Adventures at Chinuman

We went out to eat last night with Rob and Kim. We decided to try a local restaurant that had been featured in one of the military publications called Chinuman. It was definitely a unique place. We sat in a tatami style "room" surrounded by bamboo bars. The funny thing about dining this way is that Noa always has trouble sitting "criss cross applesauce" (as we say in Kindergarten), so he's always looking for new ways to sit. Here we are in our booth.

Kim decided to order umibudo, or sea grapes, an Okinawan specialty. These were described in the article has giving a "splash of exotic flavor" when you bit into them. We all decided to try it.

I didn't care for them.

Here are some random photos from the evening:

more food: buttered asparagus

Red tuna sushi (left) and eel sushi (right)

Strange menu items

Finally, an amusing Engrish sign on our way out.

Our Peaches

This blog entry is sort of in response in Jess' peach bake-off. I won't be baking many peach cobblers in the near future with prices like these!

It's tough to get seasonal fruits at good prices here. I miss peaches, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, blueberries, and raspberries. I have had watermelon....after paying $10.00 for it.

Okinapa and Eyeballs

This weekend was the semi-annual Okinapa event here in Okinawa. It's a wine tasting event held at one of the Officer Clubs with music, food, and an array of wines. We went last year not knowing too many folks since we were new to the island. This year, however, we had our own crew with which to socialize.
Overall, the wine was good, the food was tasty, but really I'm just happy to get dressed up and have a night to spend with good friends. I did manage to get a few shots of some of the friends there that night (sadly, I didn't get to get a photo of Megs, but she was there too, as were some of my teacher friends from Kinser).

The Guys:

The Girls:

The following day, I developed some sort of allergic reaction to my eye makeup from the previous night* and woke up to some seriously swollen eyelids! It looked like I had been punched in the eye(think of the scene in Hitch when he eats shellfish and has a reaction - it was the same thing, but just on my eyes). However, our fridge and cupboards were very empty and Noa and I simply HAD to make a commissary run regardless of my "golf ball eyes." So, I stuck on my sunglasses at 5:00 pm on a rainy day and headed into the commissary with Noa. I played the diva role and acted like everything was perfectly normal - I even ran into a friend from church! I continued to wear them into the shoppette and Taco Bell. I'm sure I looked ridiculous, but it was necessary. Sorry, but I didn't take a picture. I was too focused on trying to reduce the swelling and then coming up with a plan to hide the scary sight.

Today, they are still slightly puffy, but almost back to normal.

*Yes, I did take off my makeup upon returning home that evening(for those of you who were wondering).

Done, Mostly

Well, almost 3 weeks of work has proven to become an almost complete classroom. I think it's not completely finished because of my it-just-has-to-be-perfect-even-if-it-is-labels-for-extra-clothespins-type of mentality. Still, I'm pleased with the "almost finished" results. The kids start tomorrow and I'm SUPER nervous. I have a much tougher crowd this year in terms of behavioral and learning difficulties.

Since there are so many photos and I'm part of an online teacher forum, I created a Picasa web album to view all the classroom shots. Warning: those of you non-teachers may get bored to tears.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/juliehammer

One Man's Trash

There are a lot of stores here on the island that sell used American goods. My guess is that they are popular, but I haven't actually been in one yet (I have visited one that sold reupholstered/repainted government furniture). While walking in American village, I noticed this sign for what I think is one of these stores - or it sells goods that didn't quite make the cut in the US. We didn't go in, but I had to take a picture of the sign for it.

Overloaded

We celebrated our friend Rob's birthday recently at Tony Roma's. The goal here was to fit all the birthday candles onto the brownie. As you can see, we were sucessful!

Happy Birthday, Rob!

Painted Sky

It rained all afternoon. It's raining now. But the rain did stop long enough for me to enjoy this sight.

Not too shabby.

Oh What Fun

Nothing brings friends together like a good ol' game night.

And beer.

But mostly, game night.

Here are the ladies playing Mad Gab.

Again. And the guys huddle around Kent during Cranium.

Thanks for hosting game night Scherdens!!

Vive Mike's!

Our friends, Tom and Laura, returned from their summer trip to the states this week. We all met up for dinner last night at a Mike's Mexican restaurant. We enjoyed catching up, telling funny stories, enjoying the food and having out picture taken by the waitress for the restaurant's photo bulletin board.

Oh, and you may have noticed that Noa and I match with Tom and Laura. It was pretty funny to arrive and notice that Laura and I both had jeans and black shirts on, while the guys had khaki shorts and blue and white button down shirts on. I guess great minds do think alike.

We pretty much closed the place down and hung out chatting for several hours. I'm looking forward to the next Mike's visit.

Ah, good times! Vive Mike's!

Proper Garbage

The tenants in our apartment building often get reminded to put out the garbage properly. Here on Okinawa, recycling is a big deal and the way the garbage is distributed reflects this. Apparently, many Americans have trouble figuring out the system or are too lazy to adhere to it. Here some of the many posters we see each day in the elevator that explain the garbage process.

When it's time for Noa and I to empty the garbage, it's a big undertaking. First we tie up the "regular" garbage bag. The we have to bag all the recyclable items in separate, clear bags: cans in one bag, bottles in another, glass in another, etc. Boxes have to be cut up and tied together. Old clothes, towels, or other cloth also gets tied up as well as paper and magazines. Any large items have to be picked up separately and we are then charged a fee. Broken glass and hazardous materials have to be wrapped up and labeled "dangerous." Then we take all the bags and tied up items, bring them downstairs, outside and place them into 2 different bins: combustible or noncombustible.

