The First Christmas Eve Away

The cute little tree I found on bookoo!

 I have to admit - I felt like a grinch yesterday. Everything seemed to be going wrong with my preparations for Christmas! I had not had time to find any stockings to hang since the exchange had already sold out. Due to the increased volume of packages arriving on the island, we had exactly zero presents under the tree. No presents from friends or family or even Matt's gifts to me ordered from the internet. I went grocery shopping to pick up a few last minute essentials for baking cookies. The store was packed and every single packet of sugar cookie mix was gone. Just gone. I could feel my stress level rising...and then I just started grinning like a maniac in the middle of a packed store. I realized that I was missing the entire point of Christmas!

To quote from How the Grinch Stole Christmas: "But this... this sound wasn't sad. Why... this sound sounded glad. Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small, was singing, without any presents at all! He hadn't stopped Christmas from coming, it came! Somehow or other... it came just the same."

Christmas is not about stockings or sugar cookies or presents under the tree. It's about remembering the birth of Jesus and spending time with loved ones. I get to spend Christmas with my Marine husband, something not every military wife can say. I have so much to be grateful for! 

Today I finished my preparations for the big day completely stress-free. I baked peanut butter cookies instead of sugar, had two packages arrive in the mail, and wrapped my gift to Matt. There are presents under the tree after all! 

Why all this emphasis on cookies? Well, Matt had a wonderful idea to bring homemade goodies to his single marines that could not go home for Christmas. We made plans to deliver them Christmas morning. I asked how many Marines I was baking for, and he responded "around thirty." Thirty!? That's a whole bunch of cookies! I baked three batches of three dozen each. Whew!

3 x 36 = 108 That is 108 peanut butter blossoms right there!

Tonight we attended a candlelight church service at our chapel on base, and afterwards we drove to American village to meet up with some friends for ice cream! We rode the big ferris wheel! It was high and slow. It took fifteen minutes to go around once. On our way from the ferris wheel to ice cream we noticed a pattern: Japanese girls wear Santa costumes on Christmas Eve. Sexy Santa costumes. Dressed in jeans and a sweater I felt completely left out! I guess I have time to get prepared for next year. I just need: stockings, sugar cookies mix, and a santa costume. 

I'm not making this up! Sexy Santas were everywhere!

The "American" Village

South of where we live is a collection of restaurants and shops known collectively as American Village. Locals and Americans both love to visit. Matt and I have made the drive for the past three weekends! They have American staples such as Starbucks and Red Lobster as well as hotdog stands, burger joints, and frozen yogurt. There are also the Okinawan classics of taco rice and sushi available. Matt and I were tickled to shop in one of the American-themed stores. It was filled with denim, cowboy boots and hats, leather jackets, and "vintage" sweatshirts (really old sweatshirts from American universities). And patches from random uniforms. Bins and bins of patches that they will sew onto whatever denim clothing you decide to purchase.

Our favorite place to visit is the Sega store. It is an arcade with claw machines and games. Matt and I have a favorite game that we affectionally call the drum game. It is similar to Rock Band, but you have to play the Japanese drum (the taiko) on beat to the song. There are little animated taikos that cheer you on as your play! Matt tried a higher difficulty setting once, and his animated drum just left the screen when it wasn't going well.

Matt won me a milk tea-flavored lollipop! It was..bleh. 

Me and my friend showing off our drumming skills!

During this season there are Christmas lights all over American Village. Since Thanksgiving isn't celebrated here they came out the day after Halloween. Particularly the American-themed stores go all out with Santa and reindeer all over the place.

Whoever comes to visit us will definitely be treated to dinner and a challenge on the drum game at one of our new hang out spots - American Village!

The Quarter of a Century

"You know I'm gonna be 25 in June. That's a quarter of a century. Makes a girl think."

An appropriate quote from Marilyn Monroe's character Sugar Kane in one of the best movies of all time: Some Like It Hot. While I am not currently being wooed by a phony millionaire who also happens to be part of a duo of musicians hiding from the mob by dressing as women (as exciting and confusing as that would be), I managed to have a nice birthday all the same. The wonderful location of our home in Okinawa certainly did not hurt.

Perfection!

The night before my friend and neighbor Kema brought me over red velvet cheesecake cupcakes with homemade cream cheese frosting. The cupcakes were coupled with a "Happy Birthday" rendition by her son.  I am so grateful I had a friend bake me a birthday dessert and another friend sing to me!

Blue glass is my favorite!

 Matt and I started the day by combing the nearby beach for sea glass which was wildly successful. Then we ate lunch at a 50's cafe with picnic tables overlooking the ocean. The cafe was American-style with license plates from different states (we saw Georgia!) and Christmas music playing. It was an interesting juxtaposition to the owners who did not speak any English!

