Day #14 (Saturday 5th)

Well, we’re about three hours into our thirteen hour flight across the Pacific and I decided I had to whip out my laptop: staring off into space, music or no, just wasn’t doing it for me. Hmmm, battery power at 70%. That should last me through a few solid solitaire games…

…The last few days here have gone by so quickly. On Tuesday, Meg and Dov flew in from China. I’m so glad their break lined up with our trip because they get back from China only one week before I’m shipped out and after not seeing them for almost a year, I want all the time with them I can get! I brought Dov’s climbing shoes over with me and begged him to be my bouldering buddy for old-time’s sake. Year off or not, the guy’s still a spider and puts me to shame. The five of us also made sure to squeeze in cards and Green Day (it was just our luck that Friday was a Japanese national holiday called ‘Green Day’ in honor of the environment and we decided to acknowledge it in proper musical fashion). Man I miss folks who sing just as much as I do!!

I suppose I should offer a few closing comments about our visit to Okinawa, but it’s really hard to sum up. Of course it was an amazing experience but besides just being an awesome adventure, I think it really helped me get my head around the fact that I will actually be LIVING in this country for a year come August – and I’m so psyched!! Part of me was worried that I’d leave thinking, boy that was fun but I’d rather not stay. Yeah, that would suck. I’m not gonna lie: there are some unique features about living in Japan that I am not looking forward to, like that bloody key money (key money is like a security deposit with the very minor difference being that you never see it again and I’m told it usually ranges between 90,000 and 150,000 Yen – read about $900 - $1,500). Overall, though, I’m really happy and think that once I get settled it could easily become a second home.

What will I miss about Okinawa/Japan for the three months I’m back in the States? A vast abundance of cane sugar for one, hehe. Almost everywhere we went there were cane sugar flavored creemees and candies. I hope the rest of Japan is at least a bit like that just because it reminds me so much of VT and our maple sugar. I’m also going to miss the little kids that scream ‘hallo!!’ from across streets and out car windows. Mochi ice cream, streets lined with orchids and hibiscus, the extreme merchandizing of goya, and bright pink cube-like cars will also be deeply missed. :D

Well, cheers for now I guess. Wish me luck driving on the right side of the road!