Southeast Botanical Gardens

I am behind on posts, so I'll try to catch up.

On November 10 we went to the Southeast Botanical Gardens with Doug's brother Gary.  He had come to Okinawa for a 177 km bike race held on the upper part of the island.  We were glad to have family here with us.  The recent typhoon had blown most of the flowers away, but we were able to see a few.

Some of you will recognize these flowers from Hawaii.  Bird of Paradise, Lotus Blossom, Hibiscus, and Red Ginger.  The gardens reminded me of Hawaii, it had many varieties of palm trees, ferns, and bushes that were abundant.

Sunday, Oct 19 The end of "Break week" has come. For the next 8 weeks I (Doug) will be teaching lecture or lab six days/week so we probably won't be doing much touring. On Friday we drove up to the northernmost point of the island and stood at Cape Hedo and watched the Pacific Ocean run into the East China Sea. Actually it all looked like the same beautiful blue ocean from high atop the cliffs.



We then enjoyed a leisurely drive down the eastern side of the island through very rural, thickly forested, hilly terrain.  Occasionally the road would descend next to the Pacific and we would be reminded that we are indeed on an island.  At one of these locations we stopped for lunch and enjoyed the view as we felt the ocean breeze through the open window.

Think LEFT, LEFT, LEFT

The main accomplishment for Wednesday was Ellen's attendance at a session on Kadena Air Base for those wishing to acquire their SOFA driver's license.  She successfully passed the test and walked out as a legal "professional" driver ready to drive on the left side of the road.  Our other activities for Wednesday were really quite mundane so we'll jump on to Thursday of "Break week"!

We both felt it was time for more history lessons, so our first destination (after stopping by Camp Kinser to turn in the keys to the lab and building even though I'll have to be issued them once again next week--base policy) was to visit the world famous Shurijo Castle, the Royal Palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom from the beginning of the 15th century until its bombing in the Battle of Okinawa.  (It has been reconstructed as accurately as possible based on historical records.)

We followed that visit with another very sobering history lesson, similar to the one we experienced at the Peace Memorial Park.  This was a tour of the museum and tunnels of the Former Japanese Naval Underground Tunnels.  This network of tunnels was carved with hand tools in 1944 by the Japanese Navy, many of whom were conscripted Okinawans, about 30 meters underground as a way to protect the Imperial Navy from the Americans.  The memorial was a stark reminder of that war, especially the Battle of Okinawa which lasted for three months.  To the people of this Island it was called the Steel Typhoon.

North to Ocean Expo Park

It's Doug's turn to share some thoughts.  Now before I continue on with the tourist stuff, I have to prove that I'm really here to teach college classes to real students.  So here's a look into my Anatomy and Physiology lab from a few weeks ago.  It shows that I really do have students and that they are doing real biology!

Since all of the hot and humid weather was blown away by Typhoon Vongfong, we've really enjoyed beautiful weather.  That combined with the fact that I'm off for a week, we decided to use Tuesday to head north and see some of the island that neither of us has seen.  We headed for Nago and to Ocean Expo Park, the site of the World's Fair in the 1975.  However, tourism at the park started dropping off so a huge aquarium was built on the site and opened in 2002.  At the time it was the world's largest aquarium and still ranks as #2.  We set the GPS for the Park and after driving the scenic route for about an hour and a half, we realized that we hadn't heard anything from our female tour guide/computer and that we were past the point we should have turned.  So we found some even more back roads and followed a coast line until it was time to stop for lunch at Cafe on the Beach.  Ellen still thinks that the word Cafe needs to be in the title to make sure there is food!  

After lunch we finally found Ocean Expo Park and spent several hours visiting the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium where we saw thousands of fish and learned about the sea life surrounding Okinawa.

The park has a number of other exhibits so we chose the Tropical Dream Center which is home to thousands of orchid varieties and other tropical plants.

To finish off our visit to that part of Okinawa we drove over a bridge and visited Sesoko Island, one of the many islands which can be seen from the larger island we live on.

Tourists...

This week is a break between the two 8 week sessions of classes that Doug teaches so we are being tourists and seeing the island.

