Okinawa Lily- Sept. 27, 2012

With the approach of our THIRD typhoon this weekend, yes, THIRD since we have arrived, I figured I would take advantage of the beautiful weather (it's always cool and windy before a typhoon) and Lily's day off from school, to take us on a little field trip to Kurashiki Dam and Observatory Park.
The dam, I must confess was pretty anticlimactic, especially after the GORGEOUS walking trail leading up to it, but the observatory field/park was great and Lily had a nice time running around chasing birds and butterflies.
While we have the beach and lots of fun kid's parks here in Okinawa, I think Lily misses our yard where she could just RUN. The child loves to just run free! As soon as she saw the observatory park, she was fighting to get out of the stroller. When her little feet hit the ground she was running and giggling a mile a minute. Her joy brings me joy.

There was a little stream on the grounds that some children were playing in as well that Lily really enjoyed. Cool crisp spring water with tiny fish and tadpoles darting around our feet. I could almost see her little brain working and learning as she turned over the rocks and stood still so that the fish could come close to her toes.

 

Okinawa Lily - Sept. 22, 2012

Today, we ventured to the Nakagusuku Castle Ruins. The view was spectacular. We also happened upon a little festival at the top! Lily, of course, was thrilled with the music and dancing.
Here are a few pictures from our day.

The view was BREATHTAKING...

Okinawa Lily - Sept. 17, 2012 Preschool

Today was Lily Grace's first day of preschool! For two years she has been home with me, the time has  FLOWN by! Jeff and I were able to find a preschool with an actual curriculum that had a half day program here on the island! We had been researching and researching and RESEARCHING preschools before we got here. This school was in my top three and I had been emailing the headmaster back and forth for months. As you know, it took us a while to get settled in, but once settled a bit we stopped by and did a tour. What a charming little school. So much like the one Lily was suppose to attend in Camden. They even use the same curriculum! We were in love. Unfortunately, there was a waiting list. We immediately put Lily on it and in a week, we got the call that there was room in the 2 year old class starting immediately!

We waited a week so that I could start her on a Monday. Her schedule is Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9am to 1:30pm. Lily has never been away from me for that amount of time, unless she has been with family. I have to say, I was very nervous this morning. How would she react? Would she cry? Would she be upset all day? Would they have to call me to come get her? What if she were hurt?! My mind was racing. 

We arrived at 8:30am. VERY early. With Lily being a week behind the other students, I had to arrive early to get all of her things labeled and to help her get settled in. There was also a BUNCH of school supplies to hand in to her teachers and most of all *I* needed the time. I needed the time to know that she was going to be okay. Luckily, she has two teachers and they are assisted by a teacher's aide! While the teacher's aide and I were getting all of her things situated, her two teachers immediately had her busy and distracted.  By the time we were done, one of her teachers gave me a wink and a wave and I was on my way. Lily didn't even notice I was gone.

I waited in the parking lot with my phone in my hand, waiting for them to call. 10 minutes went by. The phone never rang. So, I made my way down the winding, narrow mountain road leading away from her school. I knew she would be fine. When I picked her up, they said she did really well! Follows directions and did not cry once! They did mention that she was not very good at staying in her seat, but she is 2 and that will come with time. I giggled inwardly because I know Lily....they are lucky she sat in the seat for even a little while. 

Lily's Classroom

Okinawa Lily - Sept. 15, 2012

We have been trying the local restaurants once or twice a week since we arrived. Jeff and I LOVED Japanese food before we moved to Okinawa and our love has not faded. Lily Grace is willing to try most things and likes many new foods. Her favorite are miso soup with LOTS of tofu, soft boiled eggs and noodles and pretty much any noodle dish. The restaurants are very kid friendly here, even if they look "fancy" by American standards.

 Last night we tried a traditional Okinawan restaurant. Lily is sitting on a "booster seat" at one of the traditional tatami tables. She was tickled to be sitting at table height with us and very interested in the photos and Coke bottles on display behind us.

The meal I shared with Lily, included, Miso soup with noodles made on site, garlic pork rice with quinoa and veggies mixed in, and sweet short ribs. (The dish in the left corner is a pickled seaweed and onion garnish)

 It was delicious. Lily liked the soup and noodles the most, but also liked the pork out of the rice. :-) 

Today, we visited an indoor organic farmers market. The fruits and vegetables available to us at the commissary on base, leave a lot to be desired. The government has a lot of it shipped in from California, Hawaii or surrounding countries and it is often pretty poor looking by the time it hits the shelves and astronomically expensive to boot! (Think $5 for not even a full quart of blueberries and $7 for a quart of strawberries) . We were DYING for fresh food. The produce in the local grocery stores is beautiful and fresh...but also VERY expensive. What were we missing? Surely, people don't pay this much for fruits and vegetables. So, I did a little research and consulted a few online forums and groups and discovered there were fresh markets, farmers markets and fruit and veggie stands all over the city. You just had to know where they were, when they were and what currency they accepted.

The market opened at 7am. We thought we were doing pretty good getting there around 11...boy were we wrong. Not only was it CRAZY busy, but a lot of the produce was gone. There was still plenty to choose from. Next time...I'll go earlier.

I love that the rice here is sold in HUGE bags... 

These where some kind of sweets... 

I was a little intimidated since we were the only American's in the market for a little while. I didn't know what a lot of the vegetables were and NONE of the signs were in English. I understood prices though, so I strapped my baby to my back and dug right in.

 

For a little over $11.00 US, I got spinach, cucumbers (which I have NEVER seen in the commissary), carrots, organic beef, and two types of okra, red and green. I would have gotten more, had it not been so crowded and I knew the quality. We will try the food over this week and if it is good, I won't be getting my fruit and veggies from the commissary anymore.

Okinawan Lily - Sept. 11, 2012

We have been in Okinawa about a month now and we are JUST getting settled in. It took us 2 weeks to move into a house here on base after looking at about 12 apartments off base. The problem with Japanese housing is that it is not made for big old American furniture. We like our base house though. 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 1200 sq feet. Quite a downsize, but HUGE for here.

The whole bottom floor is ours. It is the only multiplex on the street and the neighborhood is one of the quietest on base. The neighbors are friendly and quiet too. Okinawa is beautiful. The weather is hot and humid during the day, but beautiful and cooler at night. We have been going to the beach every weekend....and why not...it's 5 minutes from our house!

Lily, of course, loves the beach. We have had lots of trials since we have arrived it has not been an easy transition. The first week we were here, the island endured the biggest hurricane it has endured in 13 years. We were in temporary lodging at the time. Some parts were scary, other parts were comparable to a hard summer storm in SC.

Things have settled down tremendously since that first week and we are starting to get settled. Our express shipment arrived with some of our household items and the rest of our things will be here next month. We have cable and internet (finally!) and a house phone with an American number. We are making do with the government furniture, but we miss our things. It is hard to write about everything that has occurred in these past weeks, but so much has happened and the world has kind of been turned upside down. For now...here are some cute pictures of Lily Grace from here on the island and from our overnight stay in Seattle on the way to Japan. Lily LOVED the Eisa Drum Festival.

She loves festival food...no matter what country we are in.

Lily Playing in the sink..

The Space Needle

Jeff and Lily on the Sky Lift in Seattle

American Village, Okinawa