Pull or get out of the way!

 This is the last Friday I have to spend alone, but with the tank on empty and nothing being for free, where does one go without the husband? I am thinking nowhere. This is the last Saturday Mark has class. I shouldn’t have suggested Saturday classes while I am visiting my husband in Japan, but I figured it would be quick and painless. Boy was I wrong.

      The Naha Tug of War was enjoyable if you like the feeling of Time Square on New Year’s Eve, which some do and some don’t but something tells me it, was not that bad. We actually got on the train pretty fast after the show, though we did have to wait in a line that wrapped around the station. Nationals got a free ride home or to the festival after the tug of war, we did not. They estimated that down near Kokusai Street where the tug of war is held there were over 250,000 people that gathered for the yearly tug of war. Only about 15,000 of these people assisted in pulling the rope. Since we pulled a mini one in Chatan back in August, Mark and I were just fine missing out on pulling this rope. To join in on pulling the rope it is more than suggested that you wear long pants as well as tennis shoes due to the fact that the street is packed like sardines and the chances of you getting stepped on is great. All ages come out for the tug of war and watch who will win the battle of the north and the south. Though the result of this battle just gives the winning side blessings and good fortune for the next year and it is a custom to retrieve a piece of the rope from the winning side to bring the good luck to you and to your home. More often than not, the tug of war ends in a tie. The giant rope is not moved enough to give one side alone the glory and bragging rights. They have a time limit and at the end of that limit or in the event one side actually wins, the golden ball in the sky releases streamers and confetti for everyone to revel in and for the cleanup crew to keep busy. After the rope pulling you are welcomed to a giant festival a few meters down the road, a little over a mile. There are rides, food and game vendors, and a beer paradise much like the Eisa festival but much larger. They have fireworks at the end of the festival and luckily we did NOT see the mad dash home because we left early to beat the crowd.  God willing I will be there next year. I may even pull the rope, or just skip the rope, walk Kokusai Street and go to the festival. We shall see.

   I am going to be alone. I can’t give away too much, OPSEC for all you knowledgeable on military terms. While I am alone there are 2 tours I can take. There is a tour to Ie Island, which you are taken to my a 30 minute boat ride then get to go on a hike, or I could go on a tour to the butterfly observatory. Both of these events are right up my alley, though mentioning the journey to Ie island made Mark a little jealous, so I may not go, or I may go anyways, because hey, it bees like that sometimes. :p I think I now know what to get Mark for Christmas though, we will see what I can put together in the upcoming holidays.

    Speaking of holidays the season of turkey and ham is approaching and Mark and I are honestly just considering letting someone make it for us! I have cooked a turkey twice and the rest of the dishes once. I don’t consider myself a good cook so in order to make it a great Thanksgiving, I may need to leave it in someone else’s hands. American holidays are observed by the Americans and as Mark found out from his Japanese coworkers; many look forward to being able to order a big, juicy turkey from on base. Our holidays seem to be the only time you can get one with ease. Next week is Halloween and at the school I volunteer at, the kids will be having book character day and the teachers have to dress up…now I need a costume and have a week to find one with limited cash flow. I am a creative person though; I am hoping I survive this. At least it will be on a Friday! Did I mention we have to take them trick or treating…is it selfish to ask for prayer?

Sayonara from the Scott’s!

Es pink, no?

