Do-ka Do-ka

There are few things better to do on a perfect 75 and sunny day than sit in a breezy restaurant enjoying a relaxing lunch with great friends while looking out over the ocean. That was Matt and I a couple weekends ago as Okinawa had its first truly gorgeous weekend of 2011. The guys had gone for 2 early morning dives, so I (along with my two girlfriends) met them up at an amazing little cafe for lunch near Onna. I don't remember exactly how to get there, but it seemed like we had just turned off a main road for about thirty seconds, and we were at this little place with a fantastic view of the East China Sea called Do-ka Do-ka.

While the cafe wasn't large at all, it seemed bigger than it actually was because of the tall ceilings and open patio that gave it a loft-like feel. Differing from most of the other places I've been in Okinawa, this placed seemed relatively newer with a "rustic meets industrial" feel with most of the materials being wood, concrete or metal. Half of the restaurant was a dining patio, while the other half displayed all types of different hand-made Okinawan ceramics for sale. It literally feels like you're up in a treehouse! My opinion is that Do-ka Do-ka Cafe isn't a very child-friendly restaurant for 2 reasons: 1 - all of the breakable ceramics that were placed at child-level (and weren't cheap btw!) and 2 - the patio railing was fairly open and a child could easily slip through it and fall. That's just my opinion if we happened to have children... which we don't... ;)

The entrance to Do-ka Do-ka

Traditional Japanese - no shoes allowed

The view from the dining area patio

3 Japanese girls at the cafe

The food was awesome! Matt and I shared a "Do-ka Do-ka" Pizza and some Taco Rice (very popular here in Okinawa). My purple drink was some kind of fruit juice that I had never heard of - it was very strong, sweet and delicious!

The ceramics area

My favorite Oki girls Amanda & Lyndsey:)

I LOVE finding new places to eat in Okinawa, and this day holds such great memories. We are so very blessed to have such wonderful friends to enjoy life in Japan with (even if the guys couldn't stop exagerating about the size of the sharks they had seen on their morning dive!)

-C

Flat Stanley

Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Stanley who became flat, allowing his parents to send him in the mail to visit his friend in California. That was a long time ago, but the story of "Flat Stanley" still lives on today in a little first grade class in Lake in the Hills, Illinois. My cousin, Jack, is a student in this very class, and their project was to make their own Flat Stanley and send him to someone they know who lives the farthest away from them - and that would be us! When my Aunt contacted me about Jack's school project, we were excited to help by having Stanley come visit us in Japan. We thought it was such a cool idea - I sure wish I would have had this project when I was in first grade! Once he arrived, we spent about a week together, taking him with us where ever we went (except work - I doubted Stanley would find the bank at all interesting).

The project entailed us to take Stanley to interesting areas of our city (or country in this case!) and take photos of him with local landmarks here. So, in the beginning of the week, we took him around to places like Araha Beach, a Japanese garden, our favorite sushi restaurant, and even got a photo of him in front of the Japanese flag. Near the end of his trip, we decided to take Stanley to the place we both agreed was the best representation of Japan - Shuri Castle. We drove down to Naha, took a tour of the castle grounds, and got photos of Stanley in all different parts, including one of him overlooking all of Okinawa. Matt really wanted to take him scuba diving with us (in a sealed water-proof bag of course!) which I thought would have been awesome! However, the weather didn't permit us to do any water activities that week, and Stanley needed to make it back to Illinois by April 7th, so we had to forget about the diving:(

Other than the diving, Stanley had a very educational trip to Okinawa, Japan. And he didn't leave empty handed either - his souvenirs included some Japanese Chinsuko cookies for Jack to share with his classmates and an adorable "I LOVE JAPAN" T-shirt! I'm so happy we were able to help my cousin Jack out with his school project as I'm pretty sure his Flat Stanley went the farthest - you can't get much farther away than the other side of the world!

Happy Travels Flat Stanley!

-C

Hope for Japan

History is being written every day, and it is an amazing thing to be able to say that we were living in Japan when they experienced their record-breaking 8.9 magnitude earthquake and devastating tsunami. We are so very fortunate here on Okinawa that we were far enough away from the epicenter that we were not affected. In fact, we never even felt the initial quake or any of the ensuing aftershocks. Even California got more of a tsunami than we did. I'm telling you - God was protecting our little island. The death toll currently just passed 11,000 with more being added each day as re-building begins. While the people up in mainland Japan are still feeling the aftershocks every day, another growing concern that many of our family and friends back in the States have been wondering about is the radiation from the damaged power plants. As far as we know, we have not received any radiation down here in Okinawa, and according to our sources, we are not projected to get any because of the wind paths across the globe - they don't go south, they go east into the Pacific Ocean. In fact, Okinawa has been pronounced as a "safe zone" to which many American families living up in mainland Japan have evacuated to.

