Okinawan Diary- 1st mass email
Trip Start
Jul 23, 2005
1
3
72
Trip End
Jul 25, 2006
Kitanakagusku,
Japan
Thursday, September 1, 2005
So- I meant to be sending out a mass email a lot sooner than this, but resources and time have not allowed me to do it thus far. I am now somewhat organized and settled in Okinawa and hope that I can give you all a taste of what I have been up to without turning it into a small novel!
Let's see I have been here one month so far, and it has flown by! Everything is going really good though, and I am loving it here! About 200 JET's (Japanese Exchange and Teaching program people) departed from Chicago on August 23rd. Six of us were headed to the final destination of Okinawa. Oh- for those who know about as much geography as I use to- Okinawa is a really small island off the coast of the southern most island of Japan- Kyushu. It is a tropical island which is inhabited by most of the U.S
Chiye in her room
. military bases in Japan and many wonderful Okinawan people. Ok, I am getting off track here. 200 of us landed in Tokyo after an enduring 14 hour flight. Luckily no delays. Jet lagged and amazed we wandered into the Keio plaza hotel in Tokyo to find 1000 plus JET's from around the world! We spent two days at the hotel in meetings learning more about our jobs and the culture we were about to enter. We also spent a good deal of that time mingling with people from all over the world. The six of us that departed from Chicago together met the rest of the crew headed to Okinawa- an elite group of 25 people! Everyone else at the Tokyo conference was jealous of us needless to say- Okinawa is one of the highest requested placements in the JET program. One of those nights we went out to a crazy izakaya (basically a restaurant)- called Heaven and Hell. If I can get my pictures to work, a few from that night will be included. It was a good time to bond with our group. We noticed at the conference that the people from Okinawa had a unique experience in that after spending one night together, we became a very tightly knit group. After only knowing each other for a few hours it seemed as if we were good old friends. I can say now after being here for only one month that this has only become truer! The people in our group get along remarkably well and we all have something unique about us that adds to the group charisma
Chiye`s kitchen
!So, after two days at the conference in Tokyo we finally embarked for Okinawa! We took a two hour ride in a double decker plane to get there. A small group of us (myself included) spent another day in meetings in the capital of Okinawa- Naha before departing to our respective cities. There we got to meet ALT's (assistant language teachers- my official job title) that had been here for a year or two. There are about 120 ALT's from the JET program placed in Okinawa- a very small group. They have the best support system out of all of the other prefectures (I think the best way to explain prefectures would be like counties in the U.S., except maybe a little bigger. Not quite a state though.) I think that this support system makes a huge difference in the experience I am having. Everyone is so kind and helpful it is unbelievable.
I soon discovered that the ALT that I was replacing was not leaving for another week, so I was suppose to stay with my supervisor. Luckily, my supervisor is the sweetest, cutest 30 year old Japanese woman I have met so far and she speaks fairly good English
Chiye`s shower room
. I ended up staying with her and her family for one night. It was very interesting because her parents spoke no English and I spoke no Japanese. They were so kind in opening their home to me though, I really appreciated it and wished I could express that! Hopefully, my supervisor translated well. After my first night, of feeling like a jerk for having so much luggage and taking up so much room in their tiny house, we were able to get a hold of one of the other ALT's that I had come over with Chiye who also very generously invited me into her new apartment. I ended up staying with Chiye for about three weeks. Honestly, I thought that I would be settled into my own apartment right away, and off and running getting use to life on my own in a foreign country. It was the complete opposite case however, I don't think that I could have been luckier to have been stuck in the position of not having an apartment. The reason being Chiye! She is a really amazing person and I learned sooooooo much from her.
Here is why: Chiye is from Canada, but both of her parents were born in Okinawa. Therefore, she has extended family from both sides still living here. The first weekend I stayed with her, I met both sides of the family. The first day was mom's side and they were so kind to me, I was blown away. They insisted that I use their phone to call my parents, fed me, and gave me presents
First attempt at karaoke
. They treated me like part of the family, and even though they didn't speak English, they each tried to say a few words to me to welcome me! I learned more about Okinawan culture and got to experience some really unique things first hand. I couldn't believe how lucky I was. Oh ya- they also took us grocery shopping and bought us food. The next day I met the father's side of the family. They were also extremely nice and welcoming, taking us out for dinner and inviting me into their lives. They taught me some hogen (the okinawan dialect) and more about their way of life! Most of the other ALT's have not had an experience like this, so I feel extremely blessed to have Chiye helping me. One of her uncles pointed at himself and proclaimed "me Okinawa father"- so I know that if I ever need anything I have several people that are willing to help! Every time I seem him now, he tells me (at least I think this is what he is saying) that I need to eat more. He is worried that I don't like the food and that I am not eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. At least this is what I gather from his broken English and the little Japanese I am beginning to understand. By the way the food is Amazing!! I love it. It is much better than I thought it was going to be. There is some raw fish that I am a little indifferent too, but other than that it is really good, and not hard to get use to at all. In fact- the Okinawan people are the longest living people in the world
Full view
! I am really trying hard to discover the secrets to this so that I can share it with you all. So far it is really hard to determine because they drink a lot. Some of them also smoke a lot, so it is really boggling my mind. It is so blazing hot here, that I can't imagine a lot of them exercise a lot, although I have seen a few out running late at night or early in the am. And I have been told there a lot of marathons to participate it, but I don't think exercise is the key. It has to do something with the diet. And I can say one thing for sure, they eat a lot of eggs. I think eggs are in every dish they prepare. I even had my spaghetti delivered on a scrambled egg. Go figure- it was really good. So now that this email is getting really extremely long and most of you are probably getting a little bored, I will spare you the rest of the details for now and send them in a following email. Just know that I am doing well, and having a blast. I am finally in my own apartment, and after three days of cleaning it is livable and feeling comfortable. School is really good, but that will have to be another chapter in the adventure if I want to keep my readers interested!
Comments
Hello
Great Job! I loved it! Can't wait to see more! Is it okay if I pass your blog address around.
Re: Hello
Yes, mom! Please do- I am trying to get in organized sorry!