens

There was also a glass making part of the village that was really neat to see.  This is what I would call a homemade gym they must use on their breaks :)

sorry this picture is small and the following ones....

If you look closely, you can see a guy working in there.  Man, that must be hot!

All the glass they are using!

The shop

This is beautiful church just down the road from our house.  I'm almost certain its use is mainly for weddings.  There is a banquet hall on either end of it.  It was breathtaking.  We were able to snorkel just down the beach from this!

Tony spotting out a good spot to snorkel!  This photo has been through an insta-gram filter FYI.  

But this wasn't - the water is so clear!

After a day of shopping for snorkel gear, we were SO psyched to get out on the water!  Apparently we were having a small typhoon... 40mph winds and a fair amount of rain.  It was crazy!  So we went down to the beach anyways -with wine- juuuuust in case we couldn't get in the water.  Which is exactly what we ended up doing.

Vegetation of Okinawa

So we have had a couple of great days learning about all the plants, flowers, fruits, and vegetables.  It has been an interesting process as we are not sure what many things are - or more importantly, how to take care of them!  We found a lot of wonderful places in Yomitan where we can get  our plants.  Saturday morning we found a great greenhouse down the road.  The gentleman was very kind and even gave me a couple extra flowers as a "present" (1 of the 5 english words in his vocabulary :)  The plants we bought sure make our place feel more like home...considering we have very little things of our own in this house!

This morning I decided to help Tony in the backyard.  He has been working a bit everyday since we have been here, pulling weeds, raking, etc.  It was very therapeutic (as Tony would say) to do this - and it made a huge difference.  For such a small yard, we have taken out a whole lot of unneeded brush!  As we both know the yard won't be perfect - it will be rewarding to at least try to get it to a healthy point!

Yesterday, we went to the market down the street.  I was a wee disappointed only because of the prices... We got some fun things, but I was surprised that we spent $8 for what we got.  All ok though - it's convenient to grab an onion, carrots, or whatever we need for dinner.  Speaking of high prices - at the commissary (grocery store on base) a 24pk of water is about $3.50 or so (similar to prices back home). We saw a 24pk of water at a store in town for $13!!!  No wonder we were told during the newcomer's brief that it is forbidden to buy things for the locals at the commissary.  Apparently, they all ask a military guy/gal to buy them beer, water, or whatever they can at the commissary because the prices are so much better!

That is all for now.  Enjoy some pics!

This orchid we did not get.  I guess we have other things to buy and save for rather than to splurge on a $300 orchid - but WOW it was BEAUTIFUL!

This is the small greenhouse we went to by our house to get our plants for the house.  It was incredibly hot that day - and of course borderline unbearable inside this place!

couple of our plants (and new pot!)

Working in our yard - you can't see it, but it looks a million times better!  This is 1/149342937423 of the reason why I love my husband so much.  He's amazing at this kind of stuff.  And gets me motivated!

cleaning up!

Hello brightness.  The passionfruit was so delicious...and to be honest, I'm not sure what the other fruit is (but it was good)  I don't think I cut it the right way - but if any of you readers have an idea of what it is, let us know!

The American in Yomitan Village tells all

Ok Bachelor/Bachelorette fans (or closet ones) this blog title is for you :)

I was going to wait until after our long weekend to post some pictures and give an update, but I have a feeling this weekend will require about 4 blog posts to fit it all in!

I thought I would share exactly how I have been feeling since the day I got here.  No filter, unless of course any swear words that may better describe the feelings.

When Tony picked me up from the airport, we took a different way home and went through downtown.  First reaction? dirty. yuck. no thanks.  As every city has it's own "rough" side to it, I felt like the whole downtown was this way.  Luckily, I know that the island is incredibly safe - so that part I had no issue with.  The further we got on the drive (keep in mind it was dark) the better I started to feel.  When we got home, one of the first things I said to Tony is "what is that weird building in the front of our house???" IT'S UGLY and I hope it leaves.  (it's someone's home by the way - so it isn't leaving anytime soon ;)

Now - that was the first 2-3 hours of my initial reaction to Okinawa and it was in the dark.  Things have changed since then... "then" being only 5 days ago!

When I first saw the place in the daylight, I was a bit surprised that we actually did live in an "upscale" neighborhood.  You wouldn't think so at a first glance, but here is why.  The salt water has done a number on the exteriors of EVERY single building on Okinawa.  No wonder it all looks run down!  The typhoons are pretty fierce and there's no possible way to keep up with painting every building.  I can appreciate that.  Our neighborhood (Yomitan Village) is very nice after you begin to accept that fact.  The houses are unique, most are taken care of, and the location is unbeatable.

We are exactly a 7minute walk to the East China Sea.  Between our house and the water there is 1 row of houses and then fields.  I love the fields.  The farmers are always down there, with a small tractor or just on their hands and knees (I seriously don't know how they do it in this heat) and best of all, there is a quiet traveled road between the water and the fields for us to run on.  It is perfect.  Last night I went for the greatest run, ocean to the right, fields to the left, sunset above.  I felt blessed.

Overall, I am very happy here.  Like I said in the beginning of this post, once you can get over the look of the outside of the buildings... this place is a gem.  The people are unbelievably friendly.  For example, when you give a sales clerk your credit card so they can swipe, they return the credit card back to you with two hands, very delicately - and look you in the eyes and say "thank you"
Everything is like that.

One last thing I want to mention is how relaxed the island life really is.  You always hear it...but now I know it.  After 5 days of being here,  I have felt the slow pace life and it's so refreshing.  I can't imagine how I am going to feel after 3 years being here.  Of course there will be times I am going to miss the downtown Mpls life, the bars, the shopping, etc. but this is good right now.  Keeps me grounded.

Here are a few pictures from my run last night around our village.  It will give you a better idea of what it's like.  I am sure there will be more pictures to come!  I didn't get a good shot of the fields, really - and it was getting dark so they didn't come out as well as I had hoped.

Not sure what they are planting here - but it was pretty to run next to and felt a bit like home :)

who they heck knows what this says - I'm guessing either a sign for a business or a random street sign at the corner by our house

from the end of this rock to our front door step: 7mn walk

one of the houses that had beautiful landscape. A block from our house on the next side street over

A hotel about 2 miles down from us.  This is the entrance - to the hotel and to the water.  Haven't been down there yet..but looked like a good spot to catch the sunset!

Vending machines are randomly placed on Okinawa.  At least I won't ever go thirsty on a run!  Just have to make sure to bring some money with me!  There are a couple around that act as landmarks for me - so I know where to turn!

Who the heck knows. But this is the kind of stuff we see daily.