Kitayufu

... presence by the locals was very evident everywhere that we went.

We will miss Okinawa and hope that perhaps someday we can return to visit again. It was well worth it to make the trip down to this place not only for the warm weather and the friendly people but also to learn that, where we come from in Canada, we haven't known (and hopefully will not know anytime soon) the horrors that the ancestors of the people we visited experienced and still feel the pain from today.

... of the Japanese Navy's main command posts during World War 2. What an interesting and spooky place this turned out to be. Two things really struck us. First of all, these tunnels were dug from the rock by hand using pick axes -- there are thousands of metres of tunnels here. Secondly, many military officers committed suicide here after it became apparent that the battle with the U.S. was lost. The scars from exploding hand grenades can still be seen in some of ...

... it became very clear that our stay here on Okinawa will be a hot and humid one. The weather conditions are pleasant though and we are clearly enjoying this a lot more than than the current conditions on the Canadian Prairies.

Naha is a typical large Japanese city but it is evident that Okinawa is one of the poorer prefectures in the country. I had read about this in my travel research. If I had not read ...

... did all of our shopping in fast forward. On our way home, we stopped at the military exchange, the small American-style mall on base. My mom and I went inside to buy silk robes, like the one Julia gave me for Christmas. We also got books for our respective plane rides, and then went to dinner at Macaroni Grill nearby. It was absolutely delicious, and Riley was very funny. While Julia packed at home, my mom and I took Riley ...

... it was a hot day made even worse by humidity.

The aquarium was very cool (especially since it had A/C, ha ha). There were lots of little exhibits to look at in addition to several big tanks that were chock full of fish. Since we were in Japan, everyone had a camera and crowded around to photograph every fish. Luckily, I was taller than almost everyone there, so I got some pictures too. The big tank with the whale sharks, rays ...

... of my still-tender toe, but I just pointed to it and tried to explain, and so the lady doing my feet avoided it except to paint it. It was extremely relaxing- the little girl across from us completely conked out. I chose jasmine oil to help me recover from my fatigue, and opted for some nail art to try to blend in more in Asia.

Unfortunately when we left the nail salon, it was pouring, so we slipped along the road in our massage oil-covered flip flops. Then when we ...

... through the sports section, through a giant kids section, and into a cruise terminal, without finding the place we first explored the day before. We had to leave the mall and walk around the exterior to get our bearings, and by that time I had about 20 minutes to shop before I had to head home. Nat and I said our goodbyes, and I hit the road. It instantaneously started raining when I stepped outside, and I managed to get good ...

So, I thought that April was busy. May was our first month on our own with Trevor deployed. Though I hate to explore without him. We (me and the kids) needed some distractions. I signed Ava up for a gymnastics class and a ballet class. Of course I forgot my camera most classes I did get a few pictures. The kids made some nice presents for me for Mother's Day, thanks to their provider Jen! We made a trip to my schools' Luau and the kids ...

... the first time. Because I had seen souvenir bottles of Awamori in Ryukyu-mura village, I wanted to taste it at least once in Okinawa. The hotel gave me a complimentary drink ticket, although I had to pay extra 300 yen, and that was a perfect chance to taste traditional Okinawan sake.

On the last day in Okinawa, firstly, we visited Seifa-Utaki, a spiritual place. Old Okinawans had some religious rituals in the middle of the forest ...

It`s time. Time to finish the reflections of India on the blog and post the rest of the pictures. It has been at least a month since we have returned and I have been procrastinating writing about India every step of the way. I can`t really figure out why, perhaps I wasn`t sure what to say, I don`t think it has fully digested, I don`t know what perspective to take on things, there hasn`t been enough time, there is entirely tooooo much to write about..... I talked about it 30 times to ...