5 Things

Hi again. It's me. Sorry I left on such a sour note for such a long time. Despite what my last update would have you believe, I am actually doing really well. There is so much good in life, in this world, and so many reasons to be happy, despite what happened. Let me recount just a few things that have made me happy lately:

1. Going Home 

 At the end of that distressing journey from which I last blogged, there was a perfect ten-day trip home. It was exactly, exactly what I needed to refresh, regroup, and begin to move on. I am so thankful for all of the family and friends I met who gave me advice, encouragement, and love. I don't know what state I'd be in right now if it weren't for that trip. 

2. Friends

 Coming back to Okinawa was rough for a bit, but luckily I have incredible friends 

here who take me out for adventures to cheer me up or just sit with me in rough moments. 

 

of all sizes

My littlest friend, Dion, is the perfect cure for any blues. 

I also want to send a special shout out to my Canadian bestie, Sarra, 

who has been a huge encouragement from afar. Love you, lady.

3. Kudaka Island

One such adventure was a day trip to a gorgeous island. It was heavenly.

4. Rino's Wedding

 One of my local friends recently got married and I was not only invited to attend but had the honor to help with preparation. It was a great reminder that I will always be a hopeless romantic, and one failed relationship isn't going to keep me from having my moment someday.

5. Traveling!
This last weekend was sandwiched between two holidays as part of the "Golden Week" period here in Japan. In a nutshell, that means that everyone had time off, and that EVERYONE traveled. My friend I went up to mainland to finally experience some of the traditional Japanese culture

Fushimi Inari torii gates in Kyoto

Temple of the Golden Pavillion, Kinkakuji, in Kyoto

First, we went to Kyoto. These two temples were my favorite. Especially the top temple, Fushimi Inari. It's long been a dream of mine to visit and we went in the early morning and had the whole place to ourselves.

Osaka Castle

Next, we visited Osaka and while the aquarium was fun, if crowded, the highlight for me was seeing the Osaka Castle in person. Isn't it majestic? 

So, as you can see, life is pretty good. I still have tough moments, but they are becoming fewer and far between. I am excited about the future, discovering more small things to rejoice in, more adventures to embark on, and more life to live.

10 Things That Have Made Me Giddily Happy Recently: 2012!

It’s been entirely too long since I’ve blogged, so I am going to make this update quick and full of photos. In keeping with tradition, this will be another installment of Things That Have Made Me Giddily Happy Recently!

(In somewhat-chronological order) 

1. Visiting Idaho 

Being home for Christmas and New Year’s means so much to me, and I am incredibly grateful that I could go. I felt especially blessed this year to spend time with my great grandma (pictured in the center) before she passed away. I love you, Grandma!

2.  Visiting Seattle

No trip back is complete without a trip to Seattle. I feel so vibrantly happy and alive when I am back with my friends dancing, eating, singing, playing, adventuring. I love it!

3. Javier

 My sweet man was supposed to permanently leave the island in January, but he was back within the month because of some work issues. He is disappointed to delay his career change, but I am super happy to have a little more time to spend together! :)

   

4. Cooking with Sarra!

Sarra and I have started weekly cooking adventures where we try to make some new delicious (usually Japanese) dish. It’s one of my favorite parts of the week, because I love spending time with Sarra and, let’s not kid, I love food. 

5. Sakura

Cherry blossom season has already come and gone here on the island. I attended two hanami festivals and an illumination in February, and it was a great way to usher in the spring.

6. Sunflowers

On the topic of flowers, there is also an annual sunflower festival in Kitanakagusuku. It was beautiful to see all those sunflowers stretching out around me. If only the sun had been shining at the same time. :) 

7. My Alarm Clock

This little bird has made my balcony its morning perch, and I often wake up to his trilling song. I love it so much that I went and bought bird seed to encourage him to stick around more. It seems to be working! 

 8. International Food Club!

Another food post, I know, but it fuels life and friendships so how can it not make me giddily happy?!  For Chinese New Year, some friends and I put together a fun potluck at my apartment. We all tried our hands at Chinese food, to varying levels of success, and it was so fun and delicious that we decided to make it a monthly event. 

Our second meeting was Thai food and the food people brought was even more delicious than the Chinese food. I made pad thai, and was pretty pleased with the outcome, despite the absence of tamarind paste.

 I also thoroughly enjoyed decorating my apartment for the occasion, and used the excuse to buy a bunch of thai style décor that I’ve had my eye on for awhile. :D 

9. Student Skits

Lady Gaga?

 I always reserve the last few weeks of Oral Communication class for skit. It’s probably my favorite thing to teach because I get to enjoy my students’ creativity, encourage them to be expressive, and shock them with my dramatic outbursts. ;)

10. Western World!!

 Sarra, our friend, Logan, and I learned of this magical place over a year ago but we didn’t make it all the way to Okinawa City to check it out until February. Now, we can’t stay away!! Sarra and I are absolutely obsessed with line dancing and two-steppin’, the atmosphere is really friendly and fun, and we can sing along to almost all the songs (I had no idea I knew so much country). We love it so much that we went twice last weekend and are already itching to get back this Friday!

So there you have it! A short, and hopefully not boring, update of my little life here in Okinawa. I hope to be consistent with blogging again, but my technology curse always seems to rise up and present some obstacle. I am finding new and creative ways around it, though, so keep your eyes open for future updates. :)

Thanks for reading!

