The Sound of Okinawa (Kind of)

This is a clip of me playing the sanshin (a traditional Okinawa banjo like instrument). I'm just learning this song called "Ume no Kaori" loosely translated to - The Smell of Plum (Tree?). This is a famous Eisa song that traditionally only women dance to. You can see the real Eisa dance at the video bar located on this website on the right side of the screen. The videos rotate every few days but its the one where the guy has a purple bandana on with a light blue vest. You can see a megaphone in the center top portion of the screen. Anyways, I'm a little embarrased by posting this but I thought it would give people an impression of what the Ryukyu Shamisen or "Sanshin" sounds like and also what I sound like too. Be advised, this video is kinda long so it will take some time to get through the initial video buffering. And its important that you let the buffering process finish or else the video gets screwed up forever and you can't play the whole thing. I hope you enjoy it!

PS. Just FYI, I'm no weirdo. It is embarrassing to look at myself.

Girl, you'll be a woman soon

So Emma turned two years old yesterday. It was actually the first time I ever attended a birthday party for Emma. Last year I was stuck in the middle of the jungle working like a Japanese salary-man slave. As a matter of fact, it was the first time Akemi's family was able to attend a birthday for any of our children. So it was very special. The only thing missing was Kristine and her family. Man I miss you guys more than you know! And Emma and Audrey

do too!

Here's Emma blowing the candles out on her birthday cake!

Also, Audrey and Emma have been recently reunited with their cousin Takuma. I think Takuma was doing fine by himself, but Audrey is sure happy to have him around! Here's a picture of the two of them on the swings at a park in Akemi's neighborhood. The poor guy is going to have childhood emotion scars once my daughters are done with him.

It's great to see the kids together. They really have fun together. I never really had any brothers, sisters, or cousins that were close to my age growing up. I think I probably missed out on something that many people have experienced. I'm glad to see my kids able to grow up with together with their Okinawan relatives. It makes me feel like I made the right decision.

The Most Awesome Freakin Slide in the World!!

Can you believe this freakin slide? Is it not the "S"!? Speaking of "S", the park' management asks that you please take home with you any pet excretions you might come across.

This is Manta Park and its down the street from our new place. I didn't even think about parks when we found our house, but you know it really does add to quality of life when you have little ones like we do. And did I mention it has a really cool slide?

I'm not going to bore you with more dialogue about my overall sense of happiness with the place we got. I'll just put some videos and pictures up on this thing and then shut up.



The kids love this park. Audrey is starting to get a little more adventurous with the playground equipment and I'm glad to see that. She's always been very cautious. Emma on the other hand could care less. She shows an unhealthy lack of concern for the physical well being of her body. I respect her carefree courageousness but everyday I am filled with fatherly concern for her welfare.

And for those fans of the video of Audrey and Emma dancing to Soldier Boy (by the way, I was amazed at your ability to detemine that song from their rambling dance - amazing baby talk skills you have!), I have attached another video of Emma after landing at Narita Airport. She's in a good mood and decides to dance to "Hey Baby (pronounced Hay Baybay)". Enjoy.

Anti-Base Sentiment

So we screwed up again. A 38 year old Marine based at Camp Courtney allegedley attempted to rape a junior high school girl in Kitanaka City last Sunday night. Obviously, this is causing a big stir among the Okinawan people and causing some political strife in this poorest of Japan's prefectures. The Marine (whom I worked with at Camp Fuji a few years ago apparently) is saying that although he did force the girl to stay in his vehicle after she pleaded to get out, all he did was try to kiss her. The girl finally got out of the car and reported to the police.
What is interesting is that there is a lot of controversy right now regarding the relocation of US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to northern Okinawa (which is much less populated) where they intend to build a large landing strip on top of the coral reef (a very sensitive ecosystem and one of the world's few refuges for the Dugong (looks like a Mantatee). This recent crime by a US Marine will strengthen the hand of those in Okinawa who oppose the relocation, I think, maybe. I don't know.
Everyday in the newspapers discussions about US base issues with the locals make the top spots. I see it on the news everyday. But nothings really changes I guess. Life still goes on as usual here in Okinawa. I'm trying to keep this business of mine surviving and the military are my one and only client. And lots of Okinawan people make a good living from base related work. So economically, its a very difficult and complicated issue for a lot of people. The best jobs on island are on base or relate to working for the base somehow.
But after suffering so much during the Battle of Okinawa during WWII, the Okinawan's have a VERY strong sense of the horrible costs of war. Those who actually remember those days really have some incredibly horrific stories to tell. So despite the economical benefits of the base, for a lot of Okinawans, the very fact of having such a large military presence in their midst is like harboring a great big evil machine. Many are pushing everyday, protesting and pushing to rid Okinawa of the powerful military presence. But this will not happen anytime soon. It will just keep going the way it has since 1945.
If you sit and think about it. I am a small but direct result of the events that led to WWII and to the following US occupation of Okinawa. Without the war, how else in the world would a poor Okinawan farm girl named Yoshiko meet a young GI named Joe Bull? It wouldn't have happened in a million years. Anyways, I'm rambling. The world isn't perfect. Sure we'd all love to sing songs of peace and put down our guns so to speak. But it is what it is and I'm here in Okinawwa with a job to do. But it is fascinating this clash of two cultures here. Both the good, bad and the ugly.

Our House in Koja

We are still trying to set up our internet and so I'm writing from what the Japanese call and "internet/comic book cafe". They charge a lot so I'm not going to write much now. I just want to show pictures of this house we found. Akemi and I are very happy with the location and the house itself. The area is central to most everything and its a very quiet street and low traffic street we live on. We feel very lucky to have found this place for as cheap as we did.

The front of the house

The front door / entrance

Our living room and japanese style dining area. The tatami mats are raised from the floor

View from the genkan entrance. To the far left is the kitchen and bathroom, to the right are the two spare bedrooms.

The view from the living room.

Kitchen area with my new kick ass washer in the background

Large Kitchen Counter area. My office room is in the background.

Our sleeping area. This is our one big bedroom. Japanese typically sleep on tatami mats that are put in the closet during the day. This tatami is also raised from the floor just like in the living room.

The bathroom. Did you notice the urinal? Me too!

Doors to the two spare rooms. To the right is the entrance. Behind me is the living area and bathroom.

The beginnings of my Okinawa Environmental Science Office!

The washroom sink and my high tech washer again.

The shower/bath room

The shower / bath is its whole separate room in Japan. No toilet. So you can go absolutely crazy with spraying water everywhere. Its my absolute favorite thing about this country.