Ahhhh, my kimono.  This past Friday I purchased my 1st kimono.  Not without some major drama surrounding it, because that is the only way I am able to do things it seems.  Regardless, all will be well soon and the kimono will be used for many occasions.  The kimono I am wearing was put on after I told the kimono ladies I was looking for a kimono for a Christmas party. I tried on a cheaper one and the I was happy with my choice until the one lady, while speaking Japanese said, basically, for a party, you want to go big. They then put on me this pink number, a furisode, meant for young, unmarried women. With a beautiful purple obi, which I was unable to purchase. Then, my ears were flooded with, KAWAII, Kawaii, ne? Which is translated to Cute, yes?! Of course, I know what kawaii, ne? means, I am a girl and it is a part of every woman and girl’s vocabulary. So then the lady takes out my camera, we got to get a picture of me in THE DRESS, right? Hook, line, and sucker! It was beautiful and they were telling me, its okay for me to wear a furisode. How could this be, I am almost 30 and MARRIED. Isn’t this a big taboo!? I sometimes am super careful and don’t want to offend the nationals so I didn’t buy the kimono, I walked out without it. I quickly called Mark and went to his work to have a Japanese intervention. I 1st talked to Naomi-San who like me saw a red flag and said no. Don’t buy this one; it is for woman who is NOT married. So, I was right, I wasn’t about to be hustled or lumped in to the “dumb American” group I created myself. So then, after talking to Naomi-San and learning I made the right choice, I then go to see Yoriko-San who told me the complete opposite. Yoriko-San informed me that it is okay. I look young and I don’t have children, this is more than okay. Then she brought over “Mama-San” and Mama-San not only gave me the thumbs up she told the tale of old singers that now love to wear furisode on stage because the others are not dressy enough and everyone wants to pretend they are young. Yoriko-San had to translate for Mama-San. So with my new found confidence and my go ahead by my Japanese friends I bought the kimono of my dreams, IT’S PINKU! It’s a furisode and my furisode can be worn to any dressy occasion such as New Years parties, weddings, nice romantic dinners, but nothing less than that. I couldn’t go out with my friends in this type of kimono. Houmongi are meant for married women to wear and was the type of kimono I was looking for before I bought my pinku kimono. This would be the ones I would wear out and around just at an evening singing karaoke or going to the izakaya, but even the houmongi have different levels of dressiness. I am able to get away with the furisode because I am young women, so I bought it, and it’s absolutely kawaii, ne?! One of the guys working the venue even took a picture of me as well. I felt famous and drifted off to Talya World…When I bought it, an American woman, and a British woman asked me if I was going to hang the kimono and art for my house, I politely told them, PSH, NO, I am wearing this, act like you know I am obsessed with Japan and Korea!

Now, just because I bought this beautiful piece does not mean I know how to get in it or that I now have all that I need to wear it. I still need an obi, obi cords, tabi socks, the kimono shoes (which also have a name but I forgot), the underwear and collar that go underneath, hair accessories, the scarf that I need to tuck inside my obi, and the basic kimono strings meant to ties the kimono together and used to keep it in place. I will then need to find a place, which my Japanese friend Yoriko-San has found a couple, that will dress me for a fee. I still have to find out the cost when you have the kimono, without, 21,000 Yen and up. That’s over $200 to rent a kimono and have them dress you. With some places though, that includes pictures and hair styles, as well as makeup. This is starting to look like my Christmas gift for this year.

I still don’t have a yukata, the summer kimono, but you can get them for good prices around here as well and will get one closer to the summer. Those are easier to wear and I will need to learn to put on my yukata myself. I will find a murasaki one, purple, to wear. These kimono are only for the summer, you cannot wear them any other time, unless you have it on around the house.

So there you have it! I bought my 1st kimono, I am on a kimono high. Anyone who knows me knows, of course, I would have this pink contraption as mine, the kimono hustlers must have smelled it on me. This will not be my last kimono purchase. Good thing Mark understands.



Sayonara from the Scott’s!

The Milk is out to get you!

Boring it was not, I had a blast. I just figured it would be boring to those who are kind enough to read my rambling thoughts. The military ball was lovely. By now I am sure you all have been bombarded by my pictures of the event. Services did the food. I am sure there is only 1 person who reads this that knows what that means so allow me to just say, usually services food is what you eat to sustain life. We have had food on base, usually our Saturday morning breakfast that has been really good. Then, you have food prepared by services, like on Okuma, where Mark and I were having a romantic get a way to that we wish we would have packed out food! The food at the ball was outstanding and I was really prepared for the worst. For a $40-50 ticket, they did a wonderful job. I guess with that many colonels in one room, you had better. (Military Joke) They had Mr. Dan Clark as a speaker. Never knew who this was but he has had his hand in helping create the 1st Chicken Soup for the Soul book. Best speaker I have ever heard. My speech class came flashing back and everything our teacher said made sense. You actually wanted him to keep talking. A Very entertaining and a very interesting man. If anyone gets a chance to hear him or learn about him, I encourage you to do so. There was dancing, but we didn’t dance. It was pretty funny because after the Cupid Shuffle was played then Cha Cha slide, the more he played the more people left. We tried to check out the other party, because they had to split the ball it was so big this year, but though there were having a good time, it wasn’t going to happen. The Scott feet were not in the mood to move I suppose.