Monday 10/13/14

We traveled south toward the bottom of the island and the 

Okinawa Peace Prayer Park and Memorial Hall

 The Park is located in Itoman and is a commemoration of the 1945 Battle of Okinawa. The Memorial Hall was opened in 1978 on the site where the Battle of Okinawa ended, Mabuni Hill. Towards the end of World War II Okinawa became the final battlefield where allied and Japanese forces faced each other in some of the most brutal fighting in the history of the war.  At the Memorial Hall, the world's largest lacquer statue of Buddha, an art museum, meditation forest, peace bell, Butterfly Garden, and War and Peace paintings are displayed.  The statue of Buddha was built by Shinzan Yamada over 18 years.  He was inspired by the death of his two sons who were killed in the Battle of Okinawa.  

The Cornerstone of Peace 

This was the most sobering part of the park.  It is a collection of black granite slabs engraved with the names of 240,000 soldiers, sailors, and civilians, Japanese, Koreans, Taiwanese, Americans and Britons, men, women and children.  It is estimated that 100,000 of these people were civilian.  The Cornerstone of Peace was dedicated in 1995, the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa.

The park is built on a hill and is by the Pacific Ocean.  Doug got some great photos from the cliffs.

RYUKYU Glass Village

The Ryukyu Glass Village was just south of the Memorial Peace Park.  It is the largest glass factory on the island.  The staff make hundreds of pieces of glassware daily - BY HAND.  We watched them make goblets, glasses, and vases.  Each one taking about 4-5 workers for the different steps.  They all seem to know when to take the glass for the next step.  It was very beautiful glass.  I read that they have an outlet somewhere.  I'll have to find it!

Cafe....

As we left the southwest end of the island we began looking for someplace to eat lunch.  It is difficult to tell what is a restaurant, deli, or store when you don't read the Kanji!!  So I saw a sign that said 'Cafe' and then some Kanji.  We stopped there and had a great lunch of pork curry and taco rice. (Think of taco meat, cheese, lettuce, and tomato over rice.)  We also got a delicious dessert. - Unsure of it's name- just pointed at the picture!!

The cafe was on the coast as well and this was the view from the cafe.

This is the Pacific Ocean.  We live in Ginowan on the central east side of the island and look out onto the China Sea.

Diner

After resting in the afternoon for a bit we went to the little Japanese diner Doug found soon after moving into the apartment.  It is just a block down the street.  Most of the local restaurants have pictures of the food you can select.  The first time he went into the diner.  He sat down and waited for someone to come to his table to get his order.  Someone came and eventually was able to tell him that they don't have pictures.  They have a machine that you select your dish and pay for it.  You receive a receipt that you then give to the staff at the counter

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  Each dish has the amount of yen it costs.  You put your money in the slot that has the green lights.  Then you push the button and the receipt and any change comes out below.  Without pictures or being able to read the kanji it is a guess what you are getting.  Doug knows which one is oyaku don -- so we ordered that for me and he just selected another button.  His was steamed cabbage with tofu and spam.  I think we will need to develop a taste for tofu as it is a main source of protein here.

Well I'll post our adventures from today - tomorrow!!

First Week - sort of...
One week ago today US time I went to the Portland airport for my flights to SFO then NRA (Narita) then to OKA (Okinawa).  My first flight went well.  I had 2 hours before my next flight when I got to SFO but dutifully went to the gate and found that it said my Narita flight was late by about 4 hours.  That would put me into Narita after all flights to OKA were gone.  There was a flight to Hong Kong out of the same game as our Narita flight and so the United attendents wouldn't help anyone until after that flight left.  Needless to say that when the flight finally left there was only about 2 hours until the delayed flight would leave.  There were only 2 agents, with occasionally a third, to deal with about half the passengers on a 747 that were going to miss connecting flights.  I waited in line, but was still about 10 people back when they called for the last boarding of the plane.  I decided just to get on it and deal with connections when I got to Narita.

And woohoo glad I did.  I had a window seat and there wasn't anyone in the two other seats in my row!  What a wonderful way to fly for 10 hours!  I was able to stretch out and even get some sleep.  Upon arriving at Narita, United had made arrangements for most of us that missed our flights to overnight in a hotel, vouchers for two meals, then I had to take a bus to the Haneda Airport (1 hour) and catch my flight to Okinawa.  Finally all connections went well and I arrived in Okinawa about 1500 on Wed 10/8/14.  I lost two days to travel!  But was glad to reunite with Doug after 2 months. I knew I was in Okinawa when I saw this plane with Picachu on the tail.