Lunch was followed by pedicures with my girlfriend in the afternoon. This was my first time getting designs on my toes, and I was afraid to breathe in case I disrupted their artwork. My toes are now winter-themed with little snowflakes!

Matt and I ended the night with California-style sushi at American village. The sushi rolls had avocado and cream cheese (yum) and were so huge Matt did not finish his either. It was a shocking amount of food. All in all I had a wonderful day. Even if I am a quarter of a century I am not thinking too much about where my life is going. I like exactly where it is. 

The Tea Room

 Every time a pass the grocery store I see a tower not too far off that says "Coffee" in big letters. You might assume it is a coffee shop (as I did), but you would be very wrong. It is actually a Victorian themed tea room that my girlfriend and I finally discovered for ourselves. When we drove up to the parking lot that could only fit three cars, we were greeted by an archway and stone lions. Through the archway was a path with statues on either side. There were statues of women and a horse and the ever-present shisa dogs. There were also Christmas decorations everywhere! We saw disney characters and reindeer, and a man was busy hanging christmas lights over another archway. We thought the outside was busy, but when we walked inside we were astonished. There was stuff EVERYWHERE! The theme was Victorian with angel statues, chandeliers, and porcelain dolls in cabinets. However, Christmas decorations had taken over. There were multiple trees and themed tablecloths and strings of lights over all the windows.

We were the only two in the entire restaurant, so we were able to pick a place to sit. There were mismatched couches pulled up to tables all over the place. We were handed a menu in Kanji, but the waiter/chef must have noticed our faces because he immediately retrieved a menu in English for us. There were selections of coffee, tea, and toast as well as several entree options. One of the choices was sea urchin, but neither of us was feeling adventurous enough. We both ordered fried chicken that came with soup, salad, rice, and what appeared to be a hotdog with ketchup. Anyway, the food was delicious. 

We also ordered Earl Grey tea. We were brought two different styles of cups and saucers. Mine was in the shape of a heart with blue and purple flowers, but my friend's cup was covered with pink roses and gold trim. We both felt very refined drinking our afternoon tea in real china, and we want to experience such refinement again when we return!

The Thanksgiving Feast

Matt was there. He is the one taking the picture.

For our first holiday in Okinawa Matt got a four day weekend, and we celebrated Thanksgiving day with our neighbors. Our nine story apartment building is still being renovated, so there are only six families total living on the third or first floor. Even though an entire building was invited, we were still able to fit around two tables pushed together. I love our little community, and we are all a bit sad that we have to share this great big building with others eventually.

We divided up the traditional dishes, and we ended up with a plethora of food! I made a nine pound ham, deviled eggs, and my mom's recipe for meatballs. Those were a hit with the kids table! They asked for seconds! There was also turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, macaroni and cheese, cobbler, cookies, and oreo pie. Everything was homemade and delicious. My personal favorite, however, was the sweet potato casserole. It tasted like sweet, traditional casserole with marshmallows, but the color was off. Okinawa is known for its purple sweet potatoes, and those are the only ones available on the island. The result was a bright purple dish. Yum!

It was nice to have Thanksgiving plans while we are so far from family. Thank you to all my new friends and neighbors for welcoming us to our new home!

The Restaurant in the Sky

This Saturday Matt and I got out of bed early (well, earlier than most Saturdays) and met our friends for an adventure! We decided to eat at a restaurant called Pizza in the Sky followed by a tour of castle ruins. I had heard about both these places because the travel office on base offers tours of both, but we decided to pile into a car with friends and drive ourselves. Road trip!

We drove north on the expressway into the mountains, and following directions we found online we turned off the main road onto a side road that was paved but very skinny and windy. We went up and up a mountain, following the signs that pointed towards Pizza in the Sky. We had to wait for about 40 minutes, but we had a breathtaking view to entertain us during our wait! We could see the ocean from high up on our mountain.

We could see picnic tables outside, but the first table we were offered was inside. We agreed as we were all starving by that point. We left our shoes at the door and sat on the mats for my first meal sitting Japanese-style. The poor guys! We had four very tall Marines in our party, and their legs were up by their ears the whole time. Their legs could not fit under the table!

The menu was printed on a paper fan

The pizza was amazing! It had sausage, corn, peppers, onions, and lots and lots of cheese. Having never been there before, we weren't sure what to get. The only choices were salad, small pizza or medium pizza. We decided on two salads and four medium pizzas for the table of six. The pizzas looked like larges to me when they arrived! We were worried we would not be able to finish everything, but we managed to eat every last slice.

We followed our large meal with a trip to see the ruins of Nakijin Castle. We were immediately impressed with the long walls of stone made with no mortar. The stones were so expertly placed that the castle walls remain intact with nothing holding them together.

