The Karamas

I feel like all I ever do here is complain about the weather. It’s either too hot or too rainy and I know it will only get worse as we head into spider season. It rained so much this weekend that ceiling started to leak...good times. However, the weekend before this I was reminded that this is just the price we pay to live in a tropical paradise. We went with some friends on a weekend excursion to the Karamas Islands. They are a little grouping of islands known for their scuba diving. They are just off the southern side of Okinawa, the opposite direction that we usually go when we travel to these little islands. It was quite the adventure!

It started with a high speed ferry ride on a stormy rainy ocean.The weather was terrible but our reservation was non-refundable so we went anyway. On the ferry all the passengers went down inside and it felt like being in an airplane. We were flying and hitting off the huge waves practically catching air. The kids were screaming with delight and excitement it was like a roller coaster. I was as sick as could be but managed to hold it in, Hayden and a few other kids were not so lucky and ended up throwing up. None the less, they all loved it. We got off the ferry and swam through the rain to get on a bus to the hotel. We were straining our necks to peer through the rain to check out the island. I could just see green everywhere!! Our hotel was a little resort right on the beach. We had a Japanese style room which means it was just a room with tatami mats on the floor and a small bathroom. In the closet there were futons, blankets and pillows that we threw out at bedtime.From the balcony of our room you could look down onto the beach.It was still pouring rain but it was warm so we quickly changed into our swimsuits and were just heading down the beach when they told us it had just closed for the night. So we changed and headed into the dining hall for dinner. Dinner was included in our stay and consisted of lots of Japanese cuisine. Hayden ate nothing but the rest of us enjoyed delicious food. The girls especially liked the chicken wrapped in seaweed. After dinner we put the kids to bed and played games at the table in the hall.

The next morning we took off for a drive around the island. We hiked up to a peek with a monument to remember the mass suicides that took place there. Back during the war many people marched up there and jumped off the cliff when they were invaded. We drove through rice patties and admired the Japanese scarecrow and all the cranes. It was beautiful.Then we raced back for breakfast at the hotel. Demonstrating true Japanese hospitality it appeared that the kitchen staff had tried to make food for our group of American children. The hotel was practically empty so our group with it’s 12 children was the dominant presence. The children were delighted to see that breakfast was chicken nuggets, french fries, scrambled eggs and pancakes along with a whole lot of Japanese cuisine like their traditional salad and pickled stuff. It was awesome, it was like they just tried to think of anything American and that’s what they made for us. We were touched and the kids got full!

After breakfast was the highlight of our trip- we finally hit the beach! The women took first shift and headed off to snorkel. It was the most amazing snorkeling I have ever done! Right off we saw a HUGE sea turtle just 4 feet below us and followed it for a while. The coral reefs were massive, covered in anenomes with clown fish and tons of sea life. So many colors and fish, it was fantastic. We saw two more huge sea turtles, surrounded by fish. Then just as we were heading back in we saw a large manta ray just swimming by. It was amazing! We spent the rest of the day on the beach, exploring a second beach and snorkeling there and just soaking up the sun. Yes, the sun came out on Saturday and it was beautiful. We had to catch the ferry again at 5:30. As we loaded on the bus at the hotel the entire staff came out and stood and waved good-bye and then bowed. This happened again as we left on the ferry, they stood on the port and waved. It was the perfect end to an amazing weekend. I can’t wait to go back!

Babbling

So this morning I went to the commissary with Alyssa while Danica was at preschool. I was minding my own business searching for swedish fish (because they have been out for the last month) when I heard a voice behind me say “excuse me, can you please reach up there and get that for me?” I turned and saw a nice Japanese woman and then glanced back over my shoulder so see if she was talking to me. No one has ever asked vertically challenged me that question. But sure enough, she was asking me and even better, I was able to reach the box of chocolates she wanted. Two of them in fact. She seriously made my day! I love being around the Japanese...