A diagram showing where the epicenter was in relation to Okinawa (click to view larger)

Unfortunately for us, we (along with four of our other friends) had a trip planned and paid for to Kyoto up in mainland Japan that has since been cancelled - and barely refunded at all. We ended up losing about $300 on the tickets. No matter how mad we were about our situation, we realized that the situation that many others are in right now is about a million times worse. People lost their homes, their belongings, their pets, their family members, and their lives. We were actually living IN Japan at the time of this devastating event. If all we lost was $300 and a vacation, then I thank God for that!

Thank you everyone back in the States for all your love, support and prayers for our safety and for everyone up in mainland Japan!

-C

Bollywood Dreams

Our obsession with curry continues as we got to experience another great Indian restaurant in Okinawa - Bollywood Dreams. Shortly after Matt returned from Korea, we went out for some dinner and dessert, followed by a rented movie. Bollywood Dreams is a brand new restaurant that just opened up in a shopping center in American Village. It's tiny, but has really flavorful decor: bright lights, graphic upholstery, and large screens playing the latest movies straight from Bollywood (India's version of Hollywood). While the dinner sets are a little pricey, I think both Matt and I agree that it was worth it - our favorite curry yet! The best part is it comes with a whole plate of rice (Basmati - one of my favorite types) and the most delicious Naan bread that I have ever tasted! Matt got the cheese-filled type, and I went with the crispier garlic Naan.

My Chicken Moghlai creamy curry

Garlic Naan

Matt and I at the restaurant

The view in American Village

Time for dessert - they had no English menus, so we had to guess what kind of ice cream we were getting, but this was the closest thing I have had to Coldstone in awhile!

Definately on our "favorites" list!

-C

Sleeves Up - Spring is Here!

My favorite time of the year is here once again - "Sleeves Up Season" - also known as Spring! While clocks over in the States are reflecting daylight savings time, the Marines stationed over here in Okinawa, Japan are marking the change of season with their uniforms. If you aren't familiar with the Marine Corps lifestyle, you may not be aware of their bi-yearly uniform changes. Fall and Winter = Woodland Camis (dark green and black), sleeves down. Spring and Summer = Desert Camis (light tan), sleeves up.



I am so excited for this Spring and Summer. We just passed our half-way point living out here, and 2011 is our last full year living in Japan. Now that Matt is finally back from his classes and deployments, I feel like our year can truly begin. We have some amazing activities and trips planned for this year, so stay tuned, and as always, thank you to all of our friends and family for your love and support!

-C

Whale of a Good Time

Every year around this time, the waters of Okinawa, Japan become home to some of the most amazing creatures on earth - Humpback Whales. I had wanted to go see them last year, but Matt was in Thailand, and I (being unemployed at the time) had very few friends on the island. Although Matt is currently deployed in Korea, I just couldn't let another year pass me by without getting to see these giant mammals! While many of my friends would like to go on the boat tour, most of them are too nervous to actually do it. Why? (You might ask) Because the trek out to the whales is supposedly a rough one, from which many horror stories of sea sickness tend to surface. I've heard stories of people throwing up on the ground, over the side, on each other... you get the idea. I'm not going to lie - I was a little nervous, imagining myself getting seasick and being stuck out there with nowhere to go. However, my desire to see whales was stronger.

I got my brave friend, Lyndsey, to go out with me. It was a decent day outside - started off a little chilly and cloudy, but quickly cleared up. After downing some Dramamine and tying on bright orange life-vests, we boarded the boat and sat on cushions on the floor, because all the window seats had filled up quickly. We departed from Tomari Port in Naha City around 9:00 in the morning, and the course took us north, not far off from areas that we've actually been to swim and dive at. After about a 45 minute boat ride, we quickly realized that all the sea-sickness people had warned us about was not from the actual ride out there, but from sitting at our location, rocking back and forth, back and forth, back and forth for an hour while we were to watch the whales. While Lyndsey ended up feeling quite nauseous the whole time out there, I, luckily, felt absolutely fine!

We saw our first whale right as the boat stopped - the huge creature came to the surface, blowing air into the sky and flapping his tail as he went back down into the ocean. And then there was another, and another, and another - they were amazing! Often, we would see many whales, and then we wouldn't see any for 5-10 minutes or so. When we saw them again, we would move our boat closer as if we were chasing them - us and the five other whale-watching boats that were out there! It was more difficult to photograph them than I had expected it to be. They were so quick and popped up in random places. I'd be looking 100 feet out, and then one would pop up just feet from the boat, right underneath me! Out of nowhere, one even FULLY jumped into the air (I wasn't quick enough to get a photo). It was HUGE and incredible how a creature that size is able to jump that high into the air! It was like a scene right out of a National Geographic magazine - It's hard to believe I actually got to see that, but I did, and it was probably one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed so far!