I completely forgot to tell everyone about the milk. Gyuunyuu! On base milk is the scariest thing you will ever drink. I have not had milk off base basically because Mark and I can not read Japanese and don't want to buy the wrong thing. Yeah, you assume that the carton with a picture of a cow on it would be milk, but we have bought things before in error and an error in milk we cannot afford. Okay, maybe I am making more out of it than I should, I'll leave it for you all to decide. Mark bought milk Tuesday, Sept. 26th, 2010. The Sell By date? Oct 24th, 2010 is that date. Sept. 26 is not even when the milk was put on the shelf! Milk that last forever long, milk that we have a month to drink. Technology is wonderful or an abomination? So, Mark and I are low on groceries, my options are running low and cereal with milk seems to be what I crave every morning. The milk is low and I know that if I pour this milk on my cereal we will be out. That is not the point, the point is that when I pour my milk to get ever last drop I also got every last CLUMP! THE MILK HAS CLUMPINESS NASTY ON THE BOTTOM. The “even worse” part for me is, IT WASN’T SPOILED! Yes, the clumps were not sour milk. Flashback to a conversation I had with my coworkers when I had just started, everyone loves to shop on base, it’s cheap, we go, the nationals love to go, they even bring their friends. People escort as many as possible to come get this cheap, food. From American, Korea, Mexico, Japan, everyone shops on base. The one thing, well I won’t say one, because there are a couple I am sure but the one thing my Japanese coworkers shy away from buying is, yes, THE MILK! Because why? Because, “it has the “cheese” in it,” as my coworker Ms. K told me. Ms. G agreed. So far, I had not encountered “the cheese” so I figured it was just a once in a while thing. I am believing now you get a surprise at the bottom of every carton just like our cereal boxes when we were growing up and will now throw the last of the milk away. I had cinnamon rolls and milk for breakfast just now and I feel like I am going to be sick. It may have been a onetime thing and goodness knows I won’t tell Mark because he will look at me with his forehead scrunched and maybe rightly so. Moving on…



Big changes going on at work, I am confused, what else is new? They moved me out of my one class and put me in another, for a month, or 2, or for good? I am seriously along for the ride, getting everything out of learning more Montessori. One day I hope to get certified and have my own school.

I may not be going to school on the 25th of Oct. Getting signed up and getting things paid for by the military is turning in to a royal pain.



I have much to do. Need to get some things done around the house and play with my Instant Immersion Japanese lessons Mark bought for me.



Sayonara from the Scott’s!

BEER FEST, for those who drink it, and sushi!

No, the sushi was not at beer fest, sushi outdoors...I don't think so.
A couple weekends ago was the Orion beer fest. If you don’t drink beer, no problem, this is really an event that has something for everyone. Beer, of course, Eisa dancing, which is something special to the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa islands), carnival games, GREAT food, even a haunted house. ***Quick side note*** Summer time in Okinawa/Japan is the spooky time, many spirits come out to play for the people of Japan in summer and don’t wait for our October.*** Some of you are wondering, what is Orion, I have never heard of it? That is because you can’t get it in the States. It is from Okinawa and it stays in this region. You cannot get in overseas. It is made by my personal favorite, GOYA…yick! Did you get that I was lying? The Eisa dancing beer fest goes for 3 days, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with a fire work (hanabi) show sending off the big event. Bands play the whole night and there is even a dancing area. Don’t be afraid of getting in after bed time, the party ends at 9:00 pm. Enough time for you to party somewhere else. Good luck finding a cab though, we were forced to walk with fellow comrades to the “Gate 2 street” and found a cab down there when the crowd thinned out and the partiers went inside their respective bars and clubs. At the beer fest, a man that obviously had his beer goggles on proceeded to tell me I was cute. I feel that at 29, I am too old to be cute, but I will take it anyways. Though this man is not my husband, he didn’t show me harm and so I took the “compliment” for what it was and went on about my business. Drunk people that are not harming me or other are really amazing creatures, I would love to study them.