Doug took me directly to Kadena Air Base to see about getting my CAC (Common Access Card) and a driver's license.  On Thursday I was able to get my CAC by trying two different bases where walk ins were taken.  It went smoothly, much to Doug's consternation.  It took him about 4 weeks to finally get his CAC card and getting on the bases had been very difficult until then.

It is hard to get used to driving on the left side of the road.  I keep going to the right side of the car to get in as a passenger!  Wrong side!  and making right had turns is really weird, I keep thinking Doug is going in the wrong lane.

We went into the BX and the Commissary.  Lest you think I will be deprived of American food, fear not the BX has a food court with McDonalds, Taco Bell, Subway, Popeye's, Pizza Hut, Baskin Robbins, Manchu Wok, and a Chili's on base as well.  The BX is like a large department store and the Commissary is a large grocery store.  It was good to see brands and items that I am familiar with.

In contrast we went to a home supply store off base and were looking for laundry detergent.  (We have a small washer/drying combo.)  We aren't sure what type of detergent it can use so we are just getting the same kind that was here.  Difficult when it's all in kanji but we matched color and design.

Another day Doug took me to a '100 Yen' store - very similar to our 'Dollar Store'.  We were looking for some candle holders, ribbon, and office supplies.  Somethings were easy to know what it was -  others not so easy.

We were looking for the candle holders as we were stocking up on basic supplies in preparation for the typhoon Vongfong that hit Okinawa Saturday night.  All day Sat and Sun we were on Tricor 1 Emergency -  Everyone is directed to stay in doors and away from windows and prepare an emergency kit in case of evacuation.  It has been very windy since Friday with the strongest winds and gusts on Saturday/Sunday with rain.  Sunday night we were going stir crazy so went out for a walk and battled strong winds and then some rain.  It was a little early for a walk.  We were blessed that our electricity never went out and our water remained on as well.  We can say that we survived the strongest typhoon of the year!

October 9, 2014

Well,  after a 2 year hiatus with the blog I decided that we needed a good way to share our new travel adventures.

Just a short explanation as to our current location.

Doug has taken a traveling faculty position with the University of Maryland, University Colleges (UMUC) Asia Division.   UMUC has a contract with the Department of Defense (DOD) to offer classes on the military bases in Asia and Europe.  These classes are for military personnel and their families and they earn credits toward UMUC degrees.

So on August 1st Doug flew to Tokyo, Japan for a week of orientation and then on to Okinawa for another week of orientation and logistics.  Starting a new faculty position creates a fair amount of learning and logistics.    This position added the need for getting military clearances for base admissions, military drivers license, learning the ins and outs of purchasing a car in a foreign country that can also be allowed on a military base, and obtaining secured furnished housing.

Doug's first few weeks were challenging as he worked through getting the appropriate documentation, a Common Access Card, to be allowed on the bases.  Due to diligence, luck and tender mercies he was the first one to buy a car, get emergency medical help (for a kidney stone), and his Common Access Card.  In that order.

He has been teaching two classes: Human Biology and Anatomy and Physiology 1 in the first 8 week session that has just finished.  As the majority of students are working military, the classes are held in the evening and labs are on Friday evening and Saturday morning.  He has enjoyed the students, the classes, the labs and especially not having endless committee meetings.

Meanwhile I was still in Marshfield, WI selling the house, packing up the house and decided what to get rid of, what to send to the kids, what to send to Japan, and what to store for future use. Easy peasy!!  NOT.  We have two storage units in Marshfield full of belongings and furniture.   Eli, who is staying in Marshfield, helped.  My brother Mark came to help haul things to the storage and my sister Toni was indispensable with packing and hauling things to storage.

We were blessed again with a firm offer on the house within 3 weeks of listing it.  The closing was on Sept 19, 2014 and on Sept 20th I drove to Salt Lake City, Utah to spend time with Eric and Ashlyn, Sara and Quinton, and Tony.  We had a wonderful time together.  Then I flew to Portland and spent time with Lynn, Janson, Grace and Mari.  I did some sewing at both places and was able to help celebrate Lynn's birthday.

On Monday 10/6/14 I began my journey to Japan and 36 hours later landed in Okinawa.  There were some flight delays and missed flights, but United Airlines put the displaced passengers up in a hotel in Tokyo.  It was wonderful to be back with Doug after 2 months on separate continents.

Stay tuned for our Okinawa adventures.
Ellen