Day #6

Back in the cafe to upload some pictures...and it took nearly 2 hours to upload those 12 or so I just posted due to this tiny signal I'm stealing. I have soooo many more I can't wait to share (how did I ever take pictures without my D40??) but both my Starbucks tolerance and my friend's patience have long passed. Til next time...

Quick Note

For the time being, please see my Flickr site for photos (link below right) since I lack both the time and the skills to figure out how to quickly post pics to my blog following these Japanese directions. Gomen nasai!

I FOUND A SIGNAL!!

Ok. I am currently sitting at a Starbucks in downtown Naha (capitol of Okinawa) tapping into a very weak wireless signal. Everyone around me is staring at me like I'm crazy (I have yet to see anyone working on a laptop in public anywhere), but I am so happy because I finally get a chance to post! Yeah, it took us 40 minutes by bus to get into the city, and about another 30 minutes to walk to this exact Starbucks, but if this is the only place I can find a signal I will make sure to make my way back at least once more before I leave. :)

There's more I could write about our adventures today, but my battery's dying, the signal could go at any moment, and Alex is ready to kill me, so I'm just going to upload my pics and hope to make it back soon..... ja mata!!!

Okinawa Day 2 (Tuesday 24th)

Today was our first big day out and about in Okinawa and I’m so frustrated that I can’t share my pictures with you guys because, although I am sitting in Starbucks as I type, there is no wireless service here either. *sigh* Out of all the difficulties I had expected to encounter during this trip, getting internet access in Japan was not one of them.

Anyway, this morning Rachel drove us into town so we could cash our Traveler’s Checks. We then decided to catch the bus into Naha while she was with us so that we’d be better prepared to go it alone the rest of the trip. We spent the day walking down the main strip, drinking bubble tea, and found an arcade with that DDR-for-hands game. For those of you who haven’t yet seen the YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl-u8jRCKVs (sorry I'd link it, but I'm navigating this site in Japanese at the moment and don't have the time). Alex wants us to come back here with Rachel’s video camera after he’s had some practice, hehe.

Here at the mall, I finally found a store that would accept my visa card. I was starting to get worried since the majority of our money is on my card and only a third or so we have in cash. “Kard o deshiharimasuka?” Is a phrase that I think will now forever be ingrained in my memory. Speaking of which, it’s amazing how total cultural immersion can reawaken old language skills *wink*. Even though I’m a year or so out of practice folks seem to understand me more or less and only the very first cashier I spoke to actually laughed at me. Hahahaha. No, seriously, I’m sure I sound horrible, but I’m happy that I seem to have remembered enough to survive and it will only get better with more practice.

So that’s about it I guess. If it continues to rain tomorrow we’ll probably end up back at the arcade. This rain is KILLING ME because we found a beautiful beach with beautiful rock that is just begging to be climbed!!! If the weather doesn’t dry up by the end of the week I’m bouldering in the rain.

Okinawa Day 1 (Monday 23rd)

So I decided to be good and write about our first day in Okinawa even though I have no idea when I’ll get a chance to post since, it turns out, Rachel does not actually have internet access at her apartment.

Flights went well, as well as 13+ hour flights can go I suppose. We had some drama at the Tokyo airport – we must have run to every gate C in the entire airport before finding the correct one – but miraculously made it on the plane in time.

And now we sit. And wait. We have to chill in the apartment for the day because, in another ironic turn of events, no shop in the immediate area accepts Traveler’s Checks and the ATM machine spat out both of my debit cards. Rachel doesn’t have to work tomorrow, so she will drive us to the city so I can hit the bank. I’m also hoping to find a Starbucks (the only time in my life when I’m actually yearning for one) so I can tap into their WiFi and post my pictures!

So yup, that’s about it. We might go out for another walk in a bit, but besides the fact that Rachel wasn’t kidding when she said she lived in the middle of cane fields, it has also started to thunder…hmmm I think Alex is going to be sick of poker after today. :)

One Week!!

.....to hang out with friends who won't be here when I return, to finish the HUGE stack of paperwork I need to get processed and sent in for the JET program, to buy my new camera....and the list goes on. *sigh*

BUT I'M GOING TO JAPAN!!

For 2 weeks my 17 year old brother and I will be staying with a good friend of mine who has been participating in the JET program for the past year. Besides being a wonderful (and much needed) vacation, this trip will give me a taste of what the next year of my life might be like, depending on my own JET assignment.

I'm going to try to get in the habit of this 'travel blog' thing for the sake of those I'll be leaving behind in the states, but I'm going on record as warning you all that I am very bad at keeping journals and - when I do find the time to write - it will most likely be at 2 a.m. and on very little sleep. Be forewarned: atrocious spelling and incomprehensible ramblings are almost guaranteed.

That said: 1 WEEK!! WOOT WOOT!!

*picture of my home that will soon be literally a world away!