Say sayonara to the festival!

Our search for Ramune continues. We used to be able to get our favorite Japanese soda out of a vending machine by the house, we found out Monday it was sold out! Not sure if there will put more in. Ramune is a drink where you have to push down a marble with a plastic piece sold with the drink. You then must catch the marble in the notches in the bottle to make sure you can drink it. The marble will get in your way and you won’t be able to sip it if you do it wrong. You can actually get ramune in the States. I actually treated myself to it in Cheyenne, Wyoming. If you can get it there why not in Jackson, Tennessee, oh but when Suncoast was still alive, you could get it there. I have found only 2 more places now where I can get Mark and I’s favorite novelty drink. The Marine commissary, and Gordie’s, the burger joint by the house. I must go on a quest, and find out where I can get my special drink, though this is okay, I shouldn’t treat myself to it much. I don’t drink carbonated drinks that often and I would like to stick to that. Studies show drinking water keeps you young. Good thing I trained myself a long time ago on the goodness that is MIZU! See I am learning Japanese.

Fugu! In English? Puffer! Yes, some of you know and saw I have decided to eat fugu, blowfish. I have lived to tell the tale. What I didn’t realize is it really IS a big deal. You have to have a license to serve fugu, not anyone can serve it, which is a good thing. You have to practice many years to get your license. There was actually a time in Japan where after WWII there were many homeless and hungry. They would eat the scraps that the restaurants threw out. There was no way of knowing what they were grilling and eating and those who had the misfortune of finding the fugu, not know what it was, died quick deaths. Japan had so many deaths, that General MacArthur had to put policies in to place about people serving puffer. Now, I wonder if my blow fish and puffer is actually the same thing. I know, you are thinking, “Duh, Talya,” but hear me out. IT WASN’T EXPENSIVE! That was the main, uuhhh, factor for me, and where I ate it at was a little place, not elaborate or expensive. Though the walls are covered in pictures of Yoshi with famous people from all over the world, it doesn’t add to the price. The blow fish I ate was 450 Yen I believe; maybe even less, which right now is about 6 dollars. My hamachi (Yellow tail) was close to the same price, being more expensive or a little less than. The blow fish may have been the cheaper one, which then makes me think it wasn’t the fugu we have been taught to fear, with good reason of course. So with those factors, I wonder if I actually ate the potentially deadly fugu. Maybe in Japan you get it dirt cheap, I somehow doubt it, but you never know. I guess the best thing would be for me to ask. On to important matters, was it good!? It was, it was alright. Hamachi is my all time favorite and I order it wherever I go. Friends that have eaten sushi and nigiri with me know this. So would I eat it again, sure, but I am not sure if I am one on taking chances.



Nigiri is my favorite type of sushi. As pictured above, there is my blowfish nigiri as well as Mark's shrimp.  Better not try saying this word in the wrong neighborhood if you don’t know how to pronounce it. Knee-gili. R’s are L’s and visa versa, but L is not in the Japanese alphabet. Anyways, nigiri is the type of sushi where the fish sits on top or rice. In between the fish and the rice is wasabi. This is the Japanese way. It is not Japanese to eat nigiri sushi without the wasabi sandwiched between the fish and rice, this is something that Japanese restaurants have done, depending on where in America you it nigiri so Americans won’t complain. So remember for all of those who like nigiri out there, if it doesn’t have wasabi already, you’re doing it wrong! Sushi with seaweed is maki sushi. Maki means roll. I am sure you guessed that one by now for those who eat sushi. Sashimi is slices of raw fish without rice, it is expensive, but oh so tasty.