We then climbed many, many stairs to view the surrounding area from above. This castle was very well defended. It is surrounded by steep cliffs that stretch all the way to the ocean. It made for some stunning views. I think today was my favorite day since arriving. The weather was perfect, a breeze was blowing, and I was amazed by the views of mountain and ocean. I cannot wait to explore our little island even more.

The Major Happenings This Week

First Major Happening: The Marine Corps Ball

Matt and I missed the ball for his unit, but our sponsor bought tickets so we could attend the ball for the staff of third division (I don't get the organization of the divisions...all I know is I wore a pretty dress). I think this was the best ball I have been to yet! We sat at a table with our sponsors, so we had people to talk with throughout dinner. Speaking of which...dinner was really delicious! Salad and shrimp cocktails and roast beef and cake. The cake was the biggest I have ever seen at a birthday ball. We had dancing as well, and I insisted that other wives join me for the electric slide and cupid shuffle. I even met a general who shook my hand and slapped me on the back (kind of hard too). I think that means I met his approval...

Second Major Happening: Matt's New Car

Matt purchased a 1996 Mitsubishi Pajero Mini from another Marine leaving the island. It has four wheel drive, jump seats in the back, and a surf rack on the roof. It is perfect for Matt and his large amounts of gear. Even though the car is 17 years old, since the JCI requires that maintenance and repairs are complete every two years cars stay in much better condition. I also drove off base for the first time when we went to pick up the car. I cut off a bus accidentally (which is illegal here), but no casualties so I am ready for my next driving adventure!

Third Major Happening: Shisa Lion-Dogs

Shisa lion-dogs can be found all over the island. They are outside every home and every business. Even on base! There is even a pair on the roof of our tower, but we wanted some of our very own. One is male with his mouth open to scare away bad spirits, and the other is female with her mouth closed to keep good luck within the home. Now we have our own shisa as well as the fierce Tilly to keep away bad spirits!

Really, really big shisa at a restaurant. 

The Beach Nearby

 Today we were able to put Matt's new, rugged vehicle to good use! We drove just two minutes down the road, parked in a small dirt lot, and walked down to the beach for the first time since we have lived in Okinawa.

It was so different from the beaches back in North Carolina! The sand is very course as it is crushed coral and shell. There are huge volcanic rocks that line the coast. The line of sand is very small before it turns back into jungle. Since our new beach is a bay, lots of trash gets washed ashore. The positive aspect to this is that Matt and I were able to find so many pieces of smashed pottery, sea glass in multiple colors, and shells we had never seen before.

My handful of green sea glass worn smooth by the waves.

We wandered the beach collecting treasures, then sat on the rocks to eat our snack of green tea kit kats and CC Lemon from the vending machine by our car.

We will be returning often to pick up any interesting pieces we find as well as to admire the turquoise water. Any ideas for crafts with sea glass? I already have two pockets full!

The Neo Park Zoo

Chris and Meghan: Our Saintly Sponsors

We had only been in Okinawa a week. We had already purchased a car, been assigned a home, and had our furniture delivered. Obviously on our second Saturday on the island we should go on a road trip! Our sponsors took us to the north side of the island to visit the Neo Park Zoo. This was the first time they did not have to drive us somewhere (we had a car at this point), but chose to do so anyway.

Chris had heard of a restaurant surrounded by waterfalls, so we set out to eat lunch first. We were in a rather large city, but then we saw a sign for the restaurant that said to turn off the main road. We kept following these signs along the dirt road with arrows pointing us deeper and deeper into the jungle. We finally found the restaurant... with a parking lot of tour buses! We were obviously not that far into the wilderness. We saw staircases winding around many beautiful manmade waterfalls. We climbed multiple staircases dripping with bright flowers to the top of the waterfall only to discover that the restaurant itself was at the base of the hill, so we climbed right back down. The food was great, and I went outside my comfort zone to try papaya kimchi (that was spicy) and some sort of seaweed side (that was salty) along with my ginger pork (that was amazing). 

After lunch we headed to the zoo. This zoo was different because you could feed most of the animals! You bought food at the beginning, and then you wander through different zones full of animals that eat right out of your hand!

I was scared of this guy's beak, and he did get my fingers! Ouch!

The wallabies were so cute!

Two handsome fellows. 

It was a small zoo, but the animals had plenty of room to roam around. The only part I did not like was the dog area. They had what appeared to me to be normal house dogs just tied to posts. That confused me, but overall the animals were well fed and super friendly. We had an amazing time at the zoo-and then ended the day with shaved ice. It is November here, but the days are still hot! At least it isn't too cold for more island exploring!