It takes a lot to keep the villege* happy.

*Notice that the first one says, "Let's create comfortable villege together." The Engrish still cracks me up every time I get on the elevator.

Mismatch

Recently, our apartment was re-wallpapered due to the presence of mold on our walls. The guys who fixed it simply cut off the affected areas and put new paper in place. Sounds like a good plan - unless the wallpaper is different than the original!

It's hard to tell from this photo, but we now have patchwork walls in our place (see the lower right corner for the different paper). Thankfully they are the same color, just different patterns/texture.

It's true...

...he is a doctor! I had to drop off a key to Noa today at the hospital and I got to see him in full doctor mode. He was ready to deliver a baby (and had already delivered another before I showed up!). I've never seen him with the booties, hat, mask, etc. So, I had to take a photo, of course!

You go, Dr. Hammer!

Keys

I got my keys (those flat, rectangular things hanging on my key chain) today for school. So - it's official - I'm in kindergarten again this year! Yippee! Ya-hoo!*


Now, I have a ton of cleaning, arranging, and organizing to do. The teachers don't have to be back officially until next week, but I need a head start. I have a lot to do. You may remember that I left my classroom like this at the end of the year.

*It's probably a good thing I'm in kindergarten...who else uses words like yippee and ya-hoo, anyway? Certainly not a forth or sixth grade teacher.

Weekend Plans

I have a big test to take on Monday, so my weekend won't be very exciting - lots of coffee and practice test after practice test. At least we have Starbucks on the island.

Yomitan Pottery Village

Today, my friend Kim took me to the Yomitan Pottery Village. She and her hubby, Rob, recently moved to the area and I made them promise me they wouldn't check it out without me. Ha ha - I'm such a stinker!

Anyway - it was great! We saw lots of wonderful handmade pottery and glass. It was really random, actually. We just followed the signs to the pottery village and suddenly we found ourselves on this street, with little pottery shops located on the sides of houses. You basically go up one driveway to the next and check out the little shops.

Here are some photos of the glasswork. We found out that the pieces are actually made from recycled soda and beer bottles. This is part of the railing to the building:

This is a portion of a stained glass window - well, actually a door into one of the shops.

We also got to see them making the glass products. I don't know how they did this in the hot and humid weather of Okinawa. They were dripping with sweat.

The little shops sold lots of shisas. Kim's daughter, Mia, likes to say that Julie says, "Shisa Shisa!" Yeah, I'm a bit obsessed with these lion dogs - but they are just so interesting! I took pictures of the artistic ones.

I love these! I'm hoping to go back and purchase these or a similar set.

Our lucky find of the day was a shop that was far off the road. Kim and I saw a sign on the main road with some kanji writing and and arrow, so we decided to check it out. The road soon turned to dirt and we found ourselves driving down a dirt path in the middle of nowhere. At first we thought that we were going to really get lost in the jungles of Okinawa, but soon we came across a small clearing with some pottery pieces set out under a tent. The shop was right there too. You could see all the clay bowls sitting out, ready to be painted. The dishes were beautifully painted in traditional Okinawan style(at least that's what the woman told us). I picked up a couple of bowls and a gift. We'll definitely be going back.

Here you can see it in finer detail.

Pearly Whites

Sadie had a minor medical procedure at the vet's today. She went in for a dental cleaning - and needed it bad - as any of you who have been kissed by her know from her horrible breath. I was nervous about it all day because I knew she'd be under anesthesia and IGs are sensitive to this. Thankfully, she did fine. Of course, I had to photo-document the before and after results.

Before: Notice the plaque - yuck!

After: Look at those pearly whites!! Sparkling!

Meanwhile, Gunnar is trying to convince us that he doesn't need a dental (which he doesn't, but when he's getting into trouble, I threaten it).

Look, ma! I'm ferocious with my white teeth!! Grrr...

Bathroom Behavior

It's always a gamble when using the public facilities here in Okinawa. What will the bathroom be like? Will I know how to use the toilet?

Thankfully, most of the nicer, newer bathrooms have these impressive toilets with features that can't be found on any ordinary toilet. Here's a photo of one in the Naha airport. Noa thinks these are the greatest invention ever.

Besides the automatic flush, the seat also offers a bidet (there's one for the male and one for the female - notice the difference in the 2 middle buttons). The function that I find most comical (yet practical) is the button with the musical notes on it. This button, when pressed, makes a flushing sound, so to <ahem> disguise any other noises.

Older restrooms have the standard "squatty potty" shown here. In the airport, you get a choice - there are diagrams outside of the stalls, indicating whether it is a squatty or a "regular" toilet. I'm getting better at using these, although I will never choose one of these if a choice is given.

In many Japanese homes, the toilet is separate from the bathroom. Literally, there's a room for the tub and shower; it really is a bath room. In order to utilize space in these small toilet rooms, I have seen many pint size sinks, but never one as "clever" as this: incorporating the sink and the toilet together as one unit.

Personally, I find it a little creepy.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

We've had storms on and off all day as a result of the tropical storm just south of Okinawa. I've seen several rainbows today and I finally managed to catch one on film just before it disappeared.