I was, am, on a quest for a new job, but is the grass really greener on the other side? Something I have to pray about.



Sayonara from the Scott’s!

Quick Stories Time and Quick Facts

“Ms. Talya, why don’t you speak Japanese?” little “M” asked me at school today. I informed her it was because I didn’t learn when I was a little girl. Ms. Kozue was tickled by this and so was I but more so than I was. I mean, really, why don’t I speak Japanese, or better yet, what is so wrong with M’s question when you have all types of people that can? I think her question was valid, a better answer would be because I was raised in Tennessee where I learned hillbilly and ebonics instead.




Naomi-san and another one of Mark’s coworkers noticed a beautiful lady walking to Mark’s work, and they were curious to find out who it was. Naomi was surprised that it was me, I didn’t know whether to smile and say thank you or be offended. She then informed Mark he was luckily, apparently only on certain days.



I am very used to driving on the other side of the road, I only once thought about driving on the right side, and it was a very brief moment, I, however, always go for the left side of the car almost every time I go to drive.



After work every day, Mark and I find time to watch various anime shows. We do not have cable, though we could get the satellite to watch the AFN (armed forces network). We do not, we save our money for other things.



I am paid in US dollars, not in Yen.



I do not drive anywhere I don’t have to, I always have Mark drive. I do not know how to get many places on my own, but I am learning. I also will not go in to any stores without Mark, or without money as I am afraid of offending people, though really, it’s not that bad, I am just a paranoid person.



I eat sushi at Yoshi-hachi’s. It is pseudo Japanese style seating, where the seats are on the floor but there is leg space underneath so that it is like sitting in a chair. I always have trouble getting down there and getting up and our shoes are removed before we go to the eating area.

It is hot here, just like it is in the southern states.  It is late September and temps are still reaching 90.  The humidity is brutal, luckily there is the beach, but Mark and I rarely seem to go as real life is in the way most of the time, and without fail, it will rain on the weekend.  The beaches have blocked off areas for swimming and those areas are shallow.  Most everyone is at the beach on Sunday because that is also the day that a lot of the Japanese nationals have off.
 
I am closer to China than I am to Tokyo.
 
There is a difference between Okinawans and Japanese.  There is an Okinawan language/dialect, but you are most likely to hear Japanese anywhere you go.
 
I hope to be able to blog more, life is catching up with me, there is much to do, school will start for me in a month and Mark is busy with school and work as well.  Hope we can find time to relax!
 
Sayonara from the Scott's! 

C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me), I need raw fish, and I'm turning Japanese!

This is a picture I put on facebook with me holding $2000 worth of Japanese Yen and I didn’t really put a back story on it so I figured I would explain it on my blog. Just so everyone knows…which I am pretty sure everyone already knows, Mark and I are not rich, we are not selling drugs, and we don’t have that kind of money lying around, until the 1st of the month that is. The military takes care of us enough to keep us in a nice apartment and to make sure we can pay the gas and electric bill. Of course when Mark got to Japan he needed a car to get from here to there and around the island and so he has money for that as well. Many places on Okinawa do not take debit cards or credit cards for payment when it comes to paying your bills, they still believe in getting cash in hand. Cash is universal and as Americans we have learned to live without the filthy paper and would rather put it on a card, but not here. When the 1st comes and the bills are due, Mark has to go to ATMs across the island and withdrawal his hourly amount so that we can pay for our bills in cash. Which I was always taught, NEVER carry that much cash on you, but on the 1st of the month it is a must. Rent is paid, the car note is paid, and a few other bills. While I log online to have my bills taken out electronically, Mark preps for an all around town excursion to square away funds owed. He can sign up for his to come out electronically, but there is a certain way it has to be done and blah blah, military jargon, blah blah, but Mark will sign up for it when the house in Cheyenne, Wyoming is sold. Yes, those who are keeping up, the house in Cheyenne, Wyoming has not sold. Yes, believe me, WE KNOW. That is the cause of us borrowing and begging, and not being true adults, we know. Besides, cash in hand always means you get paid, right? Money talks in every language.