  

Gumball Rally 2011

 Okinawa JETs have an annual tradition of going a little crazy and having some fun around the island. It's a scavenger hunt, of sorts, but includes a variety of photos and videos to be taken or items to procure that are... a little out of the ordinary. But still legal. 

We call it The Gumball Rally. 

This year's event was organized by my favorite, Sarra, and our friends Lisa and Grant. 

 They made sure the teams were all organized, prepared the scavenger hunt list, and even planned a BBQ for when we finished.

When I heard that Gumball Rally was approaching, I put a team together of my favorite coworkers and another favorite ALT from Naha. Once we received our list, we were unstoppable.

We completed our first task within seconds of starting: share a donut without using your hands. Bravo, teammates!

A "blockhead" indeed.

Cross Dressing. Working that sexy Japanese style.
The cashier glared at us so much... :) Worth it. 

Jumping Jubilantly at Jusco! 

Challenge someone to a soda chugging contest. The student won. :) 

My baby daikon (giant radish). He has his mama's skin tone, don't you think?

Cramming into a small space. 

Eating raw goya (bitter melon). 

The littlest, pimpinest snowman. 

Typhoon teeter totter.

 Ah yes, I should mention that we had a tropical storm/typhoon roll through this weekend. The weather today was less than ideal, but didn't dampen our sense of adventure. Besides, we were able to complete many of the tasks while still indoors. Hoorah!

Tree Climbers.

Cliff Jumpers. 

Fake eyelash... wearers. 

These are just a few of a long list of challenges. Some of the best are the videos, but those were taken on another camera. Perhaps I can procure them and share them with you next time.

At 5:30, we met our judges and the other competing teams at the beach to tally scores and enjoy a rainy-day bbq. Additional points were given for team costumes and we planned ours well in advance.

Heroes vs. Villians

Max as "Corporeal Punishment"

Osborne as "Yankee Boy" 

Wang as "Goya Girl"

And me as "SHE-sa, Guardian of the Peace." (With Javier who was super sleepy.)

 Once all the points had been tallied, the judges announced the winners. Can you guess who took it by a landslide of points? Our team!!

It was a proud moment for us. 

I'm glad that OkiJETs are so awesome, that the planners came up with such a fun list of items, and that I had the best team EVER.

Gumball Rally 2011 = Success! 

Taipei Top 5!

Every year in Japan there are a cluster of holidays which fall close enough together to give us an opportunity for a little holiday. This year, despite some financial woes, I decided that I couldn't give up my best chance to see more than just this tiny island.

So, I decided to hop on over to the closest country (also a tiny island, but a new, exciting one): Taiwan!

I had a lot of great experiences during my short trip, and here is my Taipei Top Five! 

#1 Staying with Julie

I consider myself extremely lucky to have a friend like Julie. She used to work as a JET program ALT in Okinawa with me but finished up her contract and moved to Taipei. She is a sweet, extremely caring, and super fun friend. I was so happy that my trip to Taiwan meant that I got to spend time with her and see her nice, new apartment. 

#2 The Unintentionally Long (but Beautiful) Train Ride

On Wednesday morning, a big group of friends and recent acquaintances boarded a train to Jiufen (more about that later). Everything seemed to be going smoothly, but when we accidentally missed our transfer station, the express train we were riding on took us for quite the joy ride. The next station wasn't for another 30 minutes so all we could do was sit back and enjoy the ride. It was quite enjoyable, though. :) The scenery was beautiful, and we had this little girl to keep us entertained:

All told, our little side adventure put us back about two hours (I estimate) but it was relaxing, and we got to see more of Taiwan than originally planned, even if just from the train window. :) 

#3 Jiufen (The Spirited Away Town)

 Our real destination for the day was a little town tucked away in the mountains called Jiufen. It's famous for inspiring the anime Spirited Away but is also appreciated for it's stunning views:

...on a clear day, I suppose. Unfortunately the weather was less than accommodating so we mostly just enjoyed the food and shopping. Definitely worth the trip, despite getting soaked to the bone. 

"Tea Goose"

Shopping for Tea

#4 Sightseeing in Taipei

You can't go to Taipei without being a bit of a tourist, now can you? 

2-28 Peace Memorial Park 

I also went to two museums on the same day. Brain. Overload.

 Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall 

 Taipei 101: The world's 2nd tallest building. Another dreary day.

#5 FooooooOOOoooooood!

Lamb and Feta Burger. When you live overseas, it's okay
to eat really good burgers wherever you find them. :)

Yummy Tofu (not of the stinky variety)

Night market food: fried noodles and oyster omelet.

A delicious desert made of peanut brittle shavings, ice cream, and cliantro! Yum! 

The "Modern Toilet" Restaurant. Everything is served in toilet-shaped bowls. 

Yum! ;)

Bonus: Dancing with Zombies! 

Actually, these are my favorite two experiences from Taipei, but it seems weird to have a Top 6. ;) 

Julie has been taking swing dance lesson since she arrived in Taipei. If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE swing dancing, so I was most looking forward to hitting the dance floor!

 The Taipei Swing group was awesome! Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, and I loved the location. I danced until I was drenched in sweat and beaming with happiness. 

After all that dancing, we took a taxi to Ximen to meet up with some of Jules friends. They were extras in a local movie and were all done up in makeup to fit the part. 

Happy Zombie! Ahhhhhh!

It was definitely the most eventful night of my trip, which was altogether wonderful. 

Thank you, Jules, so much for hosting me and helping me experience so many wonderful aspects of Taiwan. Perhaps after I am done here in Okinawa I will follow in your footsteps.... we'll see. ;)