Sitting on the floor of our boat (named PINKA) on our way out to the whales

We were the only Americans aboard:)

The crew gave us a little instruction sheet in English... "When you feel like vomiting, do not vomit into the toilet, it clogs easily."

Lyndsey and I

Most of them were so close to our boat!

We kept hearing, "Sugoi!" "Sugoi!" (Wow! Wow!)

Right off Cape Zampa!

Check out this very short video clip of one of the whales:

I actually had an amazing time, and I can't wait to do this again with Matt!

-C

Deployment Destination #3: Korea

If Matt had not reenlisted with the Marine Corps back in 2009, a few things wouldn't have happened. I wouldn't have quit my job, we wouldn't know what it was like to live in Japan, and Matt wouldn't have ever gotten the chance to be deployed... for the third time... to the third country... in the past year. Maybe it hasn't been his dream of going to Afghanistan, but getting to see the world through month-long deployments isn't too shabby... especially when you get to stay in a 4 star hotel. Unfortunately, he wasn't as lucky this time.

As many of you know, Matt was doing a class out in Twentynine Palms, California for 6 weeks. I picked him up at the airport here in Okinawa on Tuesday night (February 15th), and was unexpectedly dropping him right back off to fly to Korea 48 hours later on Thursday night (February 17th). That's the Marine Corps for you.

South Korea is great for shopping... I actually had plans for a possible weekend trip to Seoul this summer. However, if you're visiting during the winter, be prepared to dress in layers and winter clothes - it is freezing! (Or so I hear from Matt). He's been wearing layers upon layers of government-issued cold weather gear, and he is still shivering outside. He's been working 16-hour days and sleeping in large tents with about 15 other Marines, all on cots. Lately, he's been so busy at work that he's been eating MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) instead of getting food from the Chow Hall! There is snow on the ground inside parts of his sleeping tent, and although there is a space-heater, it is apparently not strong enough to ever melt the snow inside the tent (if that gives you an idea of how "warm" it gets). And to get an internet connection, he goes to a spot with a strong signal... outside... in the snow. Any time I get to skype with him, I feel horrible, because he's standing outside freezing while I'm sitting in my nice, warm, comfortable apartment.

Matt in his cold-weather gear

His new home for the next month

Inside the tent




Running Fiber Optic Cable at work

The pro to all of this: beside the fact that Matt is getting to see yet another new country, he's also finally getting to live like a Marine. This is what they train them for. This is what other Marines before him have endured, and for much longer than one month! Although I don't think he'll be warm again untill he gets off the plane in Okinawa next month, I know he will be glad he got this experience.

Please keep Matt in your prayers!
-C

Don't Rain on my Parade

Although the "rainy season" isn't technically here yet, we've sure been getting a lot of rain this past month! Today's post is short and sweet - since I've been stuck indoors a lot lately, there isn't much for me to report on beside posting some cool photos of the Okinawan rain showers. I think I've previously mentioned that we have some of the most *amazing* skies here in Japan - the clouds and colors are incredible, and I always kick myself if I don't have my camera on me around sunset time - God's handiwork at its finest! Here are a couple shots from one of our many "secluded" island rain showers - one of my favorite things:) Just because you're being rained on in one spot, doesn't mean the sun isn't shining a few feet to the left! Enjoy!

-C

Coffee Casa

I think breakfast is probably my favorite meal of the day, which is why it is so ironic that I am usually rushing through it as I am flying out the door to work morning after morning. The other weekend, I met up with some girlfriends at a new (well, new for me) little breakfast place right near the Sunabe Seawall called Coffee Casa. What an adorable place! Of course, like most restaurants in Okinawa, it isn't big - just a one-room little coffee house with a patio and outdoor tables in the front. However, the place was busy, and for good reason - it was the best breakfast I'd had in awhile!

My Cinnamon Chai came out in its own little teapot - I'm not exaggerating when I say this is the best Chai Latte I've ever had (yes, better than Starbucks). It was delicious!

The plate of thick-cut French Toast looks like a lot of food, but it really was the perfect amount. Again, the best French Toast I've ever had - it was sweet and browned on the outside and squishy in the middle. Top it off with fresh blueberries, bananas and homemade whipped cream, and you've got Heaven for breakfast. Also comes with the tiniest little syrup pourer;)

The girls

I'm stopping myself from running out to Coffee Casa right now! I can't wait to go back!

-C