I CRAVE SUSHI AND SASHIMI! I live in Japan and I have had sushi and sashimi twice!! I know, it honestly ought to be a sin, like a real sin. I fussed about it to Mark the other day, which then he did what Mark does, and spoils me and takes me to the best sushi and tempura place Chatan has to offer, only to find out it was closed because of the typhoon and tropical storms. It is a fresh fish market just like in Seattle, just maybe not as big, I wouldn’t know because it was closed! I did get to go to an awesome Japanese bakery. Everything is an art here, I wish it was more like that everywhere I go. The bad part about the bakery is that I am addicted to Japanese sweets. I have a spot in Columbus, Ohio that I go to every time I am there. (The Crescent Bakery) Shame, shame. I have now been to my Japanese bakery the same amount of times I have eaten sushi, I need sushi in my life, this IS Japan after all. The best sushi in the world and I am busy eaten katsu and yakitori, this just will not do!



Another shame, people pronouncing Japanese words wrong. While you are here, I assume you wanted to be here, there are few places that people in the military should hate, BELIEVE ME, Japan is not one of them. Sure you don’t belong here, but for all the people you meet that don’t like you, which chances are you haven’t because if you are anywhere you are suppose to be, the people have manners. While you are here, why not at least try? The Japanese won’t make fun of you for trying, believe me. Actually, they appreciate it! There is no where I have been where English is not the primary language where they weren’t appreciative that you tried. Japan is no different, just don’t be the American that thinks you belong here because guess what, married to a local or not, you don’t! Yes, you learned the language and we think that is cool, but don’t go up to the Japanese and pretend you know more about speaking Japanese than they do. That’s just rude. As much as all of us who love Japan would love to be Japanese, we aren’t, get over it, ha ha.


I should have some new pictures on facebook from Beer Fest/Eisa Dance Fest.  As always, come check them out and I will have some more about the event next week!

Sayonara from the Scott's

I'm bringing Grandma back!

That's me, GRANDMA!  Grandma is now an inside joke to Mark and I, but I will now share it as it has humor and also, old Japanese men seem to be bold as brass at times.

Mark's coworker, Yama-San, was introduced to me around week 2 or 3 of me being on "The Rock". (as my dad and other ol' vets seem to call it)  Mr. Yama, is an older Japanese man that has been working with the military for awhile now and is close to retiring.  After meeting me, Yama-San comes up to Mark at a later time during the week/month and tells him, "Your wife is very granuma, granduma (we are unsure of the actually Japanese word/slang)".  Mark of course hears what I heard when Mark was telling me the story, I LOOK VERY GRANDMA!?!?!  WHAT!?!?  Come on, I am starting to get my "crow's feet" but Grandma...really?  Why would another man say this about a man's wife!?  Mark was mistaken and after looking at Yama-San quizzically, Yama-San explained, "you know, granduma," using his hands to make a large coke bottle, "sexy."  So after I got a chuckle and a sigh of relief, I thought out loud of course, "wow, Yama-San was comfortable enough with Mark to tell him I was sexy?"  Which shows to me, older people will say what they want in any culture, especially in Japan, they have earned that right.  Though as the Western World rubs off on Far East culture, the respect levels are changing so I've read.  It also shows me, some people will say anything, I can't imagine it ever being okay in a work place for a man to call another man's wife, sexy, especially in the military, but this is Japan and Yama-San seems to be the head rooster as far as the Japanese civilians go.

