Yogurt Land!

So this is for my Portland friends, and anyone else around the country or world who has experienced this. In Portland there are many different frozen yogurt places. I went to Yo Cream with my friend Amanda and my sister-in-law Andi took me to Swirl. It's like all you can eat, self-serve frozen yogurt where you have lots of different kinds of yogurt flavors and then tons of topping to choose from and you pay by the weight of your bowl. Healthier than ice cream, which is probably why they have so many of these places in Portland. =) Anyway, they have a frozen yogurt place here in Okinawa and it's called Yogurt Land. My roommate Nana has taken me twice now. It's cool to see the different yogurt flavors and toppings here. I definitely didn't see dragon fruit or mochi as a topping option in Portland! I love it!

A day with the Bernards

On Saturday Sam and Dacee invited me to go to a soccer game with them. It was fun and nice to hang out. Afterwards we got pictures with the mascot who apparently used to be an Okinawan boxing champion.

And here are some pictures of my friends Sam and Dacee Bernard with their two girls, Mycala and Audrie.

Julia Megumi Hiraguri

Here is the baby born to my friends Melanie and Akira who invited me to come here. Isn't she beautiful? Her middle name is Japanese and it means "grace." So precious.

Shurijo

So I have officially had my first touristy, sight-seeing experience here in Okinawa. My roommate Miwako took me to Shuri Castle (jo=castle, thus Shurijo). We went to a free mid-autumn festival that took place last night. It was cool to see the castle and read a little bit about it. The main castle was closed due to the festival but the performances were very cool. There was the electing the new royal "king" and "queen" who will be in a parade in November (I'm not sure what all else they actually do), and a dramatic performance with dancing and acting. I love the performing arts so it was a lot of fun to see traditional Japanese style. These were performances done for the Chinese envoys during the time of the Ryukyu Kingdom in Okinawa. It was a great experience and I look forward to going back to Shurijo again. Unfortunately my pictures didn't turn out very well, but here are a few anyways.

At the gate

Lion pillar

Harvest moon

The king and queen contestants

Chosen king and queen

Dance

Moon and lanterns

Postcard of Shurijo

Coaster (had to support the tourist trade!)

Things I enjoy about Okinawa

-The weather

As odd as it may seem, I love the weather here! It averages between 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit everyday with 70-90% humidity on top of that. But it's warm and sunny with beautiful blue skies and gorgeous puffy clouds. And you can tell when it's going to rain by the build up of humidity and then the rain cools everything off and it rains hard but not too long. And the evenings are clear with a cool breeze and the moonlight illuminating the white clouds set against a deep blue sky. (Yeah I know, I'm a romantic writer.) It is so nice.

-My roommates

Nana and Miwako have been so great! My transition here would have been much rougher without them. I praise God for them. (I will post a picture as soon as I can get one.)

-The students

As you've seen in the pictures, the kids I work with are so cute (although I haven't posted pictures of all the kids I am working with). But kids are kids regardless of where you go and my kids become even cuter to me the better I get to know them and love them.

-The food

I have only eaten a few things here that I wasn't too thrilled about. And some things just take getting used to. But I am enjoying the food and it is healthy too! (I've already lost some weight from eating the food here.)

-Going to the store

It is always an adventure to go to the grocery store. I like it because it's something I can do on my own and yet it's still an adventure discovering new things and deciphering labels. =)

-The cafe/tea house by my school

My roommate Nana and I went to a cafe right across the street from the school my first week here. We've been back there a couple times and she's also taken me to different cafes, but I really like that one. I'll have to find out how to write the name in English.

-My coworkers

I really like the other teachers and the receptionist at Okinawa Christian Academy. I don't think the receptionist/secretary is a Christian, so you can be praying for her.

-The Bernanrds

Sam and Dacee Bernard are two of my childhood friends from Haiti. Dacee's parents were missionaries in Haiti and Sam's dad has an orphanage in Haiti and we all lived on the same campus. I have not seen them in 12 years since both of their families moved to the US. They got married and had two beautiful girls and have been stationed in Okinawa for 4 years. It has been so fun to reconnect with them and so encouraging!

-The Christian community

I have enjoyed getting to know the people at my church as well as some other church groups that my roommate Nana is involved in. There are several teachers from Okinawa Christian School International who go to my church and they have been so supportive (OCA and OCSI are sister schools). And I have met a missionary family with Cadence (an organization that ministers to military people around the world) who lead a church called The Harbor. They have been so nice and welcoming.

Okay, well, I just wanted to write down some of the things I am thankful for and acknowledge the Lord's goodness and faithfulness. I know I could write more but I need to get to bed.

Ping Pong!

No, I am not referring to the game. I am referencing cultural sounds. If you've ever been to another country and started picking up some language, or worked with kids, you have realized that animals make very different sounds in different countries. Foreign cats don't say 'meow' and dogs don't say 'woof.' Animal noises are often the easiest to notice as different but most sound effects are different, even if only slightly. The title of this post is the sound a doorbell makes in Okinawa. =)

Introducing.....My kinders

Here are the kids in my kindergarten class:

Linna (6)

Kousho (5)

Kohei (4)

Katsuki (5)

Josiah (5)

This is the son of the friends who asked me to come work here.

They are all very sweet, with lots of energy, very smart and a lot of fun.

Important teaching tool

So I have learned the Japanese variation of a highly effective teaching aid. This aid is helpful in resolving conflicts. It is called "rock, paper, scissors," although it is quite the international game and has many names. Here is a bit of what I found on wikipedia (the whole article is rather lengthy):

Rock-paper-scissors is a hand game played by two or more people. The game is known by many names, including 'rock-scissors-paper', paper-rock-scissors, paper-scissors-rock,fargling, cachi-pún, scissors-paper-rock/stone, jan-ken-pon, "jenken" kauwi-bauwi-bo,камень-ножницы-бумага and rochambeau.

I'm sure most anyone is familiar with this game is some way, shape or language. Feel free to read up on the international tournaments they have for this game. And apparently this game originated in Japan. Here is the Japanese form:

First you say "Sai showa gu" while presenting your fist on every beat. However you don't make one of the signs until the next line of the chant, "Jan ken pon." You show your hand motion on "pon." In case of a tie you say "Aiko de sho" and do your gesture on the last word. The gestures are the same as in America; fist for rock, flat hand for paper and a sideways peace sign for scissors. Gotta love handy games! =)