I had a nice birthday last week. Thank you for all the well wishes. It was a normal busy week with soccer practice, Tom’s meetings, watching some extra kids, making a DVD of girls camp stuff, helping with a girls camp final activity Wednesday night, and RS presidency meeting. But I managed to squeeze in some fun and went out to lunch with my friends on my birthday, we got ice cream after dinner on my birthday (in between soccer and my presidency meeting). Friday night we went out to Chili’s, with the kids. We actually had a good time and they even sang to us. Hayden was so embarrassed and Alyssa loved it. It was great to feel American...

Alyssa is a little cheese ball and loves attention and teasing her older siblings. She’s in that grab something and run away phase...love it... the other day I was buckling her in the car seat and she started going crazy. I asked what was wrong and she smiled and said “Oh, me just freakin.” Such a clown. Her favorite game is to play mom and dad with Danica and her friends. Alyssa gets to be the baby and loves it. When the other kids aren’t around she tries to play it with me and will tell me that she is different kids and insist that I call her the other name. At gymnastics she announced she was Danica and I had to call her Dani the entire time. It turned out great, she was so obedient and participated in everything. I wish I had figured this trick out sooner...

Danica really is a nice obedient little girl. I feel so lucky. Right now her thing is to say “I love you the whole wide world!” It makes no sense but I know what she means so I love it. She’s great at taking care of Alyssa and is a huge help to me. I can ask her to help her get dressed or go potty, whatever and she’s eager to do it. It’s awesome, I hope it lasts...

Hayden is sitting over here complaining about having to do homework. He’s currently spinning his new yo-yo frisbee and saying that he has more important things to do than homework, or at least more fun things.... yeah, don’t we all? Luckily, I just say to him “fine, then don’t do it and get a bad grade.” He freaks out and gets busy. I wonder how long that will last...

Tom and I went on nice bike ride on Saturday. He’s nice to go at my leisurely pace (leisure to him, killer work out to me.) We had time to go 30 miles thanks to the free child care we can use the first Saturday of every month. Saturday night we had friends over for a fish fry. They went deep sea fishing early in the morning so the fish was very fresh. Tom and I told them we don’t like fish but they could come over and cook it and hang out. Turns out we do like fish, it was really good! We’re lucky to have great friends. Too bad they are leaving us. It’s actually really depressing and I try not to think about it. Several of our really good friends are moving this summer. Okinawa will not be the same without them...

So anything else random I can write about it? Hmmm.... yesterday we went to the Dragon boat races. This week is Golden Week, a week that has three Japanese holidays so schools are closed, businesses shut down and everyone enjoys the festivals. I took Hayden out of school and we went to a big festival so we could cheer on my friends who were on the Navy women’s racing team. They won and it was very exciting and a fun atmosphere. Hayden was just happy to be out of school eating cotton candy and sno-cones. Lucky kid...

In our effort to become triathletes I recently tried swimming. My foot was injured so I needed something different and thought it was finally the perfect time. After a few failed attempts where all the lanes were full (no, I was not going to crowd into a lane that already had three marines swimming in it, thank you.) I finally got in one day. Swimming was great, it was the first time in my life I had ever swam laps. I didn’t expect to be good, I just wanted to try it. So then I went a second time and sadly the more I tried the more I realized I was terrible!! I loved the challenge and the instant fatigue and muscle soreness but I was so embarrassed knowing that I look like, and feel like, I am on the verge of drowning at the end of each lap. So until I find someone who can be my coach I am going to back off and focus on my biking for a while. They do have adult swim lessons here and I think I may give that a shot. I’m not giving up, I just need help...

Well, I could probably babble all night. I actually wrote up a long blog entry earlier today and then the power went out and I lost it all. I don’t know if this one is as good but I am just sitting here waiting for Tom to finish up some paperwork for a background check at work and figured I’d try to get it done. The weather is really unpredictable right now, it goes from sticky humid hot, to cold and rainy, to gorgeous warm and clear. You never know what is coming. My eyes are starting to get blurry so I may have to give up on waiting for Tom... have a great night!