Mark and I walking on the sea wall the day before Typhoon Kompasu

Typhoon Kompasu, I have been confused by you and all that you do, did.  I will clear this up for all who don't know, as I was unsure until Mark schooled me.  Yes, let me say it now, I got schooled.  I knew this was true, but I went back on what I was telling people because I hate to misinform.  Typhoons are hurricanes that start in the area of the world we are in.  They have different names only because of their region.  So my little friend, Kompasu was in fact a hurricane because typhoons and hurricanes are the same thing.  Okay, Typhoon Kompasu passed very quickly for all the hoop-la it caused, but as I found out, it only causes hoop-la for Americans.  The Japanese will be mindful of the storms, but are used to Americans thinking it's going to be worse than it actually is or, as Mark likes to do,...exaggerate.  They also have the mentally of, whatever will be will be, and that is the way, so now we move on, changed, but move on.  Kompasu was also our 1st typhoon, so of course we made sure we were prepared, unsure of what this weather would bring.  Typhoons and tropical storms are common for this time of years, our season running from August to October.  Right after Kompasu hit on Tuesday, tropical storm 10 began to head our way and it seems we will be passed but will still receive strong winds and rain this weekend.  Just in time for the largest Eisa dance performance of the year for Okinawa, that happens to be accompanied by a beer fest.  So all types are brought together in one place.  Now, every base event has been cancelled but as the Okinawans have been getting ready for this weekend long event, I am doubting much will stop their plans to party this weekend and luckily it will not be near as much rain or as strong as Kompasu, this weekend.  Kompasu passed by us making us wonder, okay, what was all the fuss, it rained, and it was like a normal windy day in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  The fuss was that once Kompasu actually came to the island, they did clock wind gusts at over 105 mph.  Once it gets to that point they order all military to stay indoors.  Kompasu, traveling north of our city, Chatan, left all the miltary facilities alone except the ultimate water playground for military, Okuma Beach.  **Side Story on Okuma*  Okuma is my favorite beach, Mark took me there to stay the night the 1st week I arrived on Oki.  You can jet ski, mini golf, camp, boat, eat, and they have a STARBUCKS!!! Okuma is a 1 1/2- 2 hour drive north from Chatan-Cho**  Okuma was hit hard, destroying the beach area as well as piling the road with tree clutter.  They sent 200 soldiers up to the northern part of the island to help reconstruct and clean up Okuma.  Mark went in to work early to help print the maps needed for this job.  It is expected to take a week or so to clean up Okuma, I am unsure when the beach will be back open to us.

 

I am finally getting ready to start school for my bachelors in October.  Mark has already started and I am not too far behind him.  Depending on how things go, I may be able to finish before we leave Okinawa, though Mark is extending, so I hope I have more time!  We love Oki and the opportunities it and God has brought our family, we pray for more.  Mark's major is Computer Studies and I am choosing Asian Studies.

Now it's time to enjoy our very rainy, 3 day weekend!  Sayonara from the Scott's!!

In other non Japanese related Scott family news:
THE BENZ, may she r.i.p.
The Back Story: For all that don't know, in 2007, Mark bought me a 2000 C230 Kompressor Mercedes Benz for a Valentine's Day gift.  I know he spoils me, too much, I admit, but he is a giver.  I am trying to changer my taker ways.
Now as many do know, on  January 8, 2010, Mark and I were in a car accident, in which I was driving Mark to work.  On that sunny, yet cold, day, where the roads were actually clear from snow and ice in Cheyenne, a man pulled in front of us, not wanting to wait for another light and though I slammed on the breaks, as Mark held me back from the air bags that did not deploy, but should have, we collided with the man.  The force then pushed us right, causing me to bump another car on the street that was full of people waiting to turn left on to the road we were on.  Our car, the "Mers" as Mark called it, and my "baby" was totaled and the man that caused the wreck received a ticket.  This started a LONG chain of hurry up and wait.  We found out yesterday, that as of August 24th, our case that had to go to an arbitration forum was found 100% in our favor and that the clams that I didn't do everything I could have to stop the accident was false.  Mark and I are so glad it's finally over!  The man's insurance company argued that we could have done a better job to stop the collision and that we were 20% at fault.  The forum agreed with USAA that we were not at fault and that the man that drove in front of us was.  So the Mercedes is gone, justice was served, and USAA has taken care of us again.

I know I am dramatic and long winded, but you love me right? ;)